Funny or Die is a comedy video website and production company owned by Henry R. Muñoz III that was founded by Will Ferrell, Adam McKay, Mark Kvamme, and Chris Henchy in 2007.[2] The website contained exclusive material from a regular staff of in-house writers, producers and directors, and occasionally from a number of famous contributors including Judd Apatow, James Franco and Norm Macdonald. The associated production company continues to make TV shows including truTV's Billy on the Street, Comedy Central's @midnight and Zach Galifianakis' web series Between Two Ferns.
Many videos on the site featured well-known actors (examples include Nina Dobrev, Steve Carell, Charlie Sheen, Ryan Gosling, Patrick Stewart, Daniel Radcliffe, Sophia Bush, Mila Kunis, AnnaSophia Robb, Hilary Duff, Adam West, James Van Der Beek, Jim Carrey, Ariel Winter and Selena Gomez). Michael Kvamme, an aspiring young comedian who is also the son of Mark Kvamme, the venture capitalist who funded Funny or Die, came up with a concept for a new kind of comedy site, and the site was developed by Randy Adams. After the site was funded by his father, Michael Kvamme wrote a screenplay for Will Ferrell[3] and founded Global eSports Resources[4] in partnership with the Saudi Arabian Federation of Electronic and Intellectual Sports.[5]
Funny or Die launched on April 12, 2007 with the site's first video, "The Landlord". "The Landlord" has received over 84 million views and features Ferrell confronted by a swearing, beer-drinking two-year-old landlord.[6] In June 2007, they received venture capital funding from Sequoia Capital,[7] and in June 2008, they announced a partnership with HBO.[8] On August 3, 2016, Funny or Die shut down one of its California offices, reducing its headcount by 30% to 95 employees, with the announcement coming just two months after the new CEO, Mike Farah, took office.[9]
Henry R. Muñoz III bought Funny or Die for an undisclosed amount. The acquisition was announced in Variety on May 12, 2021. Muñoz purchased Funny or Die from the company's former stakeholders, which included AMC Networks, WarnerMedia and Sequoia Capital.[10]
^"FunnyOrDie.com WHOIS, DNS, & Domain Info – DomainTools". WHOIS. Archived from the original on April 23, 2017. Retrieved July 21, 2016.
^"Funny or Die - Studio System". Studio System. Archived from the original on March 26, 2021. Retrieved April 14, 2018.
^Galuppo, Mia (December 6, 2016). "Will Ferrell to Star as Competitive Gamer in Comedy". Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on April 26, 2019. Retrieved January 10, 2019.
^"About Us - Global eSports Resources". Archived from the original on April 26, 2019. Retrieved January 10, 2019.
^"eSports - Global eSports Resources". Archived from the original on April 26, 2019. Retrieved January 10, 2019.
^"The Landlord video page". Funny Or Die. Archived from the original on January 7, 2009. Retrieved June 24, 2009.
^"Sequoia Capital funds Funny Or Die". Archived from the original on December 2, 2007. Retrieved January 27, 2008.
^Littleton, Cynthia (June 10, 2008). "HBO Joining Forces with FunnyorDie". Variety. Archived from the original on September 15, 2010. Retrieved April 17, 2020.
^Burns, Tobias; Jarvey, Natalie (August 2, 2016). "Funny or Die Lays Off Dozens of Staffers". Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on April 26, 2019. Retrieved April 17, 2020.
^Spangler, Todd (May 12, 2021). "Funny Or Die Acquired by Designer and Activist Henry R. Muñoz III". Variety. Retrieved June 15, 2021.
FunnyorDie is a comedy video website and production company owned by Henry R. Muñoz III that was founded by Will Ferrell, Adam McKay, Mark Kvamme, and...
and producer. He is best known for his comedic acting and writing on FunnyorDie films. Barnett was born in 1983 in Clinton, Maryland, a suburb of Washington...
2009. Retrieved February 17, 2012. "Raaaaaaaandy – Part 1 (Funny People)". FunnyorDie. July 10, 2009. Archived from the original on February 19, 2023...
addition, Savage created and starred in a series of shorts for the HBO show FunnyorDie Presents about a very pregnant woman trying to engage in some casual...
brother James at number 2 on its list of "the 50 most talented, intelligent, funny, and gorgeous Jewish men in the world". In March 2012, Franco starred in...
and creator of "Manitowoc Minute". He has been featured on FOX, CBS, FunnyorDie, TBS Digital, Variety, and MTV News. His observational humor often focuses...
Jake Szymanski is an actor, writer, director, and producer known for FunnyorDie, SNL Digital Shorts, Mike and Dave Need Wedding Dates (2016), 7 Days...
creative collaborator with Will Ferrell, including co-creating the website FunnyorDie and writing several Ferrell films, including Land of the Lost, The Other...
FunnyorDie Presents is a half-hour sketch comedy show that spawned from the comedy video website created by Will Ferrell and Adam McKay, Funnyor Die...
Galifianakis played Alan in The Hangover trilogy (2009–2013). He hosted the FunnyorDie talk show Between Two Ferns with Zach Galifianakis (2008–2018). On television...
Rudd, and brothers Owen and Luke Wilson. He founded the comedy website FunnyorDie in 2007 with his former writing partner Adam McKay. He starred in comedy...
also done a series of videos for Will Ferrell and Adam McKay's website FunnyorDie. In February 2011, Olson moved in with actor Charlie Sheen as one of...
adapting the book for film. Kightlinger has written several shorts for FunnyorDie and Atom.com, including "American Heroine", in which she starred, and...
television series Freaks and Geeks (1999–2000), Undeclared (2001–2002), FunnyorDie Presents (2010–2011), Girls (2012–2017), Love (2016–2018), and Crashing...
released in 2015. Pally is a regular contributor to the humor website FunnyorDie, where he is best known for his series Riding Shotgun with Adam Pally...
a short film together, The Argument, in 2012, for the comedy website FunnyorDie. On July 21, 2018, she married Gladis at Moose Creek Ranch in Victor...
writer and stand-up comedian. He has released one comedy album, Get FunnyorDie Tryin. The New York Times described his comedy as displaying "an analytic...
at the Disco), RetroJace and Hannibal Buress. Burd appeared in a 2016 FunnyorDie video "Watch Yo Self" with Mystikal and Trinidad James. On June 13, 2016...
In 2012, she appeared alongside Judy Greer and Andrea Savage in the FunnyorDie video "Republicans, Get in My Vagina", a satire of the Republican Party's...
several Dr. Quinn castmates as they all reprised their roles for the "FunnyorDie" parody Dr. Quinn, Morphine Woman. He has appeared in various feature...
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