MPAA search for top job may be coming to a close

After nearly a year of searching for a candidate, Hollywood's chief lobbying arm appears to be close to finally selecting a new leader for the Motion Picture Assn. of America.

Among the leading candidates is Tom Davis, 61, the former Republican congressman from Virginia. Davis resigned from Congress in November 2008 after deciding not to seek an eighth term.

Davis, who currently works as a consultant for Deloitte Services, is a former head of the National Republican Congressional Committee who was best known for his role as chairman of the Government Reform Committee. He presided over such high-profile hearings as the Jack Abramoff corruption scandal and steroid use in Major League Baseball.

The Wrap reported this week that Davis is a front runner for the job, which comes with a $1.2-million salary but has proved difficult to fill, in part because of the MPAA's waning influence in Washington and the demands of the job. The head of the MPAA reports to the major studios, which belong to major media conglomerates that often have conflicting agendas.

The MPAA nearly filled the job this summer, when it tapped former Nebraska Democratic Sen. Bob Kerrey to succeed Dan Glickman, who resigned as chief executive in January. But the MPAA broke off discussions with Kerrey after he began having second thoughts about taking the position.

Other candidates that have been considered but are no longer in the running, people familiar with the search said, include outgoing Sen. Evan Bayh (D-Ind.), Christopher Dodd, the Democratic senator from Connecticut, and New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson.

-- Richard Verrier

Photo: Rep. Tom Davis (R-Va.) talks during taping of "Meet the Press" at NBC studios in Washington in 2005. Credit: Alex Wong/Associated Press/Meet the Press  
 

 

Comments

[Sam]

The MPAA will be as relevant as a 35mm Film camera on a T.V. production set.

[Julian Myes]

Who needs a Washingtonian who knows nothing about Hollywood and doesn't
care? I've been in the industry since graduation from USC Cinema in 1939, so I believe I have some perspective.

Qualified leaders would be (alphabetically) David Bowman (employment advisor to the Bix Six studios), Gil Cates, Elizabeth Daley, Elizabeth Guider, Cheryl Boone Isaacs, Randy Haberkamp (Academy), James Honore (Sony), Sherry Lansing, Marvin Levy, A.C. Lyles, William Mechanic, Milton Moritz, John Pavlik, Robert Rehme, Robert Steuer, George Stevens. Jr., Dick Wolf, Richard Zanuck and Laura Ziskin. Julian Myers, Julian Myers Public Relations.