Most Inspirational: Morgan Spurlock

Picking the most inspirational documentarian of the year is difficult, however Morgan Spurlock left the biggest impression walking away. What I liked most about Spurlock was his story of rising from failure to becoming a national success. Nearly everyone has heard of, if not seen, Supersize Me but few people know of Spurlock's financial struggles before the success of the film. Despite these struggles he decided to take the risk of making the documentary with what little money he could gather and ended up making enough money to pay back all of his debts and those who had helped him throughout the years.

Spurlock's honesty and humbleness over his success and paying back his friends was refreshing and his multiple stories of try try again were inspiration to never give up on something you are passionate about. Even now, Spurlock gets worked up and angry over discussing the fast food industry and McDonald's, showing his heart for the documentary that made him successful. 

Spurlock was funny, down to earth, honest and humble. His visit to UT not only inspired me not to give up on my own documentary projects, it made me want to seek out stories I'm passionate about. His passion for his subjects is so evident in the way he speaks that you can't help but to share in his emotion. His passion shows in his documentaries as well which I think was a necessary key to the success he found in Supersize Me and 30 Days. His visit and success story were definitely worthwhile.