Marking the 25th Anniversary of the release of Michael Jackson’s “Bad” album, filmmaker Spike Lee’s documentary “Bad 25” will hit select theaters in New York and Los Angeles for a one-week only engagement. Fans in other cities will be able to catch the movie around Thanksgiving when it is scheduled to air on ABC, according to the “Hollywood Reporter.”
The film previously screened at the Venice Film Festival and Toronto International Film Festival earlier this year. The much-anticipated documentary includes footage shot by the King of Pop himself as well as interviews with entertainers including Mariah Carey, Kanye West, Sheryl Crow and L.A. Reid. Also included are interviews Lee filmed with Jackson’s confidants, choreographers musicians and collaborators including Martin Scorsese and Joe Pytka who worked on the “Bad” videos.
The “Bad” album marked a turning point for Jackson since it spawned the pop star’s first world tour as a solo artist. Jackson released three more albums following “Bad.” Jackson died on June 25, 2009 after being administered a dangerous mix of sleeping pills and heavy duty anti-anxiety drugs, Jackson’s personal physician, Dr. Murray Conrad was convicted of involuntary manslaughter in the entertainer’s death and is currently serving 4 years in a Los Angeles County jail.
Lee worked with the Jackson estate to cull the rare footage included in the film. Lee “has done a masterful job taking the audience behind the scenes and revealing how this ‘coming of age’ project was created,” John Branca and John McClain, co-executors of the estate, told “USA Today.”
Also released to commemorate the quarter century mark of one of the most successful albums in recording history is a special 25th anniversary box set of the album, which includes never-before-released tracks and rare concert footage of Jackson performing at Wembley Stadium in London. The box set also includes a remastered version of the “Bad” album and a second disc with 13 rare and previously unreleased bonus tracks.
The box set sells on Amazon.com for about $35.
