I told you first, on July 21st. that Sony would release its Michael Jackson movie on October 30th.

Well, now it’s official. The movie was one of several deals for Michael Jackson’s estate that were approved yesterday.

But the entire court proceeding endured a curve ball yesterday. The reason? The judge in the case decided ‘ mostly because of crazy lawyering on the Jackson family side ‘ that a separate lawyer should be chosen to represent Michael’s kids.

This effectively knocks out Katherine Jackson’s legal team having anything to do with the kids, who are the main beneficiaries of the estate.

And how did this happen? Katherine Jackson’s lawyers started objecting to the sound deals being made by the estate’s executors involving merchandising and Michael’s likeness, as well as his deal with AEG Live. The judge hearing the case was then pushed to bring in a law guardian for the kids.

Katherine Jackson’s side’s nitpicking looks it has cost her her legal and monetary ties to the children.

This is similar in a way to what happened on the Monday after Michael died. Knowing full well that a will would be presented to the court, but not knowing what was in it, Katherine’s side went ahead and told the court that Michael died without a will. This meant that only his heirs ‘ his kids ‘ would inherit the estate. If that had gone through, instead of the will which made it to court later, Katherine Jackson would have screwed herself out of her portion.

So far, so good, for the Jackson estate executors. They’ve made great strides in the last six weeks, a real accomplishment considering what they’re up against.

Michael Jackson’s “This Is It” show may wind up in Las Vegas a la the Beatles’ “Love” show at the Mirage Hotel.

Sources say that the new thinking is that “This Is It” could set up shop at a Vegas hotel and become a permanent institution in Sin City.

The sets for “This Is It” are currently being stored at the Staples Center in Los Angeles. But the cast and crew, including director Kenny Ortega, are itching to show the world what they were working on before Jackson died on June 25th.

Either way, they’ll get their chance. As I first reported, the whole saga of “This Is It” is coming to movie theaters on Oct. 30th courtesy of Sony/Columbia Pictures.

Today (Monday) under armed guard all the elements of the film project will be transferred from AEG Live’s secure editing bays to the Sony Studios. I’m told the film is basically done, but everything has to be finalized with a locked print by mid September to insure the gearing up of a massive marketing campaign. Sony paid $60 million for the film rights, but with prints and promotion that number is sure to skyrocket past $75 million.

The movie will not be the only release for Oct. 30th. I’m told Sony Music is racing to ship a CD soundtrack to accompany the film. That CD should be an enormous hit considering that right now Michael Jackson CDs are all over the charts starting at number 1, all over the world. What a shame that Michael is dead. He’s finally the King of Pop, and he’s not here to enjoy it.

Mark Lester: for years the child star of “Oliver!” lived in relative obscurity as a London area osteopath. He was Michael Jackson’s friend, but kept out of the limelight.

Back during Michael’s child molestation trial years, Lester and I spoke often. After Jackson was arrested in November 2003, Lester stayed with him on New Year’s Eve at the home that was rented for Jackson by the Nation of Islam.

Lester was also at Neverland, by coincidence, when Martin Bashir was filming “Living with Michael Jackson.”

We talked a lot about Michael, his health and well being, and his children. During all those conversations, Lester never once mentioned that he thought he was the biological father of Michael’s daughter, or that he’d donated sperm to an insemination project.

It is true that Lester rode in the car with Michael and promoter Randy Phillips to the AEG press conference at the O2 Arena last March announcing the “This Is It” concerts. And Michael often visited Lester, his wife and chilren with his own kids during his year and a half out of the U.S. following the trial.

But the former Oliver Twist as Paris’s dad? It’s unlikely. Lester, to my disappointment, seems as though he’s sold his story to the British tabloids. He’s cashed in on Michael’s death like everyone else. You can almost guess that a book is forthcoming, too: “My Friend, Michael.”

What a shame.

Lester claims his daughter resembles Paris. She does not. Harriet Lester looks just like Mark Lester when he was Oliver. She has that same bright blonde hair. Paris Jackson ‘ whom Debbie Rowe still insists was conceived in Paris, and thus is named ‘ has brown hair.

But even more preposterous is the idea that Michael, who was paranoid about his kids, would want to spend so much time with the man who was their biological father. It makes no sense.

Of course, stranger things have happened. But if Lester did feel he was Paris’s father, was going public for money the way to announce it? He certainly could have contacted Michael’s attorneys, set up quiet meetings, and done any number of things that wouldn’t have embarrassed and scared the child. And he could have done it all for free.

To paraphrase Lester’s famous line from the movie: “Please, sir, no more.”

Michael Jackson’s mother, Katherine, is a nice lady with a big heart. But she doesn’t have an MBA or any other business degree despite an Associated Press article yesterday that made it seem as though she was the Warren Buffet of Encino.

Indeed, before a judge decides to add Mrs. Jackson as a decision maker in her’son’s complicated estate, he might consider’a few things.

To wit: Michael Jackson trusted his mother because’there was no one else to trust in the’family.

At the Hayvenhurst’Ave. Jackson home, Katherine’has had to make do over the years with hand outs from Michael and daughter Janet. The household came to a’grinding halt a couple of years ago when’Michael’though he loved his mother’didn’t make payroll at Hayvenhurst or Neverland. The situation was a total disaster, with much of the remaining staff leaving their jobs. Janet finally stepped in to help out.

Katherine Jackson ‘ despite other reports that she helped Michael decide to buy the Beatles catalog ‘ in her own words, in her book, “My Family, the Jacksons,” Katherine wrote: “I’m sure that his conversations with his celebrity friends and other successful people helped Michael make the decision to buy the Beatles’ catalogue.” She knew nothing else about it.

Also, the idea that Michael had anything to do with Little Richard’s music’catalog is preposterous. Michael had little or nothing to do with the actual administration of Sony/ATV Music Publishing from when it was created’in the mid-90s.’Although the idea of Michael Jackson’as a clever businessman was advanced by press geniuses like the late Lee Solters, the company was handled by lawyers and executives including Michael’s now executor, John Branca. Michael’s involvement was simply in using Sony/ATV as a leveraged asset.