Olen Justice

"Michael Jackson's This Is It" hit movie screens nationwide at midnight, but lifelong fan Olen Justice said he doubts he will see the film in the near future -- or maybe at all.

Not enough time has passed since Mr. Jackson died in June at age 50.

"It's too soon," said Mr. Justice, 26. "I probably won't see it. He will live on, but to see stuff like that, I'd rather not. If one of my loved ones passed on, I wouldn't want to relive it. Maybe later."

The movie is scheduled to be shown in theaters for two weeks only.

Darrell Kelly, 52, said he likely will go on Friday to see the film, which documents the King of Pop's preparation for a tour that never took place.

A drummer with the locally based touring band The Malemen, which has included Mr. Jackson's hits in its set list for years, Mr. Kelly said he hopes the film shows a new side of the late singer.

"I'd seen him before and I have friends who've worked with him," he said. "I hope this one will be a little different. Since Michael hadn't been out (doing concerts) in a while, I'm hoping we see something different, so we can send him out with a bang."

The nearly two-hour documentary was culled from more than 80 hours of footage shot during rehearsals for Mr. Jackson's concerts scheduled at London's O2 Arena for July.

East Ridge 18 manager Keith Barclift said more presale tickets had been sold for today than last night's midnight showing at the cineplex.

Kendell Merrill, general manager at Battlefield 10 theater in Fort Oglethorpe, Ga., said "quite a few" tickets had been sold for the midnight showing.

Neither theater planned any other special events, though Mr. Barclift said he expected fans to attend dressed as Mr. Jackson.

IF YOU GO

* What: "Michael Jackson's This Is It"

* When: Opens today

* Where: Bijou 7, East Ridge 18, Northgate 14, Battlefield 10

* Rated: PG for some adult language and scary images

* Running time: 1 hour, 51 minutes