Buzz is building around Spike Lee's Michael Jackson documentary, Michael Jackson's Journey From Motown to Off the Wall.
Industry insiders and media get a look at the official premiere Jan. 24 at the Sundance Film Festival in Utah. The rest of us will have to wait until early February to see the film, which documents the late music superstar's pre-Thriller life and career, when it airs on Showtime.
To promote the documentary, Lee talked to Billboard about the film and some other issues -- such as controversial Republican candidate Donald Trump.
When asked by Billboard about the time period the documentary covers -- before Jackson was a tabloid staple -- Lee said: "Back in 1979, there was no big pressure on Michael for Off the Wall. There were no expectations. It all turned up after Thriller -- things get complicated when you sell the most records ever. People got swept up in Thriller, but Off the Wall's my favorite of the three records he did with Quincy Jones. Many people say that in the documentary, too."
The documentary, due out on Showtime Feb. 5 , will feature interviews with Jackson's father, Joe, and mother, Katherine, as well as brothers Marlon and Jackie. Vulture reported it will also feature commentary from music-industry megafans of Jackson, including Questlove, Pharrell, L.A. Reid, John Legend, The Weeknd and celebrities Kobe Bryant and Lee Daniels.
When Billboard asked Lee about a more contemporary topic -- Donald Trump -- he said: "It's bananas now, the stuff he's saying. When he says, 'Make America great again'? What great are you talking about? Great like when women and black people couldn't vote? Great like when gay people couldn't get married? There is a feeling that the stature of the white man is not what it used to be. When you're down on your luck, you look for a scapegoat."
