Another Oscar for Bill Guttentag

August, 2003

William Guttentag, who for three years has cotaught the Business School MBA elective Working in the Film and Television Industries, received an Oscar for the documentary short Twin Towers. The film profiles two brothers, a New York City firefighter and a police officer, describing the emergency response to the Sept. 11 terrorist attack.

"In our hearts, we're all New Yorkers," Guttentag said as he accepted his second Academy Award.

"Bill was the central architect, conceptually, in creating the course," said Rod Kramer, the Kimball Professor of Organizational Behavior, who coteaches the elective. He said Guttentag is instrumental in including industry leaders such as producers, writers, and actors who discuss their experiences and challenges.

"Bill has created a unique business school course for students interested in the entertainment industry, bringing to campus industry leaders such as studio presidents, network executives, producers, writers, directors, and actors to discuss their experiences and challenges," said Kramer, adding that Stanford may now have the only business school in the country with an Oscar winner on its faculty.

Guttentag and his coproducer, Robert David Port, received the Oscar at the March 23 ceremonies in Hollywood. It was Guttentag's fifth Academy Award nomination and Port's first. Guttentag, who produces and directs the NBC series Crime & Punishment, also holds two Emmy Awards.

The Business School course addresses the process of project development, production, and marketing; emerging technologies and their impact on the industry; and the roles writers, agents, producers, studio executives, and others play in the making and distribution of film, cable, and television productions.

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Another Oscar for Bill Guttentag

Film Synopsis

The Harlem-based division of the NYPD Emergency Service Unit—among the first teams to respond to the September 11th crisis— is profiled on the job prior to the attacks … and then revisited in the aftermath of the tragedy.

This is the fifth Academy Award nomination for Bill Guttentag. He was previously nominated for:

Blues Highway (1994) 
Nominee, Documentary (Short Subject)

Death on the Job (1991)
Nominee, Documentary (Feature)

Crack USA: County Under Siege (1989)
Nominee, Documentary (Feature)

You Don't Have To Die (1988)
Winner, Documentary (Short Subject)