Michael Jackson to Follow in Elvis' Footsteps

Following in King of Rock Elvis Presley's footsteps, Michael Jackson, the King of Pop, will be afforded the opportunity to continue his career postmortem.

On Monday, Los Angeles Superior Court judge Mitchell Beckloff approved several business deals involving the late singer's estate, including the re-issuing of Jackson's autobiography "Moonwalk," due in October. Also included is a $60 million Columbia Pictures movie deal, which will utilize footage from Jackson's last "This Is It" concert tour rehearsals. The proposed contract, negotiated between Jackson's estate, "This Is It" tour concert promoter and investor AEG Live, and Columbia Pictures, will have Jackson's estate netting 90 percent of its profits.

Negotiations are still under way between lawyers for both AEG Live and Jackson's mother Katherine, a main beneficiary of the Jackson estate, regarding merchandising deals and a traveling exhibition of Jackson memorabilia that had been planned by AEG Live to coincide with the "This Is It" tour.

Additionally, Katherine Jackson, through her attorneys, has issued a demand for AEG Live to surrender rehearsal footage of the "This Is It" tour to the Jackson estate. "Under no circumstances would AEG agree to such a thing," said AEG Live attorney Kathy Jorrie, as reported by The New York Post.

Source: NY Post