There are few people who love Michael Jackson as much as Spike Lee, and even while his mooted “Brooklyn Loves MJ” was unable to get off the ground, he's found another way to express his admiration for the performer. Following a series of strong festival showings this past summer and fall, ABC has started to spread word about his Jackson doc, “Bad 25,” slating a TV airing this holiday season.
Tracking the creation and response to Jackson's essential 1987 album, “Bad 25” also boasts a large selection of interviews with collaborators and fans like Martin Scorsese, Questlove, and Kanye West, many of which you can see in the newly-released TV spot. More of a paean to Jackson's creative process than his personal life, the doc also features a large chunk of behind-the-scenes footage — much of which was released from his family's estate into Lee's more than capable hands. They're obviously big fans as well, as Lee spoke to us in August regarding their relationship, and said “they wanted to do Bad, they're going to do all three [albums] eventually…they're opening up all of his archives, there's stuff in this film that no one's ever seen before, ever, ever.” Those "three" presumably might mean Bad, Off the Wall, and Thriller. Asked if he would direct them, Lee said it would be up to the estate. Here's to hoping.
So a plethora of new insight into MJ's albums looks to be coming up, and considering we called “Bad 25” “fascinating, warm and immensely watchable stuff” after catching it at Venice, we can't wait to see the results. Luckily, ABC are hoping so too, and you can check the TV spot out below before the documentary premieres on Thanksgiving. But if you're in New York or Los Angeles, you can see it on the big screen in a one week run starting today at the AMC Loews or Chinese 6 respectively.