Calling it his “love letter” to Michael
Jackson, director Spike Lee premiered his documentary “Bad 25” at the Venice film festival revisiting the King of Pop’s hit album a quarter of a century after release.
Jackson, who died in 2009 at age 50, created a buzz on the Lido even before the screening, with the festival’s loudspeakers belting out his songs over the course of the afternoon. “Bad 25” is a track-by-track tour through the recording of Jackson’s 1987 album and the world tour that followed, reported The Guardian.
“You could say I grew up with Michael Jackson. I was born in 1957, he was born in ’58. And when I saw the Jackson Five on the Ed Sullivan Show I wanted to be Michael Jackson. I had the Afro, the whole Jackson look. But the singing and dancing – that’s where it stopped,” said Lee.
The project already has been sold: ABC will air the 126-minute film around Thanksgiving in the U.S. Lee was presented with the festival’s Glory to the Filmmaker award, handed out each year in Venice to an industry figure who brought “great innovation to contemporary cinema.”
It is the sixth year that the prize has been given out in Venice; recent recipients include Al Pacino, Mani Ratnam and Sylvester Stallone. (PTI)