MPAA President Chris Dodd Won’t Attend CinemaCon

Former senator also skipped out on Donald Trump’s inauguration earlier this year

mpaa chris dodd

Motion Picture Association of America President Chris Dodd is skipping this year’s CinemaCon due to a scheduling conflict, a spokesman told TheWrap.

Dodd will not be present to deliver his annual state of the industry speech at the Las Vegas confab, organized by the National Association of Theater Owners. Instead, NATO President John Fithian will be the only one giving industry remarks.

Reports indicated Dodd would miss the event due to family reasons, which took priority when he skipped another high-profile event this year. In January, Dodd opted to miss out on President Donald Trump’s inauguration, instead using the long weekend to take his daughter to Walt Disney World.

“Having retired from the Senate six years ago, he decided to take advantage of the long weekend and take a trip with his family,” a Dodd spokesman told TheWrap at the time.

Dodd, a former Democratic senator from Connecticut, became head of the MPAA in 2011. He was preceded by Dan Glickman, a former congressman and Agriculture Secretary, who served from 2004-2011. Dodd’s contract runs through 2018.

As the head of the MPAA, Dodd lobbies for the six major Hollywood studios: Disney, Universal, Warner Bros., 20th Century Fox, Sony Pictures Entertainment and Paramount Pictures. The MPAA advocates for issues like anti-piracy, and also issues film ratings for theatrical releases based on themes and content.

 

CinemaCon will take place March 27 through 30 in Sin City.

Matt Donnelly contributed reporting to this story.

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