(Jacko as I’ll always remember him: singing along to R.Kelly in the backseat of Brett Ratner’s car)

Sony is paying $50 million dollars for 80 hours of Michael Jackson’s rehearsal footage, filmed while he prepared for his concert series in London.

The film will feature at least three videos, including an alternative version of Jackson’s “Thriller,” which were shot to be interstitial programming during the London concerts. The footage was meant to play in 3-D, but it’s unclear as yet whether the feature film will present it that way.

“High School Musical” director Kenny Ortega, who shot the rehearsal footage, is expected to direct the feature, and sources said he’s already beginning to put together the footage so Sony can release the film before year’s end.

Several studios were impressed when shown the footage by AEG last week. Fox, Universal, Paramount and Relativity likely would have met AEG’s asking price but knew that Sony Pictures had clear first position because sibling company Sony Music Entertainment owns music publishing rights to Jackson’s songs. [variety]

$50 million? Not even the biggest Michael Jackson fan alive would say the stuff he recorded when he was 50 years old and killing himself with drugs was his best work (clearly, the stuff he made when he was 11 and getting kicked in the nuts by his father was his best work).  I imagine this was a decision that seemed like a good idea at the height of Jacko-death fever, but will wind up somewhere between Crystal Pepsi and giving Michael Phelps a book deal on the bad idea scale.

I know how worried you guys were that High School Musical director Kenny Ortega’s Footloose remake wouldn’t happen after Zac Efron dropped out, but fear not!  It’s back on, with Chace Crawford in the driver’s seat.  Though “with Chace Crawford in the stirrups” might be a better metaphor.

With a more mature, edgy version of “Footloose” than the original, Paramount will likely benefit from the fact that Crawford’s “Gossip Girl” following skews a bit older than Efron’s “High School Musical” audience. [Variety]

If I was making something that was “mature” and “edgy,” I probably wouldn’t cast a guy who looks like a gay porn bottom.  Just sayin’.  And on a serious note, I don’t make it a habit to go around calling people gay, but Christ, look at this guy.  Is it any wonder we have to import all our action stars from England and Australia now?  Reached for comment, Jason Statham said, “Oy yeh, dat’s a fit bird, innit.  Oy fink oy knobbed dat cont da ovva noight onda hood a moy sazz wagon, now didn’t oy?”