MICHAEL JACKSON29

The Michael Jackson documentary "This Is It" has snapped up one of the last of China's 20 annual foreign movie import slots, a Sony Pictures executive said Tuesday.

Chinese censors approved the film before the weeklong National Day holiday that started on Oct. 1, clearing it in time for the global release date of Oct. 28, Li Chow, Sony Pictures Releasing International's general manager for China told The Associated Press in a phone interview.

Li said Sony Pictures will give the movie as wide a release as possible because of Jackson's big fan base in China, depending on how many prints they can issue before Oct. 28. China had nearly 4,100 screens at the end of 2008.

"We'll do as many prints as possible. It depends on the labs," Li said.

China only allows 20 major foreign films to be released in the country every year on a revenue-sharing basis. But those Hollywood releases are often immensely popular. China's two most recent all-time box office records were both set by American films. "Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen" broke the 11-year-old record set by "Titanic" in July by earning 400 million Chinese yuan ($59 million).

Directed by longtime Jackson collaborator Kenny Ortega, "Michael Jackson: This Is It" draws on hundreds of hours of footage as Jackson prepared for a series of London concerts for which he was rehearsing before his death on June 25.

Calls Tuesday to state-run China Film Group, which decides which foreign movies to import, went unanswered.

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MICHAEL JACKSON29

(CBS) For most of his life, Michael Jackson has been in the spotlight, most recently because of what has been described as bizarre behavior -— bizarre behavior that has now led him to be charged with sexually molesting a 13-year-old boy. If convicted, he could spend 20 years in prison.

Now out on bail and awaiting trial, tonight Michael Jackson speaks out for the first time about his arrest, his accuser and the charges that have, for the moment, made his life a shambles.

We sat down with Michael Jackson on Christmas Day at a hotel in Los Angeles –one of several cities where he has been in seclusion since authorities in Santa Barbara officially charged him with seven counts of sexual molestation and two counts of using an “intoxicating agent” — reported to be alcohol — to seduce the boy.

ED BRADLEY: What is your response to the allegations that were brought by the district attorney in Santa Barbara, that you molested this boy?

MICHAEL JACKSON: Totally false. Before I would hurt a child, I would slit my wrists. I would never hurt a child It's totally false. I was outraged. I could never do something like that

ED BRADLEY: This is a kid you knew?

MICHAEL JACKSON: Yes.

ED BRADLEY: How would you characterize your relationship with this boy?

MICHAEL JACKSON: I've helped many, many, many children, thousands of children, cancer kids, leukemia kids. This is one of many.

Michael Jackson says his accuser is among thousands of children he’s invited to his 2,600—acre Neverland Ranch in California to play in his amusement park, visit his zoo, watch movies, play video games, and feast on their favorite foods.

ED BRADLEY: But tell me why you developed Neverland.

MICHAEL JACKSON: Because I wanted to have a place that I could create everything that I that I never had as a child. So, you see rides. You see animals. There's a movie theater. I was always on tour, traveling. You know? And — I never got a chance to do those things. So, I compensated for the loss by — I have a good — I mean, I can't go into a park. I can't go to Disneyland, as myself. I can't go out and walk down the street. There's crowds, and bumper to bumper cars. And so, I create my world behind my gates. Everything that I love is behind those gates. We have elephants, and giraffes, and crocodiles, and every kind of tigers and lions. And — and we have bus loads of kids, who don't get to see those things. They come up sick children, and enjoy it. They enjoy it in a pure, loving, fun way. It's people with the dirty mind that think like that. I don't think that way. That's not me.

ED BRADLEY: And — and do you think people look at you and think that way today?

MICHAEL JACKSON: If they have a sick mind, yeah. And if they believe the trash they read in newspapers, yeah. And — and it's not — what — just cause — remember something. Just because it's in print doesn't mean it's the gospel. People write negatives things, cause they feel that's what sells. Good news to them, doesn't sell.

And Jackson says his relationship with this boy he first met a year ago was positive. He says he was determined to help him with his battle against cancer.

ED BRADLEY: So when he would come over what would he do? What would you do?

MICHAEL JACKSON: I'll tell you exactly. When I first saw him, he was total bald—headed, white as snow from the chemotherapy, very bony, looked anorexic, no eyebrows, no eyelashes. And he was so weak, I would have to carry him from the house to the game room, or push him in a wheelchair, to try to give him a childhood, a life. Cause I felt bad. Because I never had that chance, too, as a child. You know? That the— and so, I know what it— it felt like in that way. Not being sick, but not having had a childhood. So, my heart go out to those children I feel their pain.

Jackson says he tried to help in the healing process by taking the boy around the grounds of Neverland to Jackson’s favorite places.

MICHAEL JACKSON: He had never really climbed a tree. So, I had this tree that I have at Neverland. I call it, "My Giving Tree." Cause I like to write songs up there. I've written many songs up there. So, I said, "You have to climb a tree. That's part of boyhood. You just gotta do it." And — I helped him up. And once he went up — up the tree, we looked down on the branches. And it was so beautiful. It was magical. And he loved it. To give him a chance to have a life, you know? Because he was told he was going to die. They told him. They told his — his parents prepare for his funeral, that's how bad it was. And I put him on a program. I've helped many children doing this. I put him on a mental program.

The boy — whose name and face we’re not revealing — has credited Michael Jackson’s friendship and support with helping him to battle his cancer. And last February in a British documentary that was filmed before the boy alleged he was sexually molested — he said that he had stayed overnight at Jackson’s home many times, and had slept in his bedroom.

JACKSON ACCUSER: There was one night, I asked him if I could stay in the bedroom. And he let me stay in the bedroom. And I was like, Michael, you can sleep on the bed. And he was like, no, no you sleep in the bed. And then he finally said, ‘Okay, if you love me, you’ll sleep on the bed.’ I was like, ‘Oh, man.’ And so I finally slept on the bed.

That comment – along with Michael Jackson’s startling confession that he had shared his bed many times with children – spurred an investigation last February by the Los Angeles county department of children and family services, which interviewed the boy and his mother to determine whether he had been sexually molested by Michael Jackson.

According an agency’s memo, “the child denied any form of sexual abuse,” and “the investigation by the sensitive case unit concluded the allegations of neglect and sexual abuse to be unfounded.” Over the next several months, relations between the boy’s family and Michael Jackson deteriorated. According to sources close to the family, the boy’s mother had suspicions that Jackson was serving alcohol to her 13-year-old son, who was still suffering from cancer. Eventually she took her suspicions to the district attorney and that led to a full scale investigation by his office and the Santa Barbara County Sheriff.

SHERRIFF JIM ANDERSON: An arrest warrant for Mr. Jackson has been issued on multiple counts of child molestation. The bail amount of the award has been set at 3 million dollars.

REPORTER: If Michael Jackson’s watching this right now, what’s your message to him?

DISTRICT ATTORNEY THOMAS SNEDDON: Get over here and get checked in.

With that announcement two weeks ago, Michael Jackson’s future and his career were in serious jeopardy. He surrendered to authorities and was booked on child molestation charges of lewd and lascivious conduct with a child.

ED BRADLEY: What was going through your mind when you're taken into a police station, in handcuffs, to have a mug shot taken, that you know is gonna be shown around the world?

MICHAEL JACKSON: They did it to try and belittle me, to try and to take away my pride. But I went through the whole system with them. And at the end, I— I wanted the public to know that I was okay, even though I was hurting.

ED BRADLEY: What happened when they arrested you? What did they do to you?

MICHAEL JACKSON: They were supposed to go in, and just check fingerprints, and do the whole thing that they do when they take somebody in. They manhandled me very roughly. My shoulder is dislocated, literally. It's hurting me very badly. I'm in pain all the time. This is, see this arm? This is as far as I can reach it. Same with this side over here.

ED BRADLEY: Because of what happened at the police station?

MICHAEL JACKSON: Yeah. Yeah. At the police station. And what they did to me — if you — if you saw what they did to my arms — it was very bad what they did. It's very swollen. I don't wanna say. You'll see. You'll see.

We were given a photograph said to be taken after Michael Jackson was released on bail. Jackson says the swelling above his wrist is where the police handcuffed him.

ED BRADLEY: How did they do it? I mean, what, physically, what did they do?

MICHAEL JACKSON: With the handcuffs, the way they tied 'em too tight behind my back —

ED BRADLEY: Behind your back?

MICHAEL JACKSON: Yeah. And putting it, they put it in a certain position, knowing that it's going to hurt, and affect my back. Now I can't move. I — I — it keeps me from sleeping at night. I can't sleep at night.

And Jackson says there was more …

MICHAEL JACKSON: Then one time, I asked to use the restroom. And they said, "Sure, it's right around the corner there." Once I went in the restroom, they locked me in there for like 45 minutes. There was doo doo, feces thrown all over the walls, the floor, the ceiling. And it stunk so bad. Then one of the policemen came by the window. And he made a sarcastic remark. He said, "Smell — does it smell good enough for you in there? How do you like the smell? Is it good?" And I just simply said, "It's alright. It's okay." So, I just sat there, and waited.

ED BRADLEY: For 45 minutes?

MICHAEL JACKSON: Yeah, for 45 minutes. About 45 minutes. And then — then one cop would — come by, and say, "Oh, you'll be out in — in a second. You'll be out in a second." Then there would be another ten minutes added on, then another 15 minutes added on. They did this on purpose.

What about Jackson's allegations? Was he mistreated? Did the police injure his arm and shoulder? Did they lock him in a bathroom for 45 minutes? To get answers to those questions, we made repeated calls to both the sheriff's office and the office of the district attorney. They declined our request for an interview and referred us to the statement on their Web site, which says about allegations of mistreatment: "That is not true." It was the sheriff's deputies who executed the search warrant of the Neverland ranch.

ED BRADLEY: How did you feel when they went into Neverland, I mean, with a search warrant? I mean, what were they looking for? What did they take?

MICHAEL JACKSON: My room is a complete wreck. My workers told me. They said, "Michael, don't go in your room." They were crying on the phone, my employees. They said, "If you saw your room, you would cry." I have stairs that go up to my bed. And they said, "You can't even get up the stairs. The room is totally trashed." And they had 80 policemen in this room, 80 policemen in one bedroom. That's really overdoing it. They took knives, and cut open my mattresses with knives. C — just cut everything open.

ED BRADLEY: Did — did they take anything from Neverland?

MICHAEL JACKSON: A— I'm not sure what they took. They never gave me a list.

ED BRADLEY: But you're saying that they destroyed your property?

MICHAEL JACKSON: Yes, they did. And then they, what they did was they made everybody that work at the property, they locked everybody out of the house. They had the whole house to themselves to do whatever they wanted. And — they totally took advantage. They went into areas they weren't supposed to go into — like my office. They didn't have search warrants for those places. And they totally took advantage. And the room is a total, total wreck, they told me. I don't think I wanna see it. I'm not ready to see it yet.

ED BRADLEY: So, you haven't been back there?

MICHAEL JACKSON: I've been back there. But not in my bedroom. I won't live there ever again. I'll visit Neverland. It's a house now. It's not a home anymore. I'll only visit there. What time is it? Cause I'm hurting. You know what? I'm — I'm hurting. I have to go pretty soon anyway. Yeah. Okay. I don't feel good.

This is not the first time Michael Jackson has been accused of child molestation. Ten years ago, he was accused of sexually abusing another young boy. However, after the boy refused to testify, and after Jackson paid the boy’s family millions of dollars to settle a civil lawsuit, Jackson was never charged. Although the family in the current case against him has filed no lawsuit and says it does not intend to, Michael Jackson is still suspicious of their motives.

MICHAEL JACKSON: Somewhere greed got in there, and somebody — I — I can't quite say. But it has to do with money. It's Michael Jackson. Look what we have here. We can get money out of this. That's exactly what happened.

ED BRADLEY: You had helped him with his cancer. What I don't understand is why today and I know you say it’s money, but why would he turn around and say, "Michael Jackson sexually molested me," if it weren't true?

MICHAEL JACKSON: Because parents have power over children. They feel they have to do what their parents say. But the love of money is the root of all evil. And this is a sweet child. And to see him turn like this, this isn't him. This is not him.

ED BRADLEY: So, you don't think this comes from him? This —

MICHAEL JACKSON: No.

ED BRADLEY: — Comes from his parents?

MICHAEL JACKSON: No. This is not him. No. I know his heart.

Jackson said that even if he could, he would never settle this case as he did when similar charges were made in 1993.

ED BRADLEY: So — if you were innocent, why would you pay, I mean, to keep you quiet? I mean, why not go into court, and fight for your good name? I mean —

MICHAEL JACKSON: I'm not allowed to talk on that —

MARK GERAGOS: I'm gonna stop you for a second.

ED BRADLEY: Sure.

Jackson’s high powered attorney Mark Geragos told me that if I wanted an answer to that question I’d have to ask him.

MARK GERAGOS: I mean remember what happened to him ten years ago. He was humiliated. He was — he went through where somebody — was examining him. Was photographing him. Was having him — humiliating him in the worst way in terms of looking at his private parts and photographing his private parts. And — and he was subjected to some of the most, just intrusive kinds of things that you could ever imagine. I can only try to put myself into that situation and — and say look, if money could make that situation go away, maybe that — that was the calculus then. I don't know and I don't wanna second guess it.

ED BRADLEY: But — but what you end up with is the public perception that this has happened not once, this has happened twice. That young boys have — have come forward to accuse him of — of sexual molestation over the last ten years. And he has made public comments about how he enjoys sharing his bed with children. Can you understand how the public might feel that, hey, maybe there's something here. There's a lot of smoke.

MARK GERAGOS: Well, look. There's a lot of smoke. But a lot of the people who blow the smoke are — are twisting what's happened. I understand when people say, now, there's somebody else who came forward. But I — I think, in all fairness, most people get it. Most people understand that this case is not about anything but money.

We asked the mother of the accuser who made these latest allegations to tell us her side of the story, but she declined and would not authorize anyone else to speak on her behalf.

ED BRADLEY: That British documentary last February — which you didn't like —

MICHAEL JACKSON: Yeah, I didn't like it.

ED BRADLEY: You — you said in that documentary that— that many children have slept in your bedroom.

MICHAEL JACKSON: Yeah.

ED BRADLEY: You said, and — and I'm gonna quote here, "Why can't you share your bed? A most loving thing to do is to share your bed with— with someone."

MICHAEL JACKSON: Yes.

ED BRADLEY: As — as we sit here today, do you still think that it's acceptable to share your bed with children?

MICHAEL JACKSON: Of course. Of course. Why not? If you're gonna be a pedophile, if you're gonna be Jack the Ripper, if you're gonna be a murderer, it's not a good idea. That I'm not. That's how we were raised. And I met — I didn't sleep in the bed with the child. Even if I did, it's okay. I slept on the floor. I give the bed to the child.

ED BRADLEY: But given all that you've been through —

MICHAEL JACKSON: Yeah?

ED BRADLEY: Given the allegations, given the innuendo — why would you put yourself in a position where something like this could happen again?

MICHAEL JACKSON: Well, I'm always more cautious. But I will never stop helping and loving people the way Jesus said to. He said, "Continue to love. Always love. Remember children. Imitate the children." Not childish, but childlike.

That may sound naïve, but Jackson attorney Mark Geragos says they did take precautions.

MARK GERAGOS: They were, at all times during that February 7 to March 10 period of time, whenever Michael was there, there was always a third party around. Always.

ED BRADLEY: What about the allegation that some kind of intoxicating agent, said to be wine, was given to this child to make him more pliable?

MARK GERAGOS: Ludicrous. I mean it's ludicrous on its face. There are in excess of 100 employees at any one time at that ranch. There is full—time security at that ranch. There are people who are there at all times, day and night, 24—7, who are specifically instructed to make sure that people don't do that. The kids are nowhere near alcohol and liquor.

ED BRADLEY: You're a parent. You've got three children.

MICHAEL JACKSON: Yes.

ED BRADLEY: Would you allow your children to sleep in the bed with a grown man, who was not a relative, or to sleep in the bedroom?

MICHAEL JACKSON: Sure, if I know that person, trust them, and love them. That's happened many times with me when I was little.

ED BRADLEY: Would you, as a parent, allow your children to sleep in the same bedroom with someone, who has the suspicions and allegations that have been made against you, and about you today? Would you allow that?

MICHAEL JACKSON: Someone —

ED BRADLEY: If you knew someone, who had the same —

MICHAEL JACKSON: I'm not —

ED BRADLEY: —kind of allegations —

MICHAEL JACKSON: Ed, I — I know exactly what you're saying.

ED BRADLEY: — that were made against you — would you let your children —

MICHAEL JACKSON: My children?

ED BRADLEY: — sleep in that man's bedroom?

MICHAEL JACKSON: Mmm, if I — if I knew the person personally. Cause I know how the press is, and how people can twist the truth, if I knew the person personally, absolutely yes. Absolutely. I wouldn't have a problem with it.

ED BRADLEY: Do you know how this looks to a lot of people? I mean, do you understand that?

MICHAEL JACKSON: How does what look?

ED BRADLEY: How the fact that you —

MICHAEL JACKSON: Know why? People think sex. They're thinking sex. My mind doesn't run that way. When I see children, I see the face of God. That's why I love them so much. That's what I see.

ED BRADLEY: Do you know any other man your age, a 45-year-old man, who shares his bedroom with children?

MICHAEL JACKSON: Of course. Not for sex. No. That's wrong.

ED BRADLEY: Well, let me — let me say, from my perspective, my experience, I don't know any 45-year-old men, who are not relatives of the children, who share their bedroom with other children.

MICHAEL JACKSON: Well, what's wrong with sharing your bed? I didn't say I slept in the bed. Even if I did sleep in the bed, it's okay. I am not going to do anything sexual to a child. It's not where my heart is. I would never do anything like that. That's not Michael Jackson. I'm sorry. That's someone else.

And the Michael Jackson of today is not the Michael Jackson who at one time was the No. 1 pop star in the world. His "Thriller" CD topped the charts, while his latest didn’t crack the top 10.

ED BRADLEY: What — what has this done to your career?

MICHAEL JACKSON: What — what has it done to my career?

ED BRADLEY: What has it done to your career?

MICHAEL JACKSON: In what way?

ED BRADLEY: How has it impacted — you know —

MICHAEL JACKSON: I'm — my album —

ED BRADLEY: — touring, record sales —

MICHAEL JACKSON: — album is number one all over the world. All over the world. America is the only one, because I — I don't wanna say too much.

ED BRADLEY: But it's not number one in the United States?

MICHAEL JACKSON: It's a conspiracy. Yeah. I’m getting tired.

Before Michael Jackson’s attorneys stopped the interview, we were able to ask him one last question.

ED BRADLEY: Michael, what would you say to you — your fans, who have supported you through all of this, and — and who today, some of them might have questions? What would you say to them?

MICHAEL JACKSON: Well, I would tell them I love them very much. And I— I— they've learned about me, and know about me from a distance. But if you really want to know about me, there's a song I wrote, which is the most honest song I've ever written. It's the most autobiographical song I've ever written. It's called, "Childhood." They should listen to it. That's the one they really should listen to. And thank you for your support, the fans around the world. I love you with all my heart. I don't take any of it for granted. Any of it. And I love them dearly, all over the world.

Michael Jackson will make his first appearance in court on Jan. 16 when is arraigned. He is expected to plead not guilty.

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Michael Jackson died from lethal amounts of the anesthetic propofol, according to the findings of the Los Angeles chief medical examiner that were disclosed in court documents in Houston on Monday.

Mr. Jackson died on June 25 in Los Angeles after going into cardiac arrest. Since then, the Houston offices of his personal physician, Dr. Conrad Murray, have been raided several times by law enforcement officials.

In a search warrant affidavit issued by the district court of Harris County, Texas, on July 22, a Los Angeles law enforcement officer says that an autopsy performed by the office of Dr. Lakshmanan Sathyavagiswaran, the Chief Medical Examiner-Coroner for the County of Los Angeles, “determined that, at the time of his death, toxicology analysis show that Michael Jackson had lethal amounts of propofol in his blood.”

According to a search warrant issued by Los Angeles County on July 17, Dr. Murray said in an interview with investigators that he had been treating Mr. Jackson for insomnia for six weeks prior to the singer’s death.

Dr. Murray said that he felt Mr. Jackson was becoming addicted to propofol and was trying to wean him off the drug. On June 22, he gave Mr. Jackson a mixture of propofol, lorazepam, the generic form of the anti-anxiety drug ativan, and midazolam, a sedative. On June 23, he gave Mr. Jackson only the lorazepam and midazolam.

At about 1:30 a.m. on June 25, Dr. Murray said, he gave Mr. Jackson a tab of valium. At 2 a.m., he administered lorazepam, and at 3 a.m. administered midazolam. Those drugs were administered again at 5 a.m. and 7:30 a.m., but Mr. Jackson still was unable to sleep.

At about 10:40 a.m., Dr. Murray said, he gave Mr. Jackson 25 milligrams of propofol diluted with lidocaine, at which point Mr. Jackson went to sleep. After about 10 minutes, Dr. Murray said he left to go to the bathroom, and returned to find that Mr. Jackson was no longer breathing. At this point, Mr. Jackson’s security services and 911 were called.

According to the Los Angeles warrant, Mr. Jackson visited with several doctors to provide him with prescription medications while he used a variety of aliases, including Jack London, Mick Jackson, Frank Tyson, Omar Arnold and Josephine Baker.

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It has been 48 days since Michael Jackson died, and while family members of the late pop star are still at war with the executors of his estate, the answer to another question — how much the singer is worth in death — is becoming clear. He has already earned $100 million through a film deal and various merchandising contracts, and the executors expect another $100 million to roll in by the end of the year.

“Clearly that’s a new record for estates that likely will not be broken,” said John G. Branca, Mr. Jackson’s longtime lawyer who was named in Mr. Jackson’s will as a co-executor of the estate, along with John McClain, a music executive and Jackson family friend.

While several business deals have been reached — for things like commemorative coins, a line of school supplies and a $150 coffee table book — the matter of untangling Mr. Jackson’s vast estate, assets and debt, goes on, as does wrangling with family members.

Cash has been collected from former advisers who had held money for Mr. Jackson — several million dollars from one — and the executors have tracked down a collection of Mr. Jackson’s personal memorabilia and other items that were almost auctioned off last April to pay debts. The items, which included artwork and several glittery, white gloves that had been at the singer’s Neverland Ranch, had been stored in several locations around Los Angeles.

The model for Mr. Jackson’s posthumous business empire is Elvis Presley. “When you look at what the Presley estate has done, you see the opportunities here,” Mr. Branca said. “I quite frankly think this will be a bigger estate.”

Mr. Presley’s estate generated $55 million in revenue last year, according to Billboard, the music industry trade publication. In 2004, Robert Sillerman, a New York music entrepreneur, purchased 85 percent of Elvis Presley Enterprises, the business umbrella for Mr. Presley’s intellectual property rights and Graceland, for about $100 million.

Business aside, Mr. Branca and Mr. McClain — a judge has named them special administrators and could decide in October to name them permanent executors — remain at odds with Katherine Jackson, Mr. Jackson’s mother, who is a beneficiary of 40 percent of the estate. In July, Mrs. Jackson sought to wrest control of the estate from the executors, but was denied by a judge.

“Both McClain and Branca certainly are aware of our intentions to have Mrs. Jackson have a seat at the table, because I believe that her sensibilities with respect to the legacy of Michael bring a very important and valuable dimension to any kind of plans,” said L. Londell McMillan, a lawyer for Mrs. Jackson.

More recently, Mrs. Jackson and her legal team have sought, in behind-the-scenes negotiations, to have her named as an additional executor or as a co-trustee, a move that Mr. Branca and Mr. McClain have resisted, partly because they say that having a beneficiary also serve as a trustee could result in more taxes being owed.

Instead, a more likely possibility is that another member of the Jackson family would be named as a co-executor or co-trustee, according to Mr. Branca.

Mr. McMillan said of the potential negative tax implications, “that’s not a legal position we support. The research we’ve done allows for tax avoidance with respect to our request.”

While Mr. Jackson’s will stipulated that Mr. Branca and Mr. McClain had authority over running the business affairs of the estate, they are aware that their efforts will be more successful if relations with the Jackson family are collegial. Mr. Branca said, “We’ve always been open to a dialogue with Mrs. Jackson about what is best for the estate.”

Mr. Jackson’s estate has been valued at several hundred million dollars. It contains some big assets, including a 50 percent stake in Sony/ATV, a music publishing partnership that includes the rights to the Beatles catalog; Mr. Jackson’s own song catalog; and Neverland Ranch. But there also are large debts, because of Mr. Jackson’s free-spending ways. While Mr. Jackson’s portion of Sony/ATV was worth an estimated $500 million at the time of his death, he had about $300 million of debt against it held by Barclays.

Despite speculation, Mr. Branca said, “we do not contemplate selling any portion of Sony/ATV.”

Beyond 2009, Mr. Branca and others estimate the business of Michael Jackson could generate about $50 million to $100 million annually.

“We are very optimistic about the revenue we will generate,” said Howard Weitzman, a lawyer for Mr. Branca and Mr. McClain. “But we also have to be sober about the debt the estate has.”

The overall value of Mr. Jackson’s business, were it to be sold in the future like Mr. Presley’s was, would most likely be several hundred million dollars, said Mark Roesler, chairman of CMG Worldwide, a licensing firm that has worked with the estates of Mr. Presley, Marilyn Monroe and James Dean.

“You have someone who left a mark on six billion people in the world,” Mr. Roesler said.

“If you put a value of $110 million on Elvis Presley’s intellectual property rights, that’s a baseline. It’s certainly in the hundreds of millions of dollars.”

Neverland Ranch itself could become a future moneymaker, just like Elvis Presley’s Graceland. Some family members hope that Mr. Jackson will be buried there, but that decision has not been made. Neverland is owned in partnership with Colony Capital, a Los Angeles real estate company that stepped in when Mr. Jackson was on the brink of foreclosure.

Another idea is to establish a permanent Michael Jackson attraction in Las Vegas, which would house the late singer’s memorabilia. This option may be preferable to Neverland, because Las Vegas is more easily accessible to tourists.

In life, Mr. Jackson faced a precarious financial future, as he piled on debts to finance his tastes in art, to travel on private jets and to keep up Neverland. In death, his estate may enjoy the financial security he never had.

Ben Sisario contributed reporting.

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Two months after the sudden death of Michael Jackson, the cable channel A&E confirmed on Tuesday that Mr. Jackson’s brothers will be the subjects of a reality television series.

While the channel acknowledged that the series had been ordered, it did not announce a format or a premiere date for it. The channel remains in negotiations with the program’s production company, Point 7 Entertainment.

The series amounts to a bet by A&E on enduring interest around the Jackson family, in particular the former members of the Jacksons band.

A&E had announced a one-hour special about the brothers before Mr. Jackson’s death on June 25, creating speculation this summer that the project would be expanded to series length.

The one-hour special was expected to show Jermaine, Jackie, Marlon, Randy and Tito Jackson as they prepared for a possible reunion.

Jodi Gomes, an executive producer at Point 7, said in an interview Tuesday that A&E had already ordered the series before Mr. Jackson died. She said that the expanded series would be about the band “as they reunite as brothers, obviously underneath a cloud of tragedy.”

Filming of the brothers started last January. It is believed that Michael was not filmed for the original one-hour special. Ms. Gomes said she could not comment on any involvement by Michael because of confidentiality agreements with his representatives.

A number of entertainment publications have said that the brothers’ ties to Michael were strained, but Ms. Gomes said the brothers each had “their own individual relationships” with the singer. She rejected assertions by critics that the series was an endeavor by the Jackson family to cash in on the singer’s death.

“To anybody that says the family is capitalizing on Michael’s death, it will be evident in the first episode that that’s not true,” she said, adding that most of the family had yet to talk publicly about Michael.

In a statement, Bob DeBitetto, the president and general manager of A&E, said the network had developed a relationship with the Jacksons “over the course of the last year” and said he expected a long partnership with them.

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MICHAEL JACKSON29

Marty Markowitz, the Brooklyn borough president, will present a proclamation declaring the day Michael Jackson Day in Brooklyn. The Rev. Al Sharpton will supply the prayer. DJ Spinna will supply the music.

On Saturday, thousands are expected to fill the Nethermead meadow in the center of Prospect Park to celebrate Mr. Jackson’s life on what would have been his 51st birthday. The party, originally planned as a block-party-style gathering for 2,000 in Fort Greene Park, was moved to Prospect Park, which is larger, to accommodate a crowd that organizers believe could grow to 10,000.

The free event will be from noon to 5 p.m., rain or shine.

The celebration is being organized by the director Spike Lee, who filmed Mr. Jackson in Brazil for the music video for “They Don’t Care About Us,” a controversial song from Mr. Jackson’s 1995 album, “HIStory: Past, Present and Future, Book I.” Mr. Jackson went back into the studio to change some of the words in the song after the album was released, in response to accusations that the lyrics were anti-Semitic.

In an interview this month with The Root, an online magazine on black culture, Mr. Lee said of the party: “It’s going to just be how we do it, Brooklyn style, I’ll leave it at that. It’s going to be a joyous, festive, celebratory party.” He also said: “We’re of the same era. I wanted my Afro to be perfectly round like Michael’s, all that stuff.”

Paul J. Browne, the New York Police Department spokesman, said that while the police did not have a precise estimate of how many people would attend, they had suggested moving the party from Fort Greene Park to Prospect Park to better handle a bigger crowd. “It seemed reasonable to anticipate over 2,000, and that it would be more prudent to have a larger venue as a result,” he said.

Tupper Thomas, the administrator of Prospect Park, said the park as a whole, and the meadow in particular, could easily handle 10,000. An annual Halloween event at the Nethermead usually draws about 8,000. “We’ve had events in that location that had up to 40,000 and 50,000,” she said.

Organizers of another event at the park Saturday, a ceremony rededicating the Maryland Monument, which honors Revolutionary War soldiers who fought in the Battle of Brooklyn, said they were not worried about overlap. Their event begins an hour earlier — and is far smaller — than the Jackson party.

One of the elected officials scheduled to speak at the Jackson party is City Councilwoman Letitia James of Brooklyn, whose recent remarks to a reporter that the Hoyt-Schermerhorn subway station should be renamed or co-named after Mr. Jackson sparked much debate. The music video for Mr. Jackson’s 1987 hit song “Bad” was filmed by Martin Scorsese at the station.

Ms. James said on Thursday that she simply advocated having a plaque placed at the station in honor of the singer, not actually having the station renamed. “I have worked on a lot of issues — education, affordable housing, crime,” she said. “I’ve never received more e-mails than I did as a result of this recommendation.”

Jeremy Soffin, a spokesman for the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, said that New York City Transit, the arm of the authority that operates the subways, prohibits plaques and memorials from being placed in stations. “Regarding naming rights, we are in the process of developing guidelines and protocols to pursue appropriate sponsorship opportunities, but we are not considering naming for memorial purposes,” Mr. Soffin said in a statement on Thursday.

When it comes to eclectic tributes to pop culture, the borough of Brooklyn does not disappoint.

Also on Saturday, fans of the 1979 cult film “The Warriors” will gather on Coney Island to mark the film’s 30th anniversary. The movie, about a New York street gang trying to get from the Bronx to Coney Island while being pursued by rival gangs, captured, in campy fashion, the graffiti-tagged grit of New York in the 1970s and ’80s and later became the basis for a video game by Rockstar Games.

Mr. Jackson and “The Warriors” do have one link, the kind shared by nearly all New Yorkers — the subway. Scenes for the movie were shot in the Hoyt-Schermerhorn station as well.

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MICHAEL JACKSON29

The office of the Los Angeles County coroner confirmed Friday that it had ruled Michael Jackson’s death a homicide. It said the cause was a mixture of the powerful anesthetic propofol and the anti-anxiety drug lorazepam, both of which, previously disclosed court documents say, Mr. Jackson’s doctor has acknowledged administering to him the day he died.

“The manner of death has been ruled: homicide,” the coroner’s office said in a brief statement.

It said the full coroner’s report and a complete toxicology report were being withheld at the request of the police and the district attorney’s office, whose investigation continues.

That investigation has focused on the role played by the last physician to treat Mr. Jackson, Dr. Conrad Murray, a cardiologist who was acting as the entertainer’s personal physician at the time. Court documents filed by the authorities in July say they suspect him of manslaughter.

Some of those documents, filed in Texas so the authorities could gain permission to search Dr. Murray’s office and storage unit there, quote him as telling investigators that in the six weeks before death, he administered propofol intravenously to Mr. Jackson nightly to help him sleep. On June 25, the day Mr. Jackson died, Dr. Murray again gave him propofol, briefly left the bedroom of the star’s home here and returned to find him unconscious.

Dr. Murray has denied any responsibility for Mr. Jackson’s death, and the doctor’s lawyer, Edward Chernoff, criticized the coroner’s office Friday for releasing only a brief summary of the autopsy results, telling The Associated Press that doing so seemed to him “gamesmanship.”

The office’s summary said that along with propofol and lorazepam, Mr. Jackson had several other drugs in his system, including midazolam, an anti-anxiety medication; diazepam, or Valium; lidocaine, a local anesthetic; and ephedrine, a stimulant and decongestant.

Propofol, normally used to anesthetize patients for surgery, is extremely fast-acting. Medical experts say that if a patient receiving it is not carefully monitored with instruments that measure oxygen levels, blood pressure and heart rate, it can quickly cause problems.

“It affects your breathing and can cause significant diminishing of respiration, to the point where it could actually stop respiration,” said Dr. Ken Elmassian, an anesthesiologist at Ingham Regional Medical Center in Lansing, Mich. “It can also drop your blood pressure and set up a scenario where your heart and brain’s not getting enough oxygen.”

These effects can be compounded when there are other drugs in the system, especially those like lorazepam, a member of a class of medications called benzodiazepines. Benzodiazepines also slow breathing, and Mr. Jackson was given three different benzodiazepines in the six hours before receiving propofol, according to court documents.

As the coroner’s office issued its summary, Jerry Brown, the California attorney general, announced Friday that his office had also undertaken an investigation into Mr. Jackson’s death.

“Responding to a request from the L.A.P.D.,” Mr. Brown said, “agents from my office will investigate several physicians whose names have come up in the course of the Michael Jackson death inquiry.”

Pam Belluck contributed reporting.

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MICHAEL JACKSON29

More than two months after he died, and following a steady trickle of gossip over how and where he would be laid to rest, Michael Jackson was entombed Thursday night at a highly guarded mausoleum in a Los Angeles suburb.

Taylor, Lisa Marie Presley, Macaulay Culkin, Quincy Jones and many other celebrities, attended the nearly 90-minute ceremony behind the gates of the heavily guarded Forest Lawn cemetery here, several miles north of downtown Los Angeles.

With closed streets, nervous guards, restricted airspace over the grounds and family and friends arriving in a multi-vehicle motorcade, the proceedings took on the feel of a presidential visit.

Small clusters of fans of Mr. Jackson, one of the biggest-selling entertainers of all time, gathered at blockaded streets around the cemetery, with one group unfurling a large white banner that read, in part, “Gone too soon.”

Members of the news media — 460 people from the around the world received credentials — far outnumbered the fans, and they greeted every car turning into the gated grounds with a bouquet of camera flashes and quizzical looks. Was that Ms. Taylor? Joe Jackson, the family patriarch? Corey Feldman?

It was. They and other guests were shown for a short time on a video feed from the invitation-only service before it ended abruptly as Mr. Jackson’s brothers, wearing single white gloves in homage to their brother, opened the back door of a hearse.

After the service, the family released a statement, saying, “Michael Jackson reached his final resting place tonight at 9:43 pm PST in The GreatMausoleum at Glendale Forest Lawn Memorial Park.”

“The pallbearers were Michael’s five brothers: Jackie, Tito, Jermaine, Marlon and Randy Jackson,” the statement continued. “At the beginning of the ceremony, Michael’s children placed a crown on their father’s coffin to signify the final resting place of the King of Pop.”

Gladys Knight sang the gospel hymn “His Eye Is on the Sparrow,” the statement said, and songwriter Clifton Davis sang “Never Can Say Goodbye,” the hit he wrote for the Jackson 5.

Afterward cars streamed out, and the family planned a private reception at a restaurant in Pasadena.

A memorial service attended by several thousand fans, family members and friends had already been held for Mr. Jackson, 50, who died June 25. The memorial, on July 7 at the Staples Center in downtown Los Angeles, took place in the arena where he had been rehearsing for a series of London concerts expected to revive his career.

But the family never announced burial plans, and news station helicopters lost track of the hearse carrying his gleaming gold coffin after it left the arena.

Representatives of Mr. Jackson inquired about a burial at the Neverland Ranch he lived in for several years until after his acquittal on child molesting charges in 2005, but that proposal would have entailed months of red tape, local and state officials said.

A couple of weeks ago, his family announced he would be entombed at Forest Lawn Glendale, joining Walt Disney, Clark Gable, Carole Lombard, W. C. Fields and many other famed Hollywood figures.

The cemetery covers 300 verdant acres and includes the statue-studded, castle-like Great Mausoleum that was chosen as Mr. Jackson’s final resting place.

The cemetery prides itself on a high level of security, with guards shooing away loiterers and restricting mausoleum visits largely to people authorized by the family of the deceased.

Mark Masek, who maintains cemeteryguide.com, which tracks entertainers’ graves, said that several weeks ago guards stopped him from taking pictures outside the mausoleum and forced him to delete the images.

“They are not kidding,” he said, predicting that fans would have trouble finding and documenting Mr. Jackson’s crypt.

“If they wanted to restrict access and keep people out, they could not have picked a better place,” he said.

William Martin, a spokesman for the cemetery, declined to discuss security arrangements for Mr. Jackson’s crypt or what steps might be taken to keep out unwanted visitors.

“We are very cognizant of what may happen in the near future, and we are taking the necessary steps,” he said.

A judge Wednesday approved Mr. Jackson’s estate paying the costs, with the total described in court papers as “extraordinary,” but the actual amount blacked out. A Glendale police spokesman, Tom Lorenz, said police costs would be no more than $150,000 and would be paid by the family.

The family bought a bloc of 12 spaces in the mausoleum as a single unit.

“Mrs. Jackson and her family wish to honor her son by a funeral that seeks to offer solace to his multitude of fans and by which the family also may be comforted,” Burt Levitch, a lawyer for the singer’s mother, Katherine Jackson, wrote in a court declaration.

The investigation into Mr. Jackson’s death continues. The coroner has ruled that he died from a mix of the anesthetic propofol and another sedative, injected by someone.

Mr. Jackson’s personal physician, Dr. Conrad Murray, has told investigators he gave Mr. Jackson a mix of drugs, including propofol, to help him sleep, but it is unclear whether Dr. Murray will face criminal charges. Dr. Murray’s lawyer has said the doctor did not cause Mr. Jackson’s death.

Rebecca Cathcart contributed reporting from Los Angeles.

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MICHAEL JACKSON29

Jackson to Be Entombed in Historic Mausoleum Among Famous Hollywood Icons. Elizabeth Taylor, Barry Bonds, Chris Tucker, the Reverend Al Sharpton and other mourners are taking their seats outside the mausoleum where Michael Jackson has been laid to rest in the famous Forest Lawn cemetery mausoleum in Glendale, Calif.

The Jackson family arrived an hour late to at the cemetary in five Rolls Royce Phantoms and a line of black Cadillac Escalades along with a police escort. His children, Paris, Prince Michael and Prince Michael II, were among the first of the family to take their seats in the front row next to their grandparents Katherine and Joe Jackson.

The former child actors and onetime friends of the singer, Macaulay Culkin and Corey Feldman, sat amongst family and friends. His ex-wife Lisa Marie Presley was also in attendance.

The Jackson brothers, Jackie, Tito, Jermaine and Marlon wore matching black suits, red ties and black armbands. When the golden coffin arrived, piled high with flowers and crown on top, the brothers were the pall bearers.

Debbie Rowe, the controversial mother of his children, was absent.

When it was over Katherine Jackson appeared extremely weary and had to be helped to her car afterward, a person who attended the funeral told the Associated Press.

Gladys Knight's emotional rendition of the "Our Father" hymn, closed the ceremony.

Michael Jackson Guarded, Even in Death
Officials and family representatives have remained tight-lipped about the precise location of Jackson's final resting space, but the mausoleum contains the bodies of many of old Hollywood's elite, including Gracie Allen, George Burns, Nat King Cole and Walt Disney.

Prior to the service, officials ammended Jackson's death certificate to reflect the Los Angeles coroner's ruling that his death was a homicide. Previously listed as "deferred," the certificate now says Jackson's death was caused by "injection by another."

Although Jackson's life was played out in the public eye, it seems the King of Pop will finally get the peace he always craved -- Forest Lawn discourages sightseers with its managers and security becoming experts at keeping gawkers at bay.

"We have force mulitpliers," said Sgt. Tom Lorenz of the Glendale Police Department. "We call that our canine units and we call that our air support unit, and also we have some undercovers."

The mausoleum is home to a breathtaking stained glass rendition of Leonardo Da Vinci's iconic painting "The Last Supper." It's a fitting piece of art for Jackson's final resting place as the singer once famously commissioned a "Last Supper" portrait for his bedroom, with himself in the place of Jesus Christ and other famous faces as his disciples.

Forest Lawn has already demonstrated its privacy prowess in the more than two months since Jackson died of cardiac arrest, caused in large part by the use of propofol, a powerful anesthetic typically used only in hospital operating rooms.

After Jackson's body was brought out in the shimmering gold casket for his July 7 memorial service at the Los Angeles Staples Center, it was brought back under cover to Forest Lawn, although it's not known for sure where his body has been stored up until now. Some have speculated that the moonwalk master has been kept in the crypt of Motown founder Berry Gordy.

While the city of Los Angeles was largely responsible for the estimated $1.4 million it cost to provide security and other services for Jackson's memorial service, the family has already requested that his estate pay for police costs related to today's service, a request that was granted Wednesday by Judge Mitchell Beckloff. No official dollar amounts for the Forest Lawn service were released in court documents, but a Glendale police official told the Los Angeles Times that today's service would run upward of $150,000.

Michael Jackson to Be Entombed as Death Investigation Continues

The service comes a week after the Los Angeles medical examiner's office released its findings that ruled Michael Jackson's June 25 death a homicide, caused primarily by acute propofol intoxication with benzodiazepine as another contributing cause.

Other prescription drugs, including Midazolam, diazepam, lidocaine and ephedrine, were also found in Jackson's system.

The news of the autopsy results seemed only to further tighten the net on Dr. Conrad Murray, the personal physician hired to care for Jackson in the months leading up to his 50-concert "This Is It" tour that was to open at London's O2 arena in July.

Murray's lawyer has said that the doctor immediately started CPR after finding Jackson unresponsive and not breathing and called 911 a half-hour later, but authorities say Murray found Jackson in bed around 11 a.m. and the call to 911 did not come in until just before 12:30 p.m.

According to police reports and phone records, Murray also made several calls on his cell phone between 11 a.m. and the time 911 was called.

After the coroner's report was made public, Murray's lawyer, Ed Chernoff, released a statement, saying, in part, "Much of what was in the search warrant affidavit is factual. However, unfortunately, much is police theory. Most egregiously, the timeline reported by law enforcement was not obtained through interviews with Dr. Murray, as was implied by the affidavit."

Murray told investigators that he had been trying to wean the singer off propofol, which Jackson had been using as a sleep aid. The doctor also came under fire in the days after Jackson's death after the 911 call revealed Murray had been attempting CPR on the bed instead of the floor, per standard protocol.

A series of search warrants for Murray's home and offices in Houston and Las Vegas revealed the doctor was being investigated by the LAPD and federal agents for manslaughter and administering drugs to an addict.

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MICHAEL JACKSON29

The kid says he's Michael's son -- and now, so does the Jackson family patriarch, Joe Jackson. In an interview with TV One, Joe Jackson asserts Omer Bhatti, a 25-year-old dancer and aspiring rapper from Oslo, Norway who once traveled the world with Michael Jackson, lived at the singer's Neverland ranch and was referred to by the Jackson family as "Michael J," is the pop icon's estranged fourth child.

Asked if he knew Bhatti was Jackson's son, Joe Jackson said, "Yes, I knew he had another son, yes I did."

He added: "He looks like a Jackson, he can dance like a Jackson. This boy is fantastic dancer -- matter of fact, he teaches dance."

Bhatti came under renewed scrutiny earlier this month, when the British newspaper The Sun reported Bhatti is seeking a DNA test to find out if he's really Jackson's child.

Bhatti has features similar to Jackson and shares an uncanny resemblance to his youngest son Prince II, known as Blanket.

Not everyone connected to the family is as certain as Joe Jackson that Bhatti is the pop icon's flesh and blood. But one thing is for sure: Bhatti, who was seated on the front row at Jackson's memorial service next to Jackson's children and siblings, occupies a special place in the Jackson family.

In Vienna earlier this month, Jackson's brother Jermaine Jackson said Bhatti would be welcomed into the family, if he's proven a Jackson.

"If Omer's his son, he's his son," Jermaine Jackson told Britain's the Daily Mail. "We won't deny it. We are going to give him the same love and care that we give Prince and Paris and Blanket. I can't clearly say if he is Michael's, but I saw this kid around him."

Jermaine Jackson said Jackson's eldest sister Rebbie seated Bhatti up front next to the family.

"My sister went and got him during the service and got him to sit closer to my mother," Jermaine Jackson said.

Since the memorial service, Bhatti has remained in Los Angeles and been seen playing at the Jackson family compound with Michael Jackson's three children -- Prince, Paris and Prince II -- according to the Daily Mail.

Stacy Brown, a Jackson biographer who once worked as a family spokesman, said he first began hearing about Bhatti in 1992, when he would have been 8.

"He would tell them [the Jackson family] that he was Michael's son," Brown said. "The fact is, he is not Michael's son."

And no, his mother's name is not Billie Jean, the title of Jackson's pop hit in which he famously sang, "The kid is not my son."

Bhatti's mother, Pia, worked as Michael Jackson's first nanny, taking care of Prince, according to Brown. His father, Biz, reportedly worked as one of Jackson's drivers.

Following Jackson's death on June 25, Pia told a reporter: "He was the King of Pop. But for us he was so much more."

Since then, the parents, who returned to Oslo, have refused to answer reporters' questions about Bhatti's parentage.

"Michael took him [Bhatti] in and took his parents in, he would travel the world with him," Brown said. "He lived at Neverland for a long time and moved out when Michael left Neverland."

"Maybe Michael loved him like a son, treated him like a son, and maybe he [Bhatti] felt like Michael was really his father," said Stuart Backerman, a former family spokesman. "But I just don't buy that he's his son."

Backerman believes if Bhatti really were Jackson's son, Jackson long ago would have acknowledged it, especially in light of how close he was to his three children.

In 2004, Us Weekly reported that Jackson did, indeed, acknowledge that he was the father. A source told the magazine: "Jackson has told his closest associates Omer's mom's was a Norwegian with whom he had a one-night stand."

An ex-Jackson associate who requested anonymity told ABCNews.com he remembered Bhatti from his days at Neverland.

"He was this kid who fawned over Michael Jackson on a trip overseas, so he became one of Michael's 'little friends,'" the former associate said. "When Michael met a new friend the parents often come along. His parents worked at Neverland for a while. It wasn't Michael's kid. This elaborate 'Billie Jean' scenario is ridiculous. Don't you think he would turn up in the will?"

Bhatti became a Jackson impersonator.

"Nobody called him Omer, they called him Michael J.," said Brown. "Ever since he was a little boy he would make himself up to look like Michael. They would wear the same -- hat, pants, shoes, even socks. Michael loved it."

Now he's an aspiring rapper who goes by the stage name O-Bee.

He also has remained a staunch defender of Jackson. Bhatti was living at Neverland when Los Angeles police raided the estate in 2003 looking for evidence of child molestation.

An investigator later testified before a grand jury that Bhatti became nervous when he was asked about pornography.

He "seemed to have trouble forming a sentence. It was almost like a stutter," the investigator, Jeffrey Ellis, said on the stand.

Ellis testified that when he questioned Bhatti about the consumption of wine and alcohol, referred to as "Jesus Juice," he saw "that same type of uneasiness in him that I noticed when I started talking to him about pornography."

Last year, Bhatti recalled the day police swooped in.

"It was totally sick. It was the whole squad from Santa Barbara Police Department," he told a reporter. "We didn't know why they were there. Michael was not at home." Ultimately Bhatti appeared only on the defense's list of prospective witnesses.

After Jackson returned to Neverland following his arrest, the family held a welcome home party with "Soul Train" host Don Cornelius and comedian Tommy Davidson, Brown said Bhatti was there.

"He walked with the family -- they had a little procession -- and he sat up front with the family next to the stage," Ellis said.

There were other kids like Bhatti who lived and traveled with Jackson. Brett Barnes toured the world with the pop star, sleeping with him almost every night, as his sister testified to at Jackson's child molestation trial. But none of the kids seem to have stuck around as long as Bhatti.

Maybe that's why he had a front-row seat with Jackson's family at the singer's memorial.

"It was a rightful place for him," said Brown. "He grew up around Michael and really had a bond with him." (ABC)

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MICHAEL JACKSON29

Christian Audigier, the self-made French fashion mogul close to Michael Jackson who plans to purchase his last home, on Thursday said he expects to have the keys to the Los Angeles mansion in two weeks time.

Audigier however said he had been unable to obtain authorisation to turn the vast house into a museum as hoped, so would instead open it every June on the anniversary of Jackson's death at 50, and organise exhibits and shows.

"I can have the house in one month now," Audigier, who said he is worth 250 million dollars, told AFP in an interview. "I get the keys two weeks from today."

The vast Holmby Hills neighborhood home, believed worth over 30 million dollars, currently belongs to Audigier's associate and the boss of his fashion company Hubert Guez.

Jackson had been "in great shape" in the weeks before his death, added the 51-year-old multi-millionaire.

"He was very skinny but he was a dancer too," he said. "He was very involved with the London concert. What happened was very sad.

"The guy was very happy to come back on stage."

Audigier, in Paris on the day of Jackson's funeral for the French launch of his Los Angeles-based celebrity clothing brands, expressed regrets over missing the burial.

"I miss him," he said. "God bless him."

Few in France would recognise Audigier, but in the United States the designer has become one of the country's hottest exports after his creations turned him into almost an overnight darling of Hollywood's biggest stars.

Madonna, Mariah Carey, Sylvester Stallone, Britney Spears, Puff Daddy and Kanye West are among fans of his flamboyant tattoo-inspired street-wear.

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MICHAEL JACKSON29

TMZ has learned the Jackson family has an after-party scheduled to begin right after Michael Jackson's funeral tonight -- a party they're calling a "Celebration of Life."

The family will go straight from the Forest Lawn cemetery in Glendale to a place called Villa Sorriso Ristorante -- an Italian joint in Pasadena.

The restaurant's Executive Director of Operations has confirmed that Randy Jackson made the reservation several days ago and "bought out the facility for the night."

The exec also tells us several members of the Jackson family have been regulars at the place for years.

We're told the restaurant is expecting around 275-300 people to attend.

Read more: http://www.tmz.com/2009/09/03/jackson-family-the-burial-after-party/#ixzz0Q7kv2xVi


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MICHAEL JACKSON29

Michael Jackson was laid to rest on Thursday at a funeral attended by family and celebrities, more than two months after the pop star died at age 50 of a drug overdose that has been ruled a homicide.

Tight security kept fans, reporters and even aircraft well away from the Forest Lawn cemetery in the Los Angeles suburb of Glendale, where Jackson will lie in the stellar company of such Hollywood icons as Walt Disney and Humphrey Bogart.

Jackson's family arrived at the cemetery more than an hour late, driven in a procession of nearly 30 limousines and cars that passed a small crowd of fans and onlookers.

The singer -- who sold millions of albums worldwide with hits such as "Thriller" and "Billie Jean" -- died of a drug overdose on June 25 in what the Los Angeles County Coroner said was a homicide.

Officials said a cocktail of prescription medication, including the powerful anesthetic propofol and sedative lorazepam were the primary causes of his death.

Police have investigated several doctors who treated Jackson, focusing on his personal physician, Dr. Conrad Murray, who was at his bedside when he suffered a heart attack in a rented Los Angeles mansion.

Murray was hired by concert promoter AEG Live in the weeks before Jackson's death to watch over him as he rehearsed for a series of comeback concerts in London, scheduled to start in July. Those concerts were to have helped the singer pay off debts and shore up his finances.

Police have said they will seek criminal charges in the case but so far officials have not filed any.

But scandal was likely far from the minds of the Hollywood celebrities who attended the service, including actress Elizabeth Taylor, child star Macaulay Culkin and Jackson's ex-wife Lisa Marie Presley, daughter of Elvis Presley.

Jackson's final resting place is a crypt in the Grand Mausoleum, a vast, mock-Renaissance building on the stately property. His body had been kept at the cemetery since his public memorial service at a basketball arena in downtown Los Angeles on July 6.

The Jackson estate will reimburse the Glendale Police Department for its expenses, estimated at up to $150,000. The city of Los Angeles absorbed the estimated $1.4 million cost of the memorial service.

(Editing by John O'Callaghan)
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MICHAEL JACKSON29

Few fans gathered — and those who did were kept at a distance — to say goodbye to Michael Jackson.

Dozens of die-hard King of Pop devotees congregated in the heat outside a security perimeter that stretched for several blocks around the entrance to Forest Lawn Memorial Park. Gregg Harris from Irvine, Calif., was among the first to arrive hours before Jackson's Thursday night service was scheduled to begin.

"There's not really much to see," said Harris, sitting at a nearby bus stop, dressed from head to toe in black, including an "In Remembrance of Michael Jackson" T-shirt and hat. "I just wanted to be in the area. Hopefully, I can see the family go by."

Later in the afternoon, Courtland Llauger and his friends stood outside a nearby strip mall, struggling to hold up an 80-foot-long banner that read "The King of Pop, Michael Jackson, Gone Too Soon." Llauger said he was hoping that other fans would join them to help hold the banner up.

"All of the fans around the world that couldn't make it, this is for them," he said.

Across from one security border, a raucous group of adults and children gathered around a car parked next to a hamburger joint. As the vehicle blasted "Billie Jean," a few of the children danced for the camera crews who trekked over from the front of the cemetery. They later disbanded.

As the sun set, more fans stationed themselves at the edges of the security perimeter, hoping to see something — anything — while guests arrived. Catherine Montoya drove from Commerce, Calif., with her 9-year-old son but could only glimpse the cemetery's fountain in the distance.

"I wish there were more fans here," she said, weeping. "I know they're out there."

After the service was under way, the number of onlookers dwindled. Jesse Hudson remained on the sidewalk, singing along to "Thriller" on a boom box and clutching a Styrofoam tombstone he plastered with pictures of Jackson. He said he would stay there until the family drove away.

"I just want to say goodbye," Hudson said, "and blow them kisses."
AFP
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MICHAEL JACKSON29

A glittering gold coffin adorned with a crown carried Michael Jackson to his final resting place here as family and friends saluted the tragic "King of Pop" in a poignant farewell.

More than two months after the singer died from a drug overdose, around 200 mourners gathered at a picturesque cemetery in suburban Los Angeles to celebrate the singer's life.

Jackson's children -- Prince Michael 12, Paris, 11, and seven-year-old Prince Michael II, otherwise known as "Blanket" -- placed a crown on their father's flower-laden coffin before the service got underway

Unpredictable to the last, Jackson was late for his own funeral, his ornate casket set down before mourners more than 90 minutes after the service had been scheduled to start at 7:00 pm local time (0200 GMT).

Jackson's brothers -- all dressed identically in black suits and each wearing a solitary white glove in tribute to the pop icon -- served as pallbearers as the coffin was removed from the hearse.

Hiss children reportedly left notes in their father's coffin reading "Daddy we love you, we miss you."

Mourners made spontaneous tributes to Jackson in a service held away from the prying eyes of hundreds of media personnel gathered outside the Forest Lawn Memorial Park, home to a who's who of late Hollywood legends.

Soul legend Gladys Knight sang the gospel hymn "His Eye Is on the Sparrow," while lyricist Clifton Davis belted out his hit song "Never Can Say Goodbye."

Following the ceremony, Jackson's brothers carried their sibling's casket into Forest Lawn's imposing Great Mausoleum, followed by guests.

"Michael Jackson reached his final resting place tonight at 9:43 pm (0443 GMT) in The Great Mausoleum at Glendale Forest Lawn Memorial Park," a statement from the Jackson family read after the service.

"The Jackson Family wishes to once again thank all of Michael's fans around the world for their generous outpouring of support during this terribly difficult time."

Earlier, a convoy headed by six Rolls Royce luxury limousines transported Jackson's family to the cemetery.

Other guests included Hollywood icon Elizabeth Taylor, actor Macaulay Culkin and outspoken rights activist Reverend Al Sharpton, who posted on micro-blogging site Twitter during the service.

"What MJ went through was so unfair, yet he succeeded," Sharpton said. "In the end, he was the biggest artist ever. He faced the headwinds but he made it."

Invites to the ceremony urged mourners to celebrate Jackson's life.

"We loved him, we laughed with him, we sang with him. We danced with him. But on this day, we celebrate him," the invite read.

The mausoleum housing Jackson is also home to Hollywood icons Clark Gable, Jean Harlow and Carole Lombard.

Other stars buried elsewhere at Forest Lawn include Humphrey Bogart, James Stewart, Spencer Tracy and Walt Disney.

Thursday's service contrasted with the lavish public memorial held at the Los Angeles Staples Center in July, which was attended by 20,000 fans and beamed live around the world to an estimated audience of one billion.

Police had cordoned off the neighborhood surrounding the cemetery after earlier urging fans to stay away from the event. Police helicopters, sniffer dogs and plain-clothes officers patrolled the 300-acre (120-hectare) cemetery, on the lookout for any fans trying to gatecrash the service.

But the law enforcement presence did not deter pockets of fans who gathered at the police perimeter, carrying posters of Jackson and playing his music on a stereo. "Anything is worth it for Michael," said one woman carrying a "Thriller" poster.

Jackson's delayed funeral followed months of speculation about the exact cause of his death and reported divisions within the singer's family about where he should be buried.

Elder brother Jermaine had said he wanted the star to be interred at his Neverland Ranch estate north of Los Angeles. Jackson fled the property in 2005 after being acquitted on child molestation charges.

Los Angeles coroners said last week that Jackson's death was being treated as a homicide and revealed that he had six drugs in his body when he died, including the powerful anesthetic propofol.

The coroner's announcement fueled speculation that authorities may charge Jackson's personal physician, Conrad Murray, in connection with the death.

Jackson, one of the most influential figures in pop music history whose four-decade career included the highest-selling album of all-time -- "Thriller" -- had been preparing for a July concert comeback at the time of his death.(AFP)

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MICHAEL JACKSON29

Michael Jackson, his gold coffin topped by a bejeweled crown placed there by his children, was laid to rest Thursday night at a funeral more than two months after his death and, because of his family's tardy arrival, nearly two hours late.

The King of Pop was mourned by celebrities including Elizabeth Taylor, Barry Bonds and Macaulay Culkin at a private service outside the elaborate Forest Lawn Glendale mausoleum where Jackson was to be entombed.

As the hour-and-a-half service ended, Jackson's mother appeared extremely weary and had to be helped to her car, according to one guest at the service. The person, who asked not to be identified because of the sensitivity of the day, said the service was simple but touching and emotional.

Gladys Knight sang "His Eye is on the Sparrow," and Clifton Davis sang "Never Can Say Goodbye," a tune he wrote for the Jackson 5. A minister spoke briefly.

Friends of the Jackson family were invited to speak and several did, telling of their admiration of the Jacksons, who raised themselves up from poverty. They recalled Michael Jackson's sense of humor — if he were here today, they said, he would be laughing and smiling.

Afterward, the mourners stood and followed the crowned, lushly flower-draped casket as his five brothers — each wearing a bright red tie and a single crystal-studded glove — carried it into the mausoleum. The guest said Katherine Jackson had a difficult time going into the mausoleum; she was overcome and turned back, and it wasn't clear if she went in at all.

Jackson's daughter Paris, 10, cried as the group entered the mausoleum, but she and brothers Prince Michael, 12, and Prince Michael II, 7, known as Blanket, were composed through most of the service. The children placed on Jackson's casket the spangled crown, which rested atop a plume of white and purple flowers.

Inside, Knight performed "Our Father" (The Lord's Prayer), which the guest said moved many to tears. There were two oversized portraits of a youthful, vibrant Jackson mounted next to the casket amid displays of white lilies and roses. At Jackson's lavish public memorial, red roses covered his casket.

No explanation was given to mourners for the service's delay. The 77-year-old Taylor and others were left waiting in the late summer heat, with the temperature stuck at 90 degrees just before sunset. Some mourners fanned themselves with programs for the service.

Police had escorted the family's motorcade of 31 cars, including Rolls-Royces and Cadillacs, from Encino to Forest Lawn, about a 20-minute journey, with the hearse bearing Jackson's body at the end.

The invitation notice indicated the service would begin promptly at 7 p.m.; it began closer to 8:30.

About 250 seats were arranged for mourners over artificial turf laid roadside at the mausoleum, and a vivid orange moon, a mark of the devastating wildfire about 10 miles distant, hung over the cemetery.

A large, blimp-like inflated light, the type used in film and television production, and a boom camera hovered over the seating area placed in front of the elaborate marble mausoleum. The equipment raised the possibility that the footage would be used for the Jackson concert documentary "This Is It," or perhaps the Jackson brothers' upcoming reality show.

Nearly double the number of media credentials, 440, were issued to reporters and film crews who remained at a distance from the service and behind barricades.

The Rev. Al Sharpton, who gave a rousing eulogy at Jackson's public memorial two months ago, posted on his Twitter account — while the service was still under way — that he made a repeat performance Thursday night.

"I just spoke at the conclusion of tributes," Sharpton wrote. "Gladys Knight sang her heart out. Now we prepare to lay him to rest."

The few clusters of fans who gathered around the secure perimeter that encircled the cemetery entrance struggled to see much. Maria Martinez, 25, a fan from Riverside, Calif., who was joined by a dozen other Jackson admirers at a gas station near the security perimeter, gave a handful of pink flowers to a man with an invitation driving into the funeral.

"Can you please put these flowers on his grave?" she told him. Martinez said she picked them from a nearby park.

"They were small and ugly, but I did that with my heart," she said. "I'm not going to be able to get close, so this is as close as I could get to him."

The man consented, adding, "God bless."

Glendale police said all was going smoothly early in the evening and there were no arrests.

Jackson will share eternity at Forest Lawn with the likes of Clark Gable, Jean Harlow and W.C. Fields, entombed alongside them in the mausoleum that will be all but off-limits to adoring fans who might otherwise turn the pop star's grave into a shrine.

The closest the public will be able to get to Jackson's vault is a portion of the mausoleum that displays "The Last Supper Window," a life-size stained-glass re-creation of Leonardo da Vinci's masterpiece. Several 10-minute presentations about the window are held regularly 365 days a year, but most of the building is restricted.

Lisa Burk, who blogs about celebrity graves at http://www.gravehunting.com, said the Jackson family chose well for his final resting place if it was privacy they were after.

"It's impossible to get in there," Burk said. "It was before, and it will be worse now."

The Jackson family had booked an Italian restaurant in Pasadena for a gathering Thursday night, said Alex Carr, assistant operations manager at Villa Sorriso, in the city's Old Town district. She wouldn't specify the menu or number of people, but said the entire restaurant, which can accommodate 200 guests, had been reserved for the event and that security would be present.

The ceremony ends months of speculation that the singer's body would be buried at Neverland Ranch, in part to make the property a Graceland-style attraction. An amended copy of Jackson's death certificate was filed Thursday in Los Angeles County to reflect Forest Lawn as his final resting place.

In court on Wednesday, it was disclosed that 12 burial spaces were being purchased by Jackson's estate at Forest Lawn Glendale, about eight miles north of downtown Los Angeles, but no details were offered on how they would be used.

The King of Pop died a drug-induced death June 25 at age 50 as he was about to embark on a comeback attempt. The coroner's office has labeled the death a homicide, and Jackson's death certificate lists "injection by another" as the cause.

Dr. Conrad Murray, Jackson's personal physician, told detectives he gave the singer a series of sedatives and the powerful anesthetic propofol to help him sleep. But prosecutors are still investigating, and no charges have been filed.

___

AP writers Derrik J. Lang, Anthony McCartney, Sue Manning, Sandy Cohen and Ryan Pearson, and AP Special Correspondent Linda Deutsch contributed to this report.

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In this handout photo provided by Harrison Funk/The Jackson Family, Rev. Al Sharpton speaks at Michael Jackson's funeral service held at Glendale Forest Lawn Memorial Park on Sept. 3, 2009 in Glendale, Calif.

More than two months his death, Michael Jackson was entombed at a private ceremony before more than 200 family and friends Thursday night. The service was delayed more than an hour by his family's tardy arrival at Forest Lawn Glendale.

Celebrities including 77-year-old Elizabeth Taylor waited in the stubborn heat for the outdoor service that was scheduled to begin at 7 p.m.

The Rev. Al Sharpton spoke at the ceremony, and Gladys Knight performed. Just before 10 p.m., Sharpton posted on his Twitter page that "Michael Jackson has been laid to rest."

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