Now Call Him the King of Popcorn : Michael Jackson’s 30-song ‘HIStory Past, Present and Future Book 1’ album gets a massive promotional push in movie theaters.

Lots of pop acts have turned to movie theaters to generate in terest in their albums, but it’s usually been in the form of a promotional video on MTV.

Epic Records and Michael Jackson think they have a better idea.

In what may be the most ambitious promotion campaign in the record industry to date, Epic will begin teasing filmgoers for Jackson’s upcoming album around Memorial Day with a short film that one source describes as “extremely grand and very conceptual.”

Epic plans to place the four-minute film in theaters around the country, but there’s no word yet on which movies it will be paired with. Jackson’s “HIStory Past, Present and Future Book 1” album, a two-disc set with 15 old hits and 15 new songs, is due in stores June 20.

Surprisingly, there will be no music from the album in the film, whose budget is rumored to be around $4 million. A source who has seen the film describes it as Jackson’s “irreverent view of history that combines pieces of his own history. He emerges at the end with a new “confident, adult” stance.

So why promote an album with a “trailer” (as Epic personnel are calling it) that doesn’t contain the music you’re trying to sell?

“It’s another example of how Michael doesn’t do things in an orthodox way,” one source said. “The idea may be just to dazzle you with his imagination. In a way, the film is selling Michael Jackson . . . not just the record.”

Jackson attended a recent all-day meeting in Los Angeles to review the promotion campaign with dozens of Epic promotion, marketing and advertising staff members from around the country.

The mood at the meeting was described as “wholly optimistic,” despite questions that have been raised in the industry about possible fan resistance to the album’s $31.98 price tag, and a backlash to old child molestation charges.

Besides being delighted with Jackson’s new music, Epic’s executives believe that pop fans will see the album as a value. In a survey of other recent albums to weigh price versus minutes of music, the company found that John Mellencamp’s “Dance Naked” offered 29 minutes of music for a $16.98 list price, while Frank Sinatra’s “Duets II” had 51 minutes for $17.98. Jackson’s album runs 150 minutes and includes a 52-page, four-color booklet.

In some of the new lyrics, Jackson reportedly reacts to the way he has been portrayed in the media in recent years. One song is even titled “Tabloid Junkie.” According to a source who has heard part of the album, the tone of that reaction is “definite anger.”