Morgan Spurlock: 50 Documentaries To See Before You Die

Morgan Spurlock said it plainly: "I am a huge comic book fan. I grew up a super comic book geek as a kid and so I am doing a movie that looks at the world…" — and Premier Guide Miami was in the room when it happened.

Current TV premieres the new original series 50 Documentaries To See Before You Die on Tuesday, August 9, at 9pm. Hosted by renowned documentarian Morgan Spurlock — known for Super Size Me, 30 Days, Where in the World is Osama Bin Laden, The Greatest Movie Ever Sold, and more — the five-part series examines how the documentary feature has evolved into an increasingly mainstream genre over the last quarter-century, becoming a major box office draw and impacting society and contemporary American culture in ways never seen before. The series highlights game-changers like Roger & Me and The Thin Blue Line, as well as more recent fare including Catfish and the Academy Award-winning Inside Job. Premier Guide Miami's Judith Wallace spoke with Spurlock about the series and his upcoming projects.

PREMIER GUIDE MIAMI: Tell us about 50 Documentaries To See Before You Die.

MORGAN SPURLOCK: Current TV gets a whole panel of experts — people from the International Documentary Association, college professors, varied experts in the field — who all weighed in. These are not my opinions. All I did was come in and convey this list that a much smarter panel of experts came up with.

PREMIER GUIDE MIAMI: Who was the most interesting documentarian you met while traveling for the series?

MORGAN SPURLOCK: I love Steve James. I think that guy is just an icon of documentary cinema. I think he is an inspiration for filmmakers. He is someone who anytime you meet him is supportive, genuine, open, and humble. He is a huge inspiration to me as a filmmaker and a human being. So just to get to spend time with someone like that, to get to share his story with the people who are watching — that was a real gift for me.

PREMIER GUIDE MIAMI: What are some of the elements a documentary must have for you to deem it a great documentary?

MORGAN SPURLOCK: I think it's got to have a great story, amazing characters, and be filled with surprises. I think a great documentary is just like a good movie — it keeps you guessing. Unless it's a historical documentary where it's basically replaying stuff we already know. I think that a good doc, like a good film, is something that is original and kind of takes you by surprise.

PREMIER GUIDE MIAMI: What's your thought process when making a documentary?

MORGAN SPURLOCK: Well, there is a lot of crying involved — there is a lot of hard stuff involved. Trying to find money to make it, you are begging for the money. It's a hard process. It is usually very long, very arduous. From the time we get an idea until the movie is finished, on average it's about two and a half years. So the biggest thing is that it's got to be an idea that you love, that you are dedicated to, that you want to be married to for the long haul. There is a tremendous amount of development, lots of research. We try to uncover as much as we can about the topic, the people, whatever it may be, and then we start filming. But there is a lot of work that goes into it.

PREMIER GUIDE MIAMI: Is there a difference between how documentaries were made 25 years ago compared to today?

MORGAN SPURLOCK: I think that the form has continued to change just like film and cinema has changed in general. In the world of documentaries we get a bad rap because we are always put in one category — whereas if you talk about films you can have drama, comedy, thrillers. And I think in the world of documentaries there are thrillers, dramas, comedies as well. They are movies that have a tremendous amount of heart. I think the genre has grown over the last couple of decades. You have seen it expand into these worlds even more, and that is what I love about it. You have seen the real entertainment value and I think the quality of the filmmaking just jumped exponentially.

PREMIER GUIDE MIAMI: What is your favorite documentary of all time?

MORGAN SPURLOCK: My favorite documentary of all time is the movie by Joe Berlinger and Bruce Sinofsky called Brother's Keeper. It came out around 1991. It is the story of a small town murder with three brothers who all live together and what unfolds over the course of this movie is remarkable. It's one of the greatest movies you will ever see.

PREMIER GUIDE MIAMI: Tell us about The Greatest Movie Ever Sold, which premiered to great reviews at the Sundance Film Festival.

MORGAN SPURLOCK: It is all about product placement, marketing and advertising — and it was completely paid for and made possible by product placement and advertising. It was the first time ever in the history of movies that we made a film that was actually in profit before the film was ever released, which is pretty remarkable. We are proud of the film. It's out in theatres now and it's going to continue to make its way out and around the world.

PREMIER GUIDE MIAMI: When you make a documentary, what do you hope that people will take away from it?

MORGAN SPURLOCK: It depends on the film. I think the biggest thing is you hope people learn something. You hope people walk away either thinking something a little bit different or looking at the world a little differently. You hope that maybe they are playing the movie over in their head and examining the way that they look at something. You also hope that it shifts the way that they are thinking on some level. That is the most important thing for me.

PREMIER GUIDE MIAMI: What other projects are you currently working on?

MORGAN SPURLOCK: I am finishing up a movie about Comic-Con. I am a huge comic book fan. I grew up a super comic book geek as a kid and so I am doing a movie that looks at the world of comic pop culture, movies, comics, video games — so we are finishing that right now.

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