Published: June 02, 2008 11:10 pm      

Pineville miners featured on FX tonight

Friends of Coal leader not happy with portrayal

This time it’s not just Beckley native Morgan Spurlock on national TV. It’s Spurlock — in Raleigh and Wyoming counties — on national TV.

The Woodrow Wilson High School graduate’s critically acclaimed FX series begins its third season at 10 p.m. today with an episode that features Spurlock spending 30 days living in Bolt with a coal mining family and working underground at the Bluestone Mine Double Bonus, near Pineville.

“I just got another son, that’s all,” said Sandy Lusk, who hosted Spurlock for 30 days. She admitted that although the cameras sometimes made her nervous, having Spurlock in her home was “a joy.”

“He just fit right in,” added Dale Lusk, a mine supervisor who not only hosted Spurlock, but was his boss.

Spurlock, who underwent regular certification training before starting the job, said working in a coal mine was no easy task.

“It takes its toll on you,” he said. “But I never heard them complain about anything. They work hard. ... These are the guys nobody really thinks about, but they’re the reason people can turn on their iPods and computers. They provide 50 percent of the nation’s electricity.”

Friends, coal miners, lawmakers, filmmakers and coal officials joined Spurlock Monday evening at Tamarack for the world premiere of the “Working in a Coal Mine” episode of “30 Days.”

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Post-viewing opinions were overwhelmingly positive, but not without criticism.

Joe Carter, international vice president of the United Mine Workers of America, said the show portrayed underground coal mining “pretty much accurately,” but he wasn’t pleased with a small part of the episode that takes place on a mountaintop removal mine site.

“I don’t think it was quite fair to the surface miners, but as far as showing the underground mining and the life side of it, I think it was a good documentation of what a coal miner does,” Carter said. “They have to be committed to their job. They have to work hard and work safely. He showed that.”

Carter pointed out that the surface mine site visited by Spurlock — accompanied by environmentalists — in the documentary is an active mine. If Morgan were to visit it after reclamation, he would have seen a much different picture, Carter said.

Spurlock balances that scene by following it up with a one-on-one interview with Bill Raney, president of the West Virginia Coal Association, regarding coal’s environmental controversy. On the environmental issue, Spurlock summed: “It’s always important to look for other ways for production of energy, but at the same time, we can’t just say goodbye to this.”

But the Raney interview wasn’t enough balance to please Warren Hylton, president of the Friends of Coal association. Hylton — who left the theater during a standing ovation — called the episode “the most unfair bunch of b.s. I ever saw in my life.”

“ ... It only showed the worst of everything,” Hylton said. “They broke a promise to us, and that was not a fair portrayal. He went for 100 percent emotion. ... We never get a fair shake.”

However, the coal miners featured in the film had a different opinion.

Mark Lester, a coal miner from Simon, called the documentary “pretty close” to the reality of the coal mining life. “It seemed good to me,” he said.

“It’s right on the money,” said John Atwood, a coal miner who lives in Beckley. “That’s what we do.”

Charlie Dunbar, a miner from Pineville, agreed. “That’s the way coal mining is.”

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Those on the outside of the industry also said they enjoyed the documentary.

“I thought it was a great personal story,” said Jason Brown, a filmmaker who has been working on a documentary about the impact of the film “Matewan” on southern West Virginia. “Morgan is very good at telling those personal kinds of stories, and the story of the miners is one that is not told often enough.”

Raleigh County Commission President Pat Reed said she appreciated the documentary for showing viewers “what really happens” in an underground coal mine.

“We take it for granted, and it’s really what makes us all tick,” Reed said.

“The film definitely showed the importance of coal to the state of West Virginia and how dependent the nation and everyone globally is on coal,” said Delegate Linda Sumner, D-Raleigh. “It showed that coal mining is a skilled profession, and that there are many safety precautions that must be taken. ... The pride and love of family he portrayed was wonderful.”

If you miss the first episode of “30 Days” on television, or just want to see it again, you can view it free in the theater at Tamarack, daily at 11 a.m., 1 p.m. and 3 p.m.

Also at the Hulett C. Smith theater, black-and-white photographs taken of coal miners who worked alongside Spurlock are being sold to benefit a foundation which provides college scholarships to children of coal miners.

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Spurlock is best known for his 2004 film “Super Size Me,” in which he spent 30 days eating a diet consisting solely of items from the McDonald’s menu. For it, Spurlock received an Academy Award nomination, was a National Board of Review and Critic’s Choice Best Documentary nominee, and won best director titles at the Sundance and Edinburgh film festivals. He also became the first recipient of the inaugural Writers Guild of America Award for best screenplay for a nonfiction film.

The 30-day documentary concept proved successful, so the young director took it into living rooms on a weekly basis with his FX original television series, “30 Days.” The series, hosted by Spurlock, gives viewers a thought-provoking look at life by placing ordinary people — sometimes Spurlock himself — in roles far from their norms.

The show has tackled several controversial issues, including immigration, atheism and abortion. In addition to the coal episode, this third season line-up includes episodes about guns, same-sex parenting, animal rights, life on an Indian reservation, and life in a wheelchair — all, of course, for 30 days.

The third season series premiere comes on the heels of Spurlock’s latest film, “Where in the World is Osama bin Laden?” The film follows Spurlock through Egypt, Morocco, Israel, Saudi Arabia, Afghanistan and Pakistan on a manhunt for the elusive al-Qaida leader. Along the way, Spurlock introduces viewers to the people of the Middle East.

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bnaudrey@register-herald.com