Joe Roth (born July 13, 1948) is an American film executive, producer and film director. He co-founded Morgan Creek Productions in 1987 and was chairman of 20th Century Fox (1989–1993), Caravan Pictures (1993–1994), and Walt Disney Studios (1994–2000) before founding Revolution Studios in 2000. Roth was born in New York, New York, the son of Lawrence Roth, a foreman at a plastics plant.[1] In 1959, Roth’s father volunteered his son to be a plaintiff in the ACLU’s effort to abolish mandatory prayer in public schools. The case, filed in New York, wound its way through the system, finally reaching the U.S. Supreme Court in 1962. The Court ruled that such prayer was unconstitutional under the First Amendment, in the landmark case of Engel v. Vitale. Over the course of his career, he has produced over 40 films, and has directed six to date, including 1990’s Coupe de Ville (in which a Cadillac Coupe de Ville plays a big part) and 2001’s America’s Sweethearts. Roth, who was ranked 6th in Premiere Magazine’s 2003 Hollywood Power List, produced the 76th annual Academy Awards. Roth announced that in October 2007, when Revolution’s distribution deal with Sony Pictures ends, Revolution Studios will close and he will join Sony as a producer. On November 13, 2007, Roth was introduced as the majority owner of a Seattle, Washington-based Major League Soccer franchise along with Paul Allen. Seattle Sounders FC -- which calls CenturyLink Field home—began regular season play in 2009. His former father-in-law was movie producer Samuel Z. Arkoff.