News in 20/02/06

Rainlotus

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,185380,00.html Monday, February 20, 2006 By Roger Friedman Jackson D-Day: It’s Here Today is a bank holiday, but tomorrow Michael Jackson faces the music, literally. His 60-day reprieve is over, and $270 million of loans held by Fortress Investments are due. Fortress can now call the notes whenever they want, snatching from Jackson his entire livelihood and his home. Ignorance, though, is bliss, and according to my sources, when Jackson visited the home of his friend Mark Lester in Britain last week, the singer never once discussed his impending financial doom. He voiced no concern about the fact that 60 Neverland employees have gone without paychecks since December 23, and that many of them are now taking second jobs or trying to refinance their homes to secure funds so they can eat and pay bills. As I wrote in this space on Friday, Sony Music is working hard to secure a deal in which Citigroup will buy the loans from Fortress. Sony will secure the debt, keep Jackson from bankruptcy court and Sony from having to deal with yet more partners. Fortress will get a nice piece of change for their year of holding the notes—possibly as much as $50 million. And then there’s Jackson’s other problems: a looming court date in a $4 million lawsuit from former partner Marc Schaffel, a $48 million suit from the cousin of hip-hop entrepreneur Damon Dash and a custody battle with ex-wife Debbie Rowe over their two children, Prince and Paris. Last week, Rowe’s parental rights were reaffirmed by a California appeals court, paving the way for a real battle now including the question of whether Jackson faked passports to take the kids out of the U.S. Last, but not least: the press release on Friday stated that Jackson’ charity single, “I Have This Dream,” featuring a cast of C-list celebrities, will be released in the next couple of weeks. As I reported in this space recently, the music for “Dream” was written by David Foster and Carole Bayer Sager for a contest. The contest winner, Ric Kipp, a Nashville songwriter, wrote the lyrics. All four names (including Jackson’s) are on the copyright, but Kipp has not been acknowledged so far in any of the publicity. Talk about charity!

Sick Roger

follow up story now its Feb 20, Roger never mention what he called "doom day" Jacko & Kanye Recording In London? Tuesday, February 21, 2006 By Roger Friedman Click image to enlarge STORIES ARCHIVE BACKGROUND •Couric Would Take $7M Pay Cut at CBS•Citigroup May Save Jackson From Debt Woes•‘Curious George’ Monkeys With Top 100•Cruise Control Getting Confused•Church Digs Mel Gibson's $5 Million•McCartney Snubs Sting, The Boss Jacko, Kanye Recording In London? | Bits & Pieces Jacko, Kanye Recording In London? The word from London over the weekend: Grammy winner Kanye West, who knows more samples than anyone in the garment district, has been working with Michael Jackson in the recording studio. I’m told that West, who played a gig at London’s Hammersmith Odeon last night, was sent by Island/Def Jam’s L.A. Reid to help Jackson with his charity single “I Have This Dream” which otherwise features a list of B-level pop stars as guests and was written for a contest. (See Monday’s column.) West would be the right person to work with Jackson, whose music could use a little modernizing. At the same time, West’s collaboration with Jackson would cement the distribution deal that Jackson’s associates have been trying to make with Reid for the charity single and a record label featuring Jackson owned by the Prince of Bahrain. But while this is going on, and Jackson and his entourage are lodged at London’s Dorchester Hotel, there’s a lot of other intrigue in the Jackson camp that now involves not one, but three different Arab entities. As I reported last week, Jackson’s business with the Bahraini prince is tenuous to say the least. But I also told you that Sony Music was trying to finalize a deal with Citigroup to buy Jackson’s $270 million in loans from Fortress Investments. Several financial insiders point out now how ironic that would be since one of Citigroup’s largest investors is none other than Prince Walid bin Talal of Saudi Arabia. In 2002 the Prince bought $500 million of Citigroup stock. He may be Citigroup’s largest investor by now. Walid and Jackson have history: in 1995, the Prince took over management of Jackson’s career, and invested a lot of money with him that he never saw again. Their association was a short one, and did not end pleasantly. It included forming a company that died on the vine. Jermaine Jackson’s interest in Bahrain, and making friends with that Prince, stemmed largely from Michael’s having burned his bridges with Walid. Perhaps fearing a new Citigroup attachment, I am told that Jackson may be trying to get friendly with yet another Arab potentate: the Sultan of Brunei. Here in the U.S., it seems like all these countries must be neighbors and all friends with each other. But Brunei, in the South China Sea, is far from Bahrain and even farther from Saudi Arabia. The Sultan, whose real name is Hassanal Bolkiah, has owned things like the Beverly Hills Hotel and the New York Palace Hotel, where Jackson has often been a guest. In 1996, Jackson was flown in to entertain Bolkiah at his 50th birthday party. Now that he may be on the outs with the Bahraini’s—and in fear of doing business again with the Saudi’s—Jackson, my sources say, is trying to get back in the good graces of the Sultan, perhaps hopeful of at last finding a savior. But Bolkiah is in a huge family dispute internally with his brother, Prince Jefri, aka “the playboy prince” which may keep him too busy to get involved in Jackson’s numerous difficulties. And that brings us back to Kanye, who no doubt will be whipping up samples from obscure R&B songs for Jackson’s single, maybe even cannibalizing Jackson’s own previous records. West is so good at unearthing nearly forgotten bits and pieces of old records that we can expect to hear Jackson’s “tweedly-deedly dee” from “Rockin’ Robin” or maybe elements of “Goin’ Back to Indiana” cut up and sprinkled like parmesan cheese throughout “Dream.”

Rainlotus

Is Roger always say something like this?