Meet Bryce and Rob Harrow of Brick Stanley Productions in Hollywood

Today we’d like to introduce you to Bryce and Rob Harrow.

So, before we jump into specific questions, why don’t you give us some details about you and your story.
We are Bryce and Rob Harrow (we flipped a coin for whose name went first), brothers, best friends, and filmmakers from Suffern, New York who now live in Los Angeles. At the age of five, Rob got his hands on his father’s video camera and began making movies… the subject, three-year-old Bryce. Fun fact: Bryce has been killed 47 times in homemade horror and action movies. Before the age of the internet, we taught ourselves how to edit in camera, do stop-motion animation and incorporate sound, music, and practical effects.

Next stop, college. Rob studied filmmaking at Hofstra University and drank a lot of beer. Bryce studied the same at Penn State and then went on to get a Masters degree in Television and Film at Syracuse University. He also drank a lot of beer. All the while we both worked as photographers/videographers on passenger cruise ships traveling the world and getting paid to do it.

Next stop, LA. We decided there was no other path in life and so we followed our dreams to Hollywood in 2014. Everyone along the way told us just how hard it was going to break into the entertainment industry and make a name for ourselves, and we are here to tell you that they were 100% correct. Bryce secured an internship with Scott Free Productions which led into a more permanent position. Nonetheless, we make ends meet, each working multiple jobs with our eyes always on the prize.

Since moving to LA, we continue to create our own content and flex our creative muscles, writing, directing, producing and acting wherever we can. Bryce signed with a commercial agent and has booked plenty of work including campaigns for Hilton, Miller Lite and Oscar Mayer. He also worked his way through The Groundlings and performs improv and sketch comedy around town. In our free time, we’ve written two feature-length scripts, a comedic television pilot and countless shorts and sketches – all with the unique Harrow Brother stamp. Our last short film, “El Banditos,” was successfully crowdfunded through kickstarter and went on to screen at the Cannes Film Festival as part of the Short Film Corner. It garnered multiple laurels and awards including Exceptional Emerging Artist for Directing at the Hollywood Film Festival and the Audience Choice Award with Hollyshorts! This all goes to solidify what we believe to be our purpose.

Check out “El Banditos” here: https://vimeo.com/239036058

We just finished another successful kickstarter campaign and are about to shoot two new short films! Stay tuned.

Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Absolutely not. It’s been an exhausting journey, but we don’t scare easy. Someone once told us, “be prepared to be told no every day of your life,” and we made it a point to develop tough skin. When we’re told “no,” we don’t get discouraged. Instead we sit back and discuss how we can do better next time. Lucky for us, we have each other to hold one another accountable and build up dashed spirits.

Aside from how expensive this city is, our biggest struggle is getting people’s attention. You need to have material to be given a shot to make more, but to make quality material in the first place is a feat of its own. Especially when everyone and their mother is out here trying to make movies. One difference is that most of them think it’ll just fall in their laps, whereas we keep our heads down and work tirelessly with the understanding that good things take time and care. Each day is an opportunity to take a baby step forward.

Please tell us about Brick Stanley Productions.
Our production company is called Brick Stanley Productions. The silly name is derived from two of our earlier short films, “Brick Thompson: All American Badass” and “Sincere Stanley.” We took a page out of Adam Sandler’s book. It’s a small company now, producing mostly our own projects but the plan for the future is to be able to do what A24 has done and push quality content that we believe in.

What sets us apart is kind of what we’re known for, our unique brand of humor. We’ve always been amused by low brow comedy, yes, fart jokes. But we also love and appreciate smart and calculated comedy. So we decided to find the fine line in between and walk it. The perfect vehicle for us and our brand is banter about everyday relatable things… like a crazy ex-girlfriend… or quitting cigarettes.

Though our palette doesn’t end here, we are fans of all movies and genres, be it westerns, action or drama. We love them all. And as such, we try our hand at each one, infusing our style throughout.

Do you look back particularly fondly on any memories from childhood?
Hard to pick one, but after a long winded discussion of either puking all over Anthony or ripping down the above ground pool, we agreed upon going to Switzerland as a whole family for Grandma’s 70th birthday (she’s from there). All 30 of us ate a Who’s feast, ate the Who pudding, and even the roast beast, then we gathered up allllll the little cousins and made a movie. The cousins honestly didn’t really have a choice because they were so young.

No matter where we were, we always made movies with whoever and whatever was around, a trait that has carried over into adulthood. It’s just way more expensive now.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/brothers_harrow_film/

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