Have you ever sat in a theater laughing at a movie until your insides hurt, and then realized you’re the only person laughing? Or have you ever had a friend carry on about some YouTube video you HAVE to see because it’s so funny you’ll pee your pants…and when you see it, you’re mildly amused, at most?
Humor is one of those things. It’s highly personal, right up there next to how you like your ham sandwiches made and how you like your underwear to fit. With that being the case, I’m wondering if it’s possible to pull off an all-funny-videos site. Isn’t that putting all your eggs in one basket? Promising too much?
“Will Ferrell” could very well be the answer to any and all “Is it possible?” questions. He’s also the one who’s been busy making such a site happen. Yesterday it was announced that Ferrell, along with his business partner Adam McKay, has launched a new comedy video site, FunnyorDie.com. Sure, the name alone represents a big promise, but so far the site is either keeping that promise or it’s riding the power-of-positive-thinking wave–yesterday the video Ferrell and McKay made had already attracted 1.5 million page views. So many people are hitting the site that today it had a “Too many people are blowing off work to download our videos” message on the homepage.
Kicking this site off right on the heels of Blades of Glory, when our laugh lines from Talladega Nights are also still fresh, was smart for sure. With two movies in a row like that, Ferrell starts to feel like a magic drug–”magic” because everything he touches gets your laugh going, and “drug” because the more you get, the more you want. (At least if that’s your kind of humor, which it either is or isn’t.)
It will be interesting to see how much Ferrell shapes and controls the flavor of the site and if he can sustain its original brand. Will it become synonymous with a certain Ferrell-style of humor, or will it quickly morph into just another video site where finding a real laugh is like winning a big prize?
5 films (well, Rick is giving us 4 instead):
- Volver
- Babel
- Little Children
- The Last King of Scotland
4 interesting people:
- Kevin MacDonald (director of The Last King of Scotland–we recorded a podcast with him)
- Natasha (Kevin’s agent–funny and wonderfully opinionated)
- Forest Whitaker (so cool–he also was willing to do a podcast)
- the girls in the gondola (their conversation was…interesting, their allegiance to Family Guy over South Park was…disappointing)
3 favorite spots:
- the pathway along the stream that runs through the town–walking on it was a little retreat
- Baked in Telluride (delicious sandwiches and baked goods)
- the view on the gondola coming back down into Telluride at night (words can’t describe)
2 memorable moments:
- being at the Patrons’ Brunch high in the mountains (beautiful setting, interesting conversation)
- making the nighttime podcast from the gondola
1 way the festival changed you:
- The festival reaffirmed for me that great film isn’t about hype or celebrity. It’s about great stories, artfully told, then consumed and discussed by a community.