Oscar-nominated filmmaker Morgan Spurlock, who directed the documentary ‘Super Size Me’, has died after a private battle with cancer. He was 53, reports Deadline.
According to a family statement, Spurlock “passed away peacefully in New York surrounded by family and friends” and died from complications of cancer.
“It was a sad day as we said goodbye to our brother Morgan,” said Craig Spurlock, one of the filmmaker’s older brothers. They collaborated on several documentary projects, including Morgan Spurlock’s Inside Man and 7 Deadly Sins. “Morgan gave so much through his art, ideas and generosity. The world has lost a true creative genius and a special person. I am very proud to have worked closely with him.”
Spurlock ate nothing but McDonald’s for 30 days for his breakthrough film Super Size Me, which premiered at the Sundance Film Festival 20 years ago. The experiment was designed to analyze the health effects of a fast food diet. He filmed himself, Michael Moore-style, to document how eating a Quarter Pounder combination meal, French fries, flapjacks, breakfast sausage and the like while drinking soft drinks caused him to gain weight and suffer near-fatal liver damage.
According to Deadline, the film grossed more than $20 million worldwide, a massive amount for a documentary, and it put Spurlock on a path to becoming one of the most successful figures in nonfiction film. But his career was derailed during the MeToo movement in 2017 when Spurlock wrote a blog post confessing to a history of sexual misconduct. He resigned from Warrior Poets, the production company he founded in 2004.
Spurlock’s filmography includes Mansom, The Greatest Movie Ever Sold, and Where in the World Is Osama Bin Laden? He typically appeared in films as he would in his documentaries, a friendly man whose mustache frames a welcoming smile. His affability obscured critical investigations of consumerism, advertising, masculinity, and the war on terror. In a departure from his often humorous investigative documentaries, he filmed One Direction: This Is Us, a music-driven documentary about the evolution of the British boy band, in 2013.
“Spurlock fearlessly challenged modern conventions, using humor and wit to shed light on social issues,” the family said in its statement. “His films inspired critical thinking and encouraged viewers to question the status quo. Over thirteen years, through his production company Warrior Poets, Spurlock found additional success by producing and directing nearly 70 documentary films and television series.”
The statement added, “He greatly valued the creative contributions of the talented people who worked on his projects, and cultivated a cadre of independent production professionals who returned again and again. A great lover of modern artists, Spurlock compiled an extensive art collection that adorned the walls of his home and the Warrior Poets office in SoHo, New York.”
Spurlock is survived by his two sons, Laken and Callan, his mother Phyllis, his father Ben, brothers Craig and Barry, and ex-wives Alexandra Jamieson and Sarah Bernstein, the mother of his children. The family said memorial service arrangements would be announced soon. They added, “In honor of Morgan, please consider making a generous donation to the American Cancer Society Hope Lodge in New York City,” Deadline reported.
