From CounterPunch
By Wajahat Ali

I met with Morgan Spurlock, documentary filmmaker and star of the newly released “Where in the World is Osama Bin Laden” and the Oscar nominated “Super Size Me,” at a posh Palo Alto hotel where the small coffee costs four dollars (thankfully including milk and sugar.) Despite becoming famous and notorious after using and abusing himself as a laboratory rat by eating three super sized MacDonald’s meals a day for a month [Super Size Me], Spurlock exudes an amiable, goofy “regular guy” charm. After meeting him, one understands how his humorous, good-natured masochism, as evidenced by the increasingly bizarre and theatrical stunts he pulls on his hit show 30 Days, makes him likeable and appealing to mainstream audiences.

However, categorizing Spurlock as either an MTV Jackass or shameless, sensationalist self-promoter would be premature and incorrect. Spurlock primarily wants to educate America about pressing socio-political topics using entertainment as the sweetener to make the harsh medicine of reality easier to swallow. His “info-tainment” approach finds its most ambitious and controversial hurdle in his latest movie where he traverses the globe, hitting all the “Muslim danger zones” [except Iraq and Iraq] to find the elusive Osama Bin Laden. The impetus for such a bold adventure arises from the birth of his new child and Spurlock’s desire to make this increasingly insane world safer for future generations. While watching the movie, one realizes Spurlock intends to accomplish this task by communicating with Muslims around the world and hearing their side of the story in order to build a bridge of understanding between the two “civilizations.” Here’s an exclusive conversation I had with Morgan Spurlock a week before his new movie’s release.

ALI: First of all, I don’t know whether to punch you in the stomach or hug you for Super Size Me…

SPURLOCK: (Laughs) There was a guy that I met in Texas who came up to me and said, “I just want you to know that I hate you.” I said, “Why do you hate me?” He goes, “Cause every time I go to a fast food restaurant, I gotta buy two big drinks…

ALI: Why don’t you and Eric Schlosser [author of Fast Food Nation] just ignore this? Why can’t ignorance be bliss for you guys…

SPURLOCK: (Laughs) Hey, Eric was first. He came long before I did.

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