Feakonomics & The Greatest Movie Ever Sold
Morgan Spurlock’s first documentary was Super Size Me in 2004 about testing an all McDonald’s diet for a whole month, earning him an Oscar nomination for Best Documentary. Spurlock followed up with Where in the World Is Osama Bin Laden? (2008), and The Simpsons 20th Anniversary Special: in 3-D! On Ice! (2010). I just watched what he directed next, a segment in Freakonomics (2010) and the feature length The Greatest Movie Ever Sold (2011). He has since gone on to direct We the Economy: 20 Short Films You Can’t Afford to Miss (2014), Rats (2016 about rat infestations in major cities), and the recently released Super Size Me 2: Holy Chicken! (in which he opens a fast food restaurant).
Freakonomics
2010, PG-13, 1h 33m
Distributor – Magnolia
Budget / Worldwide Box Office (in millions) – $2.9 / $0.1
Freakonomics is a documentary film made up of segments directed by different filmmakers that all tackle questions of human nature with the use of economics and is based on the 2005 book by economist Steven D. Levitt and writer Stephen J. Dubner. Examining the why we do things is at the heart of this film, complimented by interviews throughout the whole film. The more recent The Big Short (2015 written and directed by Adam McKay) about the housing bubble collapse used similar methods in exploring a potentially boring lecture with humour and drama. All four parts looked at incentives, but used it in different ways. “A Roshanda By Any Other Name” by Morgan Spurlock is about the impact of names, “Pure Corruption” by Alex Gibney (who won an Oscar for Taxi to the Dark Side in 2007) is about match fixing in Sumo wrestling, “It’s Not Always a Wonderful Life” by Eugene Jarecki (who next made Reagan in 2011) is about the decline of crime rate in the mid-to late 1990s in the US, and “Can You Bribe a 9th Grader to Succeed?” by Rachel Grady and Heidi Ewing (who both next made Detropia in 2012) is about paying students to achieve higher grades. The film has animations to help explain a point (such as the names above folks in Spurlock’s segment), most of the interviews look like they were having fun, and the DVD comes with commentaries.
The Greatest Movie Ever Sold
2011, PG-13, 1h 30m
Distributor – Sony Classics
Budget / Worldwide Box Office (in millions) – $1.8 / $0.6
POM Wonderful Presents: The Greatest Movie Ever Sold is the full title of the documentary about product placement and its affect on films and was specifically financed by a number of sponsors, the very process the film explores. Morgan Spurlock is as much in front of the camera, calling and meeting with reps from various companies trying to acquire sponsorship, and he learns what the cost of their financing entails. Some moments in the film are deliberately made to be ads for the companies paying for the film, and often first show their negotiations with Spurlock about doing just that. This film works as a lesson in getting finance for a film, while still allows for Spurlock to have some fun at the expense of some of the companies. His reactions to those who both do and do not help fund the movie, help have some fun along the way and add to the feeling of transparency this film tries to make. That includes times where things do not go his way, yet with the impressive globe travelling journey he takes in the film, it can’t be that bad (check out Sao Paulo, Brazil which banned outdoor advertising, no signage on sides of buildings or automobiles!). It is co-written by Jeremy Chilnick who also worked on Spurlock’s other films since 2008. There are a lot of cameos by other directors which added weight to the film being a training lesson and the DVD also includes a making of, deleted scenes, and a commentary.
Links
Feakonomics
The Greatest Movie Ever Sold