Morgan Spurlock first made a splash with his first person feature doc Super Size Me. A film in which he ate nothing but McDonald’s Combo Meals for 30 days and super sized it every time. By the end of those thirty days, the filmmaker had gained all kinds of weight and even encountered health problems as a result of his high calorie intake at America’s favorite fast food temple. His follow up TV show “30 Days” on FX further cemented Spurlock’s notoriety as a first person documentarian of note. Sort of a kinder, gentler Michael Moore.
Then he made his first misstep. His next feature film, Where in the World Is Osama Bin Laden?, was hyped as a search for the world’s most wanted terrorist. It played more like an extended version of PBS’s Globe Trekker Series with Spurlock asking various people throughout the Middle East about their views regarding the Global War on Terror with an occasional visit to a cave where Spurlock would yell out Bin Laden’s name as if he were searching for a lost pet. Where in the World wasn’t a terrible film by any means. It wasn’t a great one either. And his fans and the critics both felt Morgan had pulled a bait and switch on them.
When I went to interview Spurlock, I started off asking him whether he had any regrets about that film. Especially considering the title. “I think had we changed the title of the film it would have made a world of difference. And it was one of those things were we talked about it, and ultimately it was my decision to go with that title. It was the title we pitched and it was the title we sold. But it might have been received better if we had changed it.”
It was interesting to hear Spurlock admit that in a way. His latest film Pom Wonderful Presents: The Greatest Story Ever Sold takes on the subject of truth in advertising by literally selling the entire movie out to sponsors. Did he decide to take on the subject because of the backlash from his previous film?
“No, we make a movie whenever we have ideas and this was just a great idea for a movie,” he said. “We should totally make this, you know, I wonder if we could pull it off. Much like Osama bin Laden, literally from day one we had the title of the movie. There was no other justification behind it.”
At this point, Spurlock got a little defensive, “It’s not like I’ve been sitting around doing nothing. People like to think I’ve been sitting around resting on my laurels. We made three seasons of a TV show, we even made the third season while we were making Osama bin Laden. We made a special. We made the ‘Simpsons’ special for Fox. We produced two other films. We’ve been doing other things.”
Now I was on the defensive. I actually liked Spurlock’s new film. So did the audience I watched it with. They laughed throughout and genuinely seemed to have a good time. I quickly mentioned my belief that The Greatest Movie Ever Sold would play well with his fans.
“I hope so.” He said. “The Greatest, it’s been my baby since January 2009, and you’re shuttling it through this whole process and now it’s going out in the world and going to school. Play nice with the other kids.”
But what does it all mean, I wondered. I mean here I was sitting across the table from a man wearing a suit plastered with corporate logos, talking about his film, which questions whether there is really truth in advertising? The same advertising from various businesses sponsoring Spurlock’s film itself. Haven’t we gone through the looking glass here? I thought to myself while downing a delightfully refreshing Pom Wonderful drink of my own?
“I think there’s places in this film that deal with real serious issues. Education being one of them.” Spurlock said, referring to a portion of the film where he visits a public school that has been forced to sell advertising on school grounds just to make ends meet. “We’ve taken money away from schools, so now they’re turning to corporations and sponsors to literally fund programs. They’re selling off naming rights. There are schools now that are selling off naming rights to classrooms.”
Sitting across from Morgan Spurlock, you can’t help but like the guy. He’s smart without being intellectual. Funny without being mean spirited. He’s concerned about the world without being a zealot. And if his films have contradictions, well so does real life.
“Do you consider your films to be conversation starters?” I asked.
“As opposed to solutions?” He said finishing my thought.
“Yeah.” I responded. “I mean, so many filmmakers these days tend to use documentaries to tell the viewer what they should think. Your films don’t really do that.”
“You know, I got great advice right before we were making Super Size Me,” he explained. “I called up a filmmaker I trusted and he said to me, if you end up with the same movie you envisioned when you began the process than you didn’t listen to anyone along the way. That’s what makes a great documentary. Listening to people along the way.”
In Spurlock’s case. That’s what makes his films fun to watch as well.
Pom Wonderful Presents: The Greatest Movie Ever Sold opens this Friday, April 22. For more information on the film click here.
