Before he passed away this summer, Michael Jackson was hard at work on a concert series he hoped would spark a new comeback for his career. As part of an agreement with the company helping make that dream a reality, hundreds of hours of rehearsal footage was shot of the King of Pop performing, organizing, and directing behind-the-scenes. This glimpse of what might have been has now been turned into a documentary titled This Is It.

With the flick hitting theaters this weekend, early reviews have bordered on the positive. Most have praised the work for pulling back the curtain on Jackson and showing a human side to the performer. “We see a talented singer-dancer fine-tuning an extravaganza, and in so doing we are reminded that, behind all the tabloid craziness and larger-than-life eccentricities, there was still an artist and a person,” said MSNBC’s Alonso Duralde.

No surprise to us, Jackson was also planning on incorporating some environmental themes into the concerts. In particular, for the song “Heal The World”, there’s a filmed sequence that was to play in the background showing the destruction of the Rainforests. We’ve seen such imagery before in Jackson’s “Earth Song” video, — but it appears that he was extending that theme to “Heal” as well. Last week, famed primatologist Jane Goodall said Jackson was inspired to write the song because of the plight of chimpanzees. From the article,

“He wrote what he told me he thought was his most powerful song ever, but it didn’t end up for animals,” Jane Goodall said in a CNN interview Thursday night. “I said to him, ‘You know, Michael, if you want to help, you could do a concert and give us a percentage. Or much better, write a song,’ ” she said. Jackson asked her for tapes of animals in distress because “he wanted to be angry and cry” as he wrote the song, which became “Heal the World,” she said. The original CD cover notes credited Goodall for inspiring the song, she said. But, she added, the Jane Goodall Institute never saw any money from the song.

Considering that Jackson was extremely generous with donations throughout his career, it’s rather odd that Goodall’s foundation never saw any. Perhaps Michael thought he could make more of a difference in other ways.

Click here to check out showtimes for This Is It.

A host of star musicians is set to gather and record a remake of Michael Jackson’s Will You Be There for charity. The song was released as a single in 1993 and also appeared on the soundtrack to the movie Free Willy.

Musicians expected to participate include Whitney Houston, John Mayer, Lionel Richie, Usher, Dionne Warwick, Wyclef Jean, Jermaine Jackson, Larry King’s wife Shawn King and possibly Jennifer Hudson. Proceeds from the song are going to be split between the Larry King Cardiac Foundation and an unspecified charity close to Jackson.

Not surprisingly, Jackson was very generous with his money throughout his career — and we can expect more charity events like this one to take place in remembrance. The big one to watch is the planned tribute concert in Vienna, something Jermaine Jackson predicts could attract an audience of over 1 billion people through television alone. An event of that magnitude could raise a massive amount of cash for charity organizations, something we would love to see happen in honor of the King of Pop. Stay tuned — and check out Jackson’s video for Will You Be There after the jump below.

Photo credit: Marg Sheridan

During her speech at Michael Jackson’s Memorial today in Los Angeles, Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee (D-Texas) showed off a resolution honoring the life and work of Michael Jackson. According to OpenCongress, “It’s extremely long; about three or four times the length of a “typical” resolution, and focuses heavily on his role as a humanitarian.”

Such a resolution is not a surprise given the love of Jackson by people all over the world. In terms of giving, it’s also quite deserving. For their “Millenium” issue, the Guiness World Record book listed the music legend under Most Charities Supported By A Pop Star, with an incredible 39 international organizations. Since his giving was also sporadic and spontaneous, the true number of other organizations benefiting from Jackson’s generosity may never be known.

After a lengthy opening detailing some of Jackson’s charitable works, the resolution concludes:

Resolved, That the House of Representatives

(1) recognizes Michael Jackson as a global humanitarian and a noted leader in the fight against worldwide hunger and medical crises; and

(2) celebrates Michael Jackson as an accomplished contributor to the worlds of arts and entertainment, scientific advances in the treatment of HIV/AIDS, and global food security.

To view the full resolution, jump here.

Photo credit: PR Photos

What’s the opposite of a green burial? You’re looking at it.

While we expected nothing less from a man known for his ridiculously extravagant lifestyle, it’s still too bad that Michael Jackson’s commitment to the planet didn’t extend to his burial. Of course, the late great singer never intended to depart so soon, so we may never know if this is what he intended or not.

This coffin, which was just spotted live on CNN being placed in a hearse for Jackson’s funeral, is called the Promethean. It’s the creation of the Batesville Casket Company in Ripley County, Indiana and is made from solid bronze and plated with 14-carat gold hand-polished to a mirror finish. The interior is lined with luxurious crushed velvet. Retail value: $25,000.

Other celebrities that have departed in this coffin include James Brown and Bob Hope.

Personally, give me a biodegradable cardboard box and plant a tree over me. I’d rather become a part of something than remain sealed up for all eternity in a box of gold.

New reports are saying that Michael Jackson was so focused on getting ready for his upcoming 50-concert tour at London’s 02 Arena that he often forgot to eat during the day. As a result, says Randy Phillips — the promoter behind the concerts — Jackson’s caloric intake fell to dangerous levels. To get the singer something nutritious, he and director Kenny Ortega often cut Jackson’s food up into bite-sized potions so that he could be fed quickly. From the article,

“However, despite trying their level best to keep Jackson healthy, the ‘Thriller’ hitmaker survived on just one meal a day. Phillips revealed that Jackson continued his grueling rehearsal schedule eating meager portions of his favorite dishes-vegetarian lasagna, steamed broccoli, nut loaf or tofu with chilli sauce.“He used to forget to eat because he was so focused and Kenny Ortega and I used to cut up his food and physically feed him,” the Mirror quoted Phillips as saying.”

In his 1988 book, Moonwalk, Jackson says, “I’m a vegetarian now and I’m so much thinner. I’ve been on a strict diet for years. I feel better than I ever have, healthier and more energetic.”

According to some news sources, Jackson’s cause of death may have been linked to the very powerful drug Propofol — which is often used to place a patient under anesthesia before surgery. Full autopsy results are expected to take several weeks.

via vegetarianstar

I had absolutely no idea that Michael Jackson’s 1972 hit song “Ben” was about a boy and his pet rat. PETA, however, is always on top of these things — and in light of current events — is seeking rights to the song to use in raising attention on the plight of rodents used in laboratory experiments.

“Michael Jackson’s hit has always been a moving testament to the power of empathy for animals,” Tracy Reiman, executive vice president of PETA, said in a statement released on Tuesday. “If more people could be inspired by his song to stop supporting the cruel and ineffective animal-testing industry, it would be a fitting and enduring tribute to this talented performer,” she added.

“Ben”, which gave Jackson his first number-one as a solo artist, is the theme of a 1972 film of the same name in which telepathic rats attempt to take over the world. I wish I was making this up. From the synopsis:

“This rat, whom the boy names Ben, becomes the boy’s best friend and keeps his spirits up in the face of bullying. However, the balance of power between the human and rat begins to shift, with Ben beginning to control the boy and the swarm becoming increasingly irrational and violent. Eventually, the police destroy many members of the rat colony, while others are sent to testing labs; Ben, however, survives.”

This reviewer on IMDB seemed to like it at the time, but his one caveat is amusing. “I remember seeing this movie when it came out in 1972. I was 10 at the time and I remember crying at the end when Ben came back to David. I raised small rodents at the time…rats, mice and gerbils, so the film had a special meaning for me…except for the rats killing people.” Ha!

Anyone else ever seen it?

“I want to not only dedicate this performance to him, because without Michael Jackson, I wouldn’t be performing onstage tonight,” Feldman told the crowd. “He is with us here tonight.”

The former actor turned musician/eco-activist wore a Jackson-style buttoned regal jacket and told the crowd to give 30 seconds of silence in memory of his close friend. His band Truth Movement was performing in Los Angeles at a gig Feldman declared as “off the grid” for its use of alternative fuels onsite to take the place of electricity. The show ran on a bio-diesel generator and fuel powered by L.A.’s @ Power — something the 37-year-old is adamant about attempting to do for all his live concerts.

“I have been a proponent of sustainable energy practices for many years,” commented Feldman, “and can’t think of a better way to create real change in the world than to partner with companies and individuals to bring the Off the Grid Tour to fruition, proving that effective implementation of alternative energy sources can be done.”

Check out Feldman’s official site for his group here.

via PEOPLE

In a time when talk of environmental issues is the norm, Jackson was well ahead of the game with this release in 1996. Topics covered include drought, over-fishing, deforestation, pollution and war. The beautiful video — in which the King of Pop is shot in various scenes from around the world — probably carried a massive carbon footprint; but back then climate change and CO2 were in their infancy. As Treehugger notes, global warming isn’t even covered amidst the other themes.

“…For me, this is Earth’s Song,” Jackson said at the time, “Because I think nature is trying so hard to compensate for man’s mismanagement of the Earth. And with the ecological unbalance going on, and a lot of the problems in the environment, I think earth feels the pain, and she has wounds, and it’s about some of the joys of the planet as well.” Have a look below:

With Michael Jackson’s untimely and shocking passing yesterday, there are now many questions surrounding his legacy and how it will be preserved. We covered the legendary singer’s Neverland property over the years — especially the natural degradation taking place in his absence. Could this 2,800 acre ranch become a museum to the legendary King of Pop?

One thing is certain: Jackson only retained a small percentage of ownership in the property at the time of his death. The ranch has been in and out of foreclosure proceedings since 2007 — with last minute deals cut all around to protect it from going into auction. According to Wikipedia, on November 11, 2008 Jackson transferred the title to Sycamore Valley Ranch Company LLC — a joint venture between him and Colony Capital LLC. In return, it appears that he was able to sell an unknown proportion of the property right for $35 million — cash the singer desperately needed to pay off additional debts.

In our opinion, it would be wonderful to see the 2,800 acre ranch preserved and turned in a memorial museum/park to Michael Jackson’s music. After all, the singer admitted that many of his “green” songs like “Earth Song” and “Heal The World” — were created to inspire people to live a greener life. In an interview with Ebony magazine, he said, “It’s been described as a runaway train; if we don’t stop it, we’ll never get it (world) back. So we have to fix it, now. That’s what I was trying to do with Earth Song, Heal The World, We Are The World – writing those songs to open up people’s consciousness. I wish people would listen to every word.”

What do you think should become of Neverland?

UPDATE: I found a video montage giving a rare glimpse at the inside of Neverland Ranch — mostly from interviews Jackson gave several years ago. Have a look after the jump!]