Jackson documentary selling out theaters

September 29, 2009 at 12:00a.m.

LOS ANGELES — The Michael Jackson music documentary is selling out theaters around the world.

According to Sony Pictures, hundreds of show times have sold out since tickets went on sale Sunday for “Michael Jackson: This Is It.”

The film was built around rehearsal footage for the late singer’s planned London concerts. It opens Oct. 28 for a two-week limited run.

Advance shows in some markets the night before also are selling out. All 3,000 tickets for screenings at a Los Angeles cinema were snapped up in two hours, with some fans lining up for nearly three days.

Sony says that 30,000 tickets were sold in the first 24 hours in London, and $1 million worth of tickets were sold in Japan within the same time period.

Lucy Vodden, inspiration for Beatles song, dies

LONDON — The real life Lucy from the Beatles’ song “Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds” has died after a long fight against lupus.

The death of Lucy Vodden at age 46 has been announced by St. Thomas’ Hospital in London, where she was treated. The hospital said Monday she died after battling the disease for years.

Vodden came to the attention of John Lennon when the Beatle’s young son Julian came home from school one day with a drawing that he said was “Lucy in the sky with diamonds.”

The elder Lennon turned it into a psychedelic masterpiece long associated with LSD use.

Julian Lennon reached out to Vodden in recent years as she suffered from the disease.

Lupus is a chronic illness during which the immune system attacks the body’s own tissue.

Conductor recovering

DESTIN, Fla. — A Florida Panhandle conductor is recovering after falling 14 feet into the empty space below a movable orchestra pit on the opening night of an opera he had written.

David Ott fell Friday after the debut of “The Widow’s Lantern,” an original work written for the Pensacola Opera. He broke nine vertebrae, dislocated his shoulder and may have broken an ankle.

The accident happened when the lights were off and Ott went to retrieve his music, not realizing the Pensacola Orchestra pit had been raised to stage level. He says he landed flat on his back on the concrete basement floor below and that he was lucky his injuries were not more severe.

He was recovering at home Monday and hopes to conduct again soon.

Today’s birthdays

Actress Brigitte Bardot is 75. Singer Ben E. King is 71. Writer-director-actor John Sayles is 59. Actress-comedian Janeane Garofalo is 45. Actress Mira Sorvino is 42. TV personality Moon Zappa is 42. Actress Naomi Watts is 41. Rapper Young Jeezy is 32. Actor Peter Cambor (“NCIS: Los Angeles”) is 31. TV personality Bam Margera is 30. Actress Hilary Duff is 22.