MPA Chairman and CEO Charles Rivkin’s Remarks at 2025 MPA Awards
WASHINGTON, DC — Motion Picture Association Chairman and CEO Charles Rivkin delivered remarks at the 2025 MPA Awards, where filmmaker Jon M. Chu was honored with the Creator Award; Senate Majority Leader John Thune, Senator Chris Coons, and Chairman Darrell Issa received the Industry Champion Awards; and Director Ivan Arvelo accepted the Creative Protector Award on behalf of the National Intellectual Property Rights Coordination Center.
The following are Rivkin’s remarks as prepared for delivery:
Ladies and gentlemen, Members of Congress and Administration officials, distinguished ambassadors, leaders in entertainment and media – and with special thanks to Comcast, our partners in putting on this year’s event.
On behalf of our seven member companies – the largest entertainment companies in the world – NBC Universal, Netflix, Paramount, Prime Video and Amazon MGM Studios, Sony Pictures, Walt Disney, and Warner Brothers Discovery:
Welcome to the 2025 MPA Awards.
What you see tonight reflects the very best of the MPA. This is the place where Washington meets Hollywood. Where policymakers meet filmmakers. Where public servants meet impactful storytellers.
Here, we celebrate the directors who make us want to sing and dance, laugh and cry. The creative workforce that takes us on journeys around the world and over the rainbow. The incredible stories, and the casts and crews who bring them to life.
Here, we honor the lawmakers who understand the vast impact of filmmaking on our communities; who enact measures designed to keep America competitive and sustain our industry as a driver of jobs, growth, and opportunity.
Here, we recognize the law enforcement teams who work with us to secure the content we love to watch. To protect the consumers buying tickets at the box office. To defend the intellectual property that forms the lifeblood of our business.
Here, it’s all on display – a celebration that honors the achievements of our awardees.
That speaks to film and television’s starring role – in sparking imaginations, spurring economic growth, and connecting audiences everywhere…
That reminds us: how films can move and inspire, educate and illuminate.
How great stories can stick with us, and challenge us, and make us think, and sometimes they can change us:
For good.
Thank you for joining us. And now, let’s get on with the show.
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Presenting the Creative Protector Award to Director Ivan Arvelo and the IPR Center
Ivan Arvelo is a decorated member of law enforcement. He oversees hundreds of field agents, who dedicate their lives to combating intellectual property theft, defending the homeland, promoting public safety.
He’s served this mission in posts from D.C. and New York to Tampa and San Juan.
And when we asked him where he gets his inspiration, how did he answer?
He really, really loves the Lord of the Rings. Which means Ivan Arvelo, like all of us, is a bit of a movie geek.
Not only that – he believes in film’s ability to heal and connect, and appreciates its value to our nation, economy, and culture.
But there’s a deeper meaning behind his fandom of Tolkien’s classic: as he put it, the saga in Middle Earth is about “the struggle between good and evil…and how, so often, personal sacrifice comes hand-in-hand with doing the right thing.”
That spirit – that willingness to give of yourself for the sake of what’s right – is infused throughout the work of the IPR Center.
Five years ago, this agency and the MPA signed an agreement: to lock arms in the battle against digital piracy. To strengthen our collaboration in waging this fight. To protect intellectual property as the precious resource that it is – a cornerstone of the creative sector and a competitive edge for America’s economy.
Our cooperation speaks to what Director Arvelo told us about our industry: that it’s “so much more than entertainment – it’s an integral part of society.”
Ladies and gentlemen: accepting the MPA Creative Protector Award on behalf of the IPR Center, please welcome Director Ivan Arvelo.
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Presenting the Creator Award to Jon M. Chu
No matter what’s happening in our world, “we can still make art that is a radical act of optimism – that is empowerment and that is joy.”
That’s what Jon Chu told us at the Golden Globes this year.
That sums up the spirit of his stunning career.
For Jon, cinema is a vast canvas with enough room for everyone.
A medium not just to entertain, but to welcome. Not simply to amaze, but to empower. Not solely to share a good story, but to build a strong community – among the cast, crew, audience – all of us who love this art form.
And his approach is clearly working:
How many young filmmakers – or industry veterans, for that matter – can say they’ve created a cultural watershed moment or a global phenomenon?
How many can say they’ve done it more than once?
Truly, it seems like every time Jon Chu steps onto a set and behind a camera, magical moments are waiting to burst through the screen.
He’s a master of his craft. And in his work, he has a knack for transforming a single scene into an epic event.
Just watch Step Up 2: The Streets to see how he turns the rain-soaked streets of Baltimore into a setting where movement becomes an act of defiance – and a bridge across cultures.
Watch the “96,000” number from In The Heights – to see more than a celebration of a lottery ticket, but the visualization of a neighborhood’s collective dream.
Watch the mahjong scene in Crazy Rich Asians for a masterclass in displaying the richness, and complexity, of an exploration of cultural identity.
Watch that unbelievable sequence of “Defying Gravity” in Wicked, which becomes more than a song. It’s a declaration of independence. A summons for all of us to soar.
With Jon Chu at the helm, we bear witness to what creativity can do to help people see themselves, and their own hopes and aspirations, and each other, reflected in the characters before them.
We’re reminded why we love movies. And we’re inspired by another radical act of optimism: to believe in the everlasting idea that everyone deserves a chance to fly.
Ladies and gentlemen: the recipient of the 2025 MPA Creator Award, Jon M. Chu.
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Presenting the Industry Champion Award to Senate Majority Leader John Thune
When I first started at the MPA, my first visit to Capitol Hill took me to the office of Senator John Thune.
We were there to talk about movies and television. But before we did that, we took a lengthy detour into a discussion about hunting and fishing. Which, it turned out, were mutual passions for both of us.
Now, that may seem a little disconnected from talk of casts and crews.
But that conversation – and our shared love of the outdoors – laid the groundwork for a productive relationship that sees now-Senate Majority Leader Thune as a true partner on questions around media, technology, and the economic impact of filmmaking across the U.S.
He’s helped enact landmark legislation to ensure a level playing field in internet commerce.
He’s pursued pragmatic solutions on adopting universal broadband infrastructure and modernizing media regulation for the digital age.
He recognizes that a stronger creative sector is vital to a stronger national economy, stronger job growth, stronger wages. Which benefits citizens in South Dakota as much as in California, or Texas, or anywhere else in our country.
What’s more, Leader Thune appreciates that movies, in his words, “have the power to transport us to far-flung corners of the world and put us in someone else’s shoes.”
He is humble, determined, kind, and respected by his colleagues. And we’re thrilled to honor him tonight.
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Presenting the Industry Champion Award to Senator Chris Coons
Over the years, I don’t think I’ve ever encountered a member of Congress, or a political leader, who knows more about movies and TV shows than Senator Chris Coons.
He has an encyclopedic knowledge of our industry. And if you want to see him get truly animated, ask him about his favorite movie – though, fair warning, you may be there awhile.
Senator Coons is a true fan.
But more than that, he gets – in his heart – why this industry matters to America, to our economic growth, our workforce, our local communities, our global leadership.
He understands intellectual property – and its value to our nation.
He’s a constitutional scholar – and speaks often of its protections for copyright.
He sees piracy for the threat that it is, the jobs it costs, the value it drains from our economy.
And he’s always ready to get things done: on countering unauthorized digital replicas. On defending American trade secrets and innovation. On advancing site blocking and so many issues vital to our industry.
Senator Coons will reach across the aisle to anybody willing to roll up their sleeves and get the job done.
And that might be the most important thing to know about this Senator:
He doesn’t seek the limelight or the spotlight. He seeks consensus and pragmatic solutions.
He’s eager to do the hard, quiet, unsung work required to move the needle on behalf of America’s creative community.
We simply could not ask for a better friend, a more trusted partner, or a more effective advocate in the halls of government.
My friends: please welcome our 2025 MPA Industry Champion Awardee, the distinguished gentleman from Delaware, Senator Chris Coons.
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Presenting the Industry Champion Award to Chairman Darrell Issa
Darrell Issa came to Congress with a lifetime of experience under his belt: a Captain in the U.S. Army; a wildly successful entrepreneur; a force in the consumer technology industry.
But when he decided to run for office, he turned his drive and focus toward a broader agenda: to maximize American potential – and promote America’s economic strength.
And I should add that he also arrived on Capitol Hill as a massive fan of one movie in particular – the kind of guy who might feel the need…for speed.
Yes, he showed up in Washington, like so many, readily quoting Top Gun. And ever since, he’s done his part to keep our industry out of the “danger zone.”
Chairman Issa is a true partner on matters critical to film and television.
He’s focused on how America can lead on AI, without sacrificing our commitment to intellectual property.
He’s fighting to protect our country’s consumers from harmful uses of digital technologies.
He’s leading the charge to deliver new tools to copyright holders that will defend our nation’s creative economy from foreign piracy.
He is a powerful champion of our industry. A trusted ally for the MPA. A key voice in promoting innovation and creativity – and pursuing the policies to protect them.
Ladies and gentlemen: recipient of the 2025 MPA Industry Champion Award, Representative Darrell Issa.
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Closing the Ceremony
Ladies and gentlemen, that concludes our 2025 MPA Awards ceremony.
We truly appreciate your presence, your support for this industry, your belief in the power, and promise, and impact of film, television, and streaming.
And we hope to see you again at a screening or event or another opportunity to celebrate the power of a great story, well told.
Thank you all for being here.
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