The Motion Picture Association of America has struck a deal with AMC Theatres and a number of regional theater chains to start running the MPAA’s “I Make Movies” ads in their theaters.
Senator Christopher Dodd, the chairman and CEO of the MPAA, discussed the initiative in April at CinemaCon, where in his State of the Industry remarks, he asked theater owners to reach out if they were interested in running the ads in their theaters. A number of them did, and starting Friday, the ads are going to start running in one of the biggest theater chains in America, as well as in independent and regional chains around the country.
The spots represent the latest step in MPAA’s effort to combat piracy by talking about the men and women who work hard on movies and TV shows, and emphasizing the value of the creativity that it takes to make movies along with the importance of viewing content legitimately.
The tagline on these ads is Where You Watch Matters and they direct to the MPAA’s WheretoWatch.com website, a one-stop search tool that makes it easier for consumers to find content in theaters or online. WheretoWatch and the “I Make Movies” ads are a big priority for Dodd in his chairmanship of MPAA.
AMC Theatres consists of more than 300 locations nationwide that welcome approximately 200 million guests annually.
“We’re very grateful to have the support of AMC Theatres, along with independent theaters around the country, to promote our ‘I Make Movies’ series,” said Dodd. “Each year, and this year in particular, audiences flock to theaters to see incredible stories told on the big screen. This latest effort will help inform those movie-goers that watching films in theaters and through legitimate online services is important for supporting the kind of creativity exhibited by the nearly 2 million American men and women that work in our industry.”
“AMC strongly supports the MPAA’s efforts to encourage movie-going,” added Elizabeth F. Frank, executive VP and chief content & programming officer for AMC Theatres.
“The ‘I Make Movies’ series does an excellent job underscoring the wide-range of men and women who earn their livelihood in the film industry, and reinforcing the message that paying for content by attending movie theaters is vital to supporting their hard work and creativity. We’re glad to share these short videos in our theaters,” said Robert Perkins III, president of Act V Theaters.
“We’re happy to promote the MPAA’s “I Make Movies” series in our theaters. These short videos are an informative and entertaining tool that helps shine a light on the enormous amount of people and resources it takes to bring stories to the big screen,” added Catherine DePrima, director of marketing for the Santa Rosa Entertainment Group, which owns 10 theaters in northern California.
The “I Make Movies” series features costumer illustrator Phillip Boutte Jr, picture car coordinator Ted Moser, seamstress Lara Greene, carpenter Jason Allard and set designer Ricardo Guillermo. All of the artists in the videos are members of a local labor union. To find out more about the creativity, innovations, and workers behind-the-scenes of the American movie and television industry, visit TheCredits.org.