While hindsight is 20/20, I wouldn’t trade it for the 32/50 vision I’ve enjoyed as a contributor to SHOOT’s coverage of the industry for 32 of the past 50 years. This publication continues to be a great perch from which to view an evolving community both in terms of art and commerce.
SHOOT helped put much of this change into perspective over the years, most recently with its “Then, Now and Looking Ahead” series. I’ve been privileged to author these pieces and they have honed my 32/50 vision with the realization that education is an ongoing process. Personally the process of educating myself about the business began when I joined SHOOT as a reporter. I recall two of my mentors being Mike Koelker and Frank Tuttle. Koelker was creative director at Foote, Cone & Belding San Francisco. He served as the lead creative on the Levi’s business during the late 1970s and remained so until his death in the mid-1990s.
Mike freely provided me with insights into the creative process, the agency side of the business and relationships with production companies. His classic Levi’s 501 Blues campaign was often imitated but never equaled.
I met Frank Tuttle when he headed The Film Tree as its exec producer; he later served as national AICP president. Tuttle, who passed away in ’94, was a big believer in the AICP and its role in opening up meaningful dialogue with agencies and advertisers. He was a unifying force within the production house community. Frank extended this inclusiveness to me and assorted others. On and off the record, he would share information about and insights into the inner workings of the business. His frankness with me was rooted in the belief that an informed press would ultimately help the industry cause. I have always appreciated–and with the benefit of hindsight today, value even more today–his forthrightness and caring about the business and its people.
Both Frank and Mike have left us a lasting legacy, which arguably provides a more crystal clear view of the future than any current visionary can offer. The qualities that Frank and Mike embodied–taste, creativity, integrity, caring, effectively communicating, valuing the talent of the artist enough to give that person creative latitude to do what he or she does best–are what’s integral to future success, whatever the form of content be it traditional or nonconventional.
We owe Mike, Frank and so many others who are remembered in this special edition of SHOOT a tremendous debt of gratitude.
Happy Anniversary.
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