Sony Corp. studios announced Monday they'll release on Oct. 30 a film about Michael Jackson, "This Is It," drawn from hours of rehearsal and behind-the-scenes footage taken in the days before he died.
The announcement came after Sony struck a court-approved multimillion-dollar deal with the managers of the singer's estate to release footage of Jackson rehearsing ahead of a planned series of 50 concerts in London that was to begin July 13.
The pop icon's mother, Katherine Jackson, also gave her approval to the deal.
The feature "will be drawn from hundreds of hours of rehearsal and behind-the- scenes footage, captured in high definition with state-of-the-art digital sounds," Sony said in a statement.
Most of the footage was shot in June 2009 at the Staples Center in Los Angeles also the site of a Jackson tribute watched by millions of people around the world.
The film, Sony added, "will also offer select sequences in 3-D, will provide a unique career retrospective and feature interviews with some of Jackson's closest friends and creative collaborators."
Sony said the rights to the exclusive footage were bought from concert promoters AEG Live and the estate of Jackson, who died June 25 at the age of 50.
Sony Pictures Entertainment and Sony Music Entertainment will co-produce the film with AEG Live and the estate, while Sony Pictures will distribute the film worldwide, Sony said.
