Motion Picture Association Of America

Reversing a long-standing practice, the trade and lobbying arm of the Hollywood studios won't disclose the average costs of making and marketing movies. For years, the Motion Picture Assn. of America has annually released a statistical analysis showing average movie costs of its six members, made up of the major studios and their specialty film labels.

The Motion Picture Assn. of America will relocate its Encino office down the street to a larger space in Sherman Oaks Galleria, the association said Thursday. The MPAA, a trade group representing six major Hollywood studios, is sub-leasing the 100,000-square-foot space from Warner Bros. Entertainment for the next 8 1/2 years.

Hollywood laid much of the blame for illegal movie downloading on college students. Now it says its math was wrong. In a 2005 study it commissioned, the Motion Picture Assn. of America claimed that 44% of the industry's domestic losses came from illegal downloading of movies by college students, who often have access to high-bandwidth networks on campus.

Seth Oster was named executive vice president of communications for the Motion Picture Assn. of America, putting him in charge of global communications and public affairs for the trade group representing Hollywood studios. Oster, who will be based at the MPAA offices in Encino, is the former head of communications for the Screen Actors Guild and also served as a top aide to Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.). He will report to MPAA Chairman Dan Glickman. * From a Times Staff Writer

Long criticized as arbitrary and secretive, the Motion Picture Assn. of America's system for rating movies has been revised. For the first time, filmmakers appealing a rating can cite examples from other movies that were judged less harshly. What's more, some R-rated movies will carry a warning to parents that they are unsuitable for younger children, according to Variety.

Hollywood plans to show the nation's capital today that it's more than just a pretty face, with the help of some of its most recognizable ones. In what amounts to a Hollywood 101 course, the Motion Picture Assn. of America trade group is holding a daylong primer on movie industry economics that will include cameos by two household names and current Oscar nominees: actor Will Smith and director Clint Eastwood.

A former top Republican congressional aide who joined the Motion Picture Assn. of America when the GOP held power on Capitol Hill is stepping down a month after Democrats took control, the Hollywood lobbying group announced Wednesday. John Feehery, the MPAA's executive vice president of worldwide government affairs, said he was leaving to start his own strategic consulting firm. "This is something I have wanted to do for a long time," Feehery said in a statement.

China, a movie market of exceptional potential, is also a haven for film piracy, the president of the Motion Picture Assn. of America testified Thursday. Speaking before the House Ways and Means subcommittee hearing on trade with China, Dan Glickman said that country "is the most difficult market in the world for the U.S. motion picture industry." The country of 1.

The music and movie industries are lobbying state legislators for permission to deceive when pursuing suspected pirates. The California Senate is considering a bill that would strengthen state privacy laws by banning the use of false statements and other misleading practices to get personal information. The tactic, known as pretexting, created a firestorm of criticism when detectives hired by Hewlett-Packard Co. used it last year to obtain phone records of board members, journalists and critics.

WASHINGTON -- In the battle against pirated American movies, music and other intellectual property in China, the Bush administration has tried the carrot. Now it's turning to the stick. That was the sign the U.S. sent Monday as it decided to launch formal complaints against Beijing with the World Trade Organization. Although the move risks escalating already tense trade relations, U.S.