The Greatest Movie Ever Sold DVD Feature (2012) Morgan Spurlock Amazing Value

Description

Morgan Spurlock, the man responsible for the 2004 documentary ‘Super Size Me’, here turns his satirical eye on another of society’s most ubiquitous evils: advertising, and specifically the phenomenon of product placement within the film industry. Spurlock sheds light on the process of product placement by setting himself the goal of funding his own documentary through product placement deals with various well-known companies. Contributors include Quentin Tarantino, Noam Chomsky, J.J. Abrams and Donald Trump.Review
Since the advent of recording devices and on-demand services, consumers have been bypassing commercials like never before, so advertising agencies have stepped up their use of product placement. In The Greatest Movie Ever Sold, Morgan Spurlock (Super Size Me) renders the process transparent as he documents his attempts to get Madison Avenue to fund his film. After a flood of rejections, he takes a series of meetings with companies willing to align their brand with his–and make no mistake, Spurlock is as much a brand as Donald Trump or Outkast’s Big Boi, who show up to talk about product endorsement. The director’s entertaining and enlightening journey even leads him to a juice purveyor that opens its wallet for placement above the title–hence the name of the pomegranate beverage which appears on all promotional materials. As one observer puts it, “You’re selling out, but not selling out.” For perspective, Spurlock solicits commentary from progressive thinkers, like Ralph Nader and Noam Chomsky, and Hollywood types, like J.J. Abrams, who created Lost, and Quentin Tarantino, who admits that a certain all-night diner rejected his offer to appear in Reservoir Dogs. Spurlock even travels to So Paulo to take a look at their ban on outdoor ads: no billboards or messages on cabs and buses, rendering the city clean and downright dull for those accustomed to American-style marketing. The film as a whole resembles a full-length version of a Mad Men pitch meeting–but funnier. –Kathleen C. Fennessy