‘BAD 25’ Documentary: A Tribute to the King of Pop Michael Jackson [PHOTOS]
Film director Spike Lee, known for his work on "Do The Right Thing" and "When the Levees Broke," is a long-time fan of the late Michael Jackson. His latest documentary, "BAD 25," revisits the King of Pop's successful 1987 album "Bad" and pays tribute to the talented music legend.
"I think 'Bad' is not given the credit that it's due. I think that Michael, his artistry, his creativity has been overlooked and people were focused on other stuff," Lee said in a recorded interview last September on CBC's Q cultural affairs show.
"I just wanted to be truthful. This was not going to be some Wacko Jacko wack-job. We weren't doing that. We wanted to concentrate on the man's gifts, his work ethic and the creative process with the collaborators," the film director further stated.
"BAD 25" went back to all of Michael Jackson's collaborators with Spike Lee himself interviewing them about the Michael Jackson that they knew. The documentary showed hours of behind the scenes archival footage from the time of "Bad" and collection of interviews with other famous music artists like Kanye West, Cee Lo Green and Mariah Carey who admitted they were inspired by Michael Jackson.
"BAD 25" also looked back at the factors that made the album a success and reflected on the price that Michael Jackson had to pay for his tabloid image. "After that it was out of control. And there's a price for it. In fact, the new CD Bad 25 comes with eight or nine songs that didn't make the Bad album. One of them is called The Price of Fame," Lee revealed. The 55-year-old film director even argued that the media became so obsessed on the "Wacko Jacko" image and missed out on the real and creative music genius.
"Everything that Michael did was calculated. Dirty Diana, we're going after the hard rock. I Can't Stop Loving You, this is our ballad. Every single song was designed for a specific demographic," screenwriter Richard Price stated. With hit tracks like "Man in the Mirror" and "The Way You Make Me Feel," "Bad" became the first record album in history to produce five consecutive number one singles on the Billboard chart.