Though I hadn’t talked to him in some 10 years, I was saddened to learn of Ted Goetz’s passing last month at the age of 84. Ted was one of the first people in the business I got to know when I joined this paper in the late 1970s. He was a straight shooter, a mentor of assorted producers in this business, developed the careers of numerous directors, and helped to bring the commercial production community together–first via the Commercial Film Producers Association, a Los Angeles area-based organization, which was the predecessor in many respects to what became the AICP’s West Coast chapter.
I met Ted during his long tenure as executive producer at FilmFair and at a juncture when the AICP had become firmly entrenched as a collective voice for spot production houses. He served as president of AICP/West and a national VP of the AICP. He was also an astute labor negotiator, bringing considerable savvy and expertise to talks with unions. Yet with all his acumen, he retained his humility and let others seek and have the spotlight.
But Ted’s quiet work behind the scenes and the universal respect he earned over the years from both the production house and ad agency sides of the business finally thrust him into that proverbial spotlight one evening in 1992 as a recipient of the Jay B. Eisenstat Award. Named for the late legendary founding father of the AICP, the Eisenstat Award was instituted in 1990 to recognize outstanding contributions and service to the commercial production industry.
Ted recalled that when he went on stage to accept the award, he felt “a great sense of pride for the organization, of how so many people worked to create a consolidated, articulate voice for our industry. And that voice has helped to do a great deal of good in our business.”
Still, the last time Ted and I chatted, on the occasion of the AICP’s 30th anniversary in 2002, he humbly observed that perhaps his highest career honor was not winning the Eisenstat Award but accepting it in ’94 for another, the late Frank Tuttle, a past national AICP president.
“That meant a lot to me,” recollected Goetz. “Frank was what the AICP is all about–he was a unifying force within the production house community, and in helping to bring that community together with agencies, clients and suppliers.”
In our obituary on Ted last month (SHOOTonline, 7/23), we sought out some of his colleagues, including Patrick Collins, currently head of the Collins Consulting Company in L.A. Back during his production house days, Collins served as the first president of AICP/West and worked with Goetz.
“Ted was the mentor every young producer needed,” observed Collins. “He became a good friend as well as a very kind and savvy counselor. And he gave a whole new definition to the description: A Nice Man.”
Those last three words succinctly capture how I would sum up Ted, which in and of itself is a wonderful legacy. A memorial service will be held on Saturday, Aug. 25, 3 pm, at the site of the former FilmFair in L.A. Log onto theodoreagoetz.blogspot.com for further info. Donations in Ted’s memory may be made to the Juvenile Diabetes Foundation.
Utah Leaders and Locals Rally To Keep Sundance Film Festival In The State
With the 2025 Sundance Film Festival underway, Utah leaders, locals and longtime attendees are making a final push — one that could include paying millions of dollars — to keep the world-renowned film festival as its directors consider uprooting.
Thousands of festivalgoers affixed bright yellow stickers to their winter coats that read "Keep Sundance in Utah" in a last-ditch effort to convince festival leadership and state officials to keep it in Park City, its home of 41 years.
Gov. Spencer Cox said previously that Utah would not throw as much money at the festival as other states hoping to lure it away. Now his office is urging the Legislature to carve out $3 million for Sundance in the state budget, weeks before the independent film festival is expected to pick a home for the next decade.
It could retain a small presence in picturesque Park City and center itself in nearby Salt Lake City, or move to another finalist — Cincinnati, Ohio, or Boulder, Colorado — beginning in 2027.
"Sundance is Utah, and Utah is Sundance. You can't really separate those two," Cox said. "This is your home, and we desperately hope it will be your home forever."
Last year's festival generated about $132 million for the state of Utah, according to Sundance's 2024 economic impact report.
Festival Director Eugene Hernandez told reporters last week that they had not made a final decision. An announcement is expected this year by early spring.
Colorado is trying to further sweeten its offer. The state is considering legislation giving up to $34 million in tax incentives to film festivals like Sundance through 2036 — on top of the $1.5 million in funds already approved to lure the Utah festival to its neighboring... Read More