Last night, "Michael Jackson's This Is It" premiered simultaneously in 17 cities around the world, and MTV News writer Eric Ditzian was on hand at the New York premiere to get a first look at the film. From over 100 hours of footage, director Kenny Ortega brought together a 105-minute feature that traced all of the steps on the road to Jackson's planned "This Is It" shows, from initial conception to auditions to rehearsals. You can read Ditzian's entire recap of "Michael Jackson's This Is It" here, but one thing that especially stands out is this passage: "The picture that emerges of Michael Jackson is of a stubborn visionary who never loses his sense of humor. He's a perfectionist who knows what he wants and is loath to compromise. He also seems reluctant to admit when he's in the wrong, as with a humorous incident when he seems to forget the lyrics to a Jackson 5 song and instead blames a faulty earpiece."
If there's one thing that collaborators and friends always said about Michael Jackson, it's that he had an unbelievable work ethic and was a staunch perfectionist. The film seems to focus on establishing that as his legacy, and that like many geniuses he was sometimes undone by his demand for constant excellence. And yet despite his workhorse tendencies, he was clearly a joy to work with, as the film offers a look at his infectious energy. As Ditzian puts it, the film creates "a glowing portrait," leaving out any of the unpleasantness that has followed Jackson's death. But it seems less like a trick of editing and more like a tribute to the thing that clearly dominated the end of the King of Pop's life: The need to deliver one final, stunning performance that would be a lasting memory. "Michael Jackson's This Is It" is not what he intended, but it seems like it comes awfully close.
