High praise....

Elizabeth Taylor has high praise for the new movie about her late friend Michael Jackson.

The 77-year-old actress said Michael Jackson’s “This Is It” is “the single most brilliant piece of filmmaking” she has ever seen, according to Us Magazine’s Web site.

Although Taylor said she first saw the documentary last week, she was sworn to secrecy until Monday, and in a series of dozens of Twitter posts, she said that she “wept from pure joy at his God-given gift” and was “honored with the great privilege” of seeing the film.

“It cements forever Michael’s genius in every aspect of creativity” she posted. “To say the man is a genius is an understatement. He cradles each note, coaxes the music to depths beyond reality ... There will never, ever be the likes of him again. And we have this piece of film to remind us forever and ever that once there was such a man.” She added: “You owe it to yourselves and your loved ones to see this again and again. Memorize it and say to yourselves, “I saw genius in my lifetime.’ ” Based on rehearsal footage shot while Jackson —who died in June at age 50—was preparing for his series of comeback concerts in London, the movie opened worldwide Tuesday night.

On the mend...

Eric Clapton has pulled out of this week’s Rock and Roll Hall of Fame concert in New York after undergoing gallstone surgery.

Kristen Foster, a publicist for the guitarist, said Tuesday that Clapton, 64, was doing well and recuperating with his family in England.

The hall says Jeff Beck will replace the guitarist for Friday night’s show at Madison Square Garden.

Clapton was to perform as part of a two-night celebration in honor of the hall’s 25th anniversary. Beck now joins U2, Aretha Franklin and Metallica for the final night.

The Thursday lineup includes Crosby, Stills and Nash; Stevie Wonder; and Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band. HBO will air the concerts Nov. 29.

Clapton’s Web site says he remains committed to his 2010 concert schedule.

Surviving ‘witch hunt’ ...

“Survivor” winner Richard Hatch says he’s the victim of a “witch hunt” by federal prosecutors.

Hatch completed a tax evasion sentence earlier this month. He complained to NBC’s “Today” show Tuesday that he was taken from his sister’s apartment while wearing boxer shorts in August and held in solitary confinement for 30 days after granting TV interviews without permission.

He called it “the worst time of my time in prison.”

But Barnstable County, Mass., Sheriff James Cummings says Hatch refused to get dressed when deputies arrived to take him to jail. The sheriff also disputes that Hatch was in solitary confinement.

Cummings calls Hatch “a stranger to the truth.” A spokesman for the U. S. Attorney’s office in Providence,

R. I., would not comment. Hatch was convicted in 2006 of failing to pay taxes on the $1 million he won in 2000 on the CBS reality show.