Renowned film director Spike Jonze and indie-rock haven Sup Pop Records are overseeing two new online video series to be featured on CNN.com as part of a new content partnership between the web site and Vice’s VBS.TV.
The two series, “VBS.TV on CNN.com,” and “Indie Asia: On Tour with Handsome Furs” will launch on the CNN web site and on the CNN app for the iPhone and iPod Touch.
The first installment of “VBS.TV,” entitled “Vice Guide to Liberia,” documents the travels of Vice Founder Shane Smith in the war-torn country as he interviews former warlords and citizens working to move past a decade of violence. The series debuts Wednesday (Jan. 20). “On Tour with Handsome Furs” follows the indie rock band, made up of the duo husband/wife team of Dan Boeckner and Alexei Perry Cox, as they meet new people and perform in China, Hong Kong, Vietnam and Thailand. The Furs jaunt debuts Thursday (Jan. 21).
Vice launched VBS.TV in 2007 and is overseen by Spike Jonze, founders Smith and Suroosh Alvi and executive producer Eddy Moretti. Smith, who describes Vice as the “Hipsters’ Bible’ acknowledged that hooking up with CNN made for “an odd pair of bedfellows,” but added, “As our company began to evolve and cover stories around the globe, CNN was our first and only choice for a partner…We couldn’t be more excited with a partner unless it was Jimi Hendrix (not to all the Baby Boomers out there) joining our rock and roll band.”
CNN.com is hoping the new web-only series will build on the success of “Freshman Year,” which was shot with handheld video cameras and followed two first-time congressmen on Capitol Hill.
