Morgan Spurlock, documentary filmmaker of 'Super Size Me', dies at 53
Filmmaker Morgan Spurlock has died. He was best known for null, an inventive 2004 documentary about the fast food industry for which he consumed only McDonald’s fast food for a month. The film was a massive success and would earn more than $20 million in the global box office.
Spurlock died Thursday, May 23, in New York of complications from cancer, according to a statement sent by David Magdael, a publicist. He was 53 years old.
Spurlock’s brother, Craig, was quoted in the statement.
“It was a sad day, as we said goodbye to my brother Morgan,” he said. “Morgan gave so much through his art, ideas, and generosity. The world has lost a true creative genius and a special man. I am so proud to have worked together with him.”
Spurlock would produce and direct nearly 70 film and TV shows, all of them documentaries. They included null, about the U.S. war in Afghanistan and null, a meta movie about marketing a movie.
In 2017, during the #MeToo era, Spurlock null in which he called himself “part of the problem.”
He talked about a sexual episode in college that his female partner had experienced as nonconsensual, which Spurlock said he found confusing. “Then there was the time I settled a sexual harassment allegation at my office,” he wrote about the incident, which he said occurred around 2011. “And it wasn’t a gropy feely harassment. It was verbal, and it was just as bad. I would call my female assistant “hot pants” or “sex pants” when I was yelling to her from the other side of the office. Something I thought was funny at the time, but then realized I had completely demeaned and belittled her to a place of non-existence.”
As a result of the letter, Spurlock resigned from his production company, and both YouTube and Sundance decided against showing his documentary about the corporate takeover of family farms, called Super Size Me 2: Holy Chicken. The movie was eventually released, and null to Business Insider in 2019, but his IMDB page does not show any projects he produced after 2017.
Transcript
JUANA SUMMERS, HOST:
We remember the filmmaker Morgan Spurlock, who died yesterday. He was 53. Spurlock's 2004 documentary, "Super Size Me," made him famous. He went on to make TV shows and movies, tackling topics like the U.S. war in Afghanistan and immigrant labor. Spurlock died due to complications from cancer. NPR's Chloe Veltman has this remembrance.
CHLOE VELTMAN, BYLINE: Morgan Spurlock tapped into the early 21st century zeitgeist with "Super Size Me."
(SOUNDBITE OF DOCUMENTARY, "SUPER SIZE ME")
UNIDENTIFIED PERSON #1: Hello. May I help you?
MORGAN SPURLOCK: Yeah. Can I get the Double Quarter Pounder with Cheese meal?
VELTMAN: Inspired by an obesity lawsuit against McDonald's, Spurlock took it upon himself to test just how bad fast food could possibly be. For 30 days straight, he ate nothing but burgers, fries and sugary beverages from Mickey D's, often opting for the chain's biggest portions.
(SOUNDBITE OF DOCUMENTARY, "SUPER SIZE ME")
SPURLOCK: I think I'm going to have to go super size.
VELTMAN: Spurlock reported that he gained nearly 25 pounds over the course of the month. In an interview with NPR at the time of the film's release, he said he'd experienced chest pains, loss of libido, liver deterioration and other symptoms.
(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED NPR BROADCAST)
SPURLOCK: I started to get very depressed.
VELTMAN: The film was a massive success. It won an Oscar nomination, and McDonald's dropped its super size option. But Spurlock also had to fend off questions, including from NPR, about his gimmicky approach.
(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED NPR BROADCAST)
SPURLOCK: My doing this diet has really given the film accessibility. You know, now we've created a movie that has a storyline that is interesting, that is intriguing, that people want to see.
VELTMAN: Before Spurlock effectively ended his own career by speaking out about his sexual misconduct allegations on social media at the height of the #MeToo movement, he made a career of being a guinea pig in films and TV shows, investigating challenging topics. In his 2005 FX cable network series "30 Days," the filmmaker explored the difficulties of surviving in America on a minimum wage. He and his fiancee tried it for a month.
(SOUNDBITE OF TV SHOW, "30 DAYS")
UNIDENTIFIED PERSON #2: When was the last time you made a budget for living?
SPURLOCK: A budget for living (laughter)? What's that?
VELTMAN: In his review of the show for NPR, TV critic Andrew Wallenstein praised Spurlock's all-in approach.
(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED NPR BROADCAST)
ANDREW WALLENSTEIN: The format helps illustrate the plight of millions of Americans in a way no average report could capture.
VELTMAN: And in the 2011 film "POM Wonderful Presents: The Greatest Movie Ever Sold," Spurlock critiqued the entertainment industry's reliance on corporate branding by turning his own film into a billboard.
(SOUNDBITE OF FILM, "POM WONDERFUL PRESENTS: THE GREATEST MOVIE EVER SOLD")
SPURLOCK: So ultimately, what we want to try and do is create what is the Ironman of documentaries. Everything from top to bottom is branded from beginning to end.
VELTMAN: Companies participated in exchange for sponsorship rights. In an interview for NPR, Morgan Spurlock said he even reached out to his older nemesis, McDonald's.
(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED NPR BROADCAST)
SPURLOCK: I was leaving messages. Hey. It's Morgan Spurlock. You might remember me. I promise it'll be completely different this time. Call me back.
VELTMAN: But the filmmaker said no one ever did.
Chloe Veltman, NPR News. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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