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Prior to partnering with Jeffrey Schenck and forming the super successful television and film production company, HYBRID, Barry Barnholtz spent his career developing, producing, and acquiring mainstream and niche product for home entertainment distribution and pay networks.
From his first "steps" into entertainment while in high school as an usher at the El Portal Theater in North Hollywood to his next job hired to promote The Beatles' Hard Day's Night sporting a Beatle haircut, Barry was convinced the entertainment world was his present and future. And it wasn't just the fact that as a high school student, he booked fraternity parties with superstar groups, The Drifters, Coasters, Ike & Tina Turner, and others from that era.
After gaining frontline experience promoting bands with recent records at dance concerts throughout the greater Los Angeles area, Barry began utilizing larger venues such as the San Bernardino Swing Auditorium, Old Spanish Days and Earl Warren Showgrounds in Santa Barbara. Since music was his passion during the disco era, he acquired music tracks from Muscle Shoals in the Southern region. French, Italian, and other languages were put on the tracks and the albums were distributed worldwide. Three platinum and fifteen gold records were the outcome.
Teaming up with Rodney Bingenheimer -- then proclaimed as the "Mayor of Sunset Strip" -- to start the visionary "Rodney Bingenheimer's English Disco," a club domestically and internationally acclaimed as well as responsible for the glitter and high heel era. Rodney, instrumental in bringing David Bowie to RCA Records (Bowie's Gold record was prominently displayed behind the bar) was able to, along with Barnholtz, draw every prominent artist and/or group visiting Los Angeles to come to the club. In fact on many given nights, the VIP lounge saw the likes of many including Elvis, The Beach Boys and T-Rex. Barry followed this up with a brief stint working with Peter Grant, the manager of Led Zeppelin, and went on the road with Robert Plant.
In 1971 he formed the Barnholtz Organization, licensing television rights for Comworld International, American National, All Media Enterprises (Australia), and several other independent producers. From 1980-84 he served as Vice President of Medallion TV and licensed the entire catalog of 77 titles to Sony Home Video.
In the early '80s, Barry began licensing films to cable companies such as HBO, Spotlight and OnTV. This led to him teaming up with Mark Amin and four others to start the video distribution company Vidmark, which evolved to become Trimark Pictures. Barry was the second largest investor. With a start-up of $285,000, Barry negotiated a 20-picture deal with Sony with the help of a friend on the GE Board. Two years later, a $1 million investment returned $12.8 million in profits. This enabled Trimark to be taken public within 3 years and sell 20% for $18.7 million.
During his 16-year term, Barry was responsible for acquiring more than 1,000 films and building the company's performance to over 100 million dollars in revenue per year. Trimark was then sold to Lionsgate. Barry continued to produce and acquire approximately 240 films with Lionsgate over his distribution deal for the next 20 years.
He was responsible for acquiring more than 400 films and building the company's performance to over 100 million in revenue per year. He was responsible for producing or acquiring the highly successful "Leprechaun" starring Jennifer Aniston, "Swimming with Sharks" starring Kevin Spacey, "The Curse of the Starving Class" starring James Woods and Kathy Bates, Emmy award-winning "Mystery of the Sphinx," "La Femme Nikita," "Longtime Companion" starring Mary-Louise Parker and Dermot Mulroney, the "Warlock" franchise, "The Cook, The Thief, His Wife and Her Lover," "Black Robe" directed by Bruce Beresford, "Amityville Curse" and "Dead Alive" directed by Peter Jackson.
Barry Barnholtz established Barnholtz Entertainment Inc. (BEI) in 1996, which led to a 20-year output deal with Lionsgate releasing approximately 240 films. He began producing films such as "First 9 ½ Weeks" and "Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's Lost World" and acquiring a vast collection of films, typically with major stars, for distribution. His film library featured a virtual who's who of "A-List" stars.
In 2008 Barry teamed up with Jeffrey Schenck and formed Hybrid, LLC which has, in its fourteen-year ascension, become one of the most reliable and successful producers of original films for television a growing slate of the most watched films on Lifetime, A&E, Hallmark, ABC Family (now Freeform), ION, OWN, Lionsgate, Freevee, Amazon Prime, and Netflix. One of the Woodland Hills, CA-based signature marks is their adaptability to shoot in distinctive locations as well as their inclusion of a high percentage of women directors and co-producers. The company continues to expand and grow their handpicked arsenal of gifted writers, directors, stars, and below-the-line talent which fuels their ambitious content with a focus on broadcasting in primetime.
