MPAA Extends Chris Dodd’s Contract Into 2018

Looks like all’s forgiven from the MPAA’s delayed response last year to the Sony hack attack — and the lobby group’s failure in 2012 to persuade Congress to pass a tough anti-piracy bill. Hollywood studios renewed to 2018 former Sen. Chris Dodd’s contract to serve as chairman and CEO of their chief trade organization — a position he took in 2011 after 36 years in Congress.

Dodd “has been an impactful leader and a vigorous champion for the industry,” member companies said in a joint statement. “We are pleased to announce that Chris has agreed to extend his contract into 2018. ”

The timing is a surprise: Dodd’s previous contract ran to February 2016. And he was said to be “all but done with his gig,” Politico reported in April. People close to him said he was hoping that Hillary Clinton would win next year’s presidential election and give him a Cabinet post, or ambassadorship.

But he says today that this “is an exciting time of almost unparalleled creativity and innovation in film and television and I look forward to continuing to promote and protect that creativity, and the jobs of the men and women who go to work in this industry every day.”

Dodd’s compensation came to $3.3 million in 2012, according to the MPAA’s latest publicly available filing for income tax exempt organizations. The MPAA spent $1.34 million on lobbying in 2014, and $2.16 million in 2013, according to the Center for Responsive Politics, a watchdog group.

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