Academy Award–nominated director Morgan Spurlock, the director of the innovative 2004 film “Super Size Me,” passed away at the age of 53. A documentary by Morgan Spurlock in which he decided to eat only products of McDonalds for thirty days for the sake of investigating its impact on human health brought Spurlock world fame and an Oscar nomination.
Over his career, Spurlock directed more than 20 films and documentaries, including “Where in the World is Osama bin Laden” (2008) and the “One Direction: This is also portrayed in the tour movie of “This Is Us” dating 2013. According to his family, Spurlock died from complications related to cancer and this was made public by his publicist and the AFP news agency.
His brother Craig, also a collaborator, shared: Such is the sad and painful experience as we bid farewell to Morgan who touched so many lives through his art and ideas, besides being a generous individual. ”
In “Super Size Me,” Spurlock acted as the director as well as a main subject whose diet consisted of numerous Big Macs, Chicken McNuggets, and gallons of cola. The results of this 30-day experiment were a 25-pound gain, and doctors’ concerns over his high blood pressure and elevated levels of cholesterol. The movie was about the various vices that prevail within the food sector in the United States and the need to change for the better with the support of the government. McDonald responds that its menu is healthy and that the film is unrealistic, but that year it removes the Super Size option.
He further endeavored to take on more complicated topics in his projects; the US war in Afghanistan in ‘Where in the World is Osama bin Laden,’ consumerism in ‘The Greatest Movie Ever Sold,’ and social issues in CNN’s series ‘Morgan Spurlock’s Inside Man.’ ” His contributions earned him an Emmy nomination in 2010 for “The Simpsons 20th Anniversary Special: In 3-D! On Ice!”
In 2017 when Hollywood came under a barrage of sexual misconduct allegations, spurlock penned an essay where he confessed to several wrongdoings inclusive of rape and sexual harassment as well as cheating on his wife. This made him resign from the production company that he co-established in the year 2004. However, he came back in 2019 with ‘Super Size Me 2: Holy Chicken!’ where Morgan Spurlock opened his fast food restaurant to understand the changes in the fast food industry.
His work is remembered for being daring and raising the bar in presenting social issues and for changing the face of documentary films. His creative ingenuity will be sorely missed.
