Producer, writer, actor, director, and Hollywood executive Nate Barlow talks about his experimental documentary A Brief History of Hollywood with host Janeane Bernstein

Nate graduated from Carnegie Mellon University with a degree in Electrical and Computer Engineering, but quickly rejected an engineering career to be a filmmaker in Los Angeles. He has since worn many hats in entertainment, from producer to writer, actor, director, and executive. Most recently he directed the experimental documentary A Brief History of Hollywood, currently playing the festival circuit, and co-produced the feature documentary The Water of Life about the craft of scotch whisky. Previously he wrote the Meghan Markle-starrer Random Encounters and produced & directed Tales From Beyond starring Adam West, which won several awards on the film festival circuit.

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SYNOPSIS

A billboard. Simply a billboard.

Long before it became the symbol of the movie industry, the Hollywood Sign had another, more prosaic purpose — an (admittedly blockbuster-sized) advertisement for a housing development.

Over the years, of course, the world took notice, and the status of the former Hollywoodland Sign evolved, as did the film industry that the soon-to-be Hollywood Sign came to represent.

Beyond the show business iconography, however, the story of the Hollywood Sign — its ups & downs, modifications, decay, and reconstruction — is a reflection of the times, the story of a town, an industry, a country.

Sometimes a sign is not simply a sign.



Two histories intertwined…

The histories of the Hollywood Sign and of the Hollywood industry, visually interwoven.

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NateBarlow.com • @NateBarlow
Director • A Brief History of Hollywood - trailer
BriefHistoryofHollywood.com • @HllywdSignFilm
Co-Producer • The Water of Life
WaterofLifeFilm.com • @WaterofLifeFilm