It can also work as a feature-length advertisement for his franchisable business, nudging audiences to eat his chicken. He's treated with suspicion by everyone except from Jonathan Buttram and his family, who take him in and help him farm chickens. because doctors & nutritionist recommend you only eat this type of food only once or twice a month. Super Size Me 2: Holy Chicken! Farmer Jonathan Buttram serves as Spurlock's window into the . NEW YORK -- Last time out, documentary filmmaker Morgan Spurlock ate only fast food for a month. ), Theres not a company out there that tells you the truth about their food, where it comes from, what it means to the environment we live in, Spurlock told The Post. goes in fourth round of NFL draft, Dead whale in Cape Breton, N.S. Those labels slapped onto Perdue or Tyson chicken in the frozen aisle, Spurlock observes, dont actually tell you much about what happens behind the scenes. And, you know, I got sober 640-plus days ago and it's been the greatest thing. examines this from the corporate side, showing you the decisions that are made, the stories that are spun, the corners that are cut, and the lives that are impacted to get you, the consumer, what you believe to be the best food possible, at the most affordable price," said Spurlock. Morris learned about what Spurlock did and the eventual backing out by YouTube through his attorneys. Now I'm at the point of my journey where I'm reaching out to the people and starting to make amends. Theres also a "man on the street" interview showing how confused people actually are about these monikers. No charges were ever filed. Buttram is the heart of "Super Size Me 2," a guy locked into a contract with Big Chicken who'll pay the price for helping the filmmakers. The Holy Chicken Pop-Up, located at 18 West 23 rd Street, is serving up Spurlock's chicken fare through Sunday, September 22nd ( 11am-5pm daily). One of them was cop who was threatening to commit suicide and murder. Fact-checking Eating Animals: What the film gets right and wrong. And so I have to start counseling then sometimes drive to their farm, Spurlock said. 2019 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. And that's the thing that I've been fighting for the last 18 months: Jonathan and Zach, who literally put their life and work on the line to tell their story and be a part of this.. It was the launch of another project from Spurlock that would attract audiences beyond die-hard documentary lovers. Ive eaten them before. Now that you know, are you gonna throw those back? she asked. concept designed to skewer "better-for-you" messaging Im hopeful that people dont try and penalize [the farmers] and the message were trying to put out based on some things that I said a few years ago, Spurlock told The Post. "For the last two years while the movie was sitting on the shelf, all I did was work it and try to get the movie out," said Spurlock. how Big Chicken punishes a farmer who rents him a "grow out" house to start his enterprise, what maladies hit chickens forced to grow to many times the size they used to grow in a fraction of the time. As a subscriber, you have 10 gift articles to give each month. We get an explanation of how these corporations apply enormous pressure on farmers, keeping them in a constant state of debt - or worse for farmer Jonathan Buttram who has . . Spurlock discovered they could in his sequel Super Size Me 2: Holy Chicken! Alabama farmers like Jonathan Buttram are voting for Doug -- even if they usually vote Republican -- because they know that Doug too has integrity. The movie could still be sitting on a shelf and the farmers deserve this more than anyone. Now Hollywood's grand exorcism of misdeeds has had an extremelyunexpected casualty and it falls to us a bucolic nation to provide at least a partial remedy. This is not about Morgan Spurlock, this is about the industry and us farmers and how were being treated.. This movie was shelved for two years, he said. And what about Super Size Me 2? The documentary is in many ways collateral damage following Spurlocks confession, collecting dust on a shelf somewhere and no longer a tool for the people who needed it to be seen by audiences the most: the dozens of farmers who have brought lawsuits against Big Chicken. Now that the waters have calmed I hope they would go ahead and move forward with showing the movie to the public., Business Insider contacted YouTube about the release status of Super Size Me 2 and a spokeswoman sent the same statement it made in December following Spurlocks tweet: We feel for all the women impacted by the statements made by Morgan Spurlock. "Super Size Me 2: Holy Chicken!" may never be released after the director's December self-revelations about a pattern of sexual harrasment. Show Roland's Food Court, Ep Morgan Spurlock, the farmers Jonathan & Zack Buttram promoting Super Size Me 2: Holy Chicken - Sep 12, 2019 You have to look no further than the impact of the first Super Size Me movie to confirm Butlers theory. Transparency, Spurlock said, is at the heart of his passion project. He and his family have been punished financially for revealing the industry's secrets to Spurlock. Holy Chicken! It wasn't a journey that I thought I'd be on, Spurlock said. The biggest surprise about Super Size Me 2: Holy Chicken!, a feature-length follow-up to Morgan Spurlock's hit 2004 fast-food documentary, is that it was ever released in the first place.. Both are part of our commitment to promote transparency and communications with the independent farmers who grow chickens for us. The menu will broadcast more appropriate options but will check whether the content they provide has actually changed and what we ordered. Hot pants Again there was nothing physical to it, but itverbally crossed the line it was demeaning.. Morgan Spurlock teamed up with Jonathan Buttram, a chicken farmer in . It would seem Spurlock stands to benefit, too. Spurlocks return to the screen may leave an odd taste in peoples mouths regardless of how they feel about the film. After all, when it comes to fast food, chicken is the latest rage. We invite anyone interested in seeing first-hand the real story of broiler chickens to watch NCCs360 video series. 14 years after making Super Size Me, the movie that launched his career and redefined the fast-food industry, Spurlock had unveiled the rare documentary sequel. Smartly readjusting the ratios to focus less on the health effects of fast food and more on the oligopoly-run farming industry and the food trade's sneaky marketing tactics, Spurlock goes . His latest stunt is an unfortunate and one-sided hit piece on an industry that provides Americans with the healthiest, most sustainable, affordable, and responsibly raised protein in the market. At Holy Chicken near Westerville, the line is out the door. I know he's been a polarising figure at the best of times and it's hard to separate the man from his work, particularly in this case where is so integral to the movie (there's no chance of subbing in Christopher Plummer here), but it really does feel like the only winners in all of this are Big Chicken. Its also an exercise in radical transparency in the fast-food industry. I think the best part, he said, is that people can have their chicken and eat it, too. You could picture him winking as he said it. MaybeSpurlockshould never work in "that town" again, but this feels like an important work that doesn't deserve to be scrapped entirely. Buttram helps Spurlock because he wants to expose the practices of the regulatory board and how they are destroying the livelihoods of chicken farmers across the US who don't adhere to their every whim. Spurlock also opened up about sexual abuse during his childhood in the post. . Business Insider reached out to numerous independent film insiders and asked if they thought Super Size Me 2 would ever be seen by general audiences. "In the state of mind I was inI dealt with depression for decades," he said. The movie opens with a teasing montage: Not a minute has gone by before we hear a TV talking head saying of Spurlock, Well, you know his face, you know his name, the director-producer-actor and writer of the Academy Award nominee and so on. investigates the world of the fast food chicken industry, as Morgan Spurlock decides to start from the very beginning and open his very own fast food crispy chicken restaurant.. Super Size Me 2 shines some light on some shady business practices in the American chicken industry, but it misses the real problem, that the socialist business practices are actually . The documentary dives into the challenges farmers like Buttram are facing in dealing with big corporations. He also described a sexual encounter which led to an allegation of date rape when he was in college. But the dream of releasing a documentary that was as impactful as the 2004 original faded away when three months after that successful Super Size Me 2 world premiere, and at the height of the #MeToo Movement, Spurlock sent out a tweet that read I am Part of the Problem, along with a link to a letter via TwitLonger, in which he confessed to numerous acts of sexual misconduct in his past. I'm excited to see who this filmmaker is now that [he's come] out of this process versus the one that was there before, he said. September 10, 2019 / 1:38 PM Morris is in Super Size Me 2, and is also part of a lawsuit in Kentucky against Tyson. The second Morgan Spurlock cinematic dining outing takes fast food out of the fire and into the deep fryer. For us it's about putting out a message of change and empowerment. In 2017, the director published a statement on social media titled I am part of the problem., I think that I looked at some of my past actions as being problematic[they] shouldn't have happened. Now, 15 years later, Morgan Spurlock is trying his hand at chicken with a new movie called Super Size Me 2 -Holy Chicken. What does bug me about Super Size Me 2 is that it only skims the surface of the habitual human behavior Spurlock wishes to explore and exploit with his transparent marketing. Spurlock is optimistic. You know, green makes you think of natural, fresh vegetables, to the words that we use crispy being a perfect example. Filmmaker celebrates new movie with natural, free-range, hormone-free chicken sandwiches and sides! During the process Spurlock fashioned his body into a toxic biohazard. ", First published on September 10, 2019 / 1:38 PM. Jonathan and Zach Buttram, a father and son farming duo, serve as Spurlock's window into the chicken industry in the documentary. Its an in-your-face, postmodern fantasia of reds, greens and boldface messaging. But when Spurlock sent out his confession, that hope to educate the public was lost. Stay up to date with what you want to know. Everybody walked away. He also admitted to cheating on numerous partners. And we live in a time now when people crave that level of honesty and information.. Spurlock's own chicks are bred to grow so fast that they often suffer heart attacks or can't stand up. "Family farm, mom and pop operations will not be in existence probably in five more years because of this if this goes through," said chicken farmer Jonathan Buttram. He doesnt bother me, so consider that a caveat. When I got the idea for this, I thought what would it look like to open my fast food restaurant.". Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information. Because when [big chicken companies] come and they say, 'Well I'm gonna terminate your contract if you don't do this, this and this and you're gonna lose your farm.'. Spurlock focuses on two parts of the fast-food world: chicken farmers stuck in a peculiar financial system and the attempt by fast-food chains to deceive customers into thinking they're eating healthier. Holy Chicken! Theres also a "man on the street" interview showing how confused people actually are about these monikers. If Im going [to] truly represent myself as someone who has built a career on finding the truth, then its time for me to be truthful as well, Spurlock wrote. They pay their farmers through a tournament system, pitting grower against grower, where griping about unfair conditions often leads to a flock of smaller, even sicker birds the next month, triggering a cycle of lower output and lower compensation. But viewers of "Super Size Me 2: Holy Chicken!" The movie became a must-see, grossing over $20 million at the box office worldwide (on a $65,000 budget). 'Super Size Me' director Morgan Spurlock wonders 'when will they come for me', Chicken People: a documentary that lacks spice, #MeToo campaign is a conversation that must be had, MasterChef Australia judge Jock Zonfrillo dies, aged 46, Car park crash kills 'lovely guy' and bakery regular, Death of MasterChef Australia judge Jock Zonfrillo 'shocks and saddens' NZ hospitality industry, Why PM Chris Hipkins is taking Christopher Luxon to the King's coronation, Hawke's Bay homeowners sell for more than $3 million - and give the lot away, 'You'd be keen to do that naked' - complaint against Invercargill councillor revealed, Woman killed in Northland crash was five times over the legal limit, not wearing seatbelt, Quiz: Afternoon trivia challenge: May 1, 2023, 2023 Census heading for failure, forecasts National. He discovers that offering his chickens a few inches of walled-off space outside means they are now officially "free-range.". Sept. 5, 2019. - The majority of chicken farmers today are thriving and helping to produce Americas #1 protein. In Super Size Me 2, which was yanked from the 2018 Sundance slate after Spurlock stepped away and now marks his comeback a year later, he is both. This time taking on the poultry industry, or as he called it Big Chicken (Tyson, Perdue, Pilgrims, Koch Foods), Super Size Me 2 follows Spurlock as he shows audiences the dirty side of the multibillion-dollar industry by starting his own chicken sandwich franchise, called Holy Chicken!, and revealing all the tricks used to make us think that the chicken we get from the super market to a fast food chain is natural., From showing what really defines a "free range" chicken, to how some chains actually paint marks on cooked chicken breasts to make them look "grilled," to showing how chicken farmers are being short-changed by Big Chicken, the movie is as eye-opening about the food we eat as the first Super Size Me.. ", The minute I hit send, I felt better, he said. By Marty Irby and Jonathan Buttram - - Wednesday, April 5, 2023 OPINION: In 2023, consumption of chicken in the United States has hit an all-time high, outpacing that of beef or pork. Our members use industry leading and third-party certified animal welfare practices to ensure the birds are raised as healthy as possible. Still, my mind wandered to, Dear Mama: The Saga of Afeni & Tupac Shakur, Fatal Attraction Works As Entertainment, Fails as Social Commentary, Prime Videos Citadel Traps Priyanka Chopra Jonas and Richard Madden in Played-Out Spy Game, New York Philharmonic and Steven Spielberg Celebrate the Music of John Williams, A Piece of His Fire: Harry Belafonte (1927-2023). We hope that for the sake of the brave farmers and their families, this film can still find a distributor.. Since Spurlock left the public eye, Warrior Poets has come under fire as seven former employees told Jezebel that the company had a fratty, boys club culture. ", Use of this Website assumes acceptance of Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy | Accessibility, Published Monday, September 16, 2019 12:27PM EDT, 'Super Size Me' sequel pulled from festival after director's sexual misconduct confession, Spurlock on sexual harassment: 'I am part of the problem', Michael J. If it were me, I would call you up and say, Hey, I screwed up. I would tell you whats going to happen., I applaud anyone who tells the truth, especially in the world today, Butler said of Spurlocks confession. Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG), HVAC (Heating, Ventilation and Air-Conditioning), Machine Tools, Metalworking and Metallurgy, Aboriginal, First Nations & Native American. He finds that 99% of the chickens we eat are produced by five companies. It was it was almost like a soul purge that happened. Super Size Me 2: Holy Chicken! What's the best version of me I can put out everyday. Its crispy because the word fried is marketing taboo. "There has been this massive shift and people say to me, 'So has the food gotten healthier?' The documentarys main target is the multibillion-dollar chicken industrys big five megacompanies the Chicken Mafia, as Buttram calls them. After selling the distribution rights, Morgan Spurlock admitted to a history of sexual misconduct and harassment, resulting in a delayed and discreet release two years later. The big company provides the chicks. He has some very good ideas at play here, but theyre presented in a lackluster fashion that kept sending my mind to other places where his material had been done before and better. Although chain restaurants now tout food that's "healthy," "organic," and "natural," filmmaker Morgan Spurlock explores this new reality with an approach even more immersive and subversive than that used for his first film he sets out to open his own chicken franchise! This article was published more than3 years ago. may skip that menu item once they learn about the cruelty and dishonesty used to make it. Since then, he's seen an explosion in restaurants stressing freshness, artisanal methods, farm-to-table goodness and ethically sourced ingredients. We follow him as he plans to open his own chicken-themed fast food franchise thats completely transparent about its ingredients and its intentions. Both men were with Spurlock at TIFF, were introduced on stage at the world premiere, and did press with Spurlock the days that followed. will be making an appearance in New York later this month on 18 West 23rd Street. After one month of greasy Mc-oversizing, he proved the medical hazards of such an . Jonathan tells his local TV station why he's suing USDA: "If we're being mistreated by the chicken company or packers we can't sue them. Like Michael Moore, Morgan Spurlock has a particular shtick that drives some people crazy. Hes bailed out by the largest independent hatchery, who supplies him with over 2,000 broilers, the most popular chickens on Earth., These chickens are bred to grow faster and bigger than their feathers will cover them at some points in their development. The fast-food industry has undergone a makeover since Super Size Me debuted 15 years ago. It's getting national attention. Related news. OPINION:#MeToo hasaffected audiences for Woody Allen's Wonder Wheel and Matt Damon's Downsizing, tainted movies like The Disaster Artist and Baby Driver and forced Ridley Scott into extreme measures byre-casting of Kevin Spacey withChristopher Plummer. It is clearly told in a story intended for entertainment and not based on facts. Posts about Jonathan Buttram written by Jack Shalom. Spurlock said it has been a long journey of making amends. Directed by Morgan Spurlock. Jonathan Buttram attends the "Super Size Me 2: Holy Chicken!" premiere during the 2017 Toronto International Film Festival held at Ryerson Theatre on. The biggest reason Super Size Me was so effective was because it simplified what was wrong with fast food in America. Its the last place anyone would expect to see the arch enemy of fast food. What hes done is instrumental in helping us.. Morgan Spurlock is about to launch his latest venture: luring customers in with his version of the perfect chicken sandwich at his New York City pop-up restaurant, Holy Chicken. The film calls the industry Big Chicken and they control the distribution of live product for farms. In this Oct. 20, 2015 file photo, Morgan Spurlock attends the 11th Annual New York Television Festival "CNN Presents: An Original Take on the Stories of Now" at the SVA Theatre in New York. Guests at the pop-up include Jonathan and Zack Buttram, two Alabama chicken farmers, who appear in the film. "At the end of the day I do want to give you spinach, but I want it to taste like cotton candy and the more cotton candy-flavoured spinach I can give you the more you're going to eat.". The most shocking thing Spurlock said he learned about the . . His pop-up restaurant in Ohio has long since closed but Spurlock brought it to New York to coincide with the film's release. The activist documentarian Morgan Spurlock blended Michael Moore-style showmanship with Gen X bro appeal in his 2004 debut feature Super Size Me, a relentless examination of the fast food industry. Super Size Me 2 Review: Beware That Healthy Chicken, https://www.nytimes.com/2019/09/05/movies/super-size-me-2-holy-chicken-review.html, Morgan Spurlock and his brood in Super Size Me 2: Holy Chicken!. We had sold the sequel to the film out of the Toronto Film Festival to YouTube for $3.5 million, he said. He says its humbling to see the information exposed. But that hasnt stopped Morris from single-handedly trying to get the movie out to the public. They all believed it would, including Thom Powers, the head documentary programmer at the Toronto International Film Festival, who was responsible for the movies world premiere at TIFF. The Original Grilled Crispy Chicken Sandwich TM (Regular or Spicy). Like the farmers in the movie, practically everyone involved was not told that Spurlock was going to release his confession and since have been left wondering if the movie will ever see the light of day. Super Size Me 2: Holy Chicken! We should be able to admit we were wrong.". Years later, he settled a sexual harassment claim at his production company. "I think the intention is to kind of give you a different perspective of the fast-food world -- the fast-food commodity world -- from a much more corporate point of view," said Spurlock. Spurlock worked with farmer Jonathan Buttram in Alabama to raise the chickens for his restaurant. 2. Where you know I'm contacting them, I'm sitting down with them, I'm talking to them.. I am part of the problem, he wrote then. If eliminated, as the National Chicken Council want in the interest of saving "consumers hundreds of millions of dollars", the Grain Inspection, Packers and Stockyards Administration rules' absence would mean farmers could not sue the companies for any "mistreatment". "We're at an amazing moment in history from a consumer standpoint where consumers are starting to have more and more power," he said. From the packaging to the walls, everything is decorated in trade secrets information that provides full disclosures on how fast food companies convince you that a junk food meal is somehow healthy. As Super Size Me 2 highlights, in one instance Tyson used a tournament system in which the company gave farmers a certain amount of chickens per year, and then paid by the performance of those chickens (i.e., size of the bird, and the amount produced). See less. I'm on day 640 something of being sober, being a better Dad, a better partner and that's all I can be.". The fast-food industry has undergone a makeover . In "Super Me 2: Holy Chicken", Morgan Spurlock explores the fast-food industry's claims that fast food is both healthy and organic by opening his own restaurant. It was poised to start a really important conversation around what we eat and expanded the conversation from Super Size Me 1. at a farmer named Jonathan Buttram and his son Zack. And Sandwich, the official mascot of Holy Chicken! Her placement of her chickens when I spoke out in Ohio.. Theres a real sense of loss there. Morgan also brought along two farmers to the interview, Jonathan and Zack Buttram, who spoke of their devastating personal experiences, and how they were caught up in a . I was lucky enough to see Holy . Everything is organic! Carlin says, mocking one of the biggest words used to make customers feel woke about their purchases. Cast: Morgan Spurlock, Jonathan Buttram. Viewers watch as the filmmaker goes to Alabama to learn about raising chicks and follow the process all the way until he opens his own chicken restaurant in central Ohio, the nation's test-market capital. With "Super Size Me 2: Holy Chicken! B.C. explores the chicken industry as Spurlock opens his own chicken farm and fast food restaurant. Bettering himself and making amends doesnt have to happen in the public eye, he says, so he resigned from his production company and stepped out of the spotlight. You as a consumer need to understand you have the power to make a difference through the choices you make. Spurlock teams up with an Alabama poultry farmer named Jonathan Buttram and his family to raise his own chickens after getting stonewalled by larger producers, and he has fun playing by the industrys standards. Theres an interesting, if too short scene where he asks for clarification from the USDA about some of these words. This former Wendy's closed in 2014 and in 2017 and it was used for a movie about fast food called Super Size Me 2. Turn on desktop notifications for breaking stories about interest? Spurlock ventures into a lab with food scientists and chefs to concoct the highlight of his menu: a Grilled Crispy Chicken sandwich. The . Anyone can read what you share. Jonathan Buttram, the outspoken Alabama farmer responsible for all those Holy Chickens, was on hand Monday and bristled at accusations that the operation is a stunt and that the chickens are from . Days later, YouTube announced it would not release " Super Size Me 2 " and Spurlock stepped down as head of his production company, Warrior Poets. as well as other partner offers and accept our, NOW WATCH: WATCH: Executives from JPMorgan and BNY Mellon tell fintech founders the best ways to partner with large banks. after boat sinks. / CBS New York. Morris, along with Jonathan Buttram, are both big parts in Super Size Me 2. Buttram, who declined to comment for this story, was the only farmer Spurlock could find who agreed to grow chickens for Holy Chicken! The poultry company doesn't care.". Find Tickets. Two years on, he said he's "in the process of continuing to heal and continuing to get better and make amends to the people that I need to. Speaking at the premiere, Buttram detailed the toll these draconian and punitive practices had on his fellow farmers. This time, he's the one dishing out the fried stuff. . In light of this situation, we have decided not to distribute Super Size Me 2 on YouTube Red.. Morgan Spurlock ruffles the feathers of the powerful chicken industry in this follow-up to his 2004 documentary hit 'Super Size Me.' . And I say, 'Well, the marketing sure has,"' he said. . Big Chicken has seen Super Size Me, so when Spurlock calls to inquire setting up a farm, hes met with much resistance. They know theyre being deluded, yet they dont seem to care. Morgan Spurlock raises his have toddler chicks in "Tremendous Sizing Me two: Holy Chicken!" Samuel Goldwyn. The culture is still grappling with how and when men who have admitted or been accused of sexual wrongdoing should emerge from exile. READ MORE *'Super Size Me' director Morgan Spurlock wonders 'when will they come for me' *Chicken People: a documentary that lacks spice *#MeToo campaign is a conversation that must be had. Beyond that, theres a nagging aura of meh encircling the proceedings. (Photo by Ben Hider/Invision/AP, File). Green equals good, as Spurlock discovers. I've been blackballed for speaking out, Jonathan Buttram added. Oct. 11, 2019 I had 10 farmers come up to my house and we had a link to the movie and I showed it to them and everyone just loved it. Part of that resistance stems from the Tournament System, a way for Big Chicken to punish/reward chicken farmers while simultaneously creating rules to keep them so in debt that theyre practically indentured servants. Spurlock said this reveal will help shatter illusions, making us savvier costumers, which is why transparency is the ultimate goal. Instead, grill marks are painted on with dark food coloring. So maybe now it's time forour own "Documentary Edge" Festival tolive up to its name, risk the potential backlash,and seek it out for screening here later in the year. "I set out ten years ago with a cause to help the consumer because all of them have been deceived," Buttram told Business Insider the day after the TIFF premiere, sitting beside Spurlock and Morris. The filmmaker and farmer discuss the new documentary and explain what New Yorkers can expect when the Holy Chicken! The biggest thing that I learned and the whole thing that led to this was I can be better and I can do better. My son's been blackballed and my wife, they stopped placement of her contract. Running time: 1 hour 33 minutes. . 24/7 coverage of breaking news and live events. This popularity has led to huge profits for the poultry industry, but the farmers who are growing the chickens arent getting much of the rewards. Contact: Rachel Krupa,Krupa Consulting [emailprotected]/ 212.226.2922, Cision Distribution 888-776-0942 The movie is playing in New York now and comes out on demand September 13. But rather than constantly subject himself to fast-food consumption as he did in the original documentary, Spurlock has instead decided to feed other consumers. He made me laugh several times, in fact. And she did it In four minutes.
