According to MSNBC, several people close to the King of Pop are talking to producers about competing on the next season of “Dancing with the Stars.” We’re guessing that the “Stars” part of that title is a pretty loosely defined term, because the people in question include sister LaToya, brother Jermaine, and MJ’s personal trainer Lou Ferrigno.

Would all of these people be on the producers’ radar if Michael Jackson’s unfortunate death hadn’t catapulted the Jackson name back in the headlines? Maybe not. Does anybody’s 15 minutes of fame ever run out?

The ninth season of “Dancing With the Stars” could end up resembling a reunion of Michael Jackson’s family and friends.

Lou Ferrigno, Jackson’s personal trainer and the onetime star of “The Incredible Hulk,” said he’d “definitely be interested” and has been in talks to join the show.

LaToya Jackson, Michael’s sister, is also now in discussions to become a part of “Dancing.”

“She’s a big fan of the show, and being from a musical family, it would be a good fit,” her rep told Us Weekly.

And finally, brother Jermaine Jackson, never one to let an opportunity pass him by, is throwing his hat in the ring.

“He doesn’t just think he should be on the show, he thinks he could win it all. It’s not as if he doesn’t know how to work an audience,” said a source close to Jackson. “It’s also a steady job for a while. He hasn’t had any traction with the other projects and reunion shows he’d hoped for. This could be great for him.”

(From MSNBC)

But the media giant that’s made the biggest bet is Sony Pictures, which reportedly has shelled out close to $60 million for the rights to 80 or so hours of rehearsal footage from the singer’s “This Is It” tour concert. The footage is being edited into a concert film, also tentatively titled “This Is It,” which will hit theaters on Oct. 30. No one from Sony is talking, since the final details of the deal are still in negotiation. But insiders say the lion’s share of the profits from the film will go to Jackson’s estate.

Sony gets its cut from the studio’s distribution fee on the film, though the studio also has to foot the bill for the marketing costs of the release. On the other hand, Sony has worldwide rights for the film, which extend through the movie’s ancillary life, from its theatrical release into what are normally lucrative home video and pay and free TV windows. According to insiders, Sony’s distribution fee is slightly above 10%, with escalator clauses in the deal providing the studio with a bigger cut if the film performs better at the box office.

Is it a good deal for Sony? The simple answer is: Nobody knows. There’s really no precedent for the Jackson death mania, so its impossible to say whether it will spur millions of fans to pay $11 to see footage of his tour rehearsals a full four months after he’s died…

Reuters has the story:

Internet company Akamai, which handles 20 percent of the world’s Web traffic, reported on Tuesday that it ran some 2.8 million audio and video streams during the Jackson memorial webcast, making it the most widely viewed on the Internet since Obama’s inauguration.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/foraggio/ / CC BY-ND 2.0

Famous Hollywood gossipmonger Perez Hilton is getting a lot of negative press these days, and he made more enemies over the weekend with his initial coverage of the Michael Jackson death. Fox News points out the flamboyant celeb blogger’s post on perezhilton.com, where Hilton speculated “Either he’s lying or making himself sick,” after reports of Jackson’s cardiac arrest were first released.

See more here:

Perez Hilton’s coverage of Michael Jackson’s death has brought the celebrity blogger more attention — but not because he broke any news.

The gossip hound is being slammed from all corners for dismissing the initial word on Thursday that Jackson had been rushed to the hospital, calling it a publicity stunt.

“Supposedly, the singer went into cardiac arrest …” Hilton wrote in his blog, before stating, “We are dubious!!”

“Either he’s lying or making himself sick,” the blog continued. Then it urged those who had purchased tickets for Jackson’s series of concerts in London to “get your money back!”

The post included a picture of Jackson with the hand-scrawled headline: “Heart attack or cold feet?”

Bloggers and Web site posters responded quickly and angrily. “Despicable Michael Jackson Coverage Spurs Backlash” was the headline on the social media site Mashable, which was among many reporting that outraged Jackson fans and others were flocking to the Web to slam Hilton.