Morgan Spurlock
Template:Short description Template:Use mdy dates Template:Infobox person
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.<ref name="D'Zurilla">Template:Cite web</ref> Spurlock received acclaim for directing the documentary Super Size Me (2004), which was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature Film.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> 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.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
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.<ref name="Page" /> The film was instead distributed in 2019 by Samuel Goldwyn Films. In 2024, Spurlock died at age 53 due to complications related to cancer.<ref name="NYTDeath" />
Early life
Morgan Valentine Spurlock was born to Benjamin and Phyllis Spurlock on November 7, 1970, in Parkersburg, West Virginia.<ref name=tvgbio>Template:Cite web</ref> Benjamin owned an auto repair shop,<ref name="CBC News">Template:Cite news</ref> 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,<ref name="Morfoot" /> and all three boys attended ballet dance lessons.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
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.<ref name="D'Zurilla" /><ref name="Arkin" /> He was a member of the fraternity Phi Gamma Delta.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Career
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.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> 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.<ref name="D'Zurilla" />
The list of documentary films that inspired Spurlock includes Brother's Keeper, Hoop Dreams, The Thin Blue Line, Roger and Me, Harlan County, USA, and The Last Waltz. He considered Brother's Keeper the greatest documentary of all time.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref><ref name="Best">Template:Cite news</ref>
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.<ref name="NYTDeath">Template:Cite web</ref> The film was produced for $65,000 and made $22 million in return.<ref name="Arkin" />
The film depicts an experiment Spurlock conducted in 2003, in which he claimed he ate three McDonald's meals every day, and nothing else, for 30 days, although he later disclosed he also drank copious amounts of alcohol. The film's title derives from one of the rules of Spurlock's experiment: he would not refuse the "super-size" option whenever it was offered to him, but would never ask for it himself. The result, according to Spurlock, was a diet with twice the calories recommended by the USDA. Spurlock attempted to curtail his physical activity to better match the exercise habits of the average American. He previously walked about Template:Convert a day, whereas the average American walks Template:Convert.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
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.<ref name="Arkin" /><ref name="Risen">Template:Cite news</ref> Spurlock also did not publicly release a diet log documenting his diet while filming the documentary.<ref name="Morfoot" />
After completing the project, it took Spurlock 14 months to return to his normal weight of 185 pounds (84 kg). His then-girlfriend, and later wife, Alexandra Jamieson, took charge of his recovery with her "detox diet", which became the basis for her book, The Great American Detox Diet.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> 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.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> 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.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
30 Days
This series ran on FX between 2005 and 2008.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> 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 a Henrico County, Virginia, a county outside of Richmond, jail to experience life as an inmate.<ref name="theage1">Associated Press, "Spurlock to go behind bars" Template:Webarchive. June 13, 2006.</ref>
The third season of 30 Days premiered in June 2008.<ref>Capone With Morgan Spurlock About Where in the World is Osama Bin Laden? And More!! Template:Webarchive, aintitcool.com, April 18, 2008</ref> The first episode of the third season, titled "Working in a Coal Mine", was filmed in Bolt, West Virginia. Bolt is located roughly Template:Convert from Beckley, West Virginia, where Spurlock was raised.<ref>"Spurlock Supersizes West Virginia On The Map" Template:Webarchive.</ref>
In 2008, Spurlock signed a deal to develop similar programming with Fox Television Studios.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
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.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
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.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Spurlock directed The Simpsons 20th Anniversary Special – In 3-D! On Ice!.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>TV Squad, Morgan Spurlock on The Simpsons Anniversary Special – In 3-D! On Ice! Template:Webarchive August 1, 2009.</ref>
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.<ref name="Rampell">Template:Cite news</ref> 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.<ref name="Rampell" />
The one-hour documentary Committed: The Toronto International Film Festival premiered on AMC on October 12, 2010.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
The Greatest Movie Ever Sold is a 2011 documentary film about product placement, marketing, and advertising which was reportedly itself financed through product placement.<ref name="nytreview">Template:Cite web</ref><ref name="nytcarr">Template:Cite web</ref> The Greatest Movie Ever Sold premiered at the Sundance Film Festival in January 2011.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> 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.<ref name="nytreview"/> Six days later, the film opened the 2011 Hot Docs Canadian International Documentary Festival.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
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.<ref>Spurlock, Morgan (2010). "Looking for people who love Comic-Con". morganspurlock.com. Template:Webarchive</ref><ref>"Comic-Con Episode Four: A Fan's Hope – Starring Yourself?" Template:Webarchive. Action Flick Chick. June 4, 2010.</ref> 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."<ref>Graser, Marc (May 20, 2010). "Spurlock, Whedon eye 'Comic-Con' doc". Variety.</ref>
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.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Spurlock hosted and produced the CNN series Morgan Spurlock Inside Man, which aired from June 2013 to August 2016.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
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.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Spurlock teamed up with Hodgee Films again on the 2015 web series Consider the Source, in association with Disney's Maker Studios.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
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.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Other work
- Spurlock presented 50 Documentaries to See Before You Die on Current TV. The show premiered on August 1, 2011.<ref>"Current TV Launches Original Series "50 Documentaries to See Before You Die" Premiering on Monday, August 1" Template:Webarchive. The Futon Critic. May 24, 2011</ref>
- 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.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
- 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.<ref>Template:Cite AV mediaTemplate:Cbignore</ref>
- 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.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Sexual misconduct and resignation
In December 2017, Spurlock wrote a blog post admitting to what he described as a history of sexual misconduct.<ref name="SpurlockNBC">Template:Cite news</ref> 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."<ref name="Page">Template:Cite web</ref> In the post, he said that he committed sexual misconduct in his past, including being "unfaithful to every wife and girlfriend [he] ever had".<ref name="Hauser-2017" /> Spurlock recounts settling a sexual harassment allegation, brought by his assistant at his production company, Warrior Poets, for verbal harassment including yelling for her as "hot pants" or "sex pants" from across the office.<ref name="Hauser-2017">Template:Cite news</ref>
In the same post, Spurlock also recounted that he had been accused of sexual assault while in college.<ref name="Morfoot" /> Spurlock wrote that while still "in college, a girl who I hooked up with on a one night stand accused me of rape. Not outright. There were no charges or investigations, but she wrote about the instance in a short story writing class and called me by name." He wrote: "This wasn't how I remembered it at all [...] She believed she was raped. That's why I'm part of the problem." Spurlock said both he and the woman had been heavily drinking the night of the incident, and that during sex she had begun crying, and they had stopped.<ref name="D'Zurilla" /><ref name="Hauser-2017"/>
After publishing his blog post, Spurlock stepped down from his position with Warrior Poets, the company he had co-founded in 2004.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> The move ended his career as a documentary filmmaker.<ref name="Morfoot" /> Spurlock told the Associated Press in 2019: "For me, there was a moment of kind of realization—as somebody who is a truth-teller and somebody who has made it a point of trying to do what's right—of recognizing that I could do better in my own life. We should be able to admit we were wrong."<ref name="CBC News" /> Additionally, he told Deadline: "Part of the reason I wrote that essay in the first place was to be on the right side of it. I'm hopeful that in time, with the work that I do and the changes that I continue to go through, that I can be there on the right side."<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
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."<ref name="D'Zurilla" />
Spurlock released a sequel film, Super Size Me 2: Holy Chicken!, in 2017,<ref name="holychicken">"Toronto Film Review: 'Super Size Me 2: Holy Chicken!'" Template:Webarchive. Variety, September 14, 2017.</ref> 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.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> In October 2022, The Washington Post reported that Spurlock had "suffered career death" as a result of his misconduct.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
Personal life and death
Spurlock's marriages to Priscilla Sommer, Alexandra Jamieson, and Sara Bernstein all ended in divorce.<ref name="Risen" /> He had two sons,<ref name="Morfoot" /> Laken James (December 9, 2006, with Jamieson)<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> and Kallen Marcus (May 22, 2016, with Bernstein).<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Spurlock was of Scots-Irish and English descent.<ref>Template:Cite newsTemplate:Cbignore</ref> Although he was raised Methodist, he stated in a 2014 interview with TV Guide that he had become agnostic.<ref name="Morfoot" /><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> In December 2017, he revealed that he had been sexually abused as a child.<ref name="D'Zurilla" /> On May 23, 2024, Spurlock died in upstate New York<ref name="Morfoot">Template:Cite web</ref> from complications of an unspecified cancer, at the age of 53.<ref name="Arkin">Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Bibliography
Filmography
Films
| Year | Film | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1994 | Léon: The Professional | Production assistant: New York<ref name="NYTDeath" /> | |
| 1995 | Kiss of Death | Office production assistant<ref>Template:Cite AV media</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> | |
| 2004 | Super Size Me | Himself | Director, screenwriter<ref name="NYTDeath" /> |
| 2004 | The Future of Food | Executive producer<ref name="ParamountEx">Template:Cite web</ref> | |
| 2004 | Czech Dream | Executive producer<ref name="ParamountEx" /> | |
| 2006 | Chalk | Executive producer<ref name="ParamountEx" /> | |
| 2006 | Class Act | Executive producer<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> | |
| 2007 | Drive Thru | Robbie, The Hella-Burger Manager<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> | |
| 2007 | The Third Wave | Executive producer<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> | |
| 2007 | What Would Jesus Buy? | Producer<ref name="ParamountEx" /> | |
| 2008 | Where in the World Is Osama Bin Laden? | Himself | Director, writer<ref name="ParamountEx" /> |
| 2008 | Last Cup: Road to the World Series of Beer Pong | Executive producer<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> | |
| 2009 | The Entrepreneur | Executive producer<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> | |
| 2009 | Simply Raw: Reversing Diabetes in 30 Days | Himself<ref>Template:Citation</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> | |
| 2009 | New Brow: Contemporary Underground Art | Himself<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> | |
| 2009 | Abraham Obama | Himself | |
| 2010 | Freakonomics | Himself | Director, writer (segment "A Roshanda by Any Other Name"), narrator<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> |
| 2010 | Pool Party | Executive producer<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> | |
| 2011 | POM Wonderful Presents: The Greatest Movie Ever Sold | Himself | Director, executive producer, writer<ref name="ParamountEx"/><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> |
| 2011 | Comic-Con Episode IV: A Fan's Hope | Director, writer, producer<ref name="ParamountEx"/><ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref> | |
| 2011 | The Other F Word | Executive producer<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> | |
| 2011 | How We Covered It | Himself | |
| 2011 | The Unauthorized Documentary, The Hangover Part II | Himself<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> | |
| 2012 | Mansome | Himself | Director, writer, producer<ref name="ParamountEx"/><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> |
| 2012 | Knuckleball! | Executive producer<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> | |
| 2012 | Glue Man | Himself | Stars<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> |
| 2013 | One Direction: This Is Us | Director, producer<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> | |
| 2013 | Web Junkie | Executive producer<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> | |
| 2013 | Dancing in Jaffa | Executive producer<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> | |
| 2013 | Waiting for Mamu | Executive producer<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> | |
| 2013 | Chronic-Con, Episode 420: A New Dope | Himself | |
| 2013 | You Don't Know Jack | Director, writer<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> | |
| 2013 | Misfire: The Rise and Fall of the Shooting Gallery | Himself<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> | |
| 2014 | A Brony Tale | Executive producer<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> | |
| 2014 | I Am Santa Claus | Executive producer<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> | |
| 2014 | We the Economy: 20 Short Films You Can't Afford to Miss | Director, producer<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> | |
| 2014 | That Film About Money | Executive producer<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> | |
| 2015 | Man Under | Executive producer<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> | |
| 2015 | Censored Voices | Executive producer<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> | |
| 2015 | Made in Japan | Executive producer<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> | |
| 2015 | I Am Dale Earnhardt | Himself<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> | |
| 2015 | Crafted | Director<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> | |
| 2015 | The Princess of North Sudan | Producer<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> | |
| 2016 | Rats | Director, writer<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> | |
| 2016 | The Eagle Huntress | Executive producer<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> | |
| 2017 | Tough Guys | Executive producer<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> | |
| 2017 | No Man's Land | Executive producer<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> | |
| 2017 | Good After Bad | Executive producer<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> | |
| 2017 | Super Size Me 2: Holy Chicken! | Himself | Director, writer, producer<ref name="NYTDeath" /> |
Television
| Year | Show | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2002 | I Bet You Will | Host | TV series<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> |
| 2004 | Last Laugh '04 | Himself | Not credited, TV movie |
| 2004 | Know Your Enemy: Al Qaeda's Third Wave | Executive producer, TV movie<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> | |
| 2005 | The 50 Greatest Documentaries | Himself | TV movie<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> |
| 2005 | Merry F %$in' Christmas | Himself | TV movie<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> |
| 2005 | 30 Days | Himself | Creator, Executive producer, host<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> |
| 2010 | The Simpsons 20th Anniversary Special – In 3-D! On Ice! | Himself | Director<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> |
| 2011 | A Day in the Life | Director, Executive producer<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> | |
| 2012 | Morgan Spurlock's New Britannia | Himself | Writer, host<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> |
| 2013 | Morgan Spurlock Inside Man | Himself | Director, writer, Executive producer<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> |
| 2013 | Losing It with John Stamos | Creator, Executive producer<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> | |
| 2014 | 7 Deadly Sins | Host | Executive producer, Creator<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> |
References
External links
- Template:Official website
- Template:IMDb name
- Morgan Spurlock talks The Greatest Movie Ever Sold, Sundance 2011 – interview conducted by IndieWire
Template:Morgan Spurlock Template:Sundance Directing Award Documentary Template:Writers Guild of America Award for Best Documentary Screenplay
- Pages with broken file links
- 1970 births
- 2024 deaths
- American agnostics
- American documentary film directors
- American former Protestants
- American people of English descent
- American people of Scotch-Irish descent
- Businesspeople from New York City
- Deaths from cancer in New York (state)
- Film directors from New York City
- Film directors from West Virginia
- Former Methodists
- People from Beckley, West Virginia
- People from Parkersburg, West Virginia
- Screenwriters from New York City
- Sundance Film Festival award winners
- Tisch School of the Arts alumni
- Woodrow Wilson High School (Beckley, West Virginia) alumni
- Writers from West Virginia
- Writers Guild of America Award winners