Published: 11:08 AM, Tue Jul 07, 2009
Jackson funeral to be seen on local movie theater screens
A staff report
Local Michael Jackson fans will have the chance to witness the King of Pop being laid to rest this afternoon on a big screen.
Carmike Market Fair 15 at 1916 Skibo Rd. is planning to broadcast Jackson’s funeral live at 1 p.m. in the movie theater. The event is free and seats are being offered on a first-come, first-serve basis, according to a voice mail recording on the theater’s phone line. For information call, the theater at 868-9888.
A news release from Digital Cinema Corp. said the company has equipped movie theatres in 31 states to broadcast the live feed direct from Jackson’s public memorial at the Staples Center in Los Angles.
CNN reports Jackson’s body will be brought to the memorial service. According to the Associated Press, more than 1.6 million people registered for free tickets to the memorial and of those 8,750 were chosen to receive two tickets each.
Jackson’s family announced that participants at the memorial service will include Stevie Wonder, Mariah Carey, Usher, Lionel Richie, Kobe Bryant, Jennifer Hudson, John Mayer and Martin Luther King III, the AP reported.
CNN is predicting the memorial service could be one of the biggest video Web events ever. The news services estimated millions of Web users worldwide will tweet and update their Facebook status while watching the memorial.
CNN reported that it is preparing for the onslaught of Web activity on its site once the memorial starts.
“Bandwidth on the Internet isn’t limitless, but we’re doing everything we can to be as prepared as possible,” said CNN.com Web director Simit Shah in an online story on its site.
Jackson died at age 50 June 25 in Los Angeles.