The first teaser trailer for director Morgan Spurlock’s documentary 1D3D has been released online.  The 3D film follows the exploits of boy band One Direction (they’re so hot right now) while also intercutting concert footage, and this trailer includes pretty much what you’d expect: screaming fans, candid behind-the-scenes moments, screaming fans, introspective interviews, screaming fans, and tearful phone calls to the boys’ mums.  Spurlock’s a talented filmmaker, so I’m interested to see if he’s put together a by-the-numbers concert documentary that presents the band as squeaky clean teen idols or if he’s approaching the film from a more insightful standpoint.  Judging from this trailer, it’s likely the former.

Hit the jump to watch the teaser trailer.  1D3D opens on August 30th in 3D.

Documentary filmmaker Morgan Spurlock is tackling an incredibly popular object of interest for his next film.  THR reports that Spurlock will helm a behind-the-scenes 3D movie about the boy band One Direction.  It’s baffling news, honestly, as the subject matter seems odd for the Super Size Me and Comic-Con: A Fan’s Hope director. Nevertheless, Spurlock’s involvement likely drums up interest from fans who would otherwise be indifferent to the prospect of a 3D feature film about the tween-worshipped British pop group.  Spurlock will produce the pic alongside former American Idol judge Simon Cowell, who discovered the band as part of the UK iteration of The X-Factor.

The film will reportedly blend concert footage and scenes of musician life “that purports to give fans a glimpse into the real artists.”  TriStar Pictures is behind the project and a release date of August 30, 2013 has already been set.

From director Morgan Spurlock, the documentary Comic-Con Episode IV: A Fan’s Hope, available VOD on April 5th and out in theaters in April 6th, explores the amazing cultural phenomenon that is the San Diego Comic-Con – an event that started as a comic book convention for 500 fans that has since grown into a pop culture event attended by more than 140,000 people annually. Interspersing the lives of five attendees (an aspiring illustrator, a costume and creator designer, a long-time comic book dealer, a long-time amateur illustrator and a young fan hoping to propose to his girlfriend) in 2010 with interviews with Comic-Con veterans including Stan Lee, Joss Whedon, Frank Miller, Kevin Smith, Matt Groening, Seth Rogen and Eli Roth, among others, the film gives a comprehensive overview of one of the largest fan gatherings in the U.S.

During this exclusive press day interview with Collider, Morgan Spurlock talked about what initially led him to make his first trip to Comic-Con in 2009, working with Marvel legend Stan Lee and filmmaker Joss Whedon to get the documentary made, their process for finding and deciding on which individuals the film would focus on, getting as invested in the people they followed as audiences will when they see it, and how they’ll be putting together extended celebrity interviews for the DVD. He also talked about his next film Mansome, documenting the world of manscaping and male grooming, how he would like to do a film on education in America and how the system can be changed, that he’s developing a narrative feature, and what he enjoys about doing his Hulu series, A Day in the Life. Check out what he had to say after the jump:

Today, online media site Hulu announced their documentary section will play host to more than 30 documentaries to check out. Among the present exclusive programs is Re:Generation Music Project, a film which follows the creation of original musical tracks remixed by such modern dance producers as The Crystal Method, DJ Premier, Pretty Lights, Mark Ronson and Skrillex. Our own Hunter Daniels recently got to sit down with The Crystal Method and Pretty Lights, as well as DJ Premier to talk about the film, which will be Hulu’s “Documentary of the Month” for March and April.

Also airing exclusively on Hulu in the near future will be Morgan Spurlock’s Comic-Con Episode IV: A Fan’s Hope. You can read a review of the film by our own Phil Brown here. The site will also host the second season of Spurlock’s series, A Day in the Life. For more on Hulu Documentaries, including a trailer for Re:Generation Music Project and A Fan’s Hope, hit the jump. [Update: This article previously stated that the documentary channel was new, but in fact Hulu has been home to documentaries for a few years now].

The rest of the selections for the 2012 Tribeca Film Festival have been announced. We previously shared the selections for the festival’s world narrative and documentary competition categories as well as out-of-competition viewpoint titles. Today the fest unveiled selections for the Spotlight and Cinemania sections. Some of the films set to screen include Take This Waltz starring Seth Rogen and Michelle Williams, Morgan Spurlock’s new documentary Mansome, and Struck By Lightning written by and starring Glee star Chris Colfer.

Hit the jump to check out the full list of selected films. The 2012 Tribeca Film Festival runs from April 18th – 29th.

Morgan Spurlock took his camera to Comic-Con in 2010 and joined forces with geek icons Stan Lee and Joss Whedon to turn the footage into the documentary Comic-Con Episode IV: A Fan’s Hope.  The trailer was released tonight.  I was struck by the fact that, unlike Spurlock’s other docs, he doesn’t appear on screen in this one.  If the trailer is any indication, Spurlock instead assigned the dominant voice to Kevin Smith, likely as official an authority on Comic-Con can be.

The massive cultural phenomenon is obviously ripe for exploration.  And Spurlock seems most drawn to the aspects of the convention that I as a movie blogger have little exposure to, like the intense costumes or the actual comic industry dealings.  Most of the reviews from festival premieres have been positive, save our own.  All in all, early signs suggest A Fan’s Hope lives up to the title.  Watch the trailer after the jump.

Comic-Con: Episode IV: A Fan’s Hope is the latest documentary from Super Size Me’s Morgan Spurlock and probably the best thing he’s done since pounding down Big Macs. Though the film capitalizes on another cultural obsession, it is completely devoid of the director’s trademark Michael Moore-light stunt documentary approach. Spurlock doesn’t even appear onscreen, instead staying entirely behind the camera to simply document his subject (what a novel approach for a documentary!). The film centers on Comic-Con and in a broader sense is about the current rise of nerd culture that is surprisingly low on geek freak humor. Instead, the film is a rather sweet and loving portrait of the pop culture-obsessed attendees and the annual Mecca of their anti-social pursuits. The convention itself comes off as an accepting home to anyone who feels the need sweat through a Wookie costume for a weekend while eating overpriced fast food and standing in line to get an autograph from their favorite B-movie actor. The documentary probably won’t win over anyone who despises this culture going in, but it should at least help explain why it exists. Hit the jump for more.

The Alamo Drafthouse has announced the final wave of programming for its upcoming Fantastic Fest. Included in this final batch of flicks the world premiere of director Tom Six’s The Human Centipede 2: Full Sequence; Retreat starring Cillian Murphy, Thandie Newton and Jamie Bell; Morgan Spurlock’s documentary Comic-Con Episode IV: A Fan’s Hope; and director Jeff Nichols’ drama Take Shelter starring Michael Shannon and Jessica Chastain.

Hit the jump to see the full announcement of final wave films. Fantastic Fest 2011 runs from September 22nd – 29th in Austin, Texas and, for the record, I’m already disappointed in myself for not being there.

We’ve already seen the heavy-hitters of non-documentary films showing at this year’s Toronto International Film Festival.  Today, TIFF has announced its impressive documentary line-up along with line-ups for the interesting smaller films that are worth your attention at the fest.  The documentaries include Morgan Spurlock’s Comic-Con: Episode IV – A Fan’s Hope, Werner Herzog’s Into the Abyss, Jonathan Demme’s I’m Carolyn Parker: The Good, the Mad, and the Beautiful, and Wim Wenders’ 3D film Pina. The Midnight Madness line-up includes Bobcat Goldthwait’s latest, God Bless America and Douglas Aarniokoski’s The Day starring Ashley Bell and Dominic Monaghan.

Hit the jump for the documentary line-ups (“Real to Reel”), “Midnight Madness”, “Vanguard” (international genre flicks), “TIFF Kids”, and “City to City” (an annual programme that focuses on films from one city; this year is Buenos Aires).  The 2011 Toronto Film Festival runs from September 8th to 18th.

Morgan Spurlock, the man who makes the world’s most adorable documentaries, is thinking big to promote his latest movie The Greatest Movie Ever Sold.  The conceit: Spurlock financed a documentary on product placement entirely through product placement to the point that the official title of the movie is POM Wonderful Presents: The Greatest Movie Ever Sold.  (See, adorable!)  As a dedicated spokesperson and filmmaker, Spurlock is doing everything he can to spread the word about POM Wonderful and his movie.  Spurlock purchased the rights to rename Altoona, Pennsylvania “POM Wonderful Presents The Greatest Movie Ever Sold, Pennsylvania” for $25,000.  Spurlock quipped, “I can’t think of a better way to celebrate the shifting tide of business in America.” [via The Wrap]

Now, the name change is only temporary, effective for 60 days starting April 27.  Still, it sounds like a great couple of months to be an Altoid.  The Greatest Movie Ever Sold is scheduled for limited release on April 22.  Read the official synopsis after the break.

Sony Pictures Classics have released the trailer for Morgan Spurlock’s The Greatest Movie Ever Sold, or “officially” Pom Wonderful Presents: The Greatest Movie Ever Sold.  You see, Spurlock financed his movie about advertising through advertising and he sold off the title to POM Wonderful pomegranate juice.   The documentary is actually a meta-movie where the documentary documents the making of the documentary you are currently watching (it’s not as confusing as it sounds).  Wedged into this novel structure is an attempt to look at how advertising dominates our lives.

Hit the jump to check out the trailer and click here to read my review of the film from Sundance.  The Greatest Movie Ever Sold opens April 22nd.

Morgan Spurlock is a director who loves a good gimmick.  Sometimes it works (Super Size Me) and sometimes it blows up in his face (Where in the World Is Osama Bin Laden?).  The Greatest Movie Ever Sold offers his biggest stunt yet: Making a movie about the movie he’s making solely through corporate sponsorship as a way to explore the effect marketing and advertising has on our lives.  The film is loads of fun as Spurlock meshes his fascinating hook with superb comic timing.  While the film never quite gets to the heart of why companies spend so much on advertising and how effective that marketing is to their bottom line, it’s still an endlessly entertaining and effective reminder of how much advertising dominates our lives.

Freakonomics makes its way to DVD on January 18^th after a run in theaters and various On Demand outlets ranging from cable TV to iTunes. The big-screen adaptation of the runaway 2005 bestseller features the work of six of the highest-profile directors working in documentary film.  They include: Heidi Ewing & Rachel Grady (2007 Oscar nominees for Jesus Camp), Alex Gibney (2008 Oscar winner for Taxi To The Dark Side & a 2011 Oscar short-lister for Best Documentary with Client 9: The Rise And Fall Of Eliot Spitzer), Seth Gordon (The King Of Kong), Eugene Jarecki (2005 Sundance Grand Jury Prize winner for Why We Fight) and Morgan Spurlock (2005 Oscar Nominee for Super Size Me which is, as of today, still the most popular rental for any documentary on iTunes).

Collider caught up with the film’s producer Chad Troutwine.  Hit the jump for the audio and transcription of our interview, including great stories about how the idea came about and which high-profile directors almost took part.

Over the past month, we’ve been bringing you the first images from films that will be playing at the 2011 Sundance Film Festival.  Today, we have the first images from a couple documentaries that will be making their debut: Reagan from director Eugene Jarecki (Why We Fight) and The Greatest Movie Ever Sold from Morgan Spurlock (Super Size Me).

Hit the jump to check out images and a brief synopsis for both films. The 2011 Sundance Film Festival runs from January 20 – 30th.

Cheating sumo wrestlers, the value of a name, bribing students to do better in school, and legalized abortion leading to a lower crime rate are all topics in the documentary anthology Freakonomics.  Based on the best-selling book by economist Steven Levitt and journalist Stephen Dubner, Freakonomics takes the book’s individual chapters and hands them off to noted documentary filmmakers Seth Gordon (The King of Kong: A Fistful of Quarters), Morgan Spurlock (Super Size Me), Alex Gibney (Taxi to the Dark Side), Eugene Jarecki (Why We Fight), and Heidi Ewing and Rachel Grady (Jesus Camp).  While Freakonomics has the makings of an excellent weekly TV show, there’s nothing that holds it together as a complete motion picture beyond the source material and an interesting approach to a particular topic.