AMERICAN CINEMATHEQUE HONORS
KEVIN GOETZ & SCREEN ENGINE
WITH THE POWER OF CINEMA AWARD

LOS ANGELES, CA, February 2024 – Entertainment research veteran KEVIN GOETZ  and his company SCREEN ENGINE, a global leader in the industry, have been honored this month with the American Cinematheque’s prestigious Power of Cinema Award. The award was presented to GOETZ at a star-studded award ceremony at the Beverly Hilton Hotel this month, along with the American Cinematheque Award presented to renowned actress, Dame Helen Mirren.

Following an introduction by the Power of Cinema sponsor, Hill Valley CEO,  and American Cinematheque Board Member Eric Nebot, Jim Gianopulos, former studio head of 20th Century Fox and Paramount Pictures, presented the award to GOETZ at the event. In his remarks, Gianopulos said, “We all know the preview process informs both the final version of the film and the marketing strategy for its potential audience. It can be a celebratory event…but other times the audience fidgets. There are awkward silences, there are unintended laughs, and the scores come in looking pretty grim. This is when Kevin is truly the most important talent of them all. Where was the audience confused, bored, distracted, or out of the narrative flow of the movie? And how come all those people left early? Understanding what’s working, what isn’t, what’s holding back a part of that audience sitting out there in the dark and ‘why‘ is an art form in itself. In that, Kevin is Picasso.”

Among the celebrities in attendance supporting the honorees, were Harrison Ford, Bryan Cranston, Vin Diesel, Alan Cummings, Stefanie Powers, Patrick Stewart, Andrea Riseborough, and Pierce Brosnan.

Celebrating American Cinematheque’s mission, its Board of Directors established the “Power of Cinema Award” in 2021 to be given to an individual or organization whose actions through storytelling have advanced the significance of social relevance of films in today’s modern culture. GOETZ is the third recipient of this award previously presented to Jason Blum and Blumhouse, a film and television production company, and also to Participant, a media company dedicated to entertainment that inspires audiences to engage in positive social change.

“Thank you from the bottom of my heart to each and every one who has trusted me with your creative babies in front of a room full of strangers for the first time,” said GOETZ during his acceptance speech at the award ceremony. “Thank you to those who listened to bad news and hard truths when it was the last thing you really wanted to do, and who invited me and my company into your process to solve story challenges or a problematic third act.  It has truly been an honor to play a small part in creating many cinematic successes alongside so many of you in this room.”

ABOUT KEVIN GOETZ
Kevin Goetz, a well-known personality within the entertainment industry, is currently a leading expert in the field of motion picture marketing and tech-enabled research. He is often the “go-to” person when filmmakers and studios need insights into how to fix or market their pictures. His company, Screen Engine, is one of the few firms in the world that conducts specialized research on Hollywood’s movies and television content. Goetz has been at the center of the research industry for more than three decades and has worked alongside all of the major film studio chiefs, network and streaming platform executives and production company decision-makers. Kevin wrote his first book published by Simon & Schuster, Audience•ology: How Moviegoers Shape the Films We Love, about an important aspect of his business— audience pre-release test screenings. Bringing his bestselling book to life, he is the host of the successful podcast, Don’t Kill the Messenger, and continues to educate up-and-coming filmmakers, deliver keynote speeches, and give talks and presentations around the world. Kevin has also produced 12 television movies including the Emmy-winning, Wild Iris. Kevin Goetz is a member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences and several other distinguished organizations including The Television Academy and the Producers Guild of America.

ABOUT THE EVENT
The American Cinematheque’s mission is to celebrate the experience of cinema as a moving art form and create spaces where both the public and members of the film industry come together as a community with the common language and love of film.  Established in 1984, the organization is a member-supported 501(c)(3) non-profit cultural arts organization dedicated to building an engaged film community through immersive film curation, conversation, and presentation.  Since it first began showing films in theatres in 1985, the American Cinematheque has provided a wide range of film programming, with both new and repertory cinema, hosting screenings, panels and special events with thousands of filmmakers. The AC showcases 1,500 films a year; it connects the filmmaker to the audience and film history to its future, presenting in 35mm, 70mm, rare nitrate, and state-of-the-art-digital.

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Kevin Goetz announces a limited series podcast in conjunction with the release of his book, Audience•ology: How Moviegoers Shape the Films We Love on November 30th.

The podcast will give added dimension to chapters of the book including conversations about his background, the history of screening research, the recruitment process, the importance of survey scores, what can go wrong at screenings, art vs business, the impact of Covid on the movie business, and what makes a movie theatrical. Each show will feature a surprise guest to join the conversation and to share how screening research impacted his/her film.

The book Audience•ology is the chronicle of how real people have written and rewritten America’s cinematic masterpieces by showing up, watching a rough cut of a new film, and giving their unfettered opinions so that directors and studios can salvage their blunders, or better yet, turn their movies into all-time classics.

Each chapter informs an aspect or two of the test-screening process and then, through behind-the-scenes stories, illustrates how that particular aspect was carried out. Nicknamed “the doctor of Audience•ology,” Kevin Goetz shares how he helped filmmakers and movie execs confront the misses and how he recommended ways to fix the blockbusters, as well as first-hand accounts from Ron Howard, Cameron Crowe, Ed Zwick, Renny Harlin, Jason Blum, and other Hollywood luminaries who brought you such films as La La Land, Chicago, Titanic, Wedding Crashers, Jaws, and Forrest Gump.

Audience•ology, with Darlene Haymen and published by Tiller Press, a division of Simon and Schuster, is currently available for pre-order where books are sold.

Los Angeles, CA (October 24, 2021) – CEO, Author, and Film Producer Kevin Goetz announces the launch of his Kevin Goetz 360 social media pages on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and TikTok, as well as his Kevin Goetz page on Linked In.

Kevin Goetz has been at the center of what Hollywood calls the movie research industry for more than thirty years. His firm, Screen Engine/ASI, conducts research for a majority of all movies that are widely released in America and around the world. With decades of experience, Goetz has worked alongside all of the major film studio chiefs, network and streaming platform executives, and production company decision-makers.

In addition to founding and operating one of the leading entertainment research and data analytics firms, Kevin also has produced 13 films over the past 22 years. This week, his latest film, Deadly Due Date is airing on Lifetime Movie Network on October 29th, 2021 at 8pm PT.

Also happening during the months of October and November is the pre-sale of his memoir, Audience•ology. The book from Tiller Press, a division of Simon & Schuster, explores one of the most important and underrated steps in the filmmaking process with enough humor, drama, and surprise to entertain those with only a spectator’s interest in film, offering us a new look at movie history.

Discover the fascinating and secretive process of audience testing of Hollywood movies through these first-hand stories from famous filmmakers, studio heads, and stars.

Currently available for pre-sale in all book formats, AUDIENCE•OLOGY: How Moviegoers Shape the Films We Love by Kevin Goetz with Darlene Haymen will be released on November 30, 2021 by Tiller Press, a division of Simon and Schuster. AUDIENCE•OLOGY takes readers to one of the most unknown places in Hollywood—a place where famous directors are reduced to tears and multi-millionaire actors to fits of rage. A place where dreams are made, and fortunes are lost. This book is the chronicle of how real people have written and rewritten America’s cinematic masterpieces by showing up, watching a rough cut of a new film, and giving their unfettered opinions so that directors and studios can salvage their blunders, or better yet, turn their movies into all-time classics.

Each chapter informs an aspect or two of the test-screening processes and then, through behind-the-scenes stories, illustrates how that particular aspect was carried out. Goetz shares how he helped filmmakers and movie execs confront the misses and how he recommended ways to fix the blockbusters, as well as first-hand accounts from Ron Howard, Cameron Crowe, Drew Barrymore, Ed Zwick, Renny Harlin, Jason Blum, and other Hollywood luminaries who brought you such films as La La Land, Chicago, Titanic, Wedding Crashers, Jaws, and Forrest Gump.

AUDIENCE•OLOGY explores one of the most important (and most underrated) steps in the filmmaking process with enough humor, drama, and surprise to entertain those with only a spectator’s interest in film, offering us a new look at movie history.