MPAA Considers Major Changes After Sony Hack

Earthquake Retrofit shares this story about changes that may be coming to the MPAA prompted by the Sony hack. "Fissures revealed by the hacking at Sony Pictures Entertainment have raised the prospect of profound change at one of Hollywood's oldest institutions: the Motion Picture Association of America. In a behind-the-scenes drama, the Sony Pictures chairman, Michael Lynton, last month told industry colleagues of a plan to withdraw from the movie trade organization, according to people who have been briefed on the discussions. He cited the organization’s slow response and lack of public support in the aftermath of the attack on Sony and its film The Interview, as well as longstanding concerns about the cost and efficacy of the group. Reversing course in mid-January, as the Oscar nominations were being announced, Mr. Lynton stayed in. But he and other studio executives are now discussing proposals that could alter the structure, mandate and governance of a 93-year-old organization that has been the policy front for Hollywood’s major film studios."

Comments

Re:Disbanding?

[disposable60]

Now if we could just get the RIAA to fall over, we'd be rid of the
M usic
A nd
F ilm
I ndustry
A ssociations of
A merica

That _should_ be a good thing, but I fear a competition to become the most draconian in copyright enforcement.

Those are substantial annual fees

[operator_error]

Have you folks read TFA and seen the annuals fees due the MPAA by it's members? I am stunned. What value does the MPAA possibly offer that could come anywhere close to commanding such regal sums annually?

Re:Those are substantial annual fees

[Dan East]

What value does the MPAA possibly offer that could come anywhere close to commanding such regal sums annually?

Lobbying. And the MPAA has done a tremendous job, which is why all of Disney's characters are still under copyright half a century after Disney died, and nearly a century after they were first created. $20 million from each of the 6 big studios is a pittance in return. FTA:

Under tightened government ethics rules, the building’s screening room [MPAA's in Washington DC], though still active, is no longer the scene of lavish movie-and-dinner nights that were once popular with lawmakers.

So they had a "lavish" theater where they would wine and dine lawmakers, and most certainly let lawmakers rub elbows with A-list celebrities, over the decades before more stringent rules were put in place. You bet that influenced laws that keep extending copyright in favor of the MPAAs constituents.

Re:Those are substantial annual fees

[Anonymous Coward]

The money goes to brib..eh, I mean lobbying the people at Washington. Perhaps they will just cut the middleman and donate money directly to the politicians to ensure that proper laws are made. The hell freezes before Mickey Mouse loses its copyright.

Re:I doubt they are looking to go kinder and gentl

[MickyTheIdiot]

I was, of course, talking from my own point of view. I am not talking better DRM, I am talking about getting rid of some corporate idiocy. We are all drowning in it.

Re:Disbanding?

[GameboyRMH]

If the MPAA disbands because of North Korea's actions, that could clean up North Korea's and the Kim dynasty's image overnight! We'd praise the Glorious Leader as a great hero of the people!

(I'm joking...they do run death camps which are at least as bad as the MPAA)

Re:Wow - Sony are imploding

[jonwil]

If I was Sony I would be splitting the company into 3 pieces, one for the movie and music operations, one for the consumer electronics division (Bravia TVs, CyberShot & Alpha cameras etc etc) and one for the PlayStation division and their video games empire.

A 3-way split means the consumer electronics division will no longer be restricted by the need to not do anything that would piss off the guys over in the content creation division. Also people who hate Sony and refuse to buy their products due to the crap their content creation division does (come on, they made & sold a whole pile of audio CDs that installed malware on basically any Windows PC you put the disk into) would be able to buy from the (presumably no longer super-evil) stand-alone consumer electronics company knowing they aren't supporting the super-evil content creation part of the company.

Re:Wow - Sony are imploding

[SIGBUS]

I always thought that Sony's acquisition of Columbia Pictures and CBS Records were long-term colossal mistakes.

Old Sony: made cool stuff, fought tooth and nail for consumer rights (example: the Betamax case that went to the Supreme Court).
New Sony: all about DRM and lock-in, fights tooth and nail against consumer rights.

I liked the old Sony better.