Eddie Huang to Direct Documentary About Vice Media’s Rise and Fall (EXCLUSIVE)
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Filmmaker, actor, chef and television personality Eddie Huang (“Boogie,” “Fresh Off the Boat”) has signed on to direct a new documentary exploring the rise and surprising fall of Vice Media.
In a dramatic turn of events, the digital media company filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in May after boasting a valuation of $5.7 billion in 2017. Earlier this month, Vice Media Group announced a new restructuring plan and layoffs in the wake of its bankruptcy and $350 million asset sale.
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Huang has an unique perspective on the story: for four seasons, he hosted “Huang’s World” on Vice, which chronicled his travels around the world to learn about local history, culture and food.
“For the majority of my late-20s and 30s, I loved Vice,” Huang says in a statement announcing the project. “It gave a generation of talent the opportunity to make things they didn’t have anywhere else.”
He continues: “Whether that was because we were weirdos, idiots or savants, I’m not sure, but Vice is broke. That’s the headline. A company worth an estimated $4 billion just a few years ago is now bankrupt. I want to know why.”
With that insight into the innerworkings of Vice and access to his former colleagues, Huang’s feature-length documentary aims to examine “the media industry’s evolution and the factors that led to the company’s downfall.”
The project is backed financially and creatively by QC Entertainment, the Academy Award-nominated production company behind such films as “Get Out” and “BlacKkKlansman.” QC will produce the film with Jonah Hill and Matt Dines’ Strong Baby, Huang’s Cash Only and Maya Rodrigo. UTA and QC represent the distribution rights.
The documentary marks Huang’s latest Hollywood venture following the success of “Fresh Off the Boat,” the acclaimed ABC comedy based on his autobiographical book about growing up the son of Taiwanese Chinese immigrants. The series wrapped its six-season run in 2020.
In 2021, Huang made his feature directorial debut with the basketball drama “Boogie.” He also wrote the Focus Features film, in which he co-starred opposite Taylour Paige and the late rapper Pop Smoke. Later that year, he was honored with Variety’s inaugural Voice of Inspiration Award, presented to a creative who is using their platform to tell interesting stories and inspire others. Next, Huang is set to write and executive produce the one-hour drama series “Panda,” about the pressed pill boom of the late ’90s, for Showtime.
Huang is repped by M88 and UTA. Hill and Dines are repped by WME and LBI Entertainment.
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