Few documentary filmmakers are as recognizable as Morgan Spurlock due to his featured role in most of his previous films as well as his television show “30 Days,” and he has an unmatchable style for bringing his wit to any subject whether he’s taking on the health issues with fast food, trying to find a terrorist leader or exploring the world of product placement and corporate sponsorship.
His new doc Comic-Con Episode IV: A Fan’s Hope is a different animal from his previous movies, first of all because he doesn’t appear in it, but also because it tackles a subject anyone who regularly reads ComingSoon.net or its related sites may already think they know everything about. While we’ve covered Comic-Con International quite extensively for many years, you’ve probably not seen it in the same way as it’s covered in Spurlock’s new movie as it follows a number of individuals making their way to the annual geekfest that takes over San Diego for five days every July. There’s Holly, a costume designer, hoping to win at the annual masquerade, comic book dealer Chuck Rozanski, a Comic-Con veteran trying to survive as the focus drifts away from comics, as well as two comic book artists trying to get work by showing their portfolios. Then there’s the couple, James and Se Young, who met at Comic-Con and a year later, James is hoping to propose to his girlfriend at the annual Kevin Smith panel in Hall H.
For his latest movie, Spurlock had a superstar team of executive producers including Legendary Pictures founder Thomas Tull, Marvel Comics pioneer Stan Lee, “Buffy the Vampire Slayer” creator (and upcoming Avengers director) Joss Whedon and geek prophet Harry Knowles. Besides following the fans, the film also has appearances and Comic-Con testimonials by the likes of Seth Rogen, Kevin Smith, Seth Green, Guillermo del Toro, Edgar Wright and dozens of other regular attendees.
ComingSoon.net has spoken to Spurlock a number of times over the years and in our latest video interview below, you can hear the filmmaker talking about:
* How the project came together at a Comic-Con party
* The magic of Stan Lee in making things happen
* How he went about finding the subjects and their stories
* Why he doesn’t appear in this doc
* How the film could be seen as a commercial for Comic-Con
* How James and Se Young’s story is “movie gold”
* Having enough cameras to cover all the stories happening at once
* Who he thinks might appreciate the movie
* His upcoming doc Mansome about male grooming, premiering at the Tribeca Film Festival, produced by Jason Bateman and Will Arnett
* Figuring out what and who needed to be cut to keep a reasonable runtime
* Talking about the importance of the film’s VOD release
And more!
