Funny or Die, the Sequoia-backed video site which launched with a clip from comedic actor Will Ferrell, may represent the future of media. It's a hybrid of the old — an established celebrity draws initial attention — and the new — amateurs fill out the site with their own mini-shows, most of them awful, but a few emerge as stars in their own right. But there's an alternative explanation for the new site's origin. Mark Kvamme — the Sequoia partner who approached Creative Artists Agency, the Hollywood talent broker, and put together the deal with Ferrell — took a personal interest in the project. Hunh? Ah, turns out Kvamme's son, 17-year-old Michael, is an aspiring stand-up comic. Now that's what I call paternal affection.

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