Michael Jackson, Rehearsal Footage | featured news

In the hall of million-dollar dead stars, Michael Jackson will be king. Jackson's estate is expected to make £120million in what is left of 2009 and he will rise to become the top-earning of dead stars. Executors for Jackson have already run up £60million from merchandising contracts and the Sony Pictures movie of his recent rehearsal footage.

Sony Corp.'s movie studio has bid $50 million to acquire the worldwide distribution rights to a film based on rehearsal footage for Michael Jackson's "This Is It" comeback concert series, according to a person familiar with the bid.

A 30-second snippet of Michael Jackson rehearsing two days before his death was released Thursday, part of more than 100 hours of footage that could be turned into live albums, a movie and a pay-per-view special, the promoter said.