It's about time.
http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmp...e_valenti_dc_5
Valenti to Retire from Motion Picture Assoc.
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By Bob Tourtellotte
LAS VEGAS (Reuters) - Jack Valenti, chief executive of the Motion Picture Association of America said on Tuesday he aims to retire from the industry group in a few months, confirming earlier speculation he would step down.
"This is the time for me to depart as CEO. I feel that in my gut," Valenti told reporters at the movie theater industry's ShoWest trade gathering.
Valenti, 83, and a former aide to Presidents John Kennedy and Lyndon Johnson, has run the MPAA for nearly 38 years and is considered an influential lobbyist in Washington, D.C. on entertainment and media issues.
The MPAA is the lobby group for Hollywood's film and television studios. Valenti said the MPAA has hired an executive search firm to find a replacement, and said he was "hopeful to have somebody in place in the next two or three months."
Valenti said he planned to "stay connected" to the film industry after his retirement, but did not elaborate.
"I must say I look at this with mixed emotions. When you've done something for so long, it's very difficult to tear yourself away from it," Valenti said.
John Fithian, president of the National Association of Theater Owners which represents movie exhibitors in Washington, called it a "sad day" for his group because Valenti had been a strong champion for the industry over in years.
"If I didn't know he was very serious ... I would try to use all my lobbying skills to get him to stay," Fithian said.
Over the years, Valenti has been a strong advocate of the movie ratings system and a defender of free speech rights. In recent years, he has spearheaded the film industry's battle against illegally copying movies in theaters, at home and on the Internet and re-selling the copies in black markets.
A Texas native, Valenti ran an advertising agency in Houston before heading to Washington to work for Lyndon B. Johnson, then majority leader of the U.S. Senate.
Valenti worked as a press attache in the administrations of both Kennedy and Johnson. In November 1963 when Kennedy was assassinated, Valenti stood next to Johnson as he was sworn in as president on the plane carrying Kennedy's coffin.
Valenti continued as a special assistant to Johnson. He was hired to lead the MPAA in 1966.
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