Press statement: The Michael Jackson BAD documentary
You read that Spike Lee is busy making a new documentary (The Michael Jackson BAD documentary) to mark the 25th anniversary of the release of the album BAD. The documentary focuses on the videos, the world tour, and the legendary album “Bad.”
Yesterday, news related to this documentary came out:
Today it was reported that Oscar-nominated filmmaker Spike Lee, with the help of the Michael Jackson Foundation and Sony, is in the final stages of post-production on a documentary related to the BAD album and the world tour. The documentary—considered the first in-depth and meticulous examination of an album by Michael Jackson—was filmed amid celebrations for the 25th anniversary of the release of the iconic album, the record-breaking world tour, and the innovative music videos that changed the history of music.
This documentary includes more than 40 interviews with collaborators, choreographers, musicians, and Michael’s associates, conducted by Spike Lee himself. Each of these interviews reveals a part of the story of Michael Jackson’s flourishing era. The lasting impact of BAD on music culture becomes clear through interviews with some of today’s best artists such as Kanye West, Mariah Carey, Cee Lo Green, and Sheryl Crow, who performed alongside Michael on the BAD tour.
Spike Lee previously directed two video clips of “They Don’t Care About Us” back in 1996.
Lee said: “I’m not just a die-hard fan. I’ve had the chance to know him and work with him. I deeply value his legacy. With the BAD project, I was able to portray the depth of the importance of this period of his working life and bring to light untold stories that perhaps would never have been revealed.”
One of the interviewees is the great American film director Martin Scorsese, who directed the short film Bad. Joe Pytka and other filmmakers who helped Michael express the concepts of his songs through video imagery are also among the people Lee has interviewed. Michael Jackson’s music videos today are considered among the most creative and entertaining video works ever made by a musician. The list of interviewees also includes Matt Forger, who collaborated with Lee in the early stages of recording the BAD songs in Michael’s home studio in Hayvenhurst, as well as Greg Phillinganes, who played keyboards for the album and accompanied Michael on tour. Walter Yetnikoff, the former head of CBS who had gone to war against MTV with Michael’s support against racism, is also featured in this documentary. Choreographers Jeffrey Daniel and Vincent Patterson are two more interviewees.
The King of Pop Foundation said about Spike Lee’s documentary: “Spike Lee’s genius in storytelling, alongside his passion and admiration for Michael Jackson’s art, made him our logical choice to depict the story of BAD. We’re delighted with the collaboration.”
BAD was the third and final collaboration between Michael and Quincy Jones as producer. Released after the best-selling album in music history, Thriller, this album played a key role in Michael Jackson’s future career. Bad went to number one around the world, and it was the first album in which five of its singles consecutively topped the Billboard charts. Ten of the album’s songs were among the top 10 songs on music charts, and no fewer than nine creative short films were made for the songs on this album. To date, the album has sold more than 45 million copies worldwide. The album was nominated for six Grammy Awards and won two. It also brought Michael his first-ever MTV Video Vanguard Award. MTV later changed the name of this award to the Michael Jackson Video Vanguard Award.
The album tracks are:
Side one: Bad, The Way You Make Me Feel, Speed Demon, Liberian Girl, Just Good FriendsSide two: Another Part of Me, Man in the Mirror, I Just Can’t Stop Loving You, Dirty Diana, Smooth Criminal. Also, when the album was released on CD in the same year, the song Leave Me Alone was added as a bonus track.
Nine of the album’s eleven songs were written by Michael.
Sony and the Michael Jackson Foundation are celebrating Bad’s 25th anniversary by releasing Bad 25 collection on September 18.
The collection includes: three CDs, one DVD, and two photo booklets.First CD: the album BadSecond CD: unreleased BadThird CD: the audio concert album Wembley from the Bad tourDVD: for the first time, Michael Jackson’s full concert at Wembley, London, on July 16, 1988
Source: eMJey.com / MJOnline™, The Official Online Team of the Michael Jackson Estate