We just featured a review of Morgan Spurlock’s documentary about Comic-Con, but the Super Size Me filmmaker already has another movie in the can. This one is called Mansome, and it’s about male grooming. If that sounds a bit too weird of a documentary for you to watch, maybe the list of people who appear in the film will change your mind: Will Arnett, Jason Bateman, Judd Apatow, Adam Carolla, John Waters, and some members of the rock bands ZZ Top and Anthrax. More below.

I know that films like this aren’t necessarily in our key demographic here at Filmonic, but the involvement of Spurlock and the A-list talent he’s locked down for this one at least warranted a mention. Also worth noting – former (and future!) “Arrested Development” co-stars Will Arnett and Jason Bateman have formed a production company together called DumbDumb, and they’ll be executive producing this movie. Variety says Mansome opens at the Tribeca Film Festival this month, and will receive a limited theatrical release in New York and Los Angeles on May 18th.

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Acclaimed documentarian Morgan Spurlock has made a career out of dissecting aspects of popular culture in the zeitgeist, and his newest effort is no different. This time, he sets his sights on San Diego Comic-Con, one of the largest pop culture gatherings in the country. What started out as a small way for fans to meet comic book artists and writers back in 1975 has exploded into a huge event that features first looks at some of the most highly anticipated comics, television, and movies of the year, regularly playing host to over 100,000 attendees. Spurlock has a behind-the-scenes team that knows a thing or two about this world: “Buffy The Vampire Slayer” creator and The Avengers director Joss Whedon “presents” the film along with comic book legend Stan Lee, while Legendary Pictures’ Thomas Tull and Ain’t It Cool News creator Harry Knowles are two of the film’s producers.

The movie feature interviews from everyone you’d expect in something like this: Kevin Smith, Frank Miller, Eli Roth, Whedon, Knowles, Stan Lee, etc. But most of what these heavy hitters have to offer is simply setting the stage, painting the basic picture of what Comic-Con is and what it means to geeks everywhere for audience members who may not be aware of its significance. (I realize that if you’re reading this, you probably have a decent idea about Comic-Con’s influence on pop culture since the American media landscape has been feeling those effects for the past decade. But this is a documentary and it’s conceivable that some people who watch it might not have a lot of prior knowledge of this particular subculture and may be looking for a brief education.)

The best part about the doc isn’t the big name guys and their talking head segments, though they’re very entertaining; the best part is the people Spurlock has chosen to profile. He picks five subjects and details their reasons for attending, documenting the journeys of two prospective comic illustrators, an old school comics dealer, a video game costume designer preparing for a big Masquerade event on the Saturday night of the convention, and a young man hoping to propose to his girlfriend at that year’s Kevin Smith panel. It’s a fascinating look at the variation within a community, proof that being a geek just means being passionate about something. For an event that is often presented in the media as tens of thousands of fans descending on a city for a few days, Spurlock’s subjects put human faces to the movement and allow a rare glimpse into their passions that I hope comes off as more endearing than embarrassing.

More than anything, Comic-Con Episode IV: A Fan’s Hope shows both the soaring highs of success and the devastating lows of failure among its subjects. (I wouldn’t dare spoil the fates of the specific people, since most of the film’s fun rides on their journeys.) It pays equal time to each, giving a fair look at the often grim reality of the competitive nature of the industry in addition to the amazing catharsis of the titular hope that only the luckiest (and hardest working) fans experience. It also details the fall of comic books from prominence within the convention, relaying the rise of other media to the forefront of the convention. Thankfully, the movie doesn’t get bogged down in bitterness over that aspect, or bother with exhaustive histories about the founding of Comic-Con or the early days - it’s mostly concerned with its characters, and that’s to the film’s benefit. There are some truly hilarious comments from the subjects, including my favorite: “There are three billion women on the planet and not a lot of great comics.”

Stylistically, everything is pretty expected. Transitions occur in comic book style panels, and each subject is profiled and rotoscoped with a moniker next to his or her name. It’s a good style that fits well with the direction of the film, but it might have been nice to see an occasional flourish here and there that was a bit more unexpected. (Credit where credit is due, though: there’s a great homage to Raiders of the Lost Ark during a scene in which the comic book dealer is walking a cart through a massive warehouse.)

I was at Comic-Con 2010 when they were filming this, so on a personal note it was cool to see that experience replayed on the big screen. While there’s nothing quite like being there in person, this documentary comes about as close as you can get. For landlocked comic book geeks who don’t have the means to travel to the convention, watch this in a double feature with Greg Mottola’s Paul and you’ll be set. Until next time…

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Morgan Spurlock, the documentarian behind Super Size Me and Where In The World is Osama Bin Laden?, will be directing a new documentary about Comic-Con, the infamous comic book/film convention that takes place every summer in San Diego, California. The cool part? He’s teaming up with comic book legend Stan Lee and the fanboy favorite writer/director Joss Whedon on the project.

Harry Knowles, founder of Ain’t It Cool News, is also going to be a part of the production, which will begin filming this June and wrap up at this year’s Comic-Con in July. Rounding out the team as a producer will be Thomas Tull, Chairman of Legendary Pictures (Batman Begins, The Dark Knight, Superman Returns, 300). But what will the documentary be about, exactly?

The feature documentary will follow seven different people from across America, and around the world, as they descend upon and the veritable Mecca of fandom and experience the rapture that is Comic-Con.

The name of the film hearkens back to the original Star Wars since the title of the film will be Comic-Con Episode Four: A Fan’s Hope. It’s clear that these filmmakers know their audience and I think it’s fair to presume that they will depict their subjects in a light that’s far more positive than negative. I’m hoping to catch some of the filming firsthand, since I’ll be attending Comic-Con for the first time this year.

The film will capture not only a moment in time that literally touches hundreds of thousands of people, but a world that inspires us all – but more than anything else, it will show us that whether at home or away, in costume or not, en masse or alone, we should all have the courage and confidence to be ourselves.

Despite the inaccurate use of the word “literally,” I’m actually looking forward to this project. I dismissed documentaries for years before stumbling across some really great films; The King of Kong: A Fistful of Quarters, Air Guitar Nation, and Murderball are all fantastic docs that I wholeheartedly recommend to anyone.

Are you interested in a documentary like this? Do you think this team is the right one to present the impact of Comic-Con on the big screen?

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There’s some sort of SuperSize Me joke in here, but I’m fairly sure that every other news outlet is going to make it (come up with some good ones in the comments).

That’s right, Morgan Spurlock, widely known as the filmmaker/star of the most approachable nutrition/diet documentary of recent memory, SuperSize Me. Spurlock also produces content for TV and the web, including 8 episodes of the SuperSize-inspired spinoff, 30 Days, where people were forced to live 30 days in perspective-altering conditions.

Now, Spurlock has been hired to honor The Simpsons with a documentary that will air next January, concluding the year-long celebration of 20 years of The Simpsons on television (a celebration currently happening). The special will air January 14th on Fox, the same date The Simpsons premiered two decades ago.

Fox’s press release reads:

In The Simpsons 20th Anniversary Special In 3-D On Ice, Spurlock will examine the cultural phenomenon of The Simpsons in his distinctive and innovative style. The special will document how the world sees The Simpsons and how the Simpson family has seen the world for two decades.

“When they first called me about this, I thought it was a prank and I hung up,” said Spurlock. “And then my agent called back and said, ‘No, no, this is for real,’ at which point I fainted. Then when I woke up, I called everyone I knew because it was the coolest thing I could ever get to do in my career.”

Regardless of what I think of Morgan Spurlock as a person, I can say two things: 1) The Simpsons 20th Anniversary Special In 3-D On Ice is a pretty good title and 2) I will totally be watching when this premieres.

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