..Gary Dretzka
..Noah Forrest
..Leonard Klady
..R.J. Matson
..David Poland
..Douglas Pratt
..Ray Pride
..Michael Wilmington

LAS VEGAS -- In his inaugural state-of-the-industry address before the membership of the National Association of Theater Owners at ShoWest 2005, freshman MPAA leader Dan Glickman chose to eschew the oratorical razzle-dazzle favored by his silver-tongued predecessor, Jack Valenti. There were no hyperbolic references to Shakespeare, the pantheon of Greek gods or giant Japanese lizards.

Glickman knew Valenti would be a tough act to follow, and wisely elected to stick to the business at hand. How his comparatively dry recitation of box office numbers and trends -- along with a stern, if low-key call to arms against “the cancer” of piracy and digital theft -- will play to the star-seeking exhibitors from Peoria is yet to be seen.

The former Secretary of Agriculture’s message was generally upbeat, if unburdened by the year-to-year statistical comparisons and cautionary exhortations favored by the long-time czar of the MPAA. Gone, too, was any self-laudatory praise of the ratings system -- another staple of previous pre-show press briefings and addresses -- and any extended discussion of the progress (or lack, thereof) of digital-projection initiatives.

Instead, Glickman came to hail the Caesars of Hollywood.

“Together as producers, distributors and exhibitors, we as an industry generate approximately three-quarters of a million jobs in this country,” he asserted. “These jobs range from those that are directly involved in movie productions, to others that provide the supplies and services that make it possible for movies to be made. The industry is thriving.”

To help make his case, he pointed to this evidence:

* 1.54 billion movie tickets were purchased by Americans in 2004 (actually a year-to-year drop of $2.4 percent;

* U.S. box office cleared the $9 billion marker for the third year in a row, topping $9.54 billion;

* the average cost of making and marketing an MPAA-member title decreased almost 5 percent from 2003, to $98 million, with prints-and-advertising costs -- a pet Valenti peeve -- down 12 percent, to $34.4 million;

* there was a 9 percent increase in the number of adults, 40-59, who claimed to be frequent moviegoers (those who see at least one movie a month), while the 12-39 demographic remained constant;

* internationally, admissions jumped 13.7 percent.

With the movie industry holding its own on the production side of the business, Glickman clearly was indicating his intention to make piracy and other copyright issues his No. 1 priority.

“Theft is having an impact on our bottom line, and it threatens the economic future of our industry,” he argued. “Digital theft is a menace that, together, we must eventually control. The illegal trafficking of movies on the Internet -- usually on peer-to-peer networks -- is our greatest challenge, and we are working hard to address it head on.”

The 60-year-old career politician and educator seemed distressed by research showing that teen-agers have yet to embrace the anti-piracy message, and advocated a multi-prong approach to tackling the problem. It would include enforcement of existing laws, as well as a cross-generational education program.

He recalled for reporters the wake-up call he received last week, during a tour of Mexico City’s largest flea market. While there, Glickman said he counted more than 400 stalls selling bootleg discs from every movie-producing nation and in several different languages. They included The Pacifer, which his son co-produced and was released only five days before his visit.

“When I called Jonathan and told him what I found, he said, ‘So, dad, what are you going to do about it?”

The retirement of Valenti also seemed to allow NATO president John Fithian a bit more time in the spotlight. He echoed Glickman’s concern over piracy and pledged an aggressive approach to combating it.

Fithian also worried that exhibitors were beginning to add new screens -- 657 in 2004 -- without retiring old and obsolete venues. The was one of the biggest problems faced by the exhibition industry during the economic hard times of the ’90s.

He also was quick to argue that the 3 percent increase in average ticket costs, to $6.21, was below the Consumer Price Index’s 3.3 percent rise in inflation. Over 10 years, NATO surveys show, the 48.6 percent increase in ticket prices was well below that of other mass-entertainment categories.

The item that brought the biggest smile to Fithian’s face, however, was data showing that five of the top-10 grossing films in 2004 were rated PG, and, for the first time in two decades, PG titles out-grossed those rated R ($2.3 billion, to $2.1 billion).

“Theater owners love family movies, because all audiences can enjoy them,” he said. “ ‘R’ movies don’t sell as well as ‘PG-13’ and ‘PG’ titles.”

Referencing such popular hot-button films as Fahrenheit 9/11 and The Passion of the Christ, however, he cautioned, “we welcome diverse and challenging themes in the cinema. Free speech is about controversy and controversy sells tickets. Any time a member tells me that protestors have assembled by their theater, I recommend that ample supplies of popcorn and soda be provided.”

And that, of course, is where the rubber meets the road in the exhibition business.

“That’s why we love family films,” Fithian allowed. “Kids eat a lot of stuff.”

- by Gary Dretzka

March 15, 2005