Morgan Valentine Spurlock (November 7, 1970 – May 23, 2024) was an American documentary filmmaker, writer and television producer. He directed 23 films and was the producer of nearly 70 films throughout his career. Spurlock received acclaim for directing the documentary Super Size Me (2004), which was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature Film. He produced What Would Jesus Buy? (2007) and directed Where in the World Is Osama bin Laden? (2008), POM Wonderful Presents: The Greatest Movie Ever Sold (2011), Comic-Con Episode IV: A Fan's Hope (2011), and One Direction: This Is Us (2013).
Spurlock was executive producer and star of the reality television series 30 Days (2005–2008). In June 2013, he became the producer and host of the CNN show Morgan Spurlock Inside Man (2013–2016). Spurlock was also the co-founder of the short-film content marketing company Cinelan, which produced the Focus Forward campaign for GE.
The documentary Super Size Me 2: Holy Chicken! was set to be released in 2017, until Spurlock wrote a social media post saying that he had a history of sexual misconduct and referring to himself as "part of the problem", leading to a distribution drop and his resignation from the production company. Benjamin owned an auto repair shop, and Phyllis was an English teacher and guidance counselor.
Spurlock and his two older brothers, Craig and Barry, were all raised in Beckley, West Virginia. Ben and Phyllis raised their sons as Methodist,
Spurlock graduated from Woodrow Wilson High School in Beckley, then attended New York University's Tisch School of the Arts, graduating in 1993 with a BFA in film.
Career
thumb|Spurlock at the [[2008 Sundance Film Festival]]
Spurlock was a playwright, winning awards for his play The Phoenix at both the New York International Fringe Festival in 1999 and the Route 66 American Playwriting Competition in 2000. In 2004, Spurlock co-founded the production studio Warrior Poets which would be the production studio for the films he directed and produced for the rest of his career.
Super Size Me
Spurlock's documentary Super Size Me was released in the United States on May 7, 2004. He conceived the idea for the film when he was at his parents' house for Thanksgiving, and while watching television saw a news story about a lawsuit brought against McDonald's by two teenage girls who blamed the fast food chain for their obesity. The film was produced for $65,000 and made $22 million in return.
Over the course of filming, Spurlock gained 25 pounds (11 kg), became quite puffy, and suffered liver dysfunction and depression by the end. His supervising physicians noted the effects caused by his high-calorie diet—once even comparing it to a case of severe binge alcoholism. Following Spurlock's December 2017 assertion that he had not been "sober for more than a week" in three decades, the claims of his liver dysfunction being caused by eating McDonald's food solely for 30 days have been called into question. Spurlock also did not publicly release a diet log documenting his diet while filming the documentary. Super Size Me was later nominated for the Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature and Spurlock won the first Writers Guild of America Award for Best Documentary Screenplay. In 2005, Spurlock wrote a book as a follow-up to Super Size Me titled Don't Eat This Book: Fast Food and the Supersizing of America.
30 Days
This series ran on FX between 2005 and 2008. In each episode, a person, sometimes Spurlock himself, or a group of people spent a month immersing themselves in a mode of life markedly different from their norm. For example, a devout Christian living in a Muslim family, or a homophobe staying with a homosexual person. The intent was to give the subject a new perspective, while Spurlock discussed the relevant social issues involved. In the second-season finale, Spurlock spent 25 days locked in jail in Henrico County, Virginia, a county outside of Richmond, to experience life as an inmate.
The third season of 30 Days premiered in June 2008. The first episode of the third season, titled "Working in a Coal Mine", was filmed in Bolt, West Virginia. Bolt is located roughly from Beckley, West Virginia, where Spurlock was raised.
In 2008, Spurlock signed a deal to develop similar programming with Fox Television Studios.
I Bet You Will
Spurlock also created I Bet You Will for MTV. I Bet You Will began as a popular Internet webcast of five-minute episodes featuring ordinary people doing stunts in exchange for money. Examples of the scenarios which transpired include eating a full jar of mayonnaise (US$235), eating a "worm burrito" (US$265), and taking shots of corn oil, Pepto-Bismol, lemon juice, hot sauce, cold chicken broth, and cod liver oil (US$450.00 for all nine shots). MTV later bought the show and aired it, which Spurlock hosted.
Subsequent films
In January 2008, Spurlock's second feature documentary, Where in the World Is Osama Bin Laden? premiered at the Sundance Film Festival. In the film and during interviews, Spurlock explored the fight against terrorism and views the argument from both sides, in which he tries to find Osama bin Laden.
Spurlock directed The Simpsons 20th Anniversary Special – In 3-D! On Ice!.
Freakonomics is an adaptation of the book of the same name by Steven D. Levitt and Stephen J. Dubner, which premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival in April 2010 and had a theatrical release later that year. Spurlock was at the helm of this project alongside five directors, Heidi Ewing, Rachel Grady, Alex Gibney, Seth Gordon, and Eugene Jarecki. Spurlock's segment dealt with people with unusual names.
The Greatest Movie Ever Sold is a 2011 documentary film about product placement, marketing, and advertising which was reportedly itself financed through product placement. The Greatest Movie Ever Sold premiered at the Sundance Film Festival in January 2011. In the United States, the film had a limited release, opening on April 22, 2011, in New York City, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Chicago, Washington D.C., Boston, Philadelphia, San Diego, Phoenix, and Austin, Texas.
In mid-2010, Spurlock worked with Buffy the Vampire Slayer creator Joss Whedon, Ain't It Cool News founder Harry Knowles, and comic book creator Stan Lee to create the documentary Comic-Con Episode IV: A Fan's Hope, to cover the stories of convention fans. Whedon, Lee, and Knowles served as executive producers. Legendary Pictures' Thomas Tull, who independently financed the documentary, told Variety, "We look forward to capturing the spirit, energy and people that Comic-Con has infused into legions of fans, bringing these audiences and projects out of the halls and onto a world stage."
Spurlock's documentary Mansome was announced on March 8, 2012, as a Spotlight selection for the Tribeca Film Festival. The film takes a comedic look at male identity as defined through men's grooming habits featuring celebrity and expert commentary.
Spurlock hosted and produced the CNN series Morgan Spurlock Inside Man, which aired from June 2013 to August 2016.
Spurlock helped distribute A Brony Tale, a documentary directed by Brent Hodge on the brony phenomenon and on the musician and voice acting career of Ashleigh Ball. The film was selected for theatrical distribution under the label Morgan Spurlock Presents. The film was released in theaters on July 8, 2014.
Spurlock teamed up with Hodgee Films again on the 2015 web series Consider the Source, in association with Disney's Maker Studios.
While attending a screening of the movie Catfish, Spurlock approached the film's producers afterwards and called Catfish "the best fake documentary" he had ever seen.
Other work
thumb|Morgan Spurlock with Highland Titles in Scotland during filming Morgan Spurlock's New Britannia
- Spurlock presented 50 Documentaries to See Before You Die on Current TV. The show premiered on August 1, 2011.
- Spurlock's half-hour documentary series A Day in the Life was to debut on Hulu in mid-August 2011. It follows "incredibly focused" people such as Richard Branson and will.i.am for a full day. The series is exclusive to Hulu.
- Spurlock was the presenter of a show in the UK on Sky Atlantic entitled Morgan Spurlock's New Britannia. This was a comedy based around the differences between the UK and the US.
- Spurlock directed the 3D concert film One Direction: This Is Us, starring the English-Irish boy band One Direction, and released on August 30, 2013, by TriStar Pictures.
Sexual misconduct and resignation
In December 2017, Spurlock wrote a blog post admitting to what he described as a history of sexual misconduct. In the midst of the #MeToo movement, Spurlock stated: "I've come to understand after months of these revelations, that I am not some innocent bystander, I am also a part of the problem." In the post, he said that he committed sexual misconduct in his past, including being "unfaithful to every wife and girlfriend [he] ever had".
In the same post, Spurlock also recounted that he had been accused of sexual assault while in college. The move ended his career as a documentary filmmaker.
In the blog post, Spurlock further disclosed that he had been the victim of sexual abuse as a boy and teenager, and that he had "consistently been drinking since the age of 13." to be distributed by YouTube Red, but it was dropped following Spurlock's admission of sexual misconduct. Samuel Goldwyn Films instead distributed the film in September 2019. In October 2022, The Washington Post reported that Spurlock had "suffered career death" as a result of his misconduct.
Personal life and death
Spurlock was of Ulster Scot and English descent. Although he was raised Methodist, he stated in a 2014 interview with TV Guide that he had become agnostic. In December 2017, he revealed that he had been sexually abused as a child. from complications of an unspecified cancer, at the age of 53.
Bibliography
Filmography
Films
{| class="wikitable sortable"
! Year !! Film !! Role !! class="unsortable" | Notes
|-
| 1994 || Léon: The Professional || || Production assistant: New York
|-
| 2004 || Super Size Me || Himself || Director, screenwriter
|-
| 2004 || Czech Dream || || Executive producer
|-
| 2007 || Drive Thru || Robbie, The Hella-Burger Manager ||
|-
| 2007 || The Third Wave || || Executive producer
|-
| 2007 || What Would Jesus Buy? || || Producer
|-
| 2009 || The Entrepreneur || || Executive producer
|-
| 2009 || Simply Raw: Reversing Diabetes in 30 Days || Himself ||
|-
| 2009 || New Brow: Contemporary Underground Art || Himself ||
|-
| 2009 || Abraham Obama || Himself ||
|-
| 2010 || Freakonomics || Himself || Director, writer (segment "A Roshanda by Any Other Name"), narrator
|-
| 2010 || Pool Party || || Executive producer
|-
| 2011 || POM Wonderful Presents: The Greatest Movie Ever Sold || Himself || Director, executive producer, writer
|-
| 2011 || Comic-Con Episode IV: A Fan's Hope || || Director, writer, producer
|-
| 2011 || The Other F Word || || Executive producer
|-
| 2011 || How We Covered It || Himself ||
|-
| 2011 || The Unauthorized Documentary, The Hangover Part II || Himself ||
|-
| 2012 || Mansome || Himself || Director, writer, producer
|-
| 2012 || Knuckleball! || || Executive producer
|-
| 2012 || Glue Man || Himself || Stars
|-
| 2013 || One Direction: This Is Us || || Director, producer
|-
| 2013 || Web Junkie || || Executive producer
|-
| 2013 || Dancing in Jaffa || || Executive producer
|-
| 2013 || Waiting for Mamu || || Executive producer
|-
| 2013 || Chronic-Con, Episode 420: A New Dope || Himself ||
|-
| 2013 || You Don't Know Jack || || Director, writer
|-
| 2013 || Misfire: The Rise and Fall of the Shooting Gallery || Himself ||
|-
| 2014 || A Brony Tale || || Executive producer
|-
| 2014 || I Am Santa Claus || || Executive producer
|-
| 2014 || We the Economy: 20 Short Films You Can't Afford to Miss || || Director, producer
|-
| 2014 || That Film About Money || || Executive producer
|-
| 2015 || Man Under || || Executive producer
|-
| 2015 || Censored Voices || || Executive producer
|-
| 2015 || Made in Japan || || Executive producer
|-
| 2015 || I Am Dale Earnhardt || Himself ||
|-
| 2015 || Crafted || || Director
|-
| 2015 || The Princess of North Sudan || || Producer
|-
| 2016 || Rats || || Director, writer
|-
| 2016 || The Eagle Huntress || || Executive producer
|-
| 2017 || Tough Guys || || Executive producer
|-
| 2017 || No Man's Land || || Executive producer
|-
| 2017 || Good After Bad || || Executive producer
|-
| 2017 || Super Size Me 2: Holy Chicken! || Himself || Director, writer, producer
|-
| 2004 || Last Laugh '04 || Himself || Not credited, TV movie
|-
| 2004 || Know Your Enemy: Al Qaeda's Third Wave || || Executive producer, TV movie
|-
| 2005 || The 50 Greatest Documentaries || Himself || TV movie
|-
| 2005 || Merry F %$in' Christmas || Himself || TV movie
|-
| 2005 || 30 Days || Himself || Creator, Executive producer, host
|-
| 2010 || The Simpsons 20th Anniversary Special – In 3-D! On Ice! || Himself || Director
|-
| 2011 || A Day in the Life || || Director, Executive producer
|-
| 2012 || Morgan Spurlock's New Britannia || Himself || Writer, host
|-
| 2013 || Morgan Spurlock Inside Man || Himself || Director, writer, Executive producer
|-
| 2013 || Losing It with John Stamos || || Creator, Executive producer
|-
|2014
|7 Deadly Sins
|Host
|Executive producer, Creator
|-
| 2018
|Hell's Kitchen
|Himself
|Chef's table guest diner for the red team; Episode: "Hell Freezes Over"
|-
|}
References
External links
- Morgan Spurlock talks The Greatest Movie Ever Sold, Sundance 2011 – interview conducted by IndieWire