Jackson`s This Is It" took in $2.2 million first late-night screening

Michael Jackson may be headed to the top of the charts again - this time at the movie Box Office."Michael Jackson`s This Is It" took in $2.2 million domestically from its first late-night screenings, setting it up for a big full opening day Wednesday and a strong shot at a No. 1 debut weekend.

Those evening screenings alone were enough to top the $1.7 million that Paramount`s fright flick "Paranormal Activity," last weekend`s No. 1 movie, pulled in over the entire day Tuesday.

With Halloween at hand, "Paranormal Activity" expands into its widest release yet, about 2,400 theaters, compared to about 3,500 for "This Is It."

Distributor Sony said Wednesday matinees for "This Is It" already had surpassed the film`s haul from those first evening screenings. The studio paid $60 million for worldwide rights to the film, which was distilled from more than 100 hours of footage shot as Jackson rehearsed for what would have been a 50-concert comeback run in London starting last July.

While "This Is It" is not quite a concert film, box-office watchers are gauging its success against "Hannah Montana & Miley Cyrus: Best of Both Worlds Concert," the biggest concert movie on record. "Best of Both Worlds" had a $31.1 million opening weekend last year and pulled in $65.3 million domestically during its entire run.

"This Is It" so far has not approached any major box-office records. The best results ever for advance evening screenings came from "Pirates of the Caribbean: At World`s End," which took in $13.2 million Thursday night ahead of its official Friday release in summer 2006. "Independence Day" had the best Tuesday night advance results, with $11.1 million in summer 1996.

Still, "This Is It" already is well on its way to becoming a top-grossing music documentary.

Last March`s "Jonas Brothers: The 3D Concert Experience" runs a distant second to "Best of Both Worlds in the concert-film record books, topping out at $19.2 million. "Madonna: Truth or Dare" follows with $15 million, and last year`s "U2 3D" is fourth with $10.2 million.

"As a genre, concert movies and even documentaries aren`t usually the type of films to bring in big box-office bucks, but because of his name and also the timing of it, I think it`s a winner," said Paul Dergarabedian, box-office analyst for Hollywood.com. "That $60 million investment I think was worthwhile."

Sony, which opened "This Is It" simultaneously in 99 countries, plans to release worldwide box-office results Thursday for the film`s first full day.

"This Is It" faces some hurdles over its first weekend, which falls on Halloween, when the main competition will be scary movies such as "Paranormal Activity" and "Saw VI."

Halloween day itself, which falls on Saturday, typically cuts into theater business, with many fans skipping movies in favor of parties.

With Jackson`s death just weeks before the concerts were to open, the rehearsal footage now stands as a final curtain call, and fans have been happy to get one last glimpse of the singer at work.

Some came away surprised at how precise and hands-on the soft-spoken Jackson was as he developed the musical numbers with his backup dancers and musicians.

"He was very, very much into every detail of his work," said Marilyn Morrison, who saw "This Is It" in New York City. "I always thought that he was so quiet and shy, but he was very authoritative, very detail-orientated."

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Elizabeth Taylor has hailed her friend Michael Jackson

Elizabeth Taylor has hailed her late long-term friend Michael Jackson as a “modern-day prophet”.

The Hollywood veteran praised the King of Pop on her Twitter page, calling him a genius.

“To say the man is a genius is an understatement. He cradles each note, coaxes the music to depths beyond reality,” the Sun quoted her as saying.

“You owe it to yourselves and your loved ones to see this again and again. Memorize it and say to yourselves, ‘I saw genius in my lifetime.’”

“If you listen to his lyrics, they are those of a modern-day prophet and it beseeches us to listen to him and what he sang,” she added.

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Michael Jackson’s brother Jermaine visit to the Taj Mahal

On Friday afternoon when the deceased legend Michael Jackson’s brother Jermaine arrived to collaborate with Adnan Sami there was a sense of disbelief in the city. Jermaine arrived with his wife Halima.

They both checked into the Taj but spent the entire evening at Adnan’s place discussing music, food, social concerns and Michael Jackson (MJ).

“It’s been an exhausting but amazing time since Jermaine arrived, ” chuckles Adnan after an exhilarating session with Jermaine at the newly-revamped T Series recording studio.

“That’s why I didn’t make any announcements about Jermaine’s arrival. I didn’t want to sound premature in my excitement since Jermaine had visa issues and his arrival in Mumbai was uncertain till the last minute.”

Adnan and Jermaine have got together to record a tribute to Mumbai City. “It will be part of an album we’ve been working on for two years long before Michael Jackson’s sudden death. Jermaine loves India and Mumbai. I could’ve easily joined him in Los Angeles to record the song. But Jermaine insisted on coming down.”

Adnan intends to make the third of the Jackson siblings familiar with the sights and sounds of Mumbai and India.

“After the recording is over we’re going to Chowpatty and all the other hot spots of Mumbai. Jermaine loves Indian food. But he doesn’t want to have the 5-star stuff. He wants to taste the pao-bhaji, paani-puri, bhelpuri, batata- vada and all the street-slurps.”

A visit to the Taj Mahal is also on the anvil. “We’ll visit the Taj and Fatehpur Sikri where as you know, Tansen once sang. I’d have loved him to stay in my house. But I thought a hotel would be more comfortable for Jermaine and Halima.

I’m bowled over by his humility and his hunger to learn and know about Indian culture. His down-to-earth nature reminds me of Mr Bachchan.”

Adnan plans a very exclusive sit-in dinner party in Jermaine’s honour at his home on October 7.

Jermaine also heard Azaan’s music and loved it. The Jermaine-Adnan album will be marketed in India by T Series and internationally on Jermaine’s label.

“T series re-revamped their entire studio and equipment for Jermaine’s recording, ” says Adnan. “We’re doing two songs together, one of them a tribute to Mumbai amd its unstoppable energy”

Says Adnan, “My son had a problem when Jermaine came home. He has two dogs named after Elvis Presley and MJ.

‘How can we call ‘MJ’ when Jermaine Uncle is around?’ I tried to convince him that the name was a tribute to MJ. But my son refused to call out our canine’s name while Jermaine was around.”

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Jackie Jackson wakes up with tears in his eyes for MJs tragic death

Jackie Jackson is having a hard time dealing with the tragic death of his younger sibling Michael and sometimes wakes up with tears in his eyes.

The former ‘Jackson Five’ star, real name Sigmund Esco Jackson, said he is still to come to terms with the harsh reality.

“It`s hard for me to sleep because I think about him constantly, all the time,” a news website quoted the 58-year-old as saying.

“Sometimes I wake up with tears in my eyes because he meant so much to the world and also to me as a brother. I just miss him dearly, so much and I just can`t believe he is not here," he added.

Jackie further revealed that the late King of Pop was excited for his comeback UK concerts, which were slated to open in July.

He said, "I asked him, `How`s it going?` And he said, `It`s going to be incredible.` He couldn`t wait for us to see the show. He wouldn`t tell us anything about it. He just wanted us to see it from our own eyes."

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