When we interviewed Spike Lee last month, he told us, "we will be having our 2nd annual Michael Jackson birthday Brooklyn extravaganza in Prospect Park on August 29th. It's going to be bigger and better this year. People come the world over." He was less enthusiastic when asked about the film he's working on, which shares a name with the event—Brooklyn Loves Michael Jackson. He said he wasn't allowed to discuss it at the time, so for now, all you get is this video of Lee shouting names of MJ songs in Prospect Park.
Spike Lee, Brooklyn Ready To Celebrate Michael Jackson Again
MTA Continues To Refuse MJ Tribute
Don't expect any subway lines to be renamed the Neverland Express anytime soon, but Councilwoman Letitia James will get Michael Jackson some sort of tribute underground even if she has to break in Poster Boy style and do it herself. As we all know by now, the King of Pop's epic 16-minute video for "Bad" (directed by Martin Scorsese) was filmed in the Hoyt-Schermerhorn station in Brooklyn, and the MTA (because of some such rules that exist) refuse to rename the station after him, or even give him a plaque. That's just not how they roll. So James has come up with an alternative: a mural. The NY Post reports that she is trying to work with the MTA to commission an art contest honoring the performer, saying, "I think it would be a big tourist draw for the cash-strapped transit authority." But the MTA says they only add new artwork to stations undergoing rehabilitation, which isn't happening at Hoyt-Schermerhorn for at least five years. Could it be that someone at the organization just isn't a fan?

