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Valenti To Retire From MPAA After 4 Decade Run


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Valenti to retire from Motion Picture Assoc.

LAS VEGAS, March 23 (Reuters) - One of Hollywood's most powerful men said goodbye to the silver screen on Tuesday after an almost 38-year-long career in which he never acted, directed, produced or wrote for the screen.

Hollywood's chief lobbyist Jack Valenti, the chief executive of the Motion Picture Association of America, announced he will retire from the powerful industry group in a few months, confirming speculation he would step down.

"This is the time for me to depart as CEO. I feel that in my gut," Valenti told reporters at the movie theater industry's ShoWest trade gathering.

Valenti, 83, and a former aide to Presidents John F. Kennedy and Lyndon Johnson, has run the MPAA for nearly 38 years and is one of Washington's most powerful lobbyists on entertainment and media issues.

The MPAA is the lobby group for Hollywood's film and television studios. Valenti said the group has hired a search firm to find a replacement, and added he was "hopeful to have somebody in place in the next two or three months."

Valenti said he planned to "stay connected" to the film industry after his retirement, but did not elaborate.

"I must say I look at this with mixed emotions. When you've done something for so long, it's very difficult to tear yourself away from it," Valenti said.

John Fithian, president of the National Association of Theater Owners which represents movie exhibitors in Washington, called it a "sad day" for his group because Valenti had been a strong champion for the industry over many years.

"If I didn't know he was very serious ... I would try to use all my lobbying skills to get him to stay," Fithian said.

Over the years, Valenti has been a strong advocate of the movie ratings system and a defender of free speech rights. In recent years, he has spearheaded the film industry's battle against illegally copying movies in theaters, at home and on the Internet and re-selling the copies in black markets.

PIRACY AND SCREENERS

Valenti has often called digital piracy the film industry's newest and biggest threat as it could reduce ticket sales in the future and wipe the film industry off the map.

Only one day earlier, he unveiled a plan to show anti-piracy trailers in theaters overseas and follow them up with an educational program in schools much like the industry is doing in the United States.

The MPAA chief suffered one of the few major setbacks of his long career in 2003 when Hollywood's major studios tried to institute a ban on sending out "screeners" -- videotapes and DVDs of movies competing for awards during Oscars season.

Small, independent companies claimed the ban was an unfair trade practice. A New York judge agreed and lifted it.

"If I had it to do all over again, I probably would have shaped and formed (the ban) differently," he said. Valenti added that this year, the MPAA will take no role in any sort of ban proposal and the sending out of screeners would be decided by each, individual studio.

A Texas native, Valenti ran an advertising agency in Houston before heading to Washington to work for Lyndon B. Johnson, then majority leader of the U.S. Senate.

Valenti worked as a press attache in the administrations of both Kennedy and Johnson. In November 1963, when Kennedy was assassinated, Valenti stood next to Johnson as he was sworn in as president on the plane carrying Kennedy's coffin.

Valenti continued as a special assistant to Johnson. He was hired to lead the MPAA in 1966.

(Reporting Bob Tourtellotte, writing by Peter Henderson, editing by Michael Miller; email: [email protected]; +1-213-955-6754))

http://channels.netscape.com/ns/news/story...0&w=RTR&coview=

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I didn't like many of the positions that he took in his MPAA job, but there's no denying he's a big hitter in Washington. I always enjoyed his Washington remembrances, even though he worked for a scalawag boss, Lyndon Johnson. Valenti, like him or hate him, is a lot of history walking around.

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Valenti has often called digital piracy the film industry's newest and biggest threat as it could reduce ticket sales in the future and wipe the film industry off the map.
amazing how someone as long in the industry as he is, still can't comprehend the potential of the 'net.
there's no denying he's a big hitter in Washington.
or el$e he'$ doing what he'$ told.
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amazing how someone as long in the industry as he is, still can't comprehend the potential of the 'net. or el$e he'$ doing what he'$ told.

Actually, his son was heavily involved in the internet. The film industry is very interested in the internet...when the technology is ready. The big problem with downloading movies on the web is then amt of broadband it takes to do so. Technology is improving, but its not quite ready to serve the masses.

The motion picture is a low margin business. It's current saving grace is the dvd. If everyone were able to freely download flicks, it would be far more deletrious for the film business than the music business.

Interestingly enough, the motion picture is far more respectful of its consumers than the music industry. They send notices, not lawsuits. The only stickler with the MPAA is when someone releases a film on the web or disc before its released into theaters. And on that issue, Im in agreement with them.

With movies costing up to 150 million dollars, there is a lot more at stake... It's not so much the casual filesharing here of movies; its the guys who copy them ont o discs and then pirate them overseas...

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