Courtesy

There are apparently no limits to Morgan Spurlock's desire to influence the public. Spurlock is, after all, the same guy who ate nothing but McDonald's for 30 days (the documentary hit “Super Size Me”), became a prison inmate for a month and even lived on minimum wage for the same period of time (both on his FX program “30 Days”), all to prove various points. And with a pair of upcoming releases — the DVD of “What Would Jesus Buy?” and the cinematic release of “Where in the World is Osama bin Laden?” — Spurlock is taking on corporate giant Wal-Mart (“WWJB?”) and the hunt for the world's most noted fugitive (“Where in the World”). Both films are slated for release in late April.

Spurlock spoke about these topics, and many others, at a Feb. 12 lecture at San Antonio College. Before he took the stage to entertain a capacity crowd, 210SA caught up with Spurlock to talk about politics, his favorite episode of “30 Days” and whether he has eaten at McDonald's since wrapping “Super Size Me.”

CLINT HALE | 210SA
 

Have you eaten McDonald's since you wrapped “Super Size Me?”

I haven't eaten it since. I've not even gone into a McDonald's, not even to pee. The thing for me about that food, it has all these fantastic chemicals in there to create a specific sensation in your body. To this day, if I smell a Big Mac, my mouth starts watering.
Those McNuggets are damned tasty, too.

McNuggets, and also the fries. It's not happenchance that by the time you get home, the fries in the bag are gone. They're addictive.

What does “What Would Jesus Buy” mostly center on?

The commercialization of Christmas. We've all lost sight of what's important, and we place value in things and stuff and gadgets and trinkets, like happiness comes in a box. (The documentary) does a great job of taking a step back and finding out what matters most. ..... During the holiday, this one day during the year, it's a massive orgy of consumption. You have to buy the perfect thing or get so stressed out. You have to find the one gift to make someone happy, and if you don't, you're a terrible father or mother, an awful parent, a bad brother or sister, no one will love me or my girlfriend will hate me. We've lost sight of the most important things.

What advice would you give to young documentarians?

Don't stop, don't quit, and prepare for it to be hard. It took me a long time. Like William H. Macy said: “It took me 20 years to become an overnight success.” That's true. You have to be prepared for the long road, especially if you're a documentary filmmaker. You have to be prepared to shake every tree you can to get money. It's tough, but the more movies like “Sicko” that make $26 million, I'm ecstatic. “March of the Penguins?” You keep marching to $77 million (at the box office).

Which of your film or television experiences scared you the most or most opened your eyes?

In the new film in April called “Where in the World is Osama bin Laden?,” we were filming in some dangerous places. ..... In Afghanistan, it was one of the scariest and more realistic times working as a filmmaker. People are struggling every day to survive, and soldiers are trying to do the right thing. ..... I was frightened to be with those guys. They're there trying to help, and my heart goes out to them. They're working so hard to do the right thing, and we haven't given them all the resources necessary.

Was it tough not to get political while filming “Where in the World is Osama bin Laden?”

For me, the thing “Where in the World” does is a great job of remaining apolitical. It's hard to find a political view in my movies. ..... What I like to do is present things that are unfolding, here's what's happening while going through real times. Make up your own mind. The best documentaries encourage you to think and walk out with your own opinion. I don't want you to have my opinion.

What's been your favorite episode of “30 Days?”

This season has a fantastic episode ..... where a hunter from North Carolina moves to L.A. and moves in with a PETA family, a family of animal activists. It's one of the greatest hours of television I've ever seen in my life.