Motion Picture Association Boss Charles Rivkin Says AI Can ‘Bolster the Art of Storytelling’ and ‘Improve the Fan Experience’
Motion Picture Association Chairman Charles Rivkin walked a fine line at CinemaCon on Tuesday morning, acknowledging concerns about artificial intelligence, while also stressing its creative and commercial potential.
“We’ve entered the era of AI,” Rivkin told cinema operators at the exhibition industry conference taking place this week in Las Vegas. “None of us should ignore its potential dangers. Nor should we dismiss its possibilities. We should view it as we do its predecessors: as a tool that can enhance human creativity, not replace it. We should focus on how to develop and use AI responsibly. We should see AI the way many already do: as a means to improve the fan experience or enable artists to explore novel formats.”
There are widespread fears in Hollywood that AI will lead to job losses as studios find cheaper ways to produce films. Anxiety about AI helped spark the actors and writers strikes of 2023 that brought the entertainment business to its knees. It remains a contentious topic. However, Rivkin argued that movies were also once viewed as a disruptive technology.
“Innovation is part of our DNA too,” Rivkin said. “And every time we’ve seen a new advancement in our industry – and we’ve been told that our end is near – we’ve persisted. We’ve adapted. We’ve thrived. We’ve always embraced what technology could do in the hands of creators to bolster the art of storytelling.”
If Rivkin seemed to be engaging in verbal gymnastics, it’s likely because his members, which include the major film studios such as Warner Bros., Paramount and Disney, as well as streamers like Netflix and Amazon, haven’t reached a consensus on how they want to deploy AI. The technology can cut costs, but it also threatens their cultural dominance by removing the barriers to creating high-end content. Already, members like Disney and Comcast have engaged in legal fights with AI platforms that they believe are infringing on their copyrights by allowing users to create content with their characters without consent. Rivkin sounded a similar alarm during his speech on Tuesday.
“But no matter what, no matter how AI might change the game, we will remain clear about our core principles,” he said. “Protecting copyright as the engine of free expression. Defending intellectual property as the driving force of our creative community. Now there are some who say we should sweep away copyright – to keep pace with America’s rivals and gain ground in the geopolitical arena. But that is a false choice. At our best, what sets our industry, and our country, apart is our fidelity to the rule of law, matched by our openness to change. We can and must do both.
If Rivkin had to strike a delicate balance on Tuesday, Cinema United chief Michael O’Leary drew a starker line, reiterating his opposition to the pending merger between two MPA members, Paramount and Warner Bros. He argued their union will lead to theater closures. O’Leary, who is the exhibition industry’s top lobbyist, has a different constituency, one that is worried that more consolidation will lead to fewer movies being produced.
“Further concentrating marketplace power in the hands of a smaller group of distributors that dictate the terms, windows, scheduling, screen-placement of movies, and access to historic film catalogs will have a real and lasting impact on Main Street and millions of movie fans around the world,” O’Leary said.
The Warner Bros. and Paramount merger is expected to be approved by the Trump administration, but Cinema United chief has been pressuring state attorney generals, as well as international legal bodies to more closely examine the economic impact of a deal. They believe they can slow it down, even stop it. As he presses his case, O’Leary has noted that Disney’s 2019 purchase of 20th Century Fox dramatically reduced the number of movies the studios produced for theaters.
“Unfortunately, history shows us that consolidation results in fewer films being produced for movie theaters,” O’Leary said. “We believe [the Warner Bros.] transaction will be harmful to exhibition, consumers and the entire entertainment eco-system.”
During his time on stage, Rivkin used his remarks to tout the trade organization’s recent legal victory in its fight with Meta over its co-opting its PG-13 terminology for teen Instagram accounts.
“It’s not very often that the MPA takes on a $1.6 trillion company. But in this case, in defense of our ratings, and your theaters, and the trust we’ve built with families together – we knew it was the right thing to do,” Rivkin said on Tuesday. “We made it clear: there’s something very distinct about what’s discovered in a theater from what users find online.”
The dispute kicked off last October when Meta, which owns Instagram, said the social media platform would restrict what users under the age of 18 can see through filters that mirrored the MPA’s PG-13 classification. The MPA argued Meta’s plans amounted to copyright infringement. In March, Meta blinked, agreeing to “substantially reduce” its reference to the PG-13 rating, as well as adding a disclaimer that distinguishes between its own rating system and that of the MPA.
“Instagram and Meta agreed to the limits we demanded. Which keeps our ratings focused where they belong – on films you can see on the big screen,” Rivkin said. “Let there be no doubt: on my watch, no one will confuse movies shown in your theaters with user-generated content people watch on their phones. We will always fight to defend the integrity of our ratings, no matter the adversary. We will always fight to preserve the trust we have forged with parents. We will always fight to protect theaters as trusted places of entertainment for everyone.”
Rivkin, who was ambassador to France under President Barack Obama before he became Hollywood’s top lobbyist, noted that the MPA’s ratings system has a 91% approval rating.
“Nobody in politics gets those numbers,” Rivkin said. “But our ratings do.”
“We’ve entered the era of AI,” Rivkin told cinema operators at the exhibition industry conference taking place this week in Las Vegas. “None of us should ignore its potential dangers. Nor should we dismiss its possibilities. We should view it as we do its predecessors: as a tool that can enhance human creativity, not replace it. We should focus on how to develop and use AI responsibly. We should see AI the way many already do: as a means to improve the fan experience or enable artists to explore novel formats.”
There are widespread fears in Hollywood that AI will lead to job losses as studios find cheaper ways to produce films. Anxiety about AI helped spark the actors and writers strikes of 2023 that brought the entertainment business to its knees. It remains a contentious topic. However, Rivkin argued that movies were also once viewed as a disruptive technology.
“Innovation is part of our DNA too,” Rivkin said. “And every time we’ve seen a new advancement in our industry – and we’ve been told that our end is near – we’ve persisted. We’ve adapted. We’ve thrived. We’ve always embraced what technology could do in the hands of creators to bolster the art of storytelling.”
If Rivkin seemed to be engaging in verbal gymnastics, it’s likely because his members, which include the major film studios such as Warner Bros., Paramount and Disney, as well as streamers like Netflix and Amazon, haven’t reached a consensus on how they want to deploy AI. The technology can cut costs, but it also threatens their cultural dominance by removing the barriers to creating high-end content. Already, members like Disney and Comcast have engaged in legal fights with AI platforms that they believe are infringing on their copyrights by allowing users to create content with their characters without consent. Rivkin sounded a similar alarm during his speech on Tuesday.
“But no matter what, no matter how AI might change the game, we will remain clear about our core principles,” he said. “Protecting copyright as the engine of free expression. Defending intellectual property as the driving force of our creative community. Now there are some who say we should sweep away copyright – to keep pace with America’s rivals and gain ground in the geopolitical arena. But that is a false choice. At our best, what sets our industry, and our country, apart is our fidelity to the rule of law, matched by our openness to change. We can and must do both.
If Rivkin had to strike a delicate balance on Tuesday, Cinema United chief Michael O’Leary drew a starker line, reiterating his opposition to the pending merger between two MPA members, Paramount and Warner Bros. He argued their union will lead to theater closures. O’Leary, who is the exhibition industry’s top lobbyist, has a different constituency, one that is worried that more consolidation will lead to fewer movies being produced.
“Further concentrating marketplace power in the hands of a smaller group of distributors that dictate the terms, windows, scheduling, screen-placement of movies, and access to historic film catalogs will have a real and lasting impact on Main Street and millions of movie fans around the world,” O’Leary said.
The Warner Bros. and Paramount merger is expected to be approved by the Trump administration, but Cinema United chief has been pressuring state attorney generals, as well as international legal bodies to more closely examine the economic impact of a deal. They believe they can slow it down, even stop it. As he presses his case, O’Leary has noted that Disney’s 2019 purchase of 20th Century Fox dramatically reduced the number of movies the studios produced for theaters.
“Unfortunately, history shows us that consolidation results in fewer films being produced for movie theaters,” O’Leary said. “We believe [the Warner Bros.] transaction will be harmful to exhibition, consumers and the entire entertainment eco-system.”
During his time on stage, Rivkin used his remarks to tout the trade organization’s recent legal victory in its fight with Meta over its co-opting its PG-13 terminology for teen Instagram accounts.
“It’s not very often that the MPA takes on a $1.6 trillion company. But in this case, in defense of our ratings, and your theaters, and the trust we’ve built with families together – we knew it was the right thing to do,” Rivkin said on Tuesday. “We made it clear: there’s something very distinct about what’s discovered in a theater from what users find online.”
The dispute kicked off last October when Meta, which owns Instagram, said the social media platform would restrict what users under the age of 18 can see through filters that mirrored the MPA’s PG-13 classification. The MPA argued Meta’s plans amounted to copyright infringement. In March, Meta blinked, agreeing to “substantially reduce” its reference to the PG-13 rating, as well as adding a disclaimer that distinguishes between its own rating system and that of the MPA.
“Instagram and Meta agreed to the limits we demanded. Which keeps our ratings focused where they belong – on films you can see on the big screen,” Rivkin said. “Let there be no doubt: on my watch, no one will confuse movies shown in your theaters with user-generated content people watch on their phones. We will always fight to defend the integrity of our ratings, no matter the adversary. We will always fight to preserve the trust we have forged with parents. We will always fight to protect theaters as trusted places of entertainment for everyone.”
Rivkin, who was ambassador to France under President Barack Obama before he became Hollywood’s top lobbyist, noted that the MPA’s ratings system has a 91% approval rating.
“Nobody in politics gets those numbers,” Rivkin said. “But our ratings do.”