Hollywood heavyweights mourn late ‘Super Size Me’ director Morgan Spurlock

Hollywood is paying tribute to Morgan Spurlock, the “Super Size Me” director who died Thursday at age 53 of complications from cancer.

“Devastated to learn of the passing of my friend and colleague Morgan Spurlock,” wrote Oscar winner Alex Gibney, who made “Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room” and “Taxi to the Dark Side,” wrote Friday in X , formerly Twitter. “Rest in peace.”

“I am very sad to hear of the passing of Morgan Spurlock,” wrote Al Jean, longtime writer and executive producer of “The Simpsons.”

“A very talented, funny and brilliant man and a true friend of @TheSimpsons,” he added. “A great loss.”

“Kurt Cobain: Montage of Heck” documentary filmmaker Brett Morgen shared similar sentiments.

“Morgan Spurlock achieved what most artists only dream of: he truly changed the world with his art,” Morgen wrote. “He was an incredible father, brother, friend and one of the most important and influential filmmakers of my time. My heart breaks for his family and friends.”

Spurlock helped change the fast-food industry when the 2004 Oscar-nominated documentary “Super Size Me,” which chronicled the effects of eating only McDonald’s for 30 days, pressured restaurants to adjust their menus.

“I was saddened to hear of the passing of director and friend Morgan Spurlock,” Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos wrote on Instagram. “At just 53 years old, he had a lot more to do. He was a real force in the documentary world, bringing in wider audiences and raising the profile of independent documentary.”

After “Super Size Me,” Spurlock tackled politics with “Where’s Osama Bin Laden?” and the impact of product placement with “The Greatest Movie Ever Sold.” He later returned to the theme that made him a star with “Super Size Me 2” in 2017.

Amid that year’s #MeToo movement, Spurlock spoke about past instances in which he was accused of sexual misconduct. He said he was surprised in college to learn that a sexual partner accused him of rape and that he once “resolved a sexual harassment allegation” in a separate incident.

“I am part of the problem. We all are,” he wrote at the time. “But I’m also part of the solution. By openly acknowledging and admitting what I have done to foster this terrible situation, I hope to strengthen change within myself.”

In 2019, he reflected on these admissions, saying, “For me, there was a moment of realization — as someone who tells the truth and someone who made a point of trying to do what’s right — of recognizing that I could do better in my own right. life.

In the months before his death, the father of two reportedly finalized his divorce from producer Sara Bernstein.

Need help? Visit RAINN’s National Online Sexual Assault Hotline or the National Sexual Violence Resource Center website.