Friday, March 29, 2024

Michael Jackson Cirque Deal May Launch Reality Show

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Michael Jackson‘s estate has made a deal with Cirque du Soleil, much as I predicted on November 11, 2009: http://tinyurl.com/y5rolc5

But the Cirque du Soleil deal is going to have many branches, from what I’m told. The feeling now is that the shows will use three choreographers. Two will be well known. A third may be selected from a reality show competition that would also yield dancers.

“Michael was always looking for new talent,” says an insider. “We would find it through a reality show.”

The Cirque deal will be a bonanza for Jackson’s estate. But it’s got to be a blow to AEG Live’s Randy Phillips and director/choreographer Kenny Ortega. They put together the “This is It” show and movie. But from the beginning, I am told, executors John Branca and John McClain were taken with the Cirque gestalt. Plus, as one observer put it, “AEG would have to get sponsors. Cirque du Soleil just writes the check.”

The Cirque shows, by the way, will feature holograms, 3D gizmos, and a futuristic theater that has moving seats. Michael would have loved it.

Roger Friedman
Roger Friedmanhttps://www.showbiz411.com
Roger Friedman began his Showbiz411 column in April 2009 after 10 years with Fox News, where he created the Fox411 column. His movie reviews are carried by Rotten Tomatoes, and he is a member of both the movie and TV branches of the Critics Choice Awards. His articles have appeared in dozens of publications over the years including New York Magazine, where he wrote the Intelligencer column in the mid 90s and covered the OJ Simpson trial, and Fox News (when it wasn't so crazy) where he covered Michael Jackson. He is also the writer and co-producer of "Only the Strong Survive," a selection of the Cannes, Sundance, and Telluride Film festivals, directed by DA Pennebaker and Chris Hegedus.
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