2025 MPA Industry Champion Award Senator Chris Coons on the Real Cost of Piracy
Senator Chris Coons (D-DE) is the 2025 MPA Industry Champion Award recipient for his efforts to strengthen copyright protections, spur innovation, and preserve free expression. As a member of the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Intellectual Property, Coons advocates for measures that support intellectual property laws and defend copyrighted works from piracy.
Online piracy is far from a victimless crime—in the U.S. alone, it costs the creative industry billions of dollars and thousands of jobs annually.
MPA Creative Protector Award Recipient Ivan J. Arvelo: The Federal Agent Protecting Your Favorite Movies From Piracy
Director Ivan J. Arvelo is being honored with the 2025 Motion Picture Association Creative Protector Award for playing a crucial role in advancing our core mission of protecting intellectual property and bringing the magic of cinema to life.
As Director of the National Intellectual Property Rights Coordination Center (IPR Center), Arvelo leads the federal government’s efforts to protect creativity and innovation by enforcing laws that combat intellectual property crimes.
In this conversation,
“This Is Who I Am”: MPA Creator Award Recipient Jon M. Chu on Authentic Storytelling and the Power of Cultural Specificity – Part 2
With Wicked: For Good set to complete the story that began with 2024’s blockbuster, director Jon M. Chu, the Motion Picture Association’s Creator Award recipient for 2025, continues our conversation about his evolution as a filmmaker and the power of culturally specific storytelling to reach universal audiences.
Chu also opens up about his own fears, what he learned on the set of Now You See Me 2, and the thrill of being so close to sharing the entire two-part vision for his Wicked adaptation with the world.
MPA Creator Award Winner Jon M. Chu on the Mad, Joyous Rush of Finishing “Wicked: For Good” – Part 1
As director Jon M. Chu puts the finishing touches on Wicked: For Good, he’ll be swinging through Washington, D.C. to receive the Motion Picture Association’s Creator Award on Monday, September 8. It’s a heady time for Chu, who, when we spoke, was en route to LAX to fly to New York (for one night) while shepherding his highly anticipated sequel through a final flurry of crucial post-production.
TIFF at 50: Cameron Bailey Reflects on Building Cinema Community in an Era of Constant Change
One of the many pleasures of attending the annual Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) is the moments when festival CEO Cameron Bailey strides onto the stage to introduce a premiere or talk with a filmmaker. It’s during those screenings that this festival’s unique blend of art, accessibility, and audience engagement comes fully into focus.
“I never think that people who know movies and love movies should ever be snobby about it.
Emmy Nominees Cathy Sandrich Gelfond & Erica Berger on Casting the Scrappy Young Doctors of “The Pitt”
When The Pitt started streaming on HBO Max in January, the influx of intense young actors just kept coming. ER star Noah Wyle anchors the medical drama as the cracked tower of strength, Doctor Michael “Robby” Rabinovitch; nearly all the other characters on his fractious emergency room team are portrayed by relatively unknown talents delivering performances that are, by turns, wrenching and highly technical.
The Pitt,
The Studio Giant You’ve Never Heard Of: How MBS Group Powers James Cameron and Some of Hollywood’s Biggest Productions
You might not recognize the name The MBS Group right away, but if you ever wandered through legendary studio lots like Radford Studio Center, Culver Studios, Raleigh Studios, or Symmetry Park Studios London, you’ve stepped onto one of the nearly 50 studio campuses they operate globally. The company is the world’s largest studio operator, running top-tier campuses in iconic entertainment hubs like Los Angeles, New York, and London. But they’re not just renting out space — they’re the behind-the-scenes powerhouse designing studios,
Cinematographer Matthew Libatique on Shooting Back-to-Back NYC Thrillers for Spike Lee & Darren Aronofsky
Cinematographer Matthew Libatique grew up in Queens. He knows New York City, which is a good thing because his knowing eye lends luster to a pair of urban thrillers hitting screens this month courtesy of directors Spike Lee and Darren Aronofsky. Libatique, Oscar-nominated for Black Swan, A Star Is Born, and Maestro, shot four previous movies for Lee before helping the iconic New Yorker in his latest,
“The Roses” Director Jay Roach & Writer Tony McNamara On Benedict Cumberbatch & Olivia Colman’s Comedic Chemistry
Director and producer Jay Roach, known for making some of the most iconic comedies of the last 25 years, is now helming a reimagining of another classic with The Roses. Written by two-time Oscar-nominee Tony McNamara, The Roses is a fresh take on Danny DeVito’s classic 1989 movie The War of the Roses.
While the original boasted the iconic pairing of Michael Douglas and Kathleen Turner,
Why Ron Howard’s “Eden” Isn’t the Movie You’d Expect – And That’s the Point
Two-time Oscar-winning filmmaker Ron Howard knows that Eden isn’t the kind of movie you’d expect him to make, which is one of the reasons he made it.
Based on real events, it tells the story of a group of outsiders who settle on a remote island in the Galapagos but quickly find out that the biggest danger they face isn’t the environment or the wildlife, but each other. Eden boasts an ensemble cast including Jude Law,
Creating a Corporate Dystopia With “Severance” Season 2’s Set Decorator David Schlesinger
Leading this year’s Emmys pack with 27 nominations, the sophomore season of Severance goes deeper into the cult-like and twisted Lumon Industries, where a group of employees chose a surgical procedure that permanently bifurcates their work memories (“innies”) from their true selves (“outies”). Created by Dan Erickson, the slow-burn workplace thriller follows severed employee, Mark (Adam Scott), and his colleagues who work on the labyrinthine severed floor under the supervision of Mr.
From Stage to Screen for “SNL50”: How Production Designers & the Editing Team Shaped 5 Decades of Comedy
As the longest-running sketch comedy show in US television history, Saturday Night Live has not only shaped generations of comedians and cultural commentary, but it’s also become an institution for live performance. Some of its most iconic moments are when cast members can’t help but laugh themselves. But behind the humor is a bustling backdrop of production design, costumes, hair, makeup, lighting,
80 Wigs & Zero Dress Rehearsal: Inside the Hair and Makeup Magic That Made “SNL50” Possible
When Saturday Night Live first aired in October 1975, no one could have predicted it would become a cornerstone of American culture. Now, five decades later, Lorne Michaels and company have celebrated another milestone with SNL50: The Anniversary Special, a three-hour telecast directed by Liz Patrick, which brought together Studio 8H legends onto one stage.
With a star-studded cast that included current performers, alumni,
From “Better Call Saul” to Better Call for Backup: How Bob Odenkirk and 87North Are Redefining Action Comedy
In just six years, including five of the film industry’s most challenging periods, powerhouse filmmakers David Leitch and Kelly McCormick have founded and grown 87North Productions, making it a formidable force in Hollywood and beyond.
Anchored in the action genre, the production and action design company’s catalog includes the third and fourth John Wick movies, Bullet Train, Violent Night,
“Freakier Friday” Costume Designer Natalie O’Brien on Creating a Four-Way Body Swap
Freakier Friday, directed by Nisha Ganatra, really is freakier than its predecessor, 2003’s Freaky Friday, as the number of characters unwittingly swapping bodies has risen to four. Anna (Lindsay Lohan) and her teenage daughter, Harper (Julia Butters) land in each other’s corporeal forms, while even weirder for the group, Tess (Jamie Lee Curtis) and her step-granddaughter-to-be, Lily (Sophia Hammons) find themselves swapped.
The medium for this switch is a disarmingly hacky multi-hyphenate palm reader,
Inside SNL’s Most Challenging Episode Ever: Director Liz Patrick on the 50th Anniversary Special
On a night filled with laughter, legacy, and magic, Saturday Night Live marked its 50th anniversary with an unforgettable celebration. The milestone episode infused nostalgia that paid tribute to its past with new memorable moments. But what audiences saw on screen is only a fraction of the story. Behind the scenes in the iconic Studio 8H, an enormous production effort had been unfolding for months. From production design, hair, makeup, editing,
From Teenage Pirate Hunter to Global Anti-Piracy Leader: Rajkumar Akella’s Mission to Protect Creative Content
Rajkumar Akella’s mission started almost the moment he joined the entertainment industry, when he brushed up against piracy for the first time.
These days, as the chairman of India’s Telugu Film Chamber of Commerce’s Anti Video Piracy Cell, Akella is leading the fight against piracy globally. Back then, as a teenager trying to turn a dollar, selling taped versions of Indian movie soundtracks and with “youthful energy,” he met with the pirates head-on.
How “The Naked Gun” Writers Dan Gregor & Doug Mand Got Liam Neeson & Pamela Anderson to Embrace Absurdity
Macho cop teams with gorgeous mystery woman to stop evil tech mogul from destroying the world: The plot’s perfectly functional for an action-thriller, but it’s the jokes, not the story, that have pushed The Naked Gun to the biggest action comedy opening of 2025. Writers Dan Gregor and Doug Mand (Crazy Ex-Girlfriend), working with director/co-writer Akiva Schaffer, furnished stars Liam Neeson and Pamela Anderson with a firehose of silliness encompassing sight gags,
“Film is Forever”: How Maria Gabriela de Faría Embraced the Pain of Playing “Superman” Villain The Engineer
Maria Gabriela de Faría doesn’t pull her punches—or her spinning blades, for that matter. In Superman, the actress makes Angela Spica (aka The Engineer) fight like an animal, throwing raw punches with unwavering belief in Lex Luthor’s (Nicolas Hoult) idea that no individual should be trusted with superpowers. Whether the Engineer is slicing robots in the Fortress of Solitude or going toe-to-toe with Superman (David Corenswet) in the Cleveland Guardians’ ballpark (outfitted to look like the DC Meteors’
From Bismuth Crystal Rivers to Real Neon Signs: Supervising Art Director David Scott on Designing James Gunn’s “Superman”
David Scott admits that growing up, he was more of a Batman and Spider-Man fan, but after listening to writer-director James Gunn’s pitch for Superman, which has now grossed over $550 million globally, he was excited to support the vision. “It’s infectious when you sit and listen to him talk. I loved everything about it,” says the supervising art director, who has built worlds for Guardians of the Galaxy Vol.
