New Michael Jackson film to show singer’s last days

‘Gone Too Soon’ director Ian Halperin predicted Jackson’s death at 50

LAST UPDATED 10:11 AM, MARCH 18, 2010

A second posthumous documentary about the final days of Michael Jackson promises to tell the story of "what actually happened" to the eccentric popstar. Variety is reporting that the 88-minute film Gone Too Soon will be released internationally on June 25, the first anniversary of Jackson's death.

The film's director Ian Halperin also wrote Unmasked: The Final Years of Michael Jackson which went to number one on the New York Times bestsellers list when it was published last July. He pieced together his new film from some 300 hours of footage, shot over a five-year period investigating Jackson.

While This it It - the concert film assembled from footage of the rehearsals for Jackson's London performances - was a tragic teaser for the show that might have been, Gone Too Soon will take a behind-the-scenes look at Jackson's life.

Members of the singer's camp - including his personal manager, chef, spiritual adviser, hairstylist, trainer and bodyguard have been interviewed. Although the Jackson family was not involved with the film, Halperin does interview their lawyer Brian Oxman.

Halperin's film is also likely to focus on Jackson's health problems and drug use. In December 2008 - seven months before Jackson died of a drug overdose - Halperin told a magazine that Jackson was in weak health and predicted that the 50-year-old King of Pop would be dead within six months.

Chris Grant, the president of Shine International, the film's distributor, said the film will tell "the story of what actually happened to Michael". He added that the documentary would "eventually be known as a really important piece of the Michael Jackson saga".

Despite its depiction of the more tragic aspects of Jackson's life, Halperin - who has also co-authored two books about the death of Nirvana frontman Kurt Cobain - called the movie "a balanced tribute to the King of Pop". He added: "This is the film Michael and his fans deserve."

Gone Too Soon will premiere at the Mip television festival in Cannes next month.