Morgan Spurlock, the filmmaker behind the documentary Super Size Me and FX's 30 Days, has signed a two-year agreement with Fox Television Studios to produce both scripted and unscripted programs. According to the article, the deal begins whenever the writer's strike ends.Given the impact that man has made in the documentary world (particularly with his upcoming film Where In The World is Osama Bin Laden?) , it's no surprise that a network like Fox would try to get him under contract. Spurlock is good at making documentaries that examine the fears and problems of American people (terrorism, obesity) and Fox is good at exploiting those problems for profit.
I wondered for a second why Fox didn't go after Michael Moore for such a project, since he's also a documentary filmmaker. Then I remembered which side of the political spectrum they each sit on, which are opposite each other.
No upcoming shows from Spurlock were listed, but I'd really appreciate it if he could do a variation on 30 Days and have the network executives be forced to live with normal people and watch their own crap with them so they stop underestimating the intelligence of the average viewer. Nah, it'll never happen. Still, it's nice to dream.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
1-10-2008 @ 2:34PM
BigTed said...
You're absolutely right that there's no way Fox would hire Michael Moore. (Although I think Spurlock is a bit of a lefty himself.)
But it's pretty clear that the real reason for this deal is that the networks are desperate for programming that can be produced during the writer's strike. Spurlock's "unscripted" material still has a narrative flow, and Fox probably thinks that will give them a leg up when there's nothing else on TV but "American Gladiators" and "Celebrity Apprentice."
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1-10-2008 @ 2:38PM
ac said...
Spurlock is pretty left wing too.
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1-10-2008 @ 3:06PM
Brandon said...
Something has always bugged me about Morgan Spurlocks's claim to fame "Super Size Me".
Is anyone really that suprised that eating nothing but McDonalds for a long period of time will mess you up? That wasn't a shock to me. Yet to so many people it was. If you eat nothing but McDonalds food for breakfast, lunch, & dinner all the time, I sure the outcome is going to be obvious. That's why I didn't really feel that movie had anything interesting or new to say.
It belongs in the long historical files of the word "DUH".
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1-10-2008 @ 5:47PM
Eligio J Rosa said...
If you criticize Super Size Me because it was "too obvious" then you didn't see it, and you need to see it.
1-10-2008 @ 3:41PM
Hollywood Ron said...
Michael Moore is worth entirely too much money to go back to television.
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1-10-2008 @ 3:53PM
Fredo said...
Michael Moore DID work for FOX, with the show TV Nation back in 1995.
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1-10-2008 @ 4:27PM
brett said...
> Fox is good at exploiting those problems for profit.
> Then I remembered which side of the political spectrum they each sit on, which are opposite each other.
Horrible writing? Check. Political ignorance? Check. (Spurlock's politics aren't exactly a secret.) Feeble attempt at trolling? Check.
What a terrible post. Stick to TV -- and save the politics for your DKos diary.
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