Spike Lee's Michael Jackson Documentary (Photo : Reuters)

Spike Lee preps a documentary about iconic legend, Michael Jackson, focusing on one of his greatest albums, Bad. The film will give fans and music lovers alike a glimpse into the late entertainer's artistic process behind the Thriller follow-up that sold more than 30 million copies worldwide. 

The documentary is full of behind-the-scene exclusives and never-before-seen footage. Lee, who has worked with Jackson and considered him a friend, was surprised at how much he's learned about the king of pop  through filming.

"We have footage in this documentary that no one's ever seen, stuff that Michael shot himself, behind-the-scenes stuff," he said in an interview Monday. "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."

"You don't have to be a Michael Jackson-head to enjoy this," he added.

Lee interviewed different people from Kanye West, to Mariah Carey, to L.A. Reid to Sheryl Crow, who was once Jackson's backup singer on the 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, to the follow-up to the biggest record of all time, which still is Thriller."

The untitled film, though no exact release date has been set, is slated to hit theaters this year, the year that marks Bad's 25^th anniversary.

"This year we're going to focus on the Bad album, we're going to focus on the 25th anniversary, but at the same time we're going to play his full catalog, including the Jackson 5 and the Jacksons," he said. "It's going to be even bigger and better this year."

Among the honorary documentary are other celebratory products - the 25th anniversary re-release of Bad will hit stores on September 18 and feature additional tracks, a DVD and other goods.

Other than the film, Lee plans to hold a birthday tribute to Jackson in Prospect Park in Brooklyn, New York, on August 25 - Michael Jackson's 54^th birthday. 

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