For nearly all of his life, Michael Jackson provided a spectacle for the world’s attention. His memorial service continues that mission beyond his death. The event is to be held at 1 p.m., Eastern Time on Tuesday at the Staples Center in Los Angeles. Mr. Jackson’s remains will be taken to the memorial. ArtsBeat will be providing up-to-the-minute reports and live video of the Michael Jackson memorial. Refresh this post for the latest updates.
Mariah Carey Takes the Stage | 1:39 p.m. Mariah Carey performs “I’ll Be There.” The song was a late addition to the set list on her MTV Unplugged special. Now she’s likely the second most well-known interpreter of the song.
She’s joined by Trey Lorenz, who performed the song with her at a Save the Music benefit in 2005.
Give Love to the World | 1:37 p.m. Pastor Lucious Smith, a friend of the Jackson family, now takes the stage. “First and foremost, this man was our brother, our son, our father and our friend.”
“In his very beautiful and very human heart, Michael Jackson wanted nothing more than to give love to the world.”
“May this moment of remembrance, a moment of healing, a moment of music and amoment of love, bring comfort and healign to those who loved our friend,” he said.
Andrae Crouch Choir | 1:33 p.m. The Andrae Crouch Choir has taken the stage and begun performing a service for Michael Jackson.
The crowd bursts into applause as the choir sings, “We are going to see the king.”
Jackson’s casket, covered in flowers, is visible at the foot of the stage.
Long Silence | 1:21 p.m. Brooks Barnes reports that there is an eerie silence during long pause after Smokey Robinson. Whispers in the audience: Is the family going to sing? Is there something wrong with the body? Is something wrong with the microphones? Ushers still frantically trying to move far-flung people into empty seats down front.
Inside the Staples Center | 1:16 p.m. From Brooks Barnes: Music stopped at 10:10 a.m. (Pacific Time) and ushers frantically started moving people in empty areas. A glance throughout showed over 100 empty seats. An usher said the order was to move people so there were no empty seats on camera (which undoubtedly would anger those who were turned away).
From Rebecca Cathcart: The motorcade and hearse just entered a parking structure on the east side of the Staples Center. The casket was obscured by mounds of red and white flowers draped on top of it as it sat in the back of a charcoal-gray hearse.
On the opposite side of the building, the late comers ran across the street to get in line by the theater entrance. Police officers checked their purses and the contents of their pockets. One officer leaned against a sculpture near the door and sang softly to himself lyrics from “Billie Jean”: “…She says I am the one, but the kid is not my son.” He caught me looking and him and laughed, but refused to give his name.
Fans clustered around a black curtain in the hallway shrouding the arrival of V.I.P.’s. Ushers tried in vain to move the people along. Dignitaries pulled up in SUV’s and dark sedans, in awards-show fashion. But they walked a black carpet into the arena quietly and press was at a minimum.
Service Begins | 1:13 p.m. The ceremony has begun with remarks from Smokey Robinson reading a statement from Diana Ross, who sends her love and condolences for her absence.
“Michael was a personal love of mine, a treasured part of my life,” the statement says.
“We mourn with his family and his friends, for the loss of our dear friend.” — Nelson Mandela
‘Nothing Low Key’| 1:09 p.m. One last batch off comments from Fox News’s Shepard Smith: “It’s notable that even on the day of the funeral…the whole thing is kind of a freak show.”
“With great respect, I’ve seen nothing low key, I’ve never seen one low key thing in his entire life. And right now, we have an entire six lane freeway shut down so that the hearse and the ten range rovers, which we’re given to them for a day’s use…I mean, if they were shooting for low key, they get an F.”
Kobe Bryant Arrives | 1:05 p.m. Brooks Barnes reports: Cheers erupted from a side door in the Staples Center where V.I.P.’s have been entering. The dark-suited man was Kobe Bryant. People briefly stood and cheered.
Report From Los Angeles | 1:01 p.m. Rebecca Cathcart reports from Los Angeles: Small groups of fans without tickets clustered quietly around street corners near lines of police officers. Inside the barricades, people milled around, taking pictures of each other in front of large flatscreens showing a slide show of photographs of the singer.
A man wearing a black suit and fedora reached above a small crowd to write on a large white board near the street covered with messages written by fans over the past few days.
Sarah Chen, 28, and Michelle Liu, 27, reached around a line of people to photograph the wall, the entrance to the Staples Center, and any other trappings of the day.
Michelle: “we’re lucky enough to come and experience this. I want to capture the memento to share with other people who weren’t so lucky.”
Jackson Finances | 12:55 p.m. Hilary Rosen, the former president of the Recording Industry Association of America, tells CNN that Jackson’s estate is likely to be out of debt after a few months, between sales of Jackson’s albums and a possible transaction involving his stake in Sony/ATV music publishing.
Jacksons Heading to Staples Center | 12:50 p.m. CNN is now broadcasting the Jackson family motorcade and the hearse carrying Michael Jackson’s coffin arriving at the Staples Center.
Report From Staples Center | 12:39 p.m. More from Brooks Barnes: Ushers handed out free eight-page programs that contained glossy photos taken almost entirely in the 1980s or earlier (Michael and President Reagan, Michael and his brothers performing). Printed around the pictures were messages from friends and family, with Tito offering, “My brother developed a shoe that showed resistance to gravity. What a man!” and his sister Rebbie quoting Bible passages (John 5:28-29, Psalms 37:29). LaToya’s note was by far the longest, taking up an entire page. (”Mike I love you deeply and I can’t wait to see you perform again. Keep the magic going!!!”)
‘Nothing Like This’ | 12:37 p.m. Shep Smith, the Fox News anchor, has offered some of the most colorful commentary of the morning so far: “I remember when the king Elvis Presley died…they were bringing his funeral procession down Union Avenue in Memphis, but I mean, nothing, nothing like this.”
“I don’t know what I had anticipated happening between Forest Lawn and that, but I hadn’t really anticipated this…I’m led to believe that they have shut down portions of freeways throughout the morning across greater Los Angeles.
“The morning rush on a Tuesday is hell on wheels anyway and they’re shutting down freeways for this funeral?”
Report From Staples Center | 12:31 p.m. Brooks Barnes reports: The mood at the Staples Center changed markedly inside the darkened arena, which was illuminated only with the glow from television monitors displaying his star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame and birth and death dates and a smattering of blue and white lights.
Music came from the early part of his catalog — more “Ben,” less “Billie Jean” — and many people sat silently in their seats. A few clusters held hands and wiped tears from their eyes with white handkerchiefs. Dress ranged from suits and ties to micro-mini skirts to jeans and aviator sunglasses (inside, even in the dark). A number of women were dressed in all black or all white, and some wore corsages.
‘Dunk’ | 12:16 p.m. CNN is now broadcasting the 30-car motorcade of the Jackson family departing the private funeral for Michael Jackson and making its way to the memorial service.
People.com has photographs of the front cover and the back cover of a memorial program being given out at the Michael Jackson memorial service at the Staples Center.
The back cover features the testimonial: “To the world Michael is an icon. To me Michael is family. He will forever live in all of our hearts. He will forever live in all of our hearts. I miss you Mike and I love you.” — Dunk (Dunk was Michael Jackson’s childhood nickname for his sister Janet, because he said she looked like a donkey.)
On MTV | 12:06 p.m. Mark Goodman, one of the original MTV VJs, says on a morning broadcast devoted to the funeral coverage: “Michael Jackson made us, and we made him, but I think he made us first.”
MTV airing its original commercial for ‘Thriller’
“Hold onto your seats, hold onto your arms, hold onto everything — it’s Michael Jackson’s ‘Thriller.’” A tag line adds, “A short film by John Landis that will scare you out of your seats.”
The “bug” or graphic appearing on the bottom right-hand corner of MTV’s screen today is its classic logo (with the giant letter M) and a black ribbon.
A Sense of Foreboding | 12:02 p.m.
Our colleague Brooks Barnes reports from Los Angeles: “Many Angelinos woke up Tuesday with a sense of foreboding. Local radio shouted warnings to stay away from downtown if you didn’t have a ticket to the Michael Jackson memorial.
One local television station erroneously reported that “tens of thousands” of people were already ignoring the ticket admonition, Woodstock style. Television monitors throughout the city’s subway system flashed warnings that downtown stations could close without warning due to a “special event” that went without saying. The scene at the Staples Center at 8 a.m. was surprisingly placid if not exactly calming, with packs of police officers riding by on horseback (with the horses outfitted in riot gear) and the buzz of helicopters overhead.”
Broadcasting Around the Globe | 11:32 a.m.Variety is reporting that numerous European broadcasters are clearing their schedules tonight so that they can show the Michael Jackson funeral in prime time.
In Britain, the service will be shown on BBC Two and the BSkyB satellite channel. Germany will broadcast on its public ARD and ZDF channels. Italy will show coverage on Italia Uno, a youth-oriented channel, and Australia will be broadcasting on its ABC channel.
Also, the broadcasting company Clear Channel Radio will be carrying the Michael Jackson service on a special channel devoted to the memorial .The broadcaster estimates that it played Mr. Jackson’s songs over 23,000 times in the week following his death. (By comparison, on the day preceding Mr. Jackson’s death, his songs received only 168 spins total.)
Another outlet devoting significant coverage to the Michael Jackson memorial service is Sirius XM, the subscription satellite radio service. Radio host Carol Ford will offer listeners live reports and updates from the service on its ’70s and ’80s channels, as well as The Heat, Heart & Soul and Soul Town channels. Jamie Foxx’s channel the Foxxhole will air the tribute live, and its Playboy Radio morning show will send Ola Ray, Jackson’s co-star from the “Thriller” video, to the Staples Center to deliver live reports for the channel. (Ms. Ray is a former Playboy model and Playmate.)
SIRIUS XM’s CNN and Fox News channels will also carry today’s tribute live. CNN airs on SIRIUS channel 132 and XM Radio channel 122. Fox News airs on SIRIUS channel 131 and XM channel 121.
Watching in Theaters | 11:25 a.m. For Jackson fans who weren’t able to obtain tickets to the memorial service but want to view it in a setting other than their living room, the Cinedigm chain of movie theaters will be simulcasting the event in theaters around the country, from Mobile, Ala. to Johnston, Iowa, to Missoula, Mont.
Jackson Family Arrives | 11:13 a.m. The Jackson family can now be seen arriving at the Forest Lawn ceremony on MSNBC.
Monitors at the Staples Center and the Nokia Theater are displaying images and video of Michael Jackson, but not video of the Jackson family arriving at the private funeral ceremony.
Family Heads to Forest Lawn | 11 a.m. At about 10:57 a.m.. Eastern Time, MSNBC broadcast video of the Jacksons departing their family compound in Encino, Calif., as they make their way to a private funeral to be held at Forest Lawn Memorial-Park in Glendale.
The cable channel tells us this is the same cemetery where celebrities like Bette Davis and Lucille Ball are buried. Amazingly, MSNBC said that some of the 8,750 pairs of tickets to the Jackson memorial service were not picked up by lottery winners and were given to other fans at the Staples Center this morning.
The Jackson Memorial | 9:27 a.m. The memorial service for Michael Jackson is to be held at 1 p.m. on Tuesday at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, the same arena where he had been rehearsing for the “This Is It” concerts billed as both a comeback and a possible farewell. Now it will house a state funeral for the King of Pop, who died on June 25 at age 50.
Mr. Jackson’s remains will be brought to the Staples Center for the memorial, said William J. Bratton, the Los Angeles police chief.
The announced lineup for the memorial includes current pop stars Mariah Carey, Usher, John Mayer, Jennifer Hudson as well as a delegation from Motown, the label that nurtured Mr. Jackson as the child star of the Jackson 5. There are also figures from sports (Magic Johnson, Kobe Bryant), politics (Al Sharpton, Martin Luther King III), movies and television (Brooke Shields) and the church (the Andrae Crouch Choir).
Some 17,500 fans and admirers will be in attendance (chosen by lottery from more than 1.6 million applications) with another 6,500 watching a simulcast in the nearby Nokia Theater, some wanting to pay their respects to a beloved performer, others hoping for one final blast of entertainment from Mr. Jackson’s realm of fantasy, razzle-dazzle and perfectionism.
NYTimes will have live video of the event right here in ArtsBeat. The service will also be covered live by all of the broadcast networks, the cable news channels CNN, MSNBC and Fox News, and entertainment channels including MTV, BET and E!. Online social networks like MySpace and Facebook will also be hosting streaming video and inviting commentary. By day’s end, the event will likely be seen a worldwide audience larger than the one that tuned in for the inauguration of President Barack Obama.
Beyond the starting time and the lineup of guests, details about the memorial service remain uncertain. Will it be somber? Celebratory? Personal? Spiritual? Promotional? There’s no predicting. It’s also not clear what plans the Jackson family have made for his private funeral, or how Los Angeles will accommodate the thousands upon thousands of pilgrims who have come to the city for the event.
source:artsbeat.blogs.nytimes.com
You might also like
|
|
|
|
|
