MPAA Chairman and CEO Charles Rivkin Delivers Keynote Address to the Canadian Club of Ottawa
Speech Highlights Local Film and Television Production and Calls for Greater Accountability to Protect Local Production Investment
Ottawa, Ontario (CAN) – Today, in a keynote address delivered to the Canada Club of Ottawa, Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) Chairman and CEO Charles Rivkin highlighted the challenges and opportunities facing the film and television industry in the rapidly evolving global digital marketplace. He was introduced by Marc Miller, the Member of Parliament representing Ville-Marie—Le Sud-Ouest—Île-des-Sœurs in the House of Commons and was joined by nationally-respected broadcaster Catherine Clark for a fireside discussion.
Rivkin noted that MPAA-member studios are long-standing partners and investors in Canada through the production of television series, major feature films, and post-production, visual effects, and animation projects. In 2017, film and television producers spent more than $8.3 billion in Canada and supported more than 171,000 jobs. MPAA member studios worked with more than 11,000 local Canadian businesses last year, from Montreal to Manitoba and Toronto to Vancouver.
“Canadian creators play a leading role in exciting innovations you see on screens around the world,” said Rivkin. “This dynamic creative economy deserves all our best efforts to protect and advance it within this complicated digital era.”
Rivkin discussed how the cultural and economic benefits created by the film and television industry in Canada and around the world are threatened today by online piracy. The internet is a powerful driver of creativity and entertainment – and all aspects of modern life – but illegal activity is harming the internet ecosystem in numerous ways. Rivkin urged the dominant internet platforms to take proactive and voluntary action to confront the growing list of illicit activities, including piracy and concluded by calling for accountability to be the foundation of an internet that supports freedom of expression, commerce, creativity, and innovation.
“We need modern, common-sense solutions that address how to improve accountability, and systems that address illegal and harmful activities, just as we expect in the brick-and-mortar world. As the internet becomes ever more embedded in our lives, globe-spanning problems can only be solved if we address them together. While the laws in each country may be different and specific solutions may be customized, the global goals are the same.”
To read Rivkin’s full remarks, please visit www.mpaa.org or mpa-canada.org.
About the Canadian Club of Ottawa
The Canadian Club of Ottawa presents a dynamic forum to explore the issues that matter most to Canada.
With roots dating back to 1903, it is a prestigious meeting place for the inquiring and the influential – a place for all who share a keen interest in contemporary Canadian life and who seek context, perspective, and a deeper level of understanding. Our members frequent the Canadian Club to be informed, engaged and inspired.
Canadian Club speakers are leaders in Canada and abroad in business, politics, academia and the arts. They are the builders, the thinkers and the dreamers who are shaping Canada’s future and defining our place in an ever-changing world. The Canadian Club of Ottawa is an unfiltered window on the Canada of today and tomorrow – and a place to witness history in the making.
About the MPAA
The Motion Picture Association of America, Inc. (MPAA) serves as the voice and advocate of the American motion picture, home video and television industries from its offices in Los Angeles and Washington, D.C. Its members include: Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures; Paramount Pictures Corporation; Sony Pictures Entertainment Inc.; Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation; Universal City Studios LLC; and Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc.
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For more information, contact:
MPAA Washington, D.C.
Kaelan Hollon
202-421-4921
MPA-Canada
Julie O’Driscoll
416-355-7459