Judge approves Michael Jackson merchandising deal

Judge approves Michael Jackson merchandising deal

By ANTHONY McCARTNEY, AP Entertainment Writer Anthony Mccartney, Ap Entertainment Writer – 1 hr 40 mins ago

AP – FILE - In this March 17, 2005 file photo, pop star Michael Jackson arrives at the Santa Barbara County …
Michael Jackson

LOS ANGELES – Official Michael Jackson merchandise will soon arrive on store shelves, but the fate of a proposed tour of the King of Pop's memorabilia remains in limbo after the singer's mother expressed renewed concerns on Monday.

Attorneys for Katherine Jackson withdrew their objections to an agreement with merchandiser Bravado to bring everything from Jackson trading cards, apparel and cell phone themes to consumers.

But her objections remain a roadblock to a deal that would put some of her son's prized items on display later this year. That tour was intended to coincide with the release of a major movie featuring his final rehearsals for a series of London shows.

Burt Levitch, an attorney for Jackson's mother, Katherine, said her objections were over concerns about her son's legacy, as well as the split of proceeds from the memorabilia tour with concert promoter AEG Live.

Attorneys for AEG and the current administrators of Jackson's estate wanted the memorabilia tour approved on Monday, but Superior Court Judge Mitchell Beckloff instead scheduled an evidentiary hearing to determine if the deal represented the best arrangement for Jackson's estate.

Katherine Jackson and her three grandchildren are set to receive the vast majority of the King of Pop's estate. An attorney appointed to represent the children's interests said Monday she thought the deal should be approved.

Kathy Jorrie, an attorney for AEG, said the memorabilia exhibition faces a tight deadline and the company's interest might wane if the tour isn't approved soon. She said the company was not interested in renegotiating the deal.

AEG wants the memorabilia tour to open at the same time as a movie using footage of Jackson's final rehearsals. The deal is expected to generate up to $6 million for the estate, said Howard Weitzman, an attorney for the current administrators of the estate.

Columbia Pictures paid $60 million for the rights to the film based on the Jackson footage, and Jackson's estate is slated to receive 90 percent of the film's profits.

One of the concessions Katherine Jackson is apparently seeking is the authority to sign off on the deal. Beckloff said he was inclined to reject that argument.

"She doesn't own the property," Beckloff said. "There's no reason to make her a signatory to those agreements."

But Beckloff said he wasn't sure that he could grant the estate's administrators approval to enter into the deal without hearing more information. The judge said he was in a difficult position and was concerned that delays in approving the deal — which was first proposed nearly two weeks ago — are hurting the estate.


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Michael Jackson archive part one picture

Michael Jackson archive part one

Remembering Michael Jackson (1958-2009)
Look back at the musician's life

Michael Jackson archive

Michael Jackson archive

Michael Jackson archive

Michael Jackson archive

Picture of Michael Jackson’s Dead Body

Michael Jackson’s Dead Body Picture

This is the last ever photo of the late Michael Jackson, obtained by US TV show

Michael Jackson

But was the superstar dead in the pic? Reports have suggested that Jackson, 50, had passed away at his Los Angeles home after paramedics failed to revive him.

Jackson reportedly suffered a cardiac arrest Thursday afternoon at his Holmby Hills mansion and paramedics were unable to bring him back round.

When paramedics arrived Jackson had no pulse and they never got a pulse back, according to TMZ. Jackson was apparently dead when paramedics arrived.

Once at the hospital, the staff tried to resuscitate him but he was completely unresponsive. Jackson’s sister La Toya ran in the hospital sobbing after Jackson was pronounced dead.

The star was due to begin a series of comeback concerts with an appearance at London’s O2 arena on July 13.

He had a history of health problems and had not completed a concert tour in 12 years.

Jackson had three children — Michael Joseph Jackson Jr, Paris Michael Katherine Jackson and Prince Michael Jackson II.

Jackson’s body has been flown to the L.A. County Coroner’s Office. His autopsy is scheduled to take place Friday.

Jackson foresaw demise years ago, Lisa Marie Presley writes on blog

Jackson foresaw demise years ago, Lisa Marie Presley writes on blog

Laurent Rebours / Associated Press
Presley wrote fondly of Jackson, saying their marriage was not a "sham," as the media had labeled it, but rather "an unusual relationship . . . where two unusual people who did not live or know a 'Normal life' found a connection."
The daughter of the late Elvis Presley says her former husband said he was afraid he was going to end up like her father.

Lisa Marie Presley and Michael Jackson

If you believe Lisa Marie Presley, Michael Jackson foresaw his own demise years ago.

"He knew," wrote Presley, Jackson's wife from 1994 to 1996, in a revealing post on her MySpace blog Friday morning.

The daughter of the late Elvis Presley, she has become a tragic link between two great music legends, whose untimely deaths shocked the world as much as their lives had captivated it.

Jackson saw the parallel, Presley wrote, and spoke about it during a conversation the two once had about her father.

"At some point he paused, he stared at me very intensely and he stated with an almost calm certainty, 'I am afraid that I am going to end up like him, the way he did,' " Presley, 41, recalled in her MySpace post.

When she tried to dissuade Jackson from his grim prediction, she wrote, he just shrugged. "He knew what he knew and that was kind of that."

Presley wrote fondly of Jackson, saying their marriage was not a "sham," as the media had labeled it, but rather "an unusual relationship . . . where two unusual people who did not live or know a 'normal life' found a connection."

Presley could not be reached, but her publicist, Cindy Guagenti, said Presley had done all her blogging on her MySpace page and that "we have had very positive reaction to the blog."

Guagenti said she did not know if Presley's post had attracted any reaction from Jackson's family.





But the reaction from fans was clear: By the end of the day, the post had generated nearly 1,000 comments, many of them sympathetic.

Activity on Jackson's MySpace page, now a kind of musical memorial, was even more intense. The singer's friend count was increasing by nearly 100 every minute and was on track to be the largest one-day increase in site history, according to the company.

With a huge number of Jackson songs available through the page, MySpace said nearly 100,000 songs were being played every 10 minutes.

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Michael Jackson Biography and information

Shooting star Michael Jackson

Revenge of Plastic Man

Via The Walk-Man, we learn that Michael Jackson has beamed in from the 24th Dimension to reassure us that he's Just Like You And Me.

Before we changed races. And biology. You know, shortly after we decided our new haircut just wasn't doing it for us.

Michael Jackson

Michael Jackson

Michael Jackson

Michael Jackson

Michael Jackson

Michael Jackson Biography

Born: 29 August 1958
Birthplace: Gary, Indiana
Best Known As: The Thriller pop star who rebuilt his face

One of the great pop music stars of the 1980s, Michael Jackson is now known less for his music than for his erratic behavior and plastic surgeries. Jackson became a singing superstar at age 11, when he had four consecutive #1 hits with his youthful band of brothers, The Jackson Five. He went solo in 1972 with the album Got to Be There and embraced the glitter of disco with Off the Wall (1979). After his smash 1982 album Thriller yielded seven top-ten hits, Jackson was dubbed "The King of Pop." His next album, Bad, topped the charts in 1987 as Jackson became one of the early stars of MTV and an international hitmaker. Then his eccentric lifestyle began to overwhelm his recording career, and Jackson became a favorite of the gossip sheets. In 1994 he married Lisa Marie Presley, the daughter of Elvis (a.k.a. "The King"), but they divorced in 1996. Also notorious were Jackson's long series of cosmetic surgeries, rumors of exotic pets and superstar peccadilloes at Jackson's estate (which he dubbed "Neverland", a reference to the story of Peter Pan), followed by another brief marriage to Deborah Rowe (1996-99) and multiple accusations of inappropriate conduct with children. In 2005 he was tried on charges of child molestation and conspiracy related to his relationship with a 13-year-old boy. Jackson was acquitted on all charges after a trial that year.

Jackson played the Scarecrow in the 1978 movie The Wiz, a takeoff on The Wizard of Oz; the role was played by Ray Bolger in the original 1939 film... Jackson's sister, Janet Jackson, was a pop superstar of the 1990s... Michael Jackson did not buy the bones of the Elephant Man, despite rumors to the contrary... Jackson has two children with Rowe: son Prince Michael (b. 1997) and daughter Paris Michael Katherine (b. 1998). He also has a third child, Prince Michael II (2002), whose mother has not been publically named... The name of Jackson's famous pet chimp is Bubbles... Thriller has sold over 100 million copies, making it the best-selling album of all time... Jackson is no relation to the British food and liquor expert Michael Jackson.