MUMBAI: Motion Picture Association of America chairman and CEO Dan Glickman delivered his annual State of the Industry speech at the ShoWest convention in Las Vegas. Addressing an audience of international exhibitors and theater operators, Glickman touted Hollywood’s record-breaking year at the box office in 2007 noting that both the US domestic box office and the global box office hit all-time highs.
"Today, we stand on a new mountaintop, and I have to say: I like the view. We had about five per cent growth in both the domestic and worldwide box office, all-time highs on both fronts reminding us once again that good stories well told always find a place in our hearts, our lives and our local theaters," said Glickman.
Glickman emphasized the crucial partnership between theater exhibitors and content providers in the herculean effort to protect movies from theft in cinemas around the world calling it the greatest challenge facing the health and growth of the box office. He said that preserving the theater-going experience will help ensure the film industry’s ability to continue to make great blockbuster first-run films in the future.
Part of this effort, Glickman noted, includes preventing government regulation of the Internet – a policy promoted by "net neutrality" proponents – that would inhibit Internet service providers from managing their networks to optimize the consumer experience and to combat distribution of illegal content online.
"Today, new tools are emerging that allow us to work with Internet service providers to prevent illegal activity. And, new efforts are emerging in Washington to stop this essential progress," said Glickman. "Government regulation of the Internet would impede our ability to respond to our customers in innovative ways, and it would impair the ability of broadband providers to address the serious and rampant piracy problems occurring over their networks today."
Glickman concluded by reminding the audience of the power of the movies and how critical it is that theater owners and content producers continue to work together to sustain the film industry’s health and growth.
"Everywhere I go, I see rifts in the world," Glickman said. "But I also am reminded anew just how much movies bring us all together, whether challenging us to face significant social issues or simply encouraging us to lighten up and share a laugh with our neighbors."
