Doug Nichol was born in southern California and graduated from USC Film School. He started out his career as a cinematographer working on such music documentaries as Truth or Dare (Madonna) and Rattle and Hum (U2), then as the director of hundreds of award-winning commercials and music videos. He has been nominated for three Grammy Awards and has won one, for directing Sting’s Ten Summoner’s Tales. His documentary feature debut, California Typewriter, featuring Tom Hanks, John Mayer and Sam Shepard, premiered at the Telluride Film Festival and was released theatrically to critical acclaim. He lives in San Francisco and Paris.