After years of fighting “online pirates”, the chairman of the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) will step down and take a new role in charity program for refugees from different parts of the world.
In an interview at a convention attended by theater owners, Dan Glickman announced his impending resignation as a chairman of MPAA which represents the US movie industry.
While Glickman successor has not been named, analysts believe that the Hollywood industry may experience a drastic change since Glickman has been known as an aggressive movie lobbyist in Washington D.C.
In 2004, MPAA appointed Glickman as its chairman who is also a US congressman. He also served as a secretary of the department of agriculture under former President Bill Clinton.
Glickman has focused his effort in curbing online counterfeiters who distributed illegal copies of movies. Several surveys suggested that piracy costs the Hollywood industry billions of dollars every year, making this the most serious problem facing movie producers.
Aside from curbing online and DVD piracy, MPAA is also responsible for providing ratings and reviewing the content of movies to allow consumers if a certain program is appropriate to a certain group of people.
However, Glickman has been criticized for being too “puritanical” about violence- and sex-themed movies and that he allegedly follows a strict rating system.
Some of his detractors had also accused him of giving a “good rating” to major Hollywood producers while arbitrarily providing an NC-17 rating to some independent movies.
Aside from rating movie content, MPAA is responsible for making movies easily accessible to the audience.