McDonald's fightback 'will fatten takings' of fast-food horror movie

11.30am - By JONATHAN ROMNEY

The American film-maker who ate nothing but McDonald's food for a month has dismissed the global food giant's pre-emptive advertising campaign as a failed stunt that will probably boost box-office takings for his movie when it goes on general release.

Speaking after the first UK screening of the eagerly awaited Super Size Me, Morgan Spurlock announced his plans to cause further alarm in the fast-food industry by promoting the same message in schools with a new, child-friendly version of the film.

Super Size Me, which premiered at the Edinburgh festival this weekend, records the alarming deterioration in health of the 33-year-old film-maker as he gorges for 30 days on burgers, shakes and fries.

McDonald's took full-page advertisements in Friday's newspapers arguing that the film was misleading.

But Spurlock responded by describing the adverts as "wonderful publicity" for his film, which opens in Britain next month. He also mocked the company's attempts to promote a healthier image.

"The deep-fried golden brown arches are suddenly becoming 'organic' green," he said.

"In every territory we've been in, that's their strategy, to take out adverts and put out press releases about this irresponsible film-maker.

"They paint this picture of me as a lethargic slob who just sat and ate McDonald's for hours on end, when I was just emulating the daily physical activity of most Americans, who walk only a mile and a half a day."

He also criticised McDonald's for concentrating only on the weight-gain aspects of his experiment: "What they never talk about is how these foods can be linked to diabetes, elevated cholesterol, heart disease, liver disease."

Spurlock claimed that McDonald's had changed its policies as a result of the film. The burger chain announced it was discontinuing its extra-large Super Size option six weeks after Spurlock's film screened at the Sundance Film Festival, Utah, in January.

In Super Size Me, the New York-based film-maker tests the effects of a fast-food diet by eating three McDonald's meals a day and undertaking minimal exercise over a 30-day period.

The title comes from Spurlock's rule that, if offered a Super Size option, he has to accept. After his first Super Size meal, we see Spurlock suffering the "McSweats" and the "McTwitches", before throwing up.

However, he soon gets addicted to Big Macs, becomes depressed and lethargic, suffers a loss of libido and incurs liver damage. His horrified doctor comments that his liver has become "like pate".

The film cost $65,000 to make and has grossed over $11m since its US release in May, making it the fourth most successful documentary ever in the US.

In its adverts, McDonald's claimed its product range was now healthier and that Spurlock had reduced his physical activity "right down to the bare minimum" for maximum on-screen effect.

McDonald's said it agreed with the basic premise - that too much fast food and not enough exercise is bad for you - but that it would take six years for the average customer to eat the same amount as Spurlock. McDonald's had added salads, organic milk, and fruit to its menu, and reduced salt in fries.

Interviewed after the screening, Spurlock said that he was determined to get the film's message across. He is currently preparing a child-friendly version of the film to be released on DVD with accompanying educational material, and will take it on a tour of schools this autumn. He is also bringing out a book next spring, exploring issues raised in the film.

Spurlock stresses that his argument is with fast food in general, and that he concentrated on McDonald's because of the company's aggressive targeting of children. He says he was not surprised that the company placed ads against him in Britain.

Spurlock hopes to start work on his first fiction feature next year - "a health-related black comedy" - but in the meantime he is working on a pilot for a TV series, 30 Days, with the Fox-owned cable channel FX.

"Each week we take someone out of their life for 30 days and put them in a situation that raises social issues, like religion, sexuality, poverty."

After the film - screened in an Edinburgh multiplex conveniently adjacent to a Pizza Hut - Spurlock admitted he was a happy carnivore but added: "One McDonald's burger can contain pieces from more than 1,000 cows - I like a nice, tasty cheeseburger from one cow."

He also confessed to sampling a deep-fried Mars bar - not in Edinburgh, but in a chip shop in Brooklyn.

- INDEPENDENT