MPA Honors ‘Batman’ Senator, Other Lawmakers And ‘Nanny’ Writer-Director As It Launches An Award-Season Event

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Gov. Phil Murphy (D-NJ), who once had aspirations of an entertainment career, told a D.C. crowd, “I always dreamed, as I was considering acting … that maybe I’d get an Oscar, so this is as close as I am going to come.”Murphy was one of the recipients this week of the inaugural MPA Awards, the studio trade and lobbying association’s contribution to award season.

And since this is Washington, most of the honorees were, naturally, those lawmakers who have been particularly supportive of the industry and its policy agenda.“I”m accepting, I guess, for best performance by a state in the motion picture industry,” Murphy said, noting the productions like West Side Story that have recently shot there and revealing that some are “kicking the tires” on building one or more sound stages there.MPA chairman Charles Rivkin hosted the event at the headquarters just a couple blocks from the White House.

He said he wants the honorees “to annually honor the work of individuals whose vital contributions enable our industry continue to flourish.”The event also signaled a return to normal.

Although the MPA had unveiled its newly designed theater and reception space in 2019, the pandemic sidelined most events there up until the latter half of last year, and even then it’s been a slow process toward full reopening.