FunnyOrDie Web site goes to extremes

By Steven Zeitchik

NEW YORK (Hollywood Reporter) - FunnyOrDie.com, a Web site co-founded by actor Will Ferrell, is expanding into death-defying sports.

The site announced Tuesday that it is launching ShredOrDie.com, a site featuring shortform video aimed at the skater, snowboarder and other extreme-sports communities, with pro skateboarder Tony Hawk.

ShredOrDie (http://www.shredordie.com) will seek to mix extreme-sports and celebrity culture in a manner similar to FunnyOrDie's (http://www.funnyordie.com) blending of comedy and celebrity.

Hawk said Tuesday he has been taping celeb interviews in his travels as a celeb personality and extreme-sports ambassador; Lance Armstrong, snowboarder Shaun White, Christian Slater and skateboarder Ryan Sheckler are among those whose videos will appear on the site.

ShredOrDie also will contain user-generated video from extreme-sports enthusiasts.

FunnyOrDie, which was founded by Ferrell, filmmaker Adam McKay and their business partner Mark Kvamme, has been trying to find ways to exploit the initial popularity of their venture. ComScore traffic in September had fallen to 1.4 million after a high of nearly 5 million at launch in April.

The site is now part of Or Die networks, which will launch a series of vertical sites that take a similar approach to FunnyOrDie, in which videos live or die on the site based on their popularity. Sites aimed at other communities are expected to launch soon.

Reuters/Hollywood Reporter