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Spike Lee to Direct Michael Jackson Documentary

The film will focus on the King of Pop’s Bad album.

With last month marking the third anniversary of Michael Jackson’s death, Spike Lee is aiming to celebrate the singer’s true legacy: his music.

 

The director is combing through footage to helm a documentary focusing on Jackson’s Bad album. And once the project is completed, it sounds like it’s going to be a special goldmine for all King of Pop fans.

"We have footage in this documentary that no one's ever seen, stuff that Michael shot himself, behind-the-scenes stuff," Lee told the Associated Press. "We had complete access to the vaults of Michael Jackson. ... He wrote 60 demos for the Bad record. Only 11 made it. So we got to hear a lot of that stuff, too, so it was just a great experience."

Lee’s currently untitled documentary is timed to commemorate the 25th anniversary of Jackson’s Bad, which was the follow-up to the history-making Thriller. The Bad album will be re-released on September 18 and will include a DVD and bonus material.

In addition to showcasing his music, Lee’s film also aims to show the personal side of the iconic legend and promises a lot of footage that highlights Jackson’s “funny, great sense of humor.”

The Red Hook Summer director also interviewed several music artists including Kanye West, Mariah Carey, L.A. Reid and Sheryl Crow, who was a background singer for Jackson during his Bad tour. "We really divided it into two things: Artists today who were influenced by Michael, and then people who worked side by side — musicians, songwriters, technicians, engineers, people at the label, who were all committed to Michael,'" he says.

Lee’s documentary is due to hit theaters later this year, but so far no release date has been announced.

 

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 (Photo: Mark Davis/Getty Images For BET)

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