Have you ever heard of Funny or Die? It is a streaming video website where short comedy films are uploaded and voted on by users. The site was launched in April 2007 by comedians, Will Ferrell and Adam McKay.
Adam reported that they were approached by Sequoia, a large finance firm in Palo Alto, California. Since they did a lot of work on the Internet, they thought it was a prime place to launch a comedy – video site.
Adam McKay and Will Ferrell were both writers and actors on the very popular television show, Saturday Night Live. McKay said:
We loved working on SNL and we still have all of these ideas that fit the format. We liked the idea of just doing comedy for comedy’s sake and having a place for our friends to do it too. We went into it with a clubhouse mentality and that was basically it. We also talked about the fact that we had just started our production company, Gary Sanchez Productions, and that it would be a great opportunity to see new directors, actors, and writers.
The site is extremely popular. It is a site that combines the talents of celebrities, established and up-and-coming comedians and the funny guy from the everyday workplace who participate by submitting videos.
Funny or Die has grown into a multi-media, cross-platform comedy hub with a thriving Web portal and production company–the HBO series, Funny or Die Presents, debuted last year. The next stop is film, starting with the comedy duo Tim Heidecker and Eric Wareheim.
The Creative Director of Funny or Die is Andrew Steele who used to be a head writer on Saturday Night Live. He feels the success of the site stems from the fact that
“It works because everyone wants to be there.”
Besides the superstars, Funny or Die has an informal relationship with improv actors and connections to young directors, editors and cinematographers. These relationships work both ways, since Funny or Die is able to offer exposure and industry contacts to young, raw talent, even when the pay for projects is small.
Funny or Die has solid audience numbers–1.4 million followers on Twitter, over 70 million views for their very first video…. and they have continuous buzz from hundreds of user-generated videos being voted up or down
Funny or Die has become “the” place to be seen. Celebrities that have been featured on the site range from Billy Crystal to Katie Couric, Helen Mirren to Ralph Macchio and Rob Reiner to Snoop Dog.
It was fun to learn that Clay Aiken was at the taping of a video for Funny or Die on Saturday. According to tweets from Tori Spelling, her home was the setting of a short video being taped for Funny or Die and she was excited that Clay Aiken was there as part of the fun. Of course, it is not known if Clay was there to watch or if he had a part in the taping. Whatever he was doing, I would imagine it was lots of fun and probably very interesting too.
If you want to see the Funny or Die Internet site, click HERE
Hmmm…Can't wait to see what this is about! 🙂
I watched some of the videos on that Funny or Die site. Hilarious,. Cannot wait to see Clay's next month.
Clay is looking great, especially in that pic with Tori.
It's true….Clay Aiken is Funny.. I have come to the conclusion that Clay is good at everything he tries. He is just one of those people that is so multi-talented. I believe he will get into acting big time one day as well. And of course he will be good. Most funny people are great actors…look at Tom Hanks, Robin Williams. Comedians that excel in acting. I sure hope Clay is part of the "Funny or Die" video. That would be a lot of fun to watch. I'm sure we'll hear more on this soon. Thanks CANN for always bringing us up to date on what Clay is doing…
musicfan thank you for the info. I've got many new things by reading your blog. thank you verymuch. Clay is so gorgeous in both pictures.
wondering what he will be doing in the website 😉
Hadn't heard of this before. Hope Clay Aiken will be in one of the episodes. You can be sure I'll be watching if he is.
Looks like a pretty funny website. I believe Clay did do a Cameo for "Funny Or Die." Can't wait to see this…anything Clay is in is good. He is looking so gorgeous in that picture with Tori Spelling. Lucky girl!!
clay aiken is not funny
I really think that Clay can be a great comedian and can be very funny……but he can be serious too. I really think he is a great actor and can do whatever he is asked to do!!
Thanks for filling me in on Funny or Die. I had never heard of that website until now. I'm ready to vote for Clay if he appears in a video.
I loved learning more about Funny or Die. There are so many famous people who support this site. I am sure Clay had a great time.
Thanks for the info…….always enjoy reading here.
Looking forward to both of these. Clay is funny.
CLay is doing a lot of filming, it seems. Can't wait to see him. A talented guy!
Watching a lot of videos from Clay's tours and from when he was in Spamalot on Broadway, I have actually lost my breath laughing so hard. He is a natural comedian, also very wise and can sing kinda pretty too!