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Valenti: Talent and Free Trade Key to Success

Neighbourly respect, an open marketplace and the fact that no country has a monopoly on talent, were just three of the themes touched upon by Jack Valenti at the Canadian Film and Television Production Association's annual conference, Prime Time in Ottawa on Thursday. The president and CEO of the Motion Picture Association of America was a major drawing card for the sold out crowd of over 500 government officials and members of the Canadian production industry.

Titled "An inventory of the Bindings that Embrace Canada and the United States," Valenti remarked on the importance of our shared border and trading relationship, but more importantly, he said Canadians and Americans were blood brothers. Known for representing the interests of seven major American studios, Valenti was able to capture the realities of the current marketplace. "Last year in the U.S. some 684 films were produced. About 150 never saw the inside of a theater, never got a distributor. Keep in mind that no one wakes in the morning and declares 'Today I am going to make a movie that no one will want to see.' But it happens," said Valenti. As the longest serving president of the MPAA, Valenti went on to reveal his formula for success in the entertainment business: "If you make a TV show or a film that a lot of people want to watch, you will do very well. If you make a TV program or a film that few people want to watch, you will not do very well."

Of interest to the Canadian audience was Valenti's continued support in opposing duties, tariffs or quotas on American productions that are shot in Canada. Earlier this year a countervailing duty petition against so-called runaway productions was withdrawn by an organization in the U.S. representing below-the-line workers in Hollywood. In keeping with the concept of free trade Valenti also stressed the importance of international markets if entertainment companies are to thrive. "We all must export or we shrink. In America only two films in 10 retrieve its investment through domestic theatrical exhibition." Valenti also aired his support for American legislation that would create tax incentives for American producers to shoot at home.

Valenti joined the MPAA in 1966, and has had extensive careers in advertising and politics. After serving in the Air Corps during WWll, Valenti graduated from Harvard with an MBA. In 1952 he co-founded the advertising and political consulting agency Weekley & Valenti which brought him into contact with a man who would eventually become President of the United States, Lyndon B. Johnson. Valenti began serving as the Special Assistant to Johnson within an hour of the assassination of John F. Kennedy. Aside from being Hollywood's man in Washington, Valenti has written four books, as well as essays for The New York Times, Los Angeles Times, Washington Post and Atlantic Monthly.

The CFTPA Conference wraps up on February 8, 2002.

The CFTPA is a non-profit, trade association representing almost 400 companies involved in the Canadian media content production industry. The Association promotes the general interests of Canadian media content producers by lobbying government on policy matters, negotiating labour agreements, offering mentorship programs, copyright initiatives, holding seminars, and producing industry publications.

Photo to come (Valenti speaking at the Chateau Laurier in Ottawa)

For more information on this, please contact:

Jane L. Thompson
Director of Communications
Canadian Film and Television Production Association

Tel: 613 233 1444 ext 227