MPA Chairman and CEO Charles Rivkin’s Remarks at 2026 MPA Awards
WASHINGTON, DC — Motion Picture Association Chairman and CEO Charles Rivkin delivered remarks at the 2026 MPA Awards, where filmmaker Francis Lawrence was honored with the Creator Award; Senator Raphael Warnock and Kentucky Senate President Robert Stivers received the Industry Champion Awards; and Brigadier General Hany Saleh accepted the Creative Protector Award on behalf of Egypt’s Ministry of Interior.
The following are Rivkin’s remarks as prepared for delivery:
Ladies and gentlemen, Members of Congress and Administration officials, distinguished ambassadors and diplomats, senior state legislators and mayors, leaders in entertainment and media – on behalf of our seven MPA member companies:
Welcome to the 2026 MPA Awards.
On the Fourth of July, we marked 250 years of America’s story. And from the start, creativity and innovation, free speech and free expression, copyright and the arts, have all played starring roles – in our economic strength and cultural imprint, in the image we project to the world, in the health of our democracy.
The ideals that fuel our industry today were literally etched into our founding documents, into the very pillars of our republic.
Yet even more essential is how those principles have evolved.
How the script of our nation’s artistic excellence has been written and rewritten, conceived and reimagined.
How film, television, and streaming fit into that tradition – not solely because they entertain us. But because when creators, casts, and crews are free to tell stories – how and where and when they wish to tell them – that’s a sign of the strength of our enduring American experiment.
Every day, the MPA fights for these values, reaffirming our industry’s impact as a jobs engine, a force for U.S. global leadership, a source of connection across markets and borders.
Tonight, we come together to honor that same spirit – and individuals who embody it:
A law enforcement partner who’s helped us protect content, the creators who make it, and the consumers who watch it.
A pair of American legislators who understand the benefits of film and TV production to their states and to our nation.
A filmmaker who shows us what visual mastery can teach us about our own humanity.
Here at the MPA, we celebrate what binds us from D.C. to Hollywood to audiences across our country and around the world:
Our common belief in the power of great stories, well told.
Thank you for joining us. Now, let’s get on with the show.
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Presenting the Creative Protector Award to Egypt’s Ministry of Interior
When I took the reins of the MPA, I stepped into another post as well: Chairman of our Alliance for Creativity and Entertainment – the world’s largest anti-piracy coalition.
In that role, I’ve seen firsthand everything that goes into our fight to protect creators and consumers: How our teams identify and investigate targets. How we build a case against operators of illegal websites around the world. How we partner with law enforcement to pursue the offenders.
ACE’s collaboration with Egypt’s Ministry of Interior – and the historic operation against Streameast, the largest purveyor of illegal sports streaming anywhere – demonstrate how this work takes shape and why it matters.
ACE played its role perfectly: seeing the danger posed by Streameast and developing the intelligence needed to take it down.
Then the Ministry took over: seizing over 120 domains. Shutting down sites that attracted 1.6 billion visits in a single year. Bringing the perpetrators to justice.
The Ministry even worked with another office – the Economic Affairs and Anti-Money Laundering Prosecutor – to expand the case into broader financial crimes, recognizing that just as vital as removing the immediate threat is dismantling the infrastructure behind it.
Because we acted together, when consumers logged onto Streameast to check out a soccer match last fall, they instead saw a message: “watch legally.”
Because we acted together, sports fans could cheer on the teams they love on legitimate platforms, free from malware, theft, or fraud.
Because we acted together, we made it clear – as Egypt’s Ministry put it – that there should be “no safe haven for those who pirate digital content.”
Ladies and gentlemen: accepting the 2026 MPA Creative Protector Award, on behalf of Egypt’s Ministry of Interior, please welcome: Brigadier General Hany Saleh.
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Presenting the Creator Award to Francis Lawrence
Let me ask you something: how many people in show business – or any sector – can say they’ve worked with household names that literally the entire world recognizes?
With Lady Gaga and Shakira, with Will Smith and Keanu Reeves, with Philip Seymour Hoffman and Julianne Moore and a collection of Oscar winners, with J-Lo and J-Law?
If you’re trying to come up with an answer, you don’t have to look far: Francis Lawrence is sitting right here.
Yet what sets this artist apart is not simply the casts he’s directed. It’s the stories he’s told, the messages he’s delivered, the questions he’s asked us to face:
How do ordinary people respond in moments of crisis, fear, loss?
Who do you become when everything you think, know, and love is stripped away?
What will you sacrifice – how will you sustain your morality, your empathy, your identity – when society needs someone to step up and lead?
When Francis Lawrence builds worlds on screen, he spotlights characters we might emulate. He shows us the paths we might travel.
Watch Constantine to find a lonely man trying to do right in a broken world.
Watch Water for Elephants to discover a love story flourishing in a setting that tries to prevent it.
Watch The Long Walk to see young boys who bond in the face of the worst of roads – and reveal the meaning of human endurance.
Watch The Hunger Games, one of the most successful franchises in Hollywood history – with another installment, Sunrise on the Reaping, coming to theaters in November –
To witness a young woman who never sought to be a symbol, yet fate chooses her anyway. To see an oppressive system met with inspiring defiance – a collection of individuals illustrating the qualities we seek in our heroes, but define the best in our humanity:
Courage. Loyalty. Resilience. And above all – hope.
Francis: from music videos to cinematic epics, you give us reason to keep watching, to keep wondering, to keep questioning, to keep believing in what storytelling can be.
For your outstanding contributions, we offer our own three-finger salute. We know the odds will be ever in your favor.
Ladies and gentlemen: please welcome to the stage the recipient of the 2026 MPA Creator Award, Francis Lawrence.
—
Presenting the Industry Champion Award to Kentucky Senate President Robert Stivers
Last year, I traveled to Kentucky to meet local officials, tour soundstages in Louisville, and hear about the state’s efforts to attract production.
When I walked into the office of State Senate President Robert Stivers, I learned four things:
First, he explained the meaning of what locals call “Kentucky Nice” – the kindness, charm, and generosity that I saw throughout my entire trip to the Bluegrass State.
Second, he had a set of personalized bottles of Kentucky bourbon on display, which made me think I should visit him more often.
Third, he is a true believer in this industry, so much so that when he goes to the theater, he stays to the end of the credits – to see every name that brings a film to life.
Finally, he has a genuine passion for making Kentucky a powerhouse for American filmmaking.
For Senator Stivers, this is not just a rhetorical hope. This is a goal that’s backed by real action:
Someone who saw that Kentucky needed to do a better job appealing to studios and creators, so he championed a bill to create a state film office to lead that charge.
Someone who saw that the state’s production tax credit needed modernizing, so he enacted a law to improve it.
Someone who views movies and shows in tangible terms: as sources of economic resilience and development, of investment and upward mobility, of jobs and opportunity and tourism for local communities.
For Senator Stivers, this industry is about the folks whose names roll in those credits – as he told us, the “editors, sound technicians, assistants, production staff…
all the people who make a project possible….”
“These are the jobs,” he says, “we want to create.”
Here’s a leader who wants to showcase Kentucky to the world – and wants to do it through screens, large and small.
Ladies and gentlemen:
Please welcome the recipient of the 2026 MPA Industry Champion Award,
Kentucky’s Senate President Robert Stivers.
—
Presenting the Industry Champion Award to Senator Raphael Warnock
Senator Reverend Raphael Warnock is no stranger to the MPA or the issues that make Georgia – and America – a pre-eminent hub of film and television production.
When he met with our MPA board two years ago here in this building, he spoke about why he’s fighting to return more filmmaking to Atlanta, to Trilith, to Tyler Perry Studios, to his birthplace of Savannah, and beyond.
When we met again in his office on Capitol Hill, he reaffirmed his commitment to passing laws like the CREATE Act – measures that can fuel Georgia’s standing as, what he calls, “a modern-day epicenter of visual storytelling.”
And when he caught up on the Netflix murder mystery, “His and Hers,” a few months ago, he knew some might take the show a bit too literally – so he made sure to check on any constituents in Dahlonega who may have been caught up in the thriller.
Every time we engage with the Senator, I can see why he cares:
Because he loves seeing scenes from his home state appear on screens across the country and around the world.
Because he knows that production means jobs, growth, opportunity, and an expanding economic footprint.
Because he wants to lift the curtain on the folks doing the work – beyond the lights and behind the scenes.
But maybe most of all, it’s because he recognizes the impact you can have sharing a good story – whether it’s in the pews of Ebenezer Baptist Church or in the rows of the Fox Theater in Atlanta – the power, in his words, “to move people, connect people, and help them see the world differently.”
Friends: it’s my distinct honor to welcome up to the stage 2026 MPA Industry Champion Awardee, Senator Reverend Raphael Warnock.
Closing the Ceremony
Ladies and gentlemen, that concludes our 2026 MPA Awards ceremony.
We truly appreciate your presence and your support for the film, TV, and streaming industry.
I hope to see you again at a screening or event or another opportunity to celebrate great stories, well told.
Thank you for being here.
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