Sony wants subpoena for This Is It raw footage annulled

On friday, Sony Studios filed a motion in which it asked the judge hearing Murray's trial to cancel the subpoena for the raw footage from This Is It movie, after a defense attorney said earlier this week that reviewing them was "a big waste of time."

Attorneys for Sony Pictures Entertainment, which owns the footage from the This Is It movie, argue that neither prosecutors nor defense attorneys should be able to show the footage during the trial.

Superior Court Judge Michael Pastor is scheduled to consider the request on Monday, but canceled plans to review the outtakes over the weekend. In a ruling, he stated that he had watched some of the 16 hours that attorneys were considering presenting to jurors, but that he would not travel to Sony studios for additional viewings on Saturday and Sunday.

Sony Studios based its motion on quotes defense attorney J. Michael Flanagan made after a hearing Wednesday in which he said the footage doesn't show Jackson was in poor health in the days before June 25.

"We believe his health is somewhat compromised, but he's not displaying it," Flanagan told reporters, adding that he thought the footage was irrelevant to the trial.

"I really think it's a big waste of time," he said.

Sony precised in its motion, writing, "If the enterprise is a waste of time, the court has stated that it has little time to be wasted."

Flanagan did not immediately return a phone message Friday afternoon.

Murray's lawyers had been hoping the unseen footage from This Is It would support their contention that Jackson was frail in the days before June 25, since previously they had said to be convinced that the movie had been conveniently cut and therefore had asked the judge to subpoena the raw footage.

Prosecutors found the footage helpful to their case and asked Pastor to allow them to use up to 12 hours of raw footage. Murray's attorneys wanted to show up to four hours from the rehearsals.

Jury selection is scheduled to begin on Sept. 8. Trial is expected to start on September 20.

MJFS

Source: AP