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When 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."

Now 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.

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.

Who 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.

Over 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.

The 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.

Yup, he finally ticked off McDonald's a little too much.

Just kidding. Actually, he spent time in jail as part of his 30 Days show on FX. The series starts its second season on July 26 with this episode.

Spurlock spent 24 days in a Virginia jail, where officials say he was treated just like any other inmate there. Prisoners were told that a documentary was going to film there, but they didn't tell the prisoners that it was Spurlock's documentary. He was just another inmate while filming went on. Some inmates weren't sure if he was really supposed to be there, but then ended up liking him.

Sorry, but I wouldn't spend 24 days in jail if you paid me, I had my own private shower, and the Pussycat Dolls performed every night.