A mockumentary secretly produced by Funny or Die, staring Johnny Depp as US Presidential hopeful Donald Trump, has grabbed widespread media attention, making it particularly notable that, "for the best viewing experience," the comedy site recommends viewers "get the Funny or Die app for Apple TV."
Source: Funny or Die
The production was launched as a surprise today after filming last month in complete secrecy, despite featuring an all-star cast of comics and actors, including Ron Funches, Christopher Lloyd, Alfred Molina, Stephen Merchant, Joe Nunez, Patton Oswalt, Andy Richter, Kristen Schaal, Michaela Watkins and Henry Winkler.
The production, leveraging the timeliness of Trump's U.S. election victory in the New Hampshire primary, made news headlines across CNN, the New York Times, Wall Street Journal and Variety in addition to social networks including Twitter.
As noted by Brooks Barnes for the Times, news of the "Art of the Deal" production avoided being leaked for weeks, enabling it to make an Apple Event-like splash appearance today.
Funny or Die launched as a comedy video website in 2007, founded by comic actor Will Ferrell and two other screenwriter/producers, Chris Henchy and Adam McKay. The site derives its name from the solicited feedback of viewers' ratings of the videos it creates and publishes.
In December, the site became among the first video producers to embrace Apple's fourth generation Apple TV with a custom app, enabling users to watch videos on demand. The site also offers an app for iPhone and iPad users.