Sham On: Michael Jackson’s Estate Wants to Sell The World a Biopic

By  · Published on November 16th, 2011

We lost the King of Pop in the summer of 2009, and now Showblitz is reporting that Michael Jackson’s estate is hitting up the studios to sell them on a biopic, specifically Montecito Picture Company (the production group owned by Ivan Reitman and Tom Pollock). The timing clearly indicates that the estate was held up by Dr. Conrad Murray’s trial.

It was somber and celebratory to get This Is It so soon after the singer’s death because it showed a different side of the entertainer during the last major creative endeavor of his life. A biopic, on the other hand, is tough to grasp. Financially, it makes all the sense in the world to capitalize on Jackson’s fame (or to share another story about him with his fans, if you’re not cynical). However, it’ll be a serious challenge to bring Jackson back to life on the big screen, even though the film won’t focus on all the parts of his life.

The biggest question is what actor can possibly suit up to play the part. Jason Weaver did a great job playing the singer in his youth for The Jacksons: An American Dream, but he’s not exactly in the public eye anymore. Can Justin Timberlake in blackface, and not in blackface, really do the trick?

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