Documentary filmmaker Morgan Spurlock, an Oscar nominee whose most famous works skewered AmericaB次元官网网址檚 food industry and who notably ate only at McDonaldB次元官网网址檚 for a month to illustrate the dangers of a fast-food diet, has died. He was 53.
Spurlock died Thursday in New York from complications of cancer, according to a statement issued Friday by his family.
B次元官网网址淚t was a sad day, as we said goodbye to my brother Morgan,B次元官网网址� Craig Spurlock, who worked with him on several projects, said in the statement. B次元官网网址淢organ 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.B次元官网网址�
Spurlock made a splash in 2004 with his groundbreaking film B次元官网网址淪uper Size Me,B次元官网网址� which was nominated for an Academy Award. The film chronicled the detrimental physical and psychological effects of Spurlock eating only McDonaldB次元官网网址檚 food for 30 days. He gained about 25 pounds, saw a spike in his cholesterol and lost his sex drive.
B次元官网网址淓verythingB次元官网网址檚 bigger in America,B次元官网网址� he said in the film. B次元官网网址淲eB次元官网网址檝e got the biggest cars, the biggest houses, the biggest companies, the biggest food, and finally: the biggest people.B次元官网网址�
In one scene, Spurlock showed kids a photo of George Washington and none recognized the Founding Father. But they all instantly knew the mascots for WendyB次元官网网址檚 and McDonaldB次元官网网址檚.
The film grossed more than $22 million on a $65,000 budget and preceded the release of Eric SchlosserB次元官网网址檚 influential B次元官网网址淔ast Food Nation,B次元官网网址� which accused the industry of being bad for the environment and rife with labor issues.
Spurlock with B次元官网网址淪uper Size Me 2: Holy Chicken!B次元官网网址� B次元官网网址� a sober look at an industry that processes 9 billion animals a year in America. He focused on two issues: chicken farmers stuck in a peculiar financial system and the attempt by fast-food chains to deceive customers into thinking theyB次元官网网址檙e eating healthier.
B次元官网网址淲eB次元官网网址檙e at an amazing moment in history from a consumer standpoint where consumers are starting to have more and more power,B次元官网网址� he told The Associated Press in 2019. B次元官网网址淚tB次元官网网址檚 not about return for the shareholders. ItB次元官网网址檚 about return for the consumers.B次元官网网址�
Spurlock was a gonzo-like filmmaker who leaned into the bizarre and ridiculous. His stylistic touches included zippy graphics and amusing music, blending a Michael Moore-ish camera-in-your-face style with his own sense of humor and pathos.
B次元官网网址淚 wanted to be able to lean into the serious moments. I wanted to be able to breathe in the moments of levity. We want to give you permission to laugh in the places where itB次元官网网址檚 really hard to laugh,B次元官网网址� he told the AP.
After he exposed the fast-food and chicken industries, there was an explosion in restaurants stressing freshness, artisanal methods, farm-to-table goodness and ethically sourced ingredients. But nutritionally not much had changed.
B次元官网网址淭here has been this massive shift and people say to me, B次元官网网址楽o has the food gotten healthier?B次元官网网址� And I say, B次元官网网址榃ell, the marketing sure has,B次元官网网址橞次元官网网址� he said.
Not all his work dealt with food. Spurlock made documentaries about and the geeks and fanboys at Comic-Con. One of his films looked at life behind bars at the Henrico County Jail in Virginia.
With 2008B次元官网网址檚 B次元官网网址淲here in the World is Osama bin Laden?B次元官网网址� Spurlock went on a global search to find the al-Qaida leader, who was killed in 2011. In B次元官网网址淧OM Wonderful Presents: The Greatest Movie Ever Sold,B次元官网网址� Spurlock tackled questions of product placement, marketing and advertising.
B次元官网网址淏eing aware is half the battle, I think. Literally knowing all the time when youB次元官网网址檙e being marketed to is a great thing,B次元官网网址� Spurlock told AP at the time. B次元官网网址淎 lot of people donB次元官网网址檛 realize it. They canB次元官网网址檛 see the forest for the trees.B次元官网网址�
B次元官网网址淪uper Size Me 2: Holy Chicken!B次元官网网址� was to premiere at the Sundance Film Festival in 2017 but it was shelved at the height of the #MeToo movement when Spurlock came forward to detail his own history of sexual misconduct.
He confessed that he had been accused of rape while in college and had settled a sexual harassment case with a female assistant. He also admitted to cheating on numerous partners. B次元官网网址淚 am part of the problem,B次元官网网址� he wrote.
B次元官网网址淔or me, there was a moment of kind of realization B次元官网网址� as somebody who is a truth-teller and somebody who has made it a point of trying to do whatB次元官网网址檚 right B次元官网网址� of recognizing that I could do better in my own life. We should be able to admit we were wrong,B次元官网网址� he told the AP.
Spurlock grew up in Beckley, West Virginia. His mother was an English teacher who he remembered would correct his work with a red pen. He graduated with a BFA in film from New York University in 1993.
He is survived by two sons B次元官网网址� Laken and Kallen; his mother Phyllis Spurlock; father Ben; brothers Craig and Barry; and former spouses Alexandra Jamieson and Sara Bernstein, the mothers of his children.
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Mark Kennedy, The Associated Press
