Authorized Jackson photo book in the works

(Agencies)
Updated: 2009-08-13 09:03

Entertainer Michael Jackson gestures as he arrives for the second day of his child molestation trial in Santa Maria, California in this March 1, 2005 file photo. [Agencies]

LOS ANGELES – A luxury publishing company said on Wednesday it is putting together a Michael Jackson photo book that the pop star wanted to create before his sudden death about two months ago.

Kraken Opus said "The Official Michael Jackson Opus" will be available for customers through the website of concert ticket seller Ticketmaster, with delivery set for the Christmas holiday season.

Kraken said it had been in discussions with the pop star before he died, and now the book has been endorsed and approved by Jackson's estate.

The book will detail the "Thriller" singer's life and career, span 400 pages of photos and text, weigh 38 pounds, come bound in leather with a silk clamshell case. It will cost $165.

Jackson's estate has already approved a movie based on rehearsal video that was taped only days before his sudden death on June 25, and the estate is awaiting a judge's approval of a merchandising deal and a traveling exhibition of memorabilia from the King of Pop.

Jackson suffered cardiac arrest and died at age 50 in Los Angeles. Police are currently conducting an investigation that appears to be focused on the role that powerful prescription drugs may have played in his death.