[Obituary] Morgan Spurlock, director of the documentary 'Super Size Me,' about a man who eats McDonald's for a month, dies at age 53
Morgan Spurlock, known for the documentary film 'Super Size Me,' in which he ate McDonald's for a month and documented the effects it had on his life, died on Thursday, May 23, 2024, due to complications from cancer. He was 53 years old.
Morgan Spurlock Dead: 'Super Size Me' Director Was 53
Morgan Spurlock, Documentarian Known for 'Super Size Me,' Dies at 53 - The New York Times
https://www.nytimes.com/2024/05/24/arts/morgan-spurlock-dead-super-size-me.html
Morgan Spurlock, 'Super Size Me' filmmaker, dies at 53 : NPR
https://www.npr.org/2024/05/24/nx-s1-4978739/morgan-spurlock-dead-super-size-me
Spurlock was born on November 7, 1970 in Parkersburg, West Virginia.
After graduating with a Bachelor's degree in Film from New York University's Tisch School of the Arts, he worked as a playwright and documentary filmmaker.
Inspired by the news of a lawsuit in which two girls claimed they had become obese because of McDonald's, Spurlock conducted an experiment in which he ate all three meals, including drinks, at McDonald's for a month. When asked by a staff member to order a 'super size,' he refused, and reduced his daily walking from three miles (about 4.8 km) to 1.5 miles (about 2.4 km) to match the average American.
As a result of the experiment, Spurlock gained 25 pounds (about 11.3 kg) and suffered from liver failure and depression.
The documentary film about the experiment, 'Super Size Me,' won the Writers Guild of America Award for Best Documentary Screenplay.
Amazon | Super Size Me Standard Edition [DVD] | Movies
Regarding the details of the experiment in this film, while it is known that the 'super-sized' meal was recommended nine times, the accuracy of the data has been questioned, as not all of the eating and drinking records were made public, and the liver failure may have been the result of alcohol abuse, as Spurlock later admitted.
Spurlock has continued to work on documentaries, including the 2017 sequel to Super Size Me, Super Size Me 2: Holy Chicken!, in which Spurlock opens his own fast food restaurant and explores the problems in the industry.
Amazon.co.jp: Super Size Me 2 [DVD] : Morgan Spurlock: DVD
However, in December 2017, amid the #MeToo movement, he confessed to having engaged in 'sexual misconduct,' including being accused of sexual assault by a woman with whom he had a one-night stand while both were drunk during college, and 'resolving' a sexual harassment allegation made by an assistant at the Warrior Poets, which he founded. With his departure from the Warrior Poets, Spurlock's work as a documentary filmmaker was effectively over.
Spurlock's brother Craig said, 'Morgan gave so much through his art, his ideas and his generosity. The world has lost a true creative genius and a special person. I am proud to have worked with him.'
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