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Morgan Spurlock-related stories

Morgan Spurlock on The Simpsons Anniversary Special -- In 3-D! On Ice!

Morgan SpurlockWhen documentary filmmaker Morgan Spurlock first saw The Simpsons, he was a 19- or 20-year-old college kid, still living at home with his mother in West Virginia. Having grown up watching Monty Python, Fawlty Towers, and Blackadder, Spurlock was ecstatic to watch The Tracey Ullman Show, the show that would eventually introduce him to The Simpsons.

Twenty years later, Spurlock has established himself as a filmmaker with Super Size Me and Where in the World Is Osama Bin Laden, and will direct a segment for the upcoming adaptation of Freakonomics. And he'll get to tackle the show he's loved these past two decades as he produces and directs The Simpsons Anniversary Special - In 3-D! On Ice!, which will air Thursday, January 14, 2010.

Spurlock remembers his first impression of the show, watching back in his college days. "When it first came on, I was in college, and it was literally an obsession. It was something that me and all my friends would literally ... at 8 o'clock, we were sitting there on the couch watching this show, and it was something that we all did together," said Spurlock in a conference call with media last week. "For all my four years of college, that was something that we did."

Continue reading Morgan Spurlock on The Simpsons Anniversary Special -- In 3-D! On Ice!

Morgan Spurlock is making a Simpsons documentary

The SimpsonsNow we know why Homer weighs so much: he's eating too many Big Macs. Seriously, Fox is capping off their 20th anniversary celebration of The Simpsons by hiring Super Size Me director Morgan Spurlock to direct a documentary of the show.

Sadly, since Fox is behind this production, the documentary will likely be biased on behalf of The Simpsons. Possibly even making them into sympathetic characters, thus ignoring Homer's temper and drunkenness, Bart's antisocial psychotic behavior, Marge's ignorance of the aforementioned and Lisa's extreme liberalism. Of course, if all that was taken into account, the documentary would only be about Maggie.

I do hope the documentary has some original material, like a framing sequence with the family. Although that's been done before with the "Behind the Laughter" episode. The Simpsons did it! The title of the documentary says it all: The Simpsons 20th Anniversary Special in 3-D on Ice. In 3-D. On Ice. This is a must-see.

30 Days: Life on an Indian Reservation (season finale)

Morgan Spurlock(S03E06) After two weeks of hard core issues, it's nice to take a break and get an episode that isn't quite so divisive. I was hoping that this final 30 Days would be like the season premiere in that it showed me some things I wasn't aware of.

Growing up in Arizona, I went to school with quite a few Native Americans. I remember my friend Dave King would always make jokes about how I (the white man) took everything from him. It was all in good fun but it was one of the things that made me sensitive to the plight of the Native Americans. Now, as an adult, I always vote in favor of keeping the Native American casinos exempt from paying state taxes. Maybe it has more to do with feeling guilty but, that's how I roll.

Continue reading 30 Days: Life on an Indian Reservation (season finale)

30 Days: Gun Nation

Pia(S03E04) I have never been a fan of guns. Sure, I enjoy movies where gun violence plays a major part. I've always held a fondness for Dirty Harry and the few times I held a gun, I definitely thought it was cool. All that being said, I don't know if I could ever shoot a gun at another living being. I don't really care to find out.

What I would like to know is if there is some way that responsible Americans can enjoy hunting and feel protected while at the same time, psychos won't be able to walk onto the playground of my daughter's school and shoot innocent children. This was an episode I was really looking forward to.

Continue reading 30 Days: Gun Nation

Stump the King: Morgan Spurlock

Morgan SpurlockLast week was a historic one for me. Something happened that has never happened before and it actually happened twice.

Last week, as I often do, I wrote reviews of a few TV shows. The first review was for a new documentary series on Showtime. I didn't really like the show but I made a comment on how beautiful I found a young lady who was featured on the show. Well, much to my surprise, not only did she read the review but she wrote to thank me for the compliment. I was certainly flattered but I was even more surprised that someone I mentioned would actually take the time to write me.

Continue reading Stump the King: Morgan Spurlock

30 Days: Same Sex Parenting

The Patrick Family(S03E04) Usually the teasers for 30 Days are pretty innocuous. They give an idea about what the topic is and show some reactions from both sides. This week, however, I had the feeling I was going to be pissed.

The part that stuck out the most was the sound byte of Kati saying, "It confirms the option of becoming gay." A person who would let that comment come out of their mouth is clearly uneducated on a great many things and I hoped that we'd get to see some redeeming qualities in her.

I had to laugh when Spurlock said Kati was going from Leave it to Beaver to My Two Dads. I've seen both of those shows many times and while the Beav can certainly be classified as a kid from a "typical American home," I never got the idea that Paul Reiser and Greg Evigan played gay lovers. I guess I need to rent that show on DVD.

Continue reading 30 Days: Same Sex Parenting

30 Days: Animal Rights

George(S03E03) "I think half of that is bullshit" - George the hunter

Normally, I would go into an episode about vegetarianism and animal rights with a pretty strong opinion. However, since this is 30 Days, I know I'm bound to see and hear things that will, at least, give me second thoughts, if not change my opinions completely.

When it comes to animal rights, I have always been somewhere in the middle. I think killing animals for fur is cruel but I don't have a problem with people who eat meat. I personally have an affinity for pigs, so I don't eat pork. However, I think chickens are stupid, so I don't mind some pollo asado now and then. I don't think cosmetics should be tested on animals but I have found a lot of uses for prescription drugs. As far as hunting goes, well, I think you get the point. This episode was tailor made for a guy like me.

Continue reading 30 Days: Animal Rights

30 Days: 30 Days in a Wheelchair

Ray Crockett(S03E02) Being confined to a wheelchair is one of my own personal worst fears. Whenever I see someone in a wheelchair, I can't help but selfishly imagine how much it would suck for me. My mind immediately starts listing all the things I wouldn't be able to do or at least do without any difficulty. For this reason, I was very interested in this week's episode.

As with most episodes, Spurlock makes this one about more than just a pro football player in a wheelchair. He manages to point out that the issues of stem cell research, the war in Iraq and equal rights for the differently-abled are all connected.

Continue reading 30 Days: 30 Days in a Wheelchair

30 Days: Working in a Coalmine (season premiere)

Morgan Spurlock(S03E01) "All you need to be a coal miner is a weak mind and a strong back." James

One thing I love about 30 Days is that in every episode there is a wealth of information. In the first five minutes of this season's premiere episode, I more than doubled the amount of information I knew about the coal mining industry. More importantly, I was ready to learn even more.

This season's premiere, like the past premieres, stars Spurlock himself as the episode's guinea pig and just like the other times he has put himself in harm's way, Spurlock's wife Alex expresses her concerns. What I found funny is that her knowledge of the perils of your average coal miner was pretty equal to my own. It really doesn't go too far past cave-ins and black lung.

Continue reading 30 Days: Working in a Coalmine (season premiere)

30 Days season three -- An early look

30 DaysWhen I first heard that Morgan Spurlock was doing a series for FX, I was thrilled. I really enjoyed Super Size Me and I thought FX was the perfect place for a guy like him to do a show.

For those of you who haven't seen it. 30 Days uses the same basic premise of Super Size Me but takes it a giant step forward. Instead of adopting a bad habit for a month, like in the film, Spurlock and others actually live a completely different lifestyle. In past episodes, we saw people take human growth hormones, binge drink, work for minimum wage and much more all for thirty days straight.

Gallery: 30 Days

Continue reading 30 Days season three -- An early look

Morgan Spurlock signs two-year deal with Fox

Super Size MeMorgan 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.

Continue reading Morgan Spurlock signs two-year deal with Fox

What's on tonight: Trading Spaces, America's Most Wanted, Super Size Me

  • Suze OrmanAt 8, NBC runs an episode of Top Chef.
  • ABC has an Ugly Betty marathon starting at 8.
  • HGTV has a new reDesign at 8.
  • Also at 8: TCM has the 1940 movie Foregin Correspondent, followed by 1939's The Saint in London.
  • At 9, FOX has a new America's Most Wanted.
  • There's a new Suze Orman Show on CNBC at 9.
  • MSNBC has Super Size Me at 9.
  • At 10, TLC has a new Trading Spaces.

30 Days gets third season

Morgan SpurlockWho knew that eating your body weight in McDonald's could lead to a lasting career? Morgan Spurlock is finding out, as the director/guinea pig from the 2004 documentary Super Size Me is carving out a nice little resume for himself as a producer and director. And his efforts are paying off: Cynopsis is reporting that FX is picking up his documentary series 30 Days for a third season.

For the uninitiated, 30 Days examines controversial issues by following a subject -- someone other than Spurlock, even though he's been the subject in an episode or two -- as he or she experiences something that touches on that issue. Usually, the environment the subject is in is completely foreign to them and, in some cases, runs opposite to their ideology or beliefs.

Continue reading 30 Days gets third season

Bill Maher interviews Morgan Spurlock

morgan spurlockOver on Amazon Fishbowl, comedian Bill Maher has an interview with documentary filmmaker Morgan Spurlock about the second season of Spurlock's FX series 30 Days, which starts on Wednesday, July 26. The interview is pretty short, as most of the interviews on Maher's little online talk show tend to be, but it's worth checking out. Spurlock describes his method of throwing himself (or other people) into uncomfortable situations as "jackass journalism" and Maher defines him as "the thinking man's David Blaine." Spurlock also talks about the time he spent in jail for the second season finale, and insists he was never made anyone's bitch, though he does add it would have made for great television.

Morgon Spurlock talks to B&C

morgan spurlockThe magazine Broadcasting and Cable has an interview with Morgan Spurlock of Super Size Me and 30 Days fame, but if you don't read that particular mag you can always check out a few extra questions from the interview on the B&C Beat blog. Spurlock talks a little bit about his stint in prison, which he taped for the first episode of the show, as well as the possibility of working on network television in the future. I was somewhat surprised to find out he still eats fast food, but apparently the chili cheese fries at Tommy Burgers in East LA are quite delicious. The new season of 30 Days starts July 26 on FX.

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