MLS Sounders Owner Joe Roth Sees Team Thrive, While Film Career Also Revived

Film producer and MLS Sounders Majority Owner JOE ROTH "is a hero" to the sports fans of Seattle, with the team's success "part of a comeback from a series of painful personal and professional injuries, largely self-inflicted," according to an extensive profile by Kim Masters of the HOLLYWOOD REPORTER. At a time when "many alpha producers are floundering, Roth has a batch of movies on the horizon." He has used his Hollywood association to promote the Sounders, having "personally auctioned off walk-on roles" in "ALICE IN WONDERLAND" and "OZ THE GREAT AND POWERFUL" at team-sponsored charity events for $30,000 each. Flying to and from Seattle in a private jet, "Roth attends every game and leads every March to the Match." He said, "I talk to the general manager at least once, probably more than once or twice a day" (HOLLYWOOD REPORTER, 11/22 issue).