Valenti Rules Out an Extended Engagement

After numerous fits and starts, Jack Valenti’s 38-year career as Hollywood’s top man in Washington appears to have reached the final act.

During the annual ShoWest movie exhibitor convention Tuesday, Valenti said that executive search firm Spencer Stuart was identifying potential successors and that he hoped a replacement could be found in “two or three months.”

And after saying for nearly two years that he wanted to retire, Valenti made it clear that he now wanted it happen soon: “I do not intend to do a Gen. MacArthur and fade away.”

According to Hollywood executives, Spencer Stuart is due to present the names of about 15 potential candidates within a week or two. The initial screening will be made by a committee of three top executives: Viacom Entertainment Group Chairman Jonathan Dolgen, News Corp. President Peter Chernin and Walt Disney Co. President Robert Iger.

None of the candidates have been named publicly. Names that have drawn frequent speculation include Rep. David Dreier (R-San Dimas), former Pentagon spokeswoman Victoria Clarke and former Sen. Fred Thompson, now an actor on the hit series “Law & Order.”

A spokeswoman for Thompson declined to comment. Dreier and Clarke couldn’t be reached.

Executives note that using a search firm to cast a wide net could result in a relative unknown being picked. The Recording Industry Assn. of America last year selected Republican insider Mitch Bainwol as its chief lobbyist and top executive, for instance.

Valenti’s successor had been expected to be Rep. W.J. “Billy” Tauzin (R-La.). He spurned the MPAA in January and came close to taking a lucrative job as top lobbyist for the drug industry. That arrangement fell apart after critics questioned the move because Tauzin was involved in overseeing the drug industry in Congress.

Hollywood executives have said they won’t reconsider Tauzin. Another potential candidate for Valenti’s job, Sen. John B. Breaux (D-La.), has said he wasn’t interested.

Whoever replaces Valenti, who earns more than $1 million annually, will need to be endorsed by the seven often fractious companies that make up the MPAA.

The association represented only movie studios when Valenti was recruited from President Johnson’s White House in 1966. Today, its membership includes media conglomerates with vastly differing agendas.

Before the Tauzin hiring unraveled, Valenti, 82, had hoped to announce his departure in January. Valenti has been considering keeping the symbolic title of chairman while continuing to be involved in overseeing the film ratings system that he fathered.

On Tuesday, an emotional Valenti told an audience of exhibitors at the Paris Las Vegas hotel that this would be his last ShoWest as MPAA chief.

“This is an epical time for me as this is the last time I will address exhibitors as the CEO of the MPAA,” he said.

As Valenti ended his speech, people in the packed auditorium gave him a standing ovation.

John Fithian, president of the National Assn. of Theatre Owners, told the audience that Valenti would be missed not only for his enthusiasm but also for his lobbying capabilities.

“This is a sad day for us,” he said, standing to hug Valenti.

Munoz reported from Las Vegas, Bates from Los Angeles.