Executive Team
Tim Chonacas
Chonacas’ journey is one of relentless ambition, resilience, and innovation. Beginning as a gifted creative in Detroit, excelling in illustration and photography, he quickly realized the challenges of sustaining an artistic career. Choosing instead to immerse himself in business, he became a highly successful luxury motorsports salesman, later expanding into real estate, flipping houses and acquiring businesses without external financial assistance.
Despite his business success, Chonacas ultimately returned to his true passion: filmmaking. In 2008, he founded Untouchable Films, leveraging his vast industry network to finance and produce independent films. His reputation for deal-making and industry foresight led to a pivotal opportunity in 2016, managing a $15 million film fund on the Paramount Pictures Studio lot, a success that paved the way for his own fund.
In 2018, Chonacas co-founded Gold Tree Films alongside his longtime attorney and producing partner, William J. Immerman. He secured $50 million in equity financing but faced setbacks due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Undeterred, he pressed forward, ultimately launching Gold Tree Studios in 2022 on the legendary Sunset Strip in West Hollywood. Despite industry wide challenges, including two major strikes, he successfully kept operations afloat and expanded with additional locations in Buffalo, NY, and Vancouver Island, Canada.
After Immerman’s unexpected passing in 2023, Chonacas honored their vision by launching Animation GT, a subsidiary of Gold Tree focused on film and TV animation. In 2025, he secured $1 billion in financing from Malka Equities as an exclusive partner for all Film, TV, and Animation projects. This funding will drive expansion into tax-incentivized production properties, studio and equipment rentals, and a fully integrated entertainment ecosystem.
William J. Immerman
Immerman (1944–2023) was a renowned attorney, producer, and executive in the film industry, remembered for his immense contributions to cinema. He also practiced law specializing in representing sales agents, producers, financiers, and distributors, negotiating complex financing deals, and serving as production and distribution counsel.
Previously, Immerman served as president of production at RSVP Entertainment, an independent motion picture production company partially owned by Salem Productions, his independent film production and consulting company. Through Salem Productions, Immerman provided production and business affairs services to film production and distribution companies. He also served as senior executive vice president and COO of Yari Film Group, an independent film production, distribution, and finance company. Before that, he was senior executive vice president and COO of Crusader Entertainment, an Anschutz Film Group company. At Crusader, he was an executive producer of Ray, the biopic of Ray Charles starring Jamie Foxx, which received six Academy Award nominations and won two Oscars.
Immerman earned his B.S. from the University of Wisconsin and his J.D. from Stanford Law School. He also served as an officer in the United States Army Reserve, attaining the rank of Captain. His career began as a Deputy District Attorney for Los Angeles County, after which he entered the motion picture industry with American International Pictures (AIP) as Associate Counsel. At AIP, he held several positions, including Director of Business Affairs, Executive Assistant to the Chairman, Vice President of Business Affairs, and Production Executive. He was also a member of the production committee with greenlight authority on all projects.
Immerman later joined 20th Century Fox as Vice President of Business Affairs, where he served as chief negotiator for talent, production, and distribution and represented Fox on the boards of the Motion Picture Association of America and the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers. He was later promoted to Senior Executive Vice President of Fox’s film division, where he played a pivotal role in approving iconic projects like Star Wars, Young Frankenstein, The Omen, and Silver Streak.
After leaving Fox, Immerman entered into an exclusive production deal with Warner Bros. and later became Executive Producer of Highpoint, one of the first films to benefit from Canadian tax incentives. He then founded Cinema Group, the first motion picture startup to raise funds through both a private placement and an IPO. As Chairman of the Board and President of Cinema Group, he oversaw the production and co-financing of films including Staying Alive, Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan, and Flashdance.
Immerman’s prolific career included producing or executive producing numerous films, such as Swimming Upstream, Danny Deckchair, Sound of Thunder, Sahara, What Doesn’t Kill You, The Maiden Heist, Where the Red Fern Grows, Nothing But the Truth, The Barber, Papa: Hemingway in Cuba, Bitter Harvest, Mr. Hockey: The Gordie Howe Story, Before We Go, and The Hurricane Heist.
He served on the National Advisory Board of the Sundance Film Festival and the National Advisory Board of the DeSantis Center for Motion Picture Industry Studies at Florida Atlantic University. He was a member of the Screen Actors Guild/AFTRA, served as a director of the SAG-AFTRA Foundation, and was a member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. In 2010, he was honored with the Louis B. Mayer Award from the UCLA Anderson School of Management as the Outstanding Motion Picture Business Executive of the Year.
William Immerman’s legacy lives on through his monumental achievements and contributions to the film industry, inspiring generations of filmmakers and executives. Gold Tree will always remember him and his legendary foresight, continuing to break new barriers throughout the industry.