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Four months ago the world lost the King of Pop. But no matter where you turn people continue to talk about Michael Jackson, his music, his children and the legacy he left behind. We’ve had plenty of tributes to talk about, including Las Vegas’ own concert which featured the young Elijah Johnson of The Lion King performing old school Jackson tunes and copying the dance moves with amazing talent. Since then there have been other tributes from group Thriller dances to documentaries, and Janet Jackson’s performance at the MTV Movie Awards. Here at BestOfVegas.com we’ve mentioned the possibility of a Michael Jackson museum opening up somewhere in Vegas, maybe even on the Strip. But there’s still a battle between Vegas and Gary, Indiana, Jackson’s hometown, to decide where the museum will finally be placed. Until that’s settled, fans were given yet another way to memorialize MJ with the premiere of This Is It, a documentary composed out of 100 hours of footage taken while Jackson rehearsed for what was to be his comeback tour. Jackson died just 2 days after dress rehearsals for the This Is It tour at London’s O2 Arena and just 10 days before the cast and crew was to fly to London. The tour was going to be a 50 show run with possibilities for a worldwide continuation. Unfortunately, Jackson would die on June 25th. It came as a shock to the entire world, especially the crew that was working with Jackson. "Michael stood out in front of the stage with me and looked at the rehearsal and said, 'This is the dream. This is the dream, good Kenny. You did it,' " director Kenny Ortega told MTV News. "I think there was this feeling in the room, in the air — we all could feel like you were on the plane, you were packed. We were going. You could see London; you could smell it." Joe Jackson, Michael’s father, was in Las Vegas to premiere This Is It over at the Brenden Theatre in the Palms Hotel and Casino. Johnny Brenden, the theatre’s owner, and George Maloof, the owner of the Palms, both presented Joe Jackson with a celebrity star. Speaking of celebrities, there were plenty of stars that came out to see the footage of MJ’s last days including, Mike Tyson, Chuck Liddell, and Rudy Clay, the mayor of Gary, Indiana. The movie was directed by Kenny Ortega, the man responsible for Vegas’ own Sirens of Treasure Island, Dirty Dancing and High School Musical. While there seems to be a 50/50 split between fans regarding the This Is It movie, it might be one of your last chances to see the King of Pop in action, so check it out!
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