Transcript of Pelosi Moderated Conversation at the Motion Picture Association of America's 3rd Annual Creativity Conference

Senator Dodd.  Well we're wrapping up, or coming to wrapping up, but I want to thank Microsoft and ABC for their sponsorship along with the Motion Picture Association this morning.  And I hope you've enjoyed this program with a variety of presenters we've had talking about the importance of creativity and innovation.  And I now have the real honor and pleasure of introducing our final participant of the day, and someone who I have not only worked with as a Member of Congress over the years, but someone I've literally known almost all life.  I'll just briefly say that our wonderful, final participant and my sister were great friends, going back to their freshman year in college.  And so I've known our final participant for a long time and have great respect for her.  She has served 27 years, has served representing the 12th district of San Francisco and has been a great, great advocate of technology and creativity.  And she's honed obviously the global innovation in San Francisco and the Bay Area have such a wonderful global reputation, where top technology and creative talent come together, join together, as the nation's leader, world's leader, in creativity and innovation.

Nancy Pelosi has long recognized the importance of this relationship.  The need to support, promote all of our nation's creators and innovators. If we're going to continue to be a leader in the 21st Century, as all of us so desire,  that rather than being adversaries with one another saying you should take a side, content or technology, content cannot succeed without technology and technology needs content to succeed.  And my one hope would be – at the conclusion of conferences like this on creativity – is we would further educate people on the importance of that relationship.  We do magical things when technology and content come together, and when we have an adversarial relationship, no one wins at all.  And no one reflects and understands that relationship better than the former Speaker of the House, the Leader of the Democratic Party in the Congress of the United States.  Would you give a rousing Creativity Conference welcome to Nancy Pelosi, California?

[Applause]

Where are you? There you are!

[Applause]

How'd I do? Was that all right?

Leader Pelosi.  I was just worried that we are standing in between lunch and all these folks here so I was hoping that you weren't going through our whole friendship – going back to when I was a freshman in college and he was in high school.  As his sister and I always say: he was younger than we were then, something happened to his hair in the meantime – I don't know.

Senator Dodd.  Well thank you for coming, first of all.

Leader Pelosi.  My honor.

Senator Dodd.  Delighted to have you here and this has been a wonderful morning with people here talking about creativity and innovation and our third conference like this.  Again, I want to thank our audience as well as the participants.  It's always fun to ask people about their favorite films and so forth.  And I know in San Francisco there have been a lot of great films that use San Francisco as a site for production.  In fact, they did a survey I'm told, sometime ago, that asked San Franciscans: what was the favorite film they enjoyed being shot in the Bay Area?  And I guess it wasn't a great surprise that Steve McQueen and Bullet was the one that won the award.  I might have chosen Mrs. Doubtfire, or something else.  I'm trying to remember the list of the films.  There was Milk, obviously, Dirty Harry, Vertigo, The Joy Luck Club, just to name a few.  Do you have one that's not on that list or in that list?

Leader Pelosi.  Sure.  I would add to that.  They're all wonderful and of course show the beauty of San Francisco, but there are some movies that have a San Francisco provenance.  And one of my favorite movies of all time is one of those, The Right Stuff.  As you know, we just had the 30th anniversary – you celebrated it here in Washington, it was celebrated in the Bay Area, in Los Angeles and the rest.  And of course, I have to – full disclosure: my son-in-law worked on that film and his father, Philip Kaufman, was the director – but it was a movie that had a provenance because Tom Wolfe spent a lot of time in the San Francisco Bay Area when he was writing the book so the story, the substance, so it was translated into what I think was a great movie and had innovations in it – we called it nesting then, and now it's IGI, or whatever.  There are other new technologies that make it easy, but it was a pioneer film and that technology of having the astronauts in the film, as you know, the John Glens et cetera, as movie stars that were in the film and the picture with John F. Kennedy.  That technology was revolutionary at the time.  So I thought it was a great movie.  Its substance sprang in some way intellectually from San Francisco.  Its direction came from there and I would say that that would probably be my favorite, now going back a ways.

Of course Star Wars is a product of the San Francisco Bay Area and it's so fabulous and I proudly, with my 5 children starting in the 70s, saw those movies probably 100 times.  And now of course the new Star Wars, the trailers are just spectacular so it continues now in another manifestation.  Also, Mrs. Doubtfire, that house is right down the street from where we lived; and of course Robin Williams is so revered, has been so revered in our community.  And then, so many people, Francis Ford Coppola, as I said, Philip Kaufman, Francis Ford Coppola, George Lucas, Chris Columbus who did Mrs. Doubtfire, but then also some of the Harry Potter movies.

So we feel that the Northern California is more identified with distribution, in terms of technology and the rest; from a content standpoint, their contribution has been a large one.   And it's fabulous to see the coming together by virtue of technology, and I do consider technology a virtue.  So, and of course I have a daughter who's a filmmaker and, my daughter Alexandra, and she's had some filming in the San Francisco Bay Area so I'm glad you're focusing on women in film, as well.

Senator Dodd.  In fact, I was going to mention that as well, you represent, obviously, a lot of the technology companies, but when you go home at night, you have a daughter.

We just had a great panel here with some powerhouse female leaders in the industry, Rosa DeLauro obviously, who is, we go back – I should tell all of you here, that in addition to knowing Nancy for a long time, Rosa DeLauro was my campaign manager when I first ran for the Senate, was my Chief of Staff for seven or eight years, and so it's a pleasure to have her here today and I know how hard she works with Nancy.  And other people talking about the industry, what's going on and the shows today that are occurring – one of the panelists was Mary McNamara and I hoped when we just introduced her, she just won a Pulitzer Prize, by the way – you just heard Mary – and she wrote a piece in the LA Times which I thought was terrific.  She writes criticism, which included about images of female leadership on television.  I'm going to quote her, in that story she said, "America's ability to accept a female president, something that seemed questionable seven years ago, now seems moot and judging from the stories we tell ourselves about ourselves, we are more than ready."  And that [quote] particularly, "telling stories that we tell about ourselves," I thought was a very powerful line in that quote, in that story.  And then you mentioned The Right Stuff and what was shot in San Francisco, and I'm wondering as a person, we all can identify a film or a television show that somehow lit a fire in us about something; was there some show or some film that said to you at an earlier age: "You can do this, whatever ambition you have in your life, you can do this"?

Leader Pelosi. I have to think about that because there are many influences, but I want to just go back to the panel for a moment, which I thought was excellent.  I heard it from back there.  Rosa used to worry about decision and how women are portrayed, because it's really important to show women – I will use Rosa as an example: Rosa DeLauro is a great leader and people say, "Oh she works hard, she's so energetic, she cares."  She's a strategic thinker.  And that's how people have to see women: strategic thinkers.  You happen to be a woman.  Hillary Clinton happens to be a woman; she's magnificently qualified for her job.  Two things I think about women that are really important, that I hope are conveyed in the media's focus and that is: not only having a vision – we all say that we have a vision about where we want to see our country go or how would like society improved – what is that vision?  What is a woman's knowledge?  What's her authority on the subject in terms of knowledge and judgment?  What is her plan?  What is her strategic thinking?  And Rosa used the word ‘decision'.  Decision.  It's about decisions that have to be made.  And then, of course, what you do which is to be in the attraction business.  How does that add up to an attraction?  And that part of it, plus, Rosa and I and Nita Lowey – just to name three of us in one instance – we collaborate.  Women are great collaborators with no ego involved; it's just how we get the job done.  Just, what is our task?  Let's get it done.  How do we take our country to a better place?  And we served on the Appropriations Committee, the three of us, we were, some would say a respected force, some would say a dreaded notion to deal with; but whatever it was, we got our job done, whether it was increasing – and Rosa as you know is such a champion on this – increasing the funding for breast cancer research, having women's research be center stage at the National Institutes of Health.  All of these things we collaborated and let someone else take the lead, this or that.  It's easier for women to do.

So, when this idea of a woman president is there, it's the woman who's – as a say, she happens to be a woman, but she's talented in every way – but also is a collaborator and respectful of people's opinion, has many other women in collaboration.  Now that doesn't mean women's thinking is better than men's, it just means that diversity of opinion at the table makes it a stronger, more sustainable solution.

I have to think long and hard about, because I usually just go to the movies to be entertained.  I was inspired patriotically by The Right Stuff, although it's not what you would call a "women's movie" by any stretch of the imagination, but Mrs. Doubtfire and Robin Williams wanting to be a nanny – well that was interesting, but as we chat, perhaps, I'll have a movie that comes to mind.

Senator Dodd.  Well you've often talked, and I've heard it so many times talking about the American Dream.  And I know those words get used a lot, but you've always talked about it with such a passion and how we create jobs and improve the economy; and you can't achieve that dream unless people have the opportunity to have good paying jobs and the kind of skills that STEM education, is something I've heard you talk about on numerous occasions.  And I wonder if you might just share some thoughts.  This industry, we've talked about them briefly today, that I'm proud to represent the major studios, but beyond the major studios, there are close to two million people got up this morning and went to a job in all fifty states, by the way, in the film and television industry – some more dependent than others, but nonetheless, good paying jobs in any case as well – people you're not going to see, as I said earlier, necessarily on a red carpet or in front of the camera.  About 96% of the people work behind that; people like this woman back here who was helping us with makeup and so forth, electricians and carpenters and truck drivers and so on.  But, I wonder if you might talk about that, because this is so critical and this industry cares a lot about it.  We talked about culture and creativity, but good jobs are critical.

Leader Pelosi.  Well, it is really a strong force for job creation and we talk about STEM – science, technology, engineering and math – being essential for creating innovation in the classroom and keeping America number one, but we like to talk about STEAM – science, technology, the arts, engineering and mathematics – because the arts are the inspiration.  The poet Shelley once said, "The [great instrument of] moral good is imagination."  So when you talk about the creative industries inspiring the American Dream, perfect.  Perfect.  We talked before about what it takes to lead, but the vision, and that's the creative force.

And so, I could give you so many quotes about people talking about innovation and being number one and the rest really springing from the arts as the inspiration and the motivation for it all.  But in order for America to be number one in all of this we have to invest in education, and we have the invest in the infrastructure of expanding broadband so that everyone is included.  The Academy of Arts and Sciences has a report that talks about could be tens of millions of kids who are on the other side of the digital divide, who do not have access to broadband.  They may have it in school, but they don't have it when they go home or not in the local library.  That's just not acceptable.  So that technology is essential to fulfilling the creative spirit that people have, and you can't cut people out of that.

And it is a job creator.  I mean I think I have at least several scores of people, thousands of people in my district, San Francisco, who are engaged in the arts, one way or another.  As you say, it could be in any aspect of it: creative, in terms of writing, performing, all the rest, but also the technical back-up for it.  And that's really a job-creator and economy-driver, and a wonderful way, because so many people can reach their self-fulfillment through creativity.  I always say about the Affordable Care Act that it was about life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness as our Founders described in the Declaration of Independence.  A healthier life, the liberty to pursue their happiness, so therefore, so many artists had said to me – when I say artists I mean in the broadest sense of the word, creators – "I was doing this job to have health insurance, now I can attend to being creative, because I know I will have health insurance and my kids won't suffer if we happen to have a preexisting condition in our family."

So we considered that an unleashing of the aspirations and the creative spirit of the American people and, at the same time, growing the economy.  So I thank you for what all of you are doing who are engaged in the arts, in the technology, in the reconciliation of content distribution and content and again the virtue of technology to find that path forward.

Senator Dodd.  I was thinking...

Leader Pelosi.  And net neutrality, can I say a word about net neutrality? Which is essential to have that path open for everyone.

Senator Dodd.  Absolutely.  As I mentioned, I known Nancy, but also over the last several years that I've been head of the Motion Picture Association, the former Speaker has a wonderful relationship both with the creative community in Los Angeles, generally speaking, and across the technology community…

Leader Pelosi.  And, the creative community in San Francisco.

Senator Dodd.  Absolutely. Yes, that as well.  I mentioned this briefly before, and it seems to me one of the things we're really trying to drive with all with this, is how we sort of marry these ideas.  There's been those who frankly have kind of wanted to create, for whatever reason, some sort of division in all of this, which doesn't make any sense to me whatsoever.  We're talking earlier about some of the relationships now that have developed between technologists and content providers – producing the magic that occurs when those two communities actually come together in a collaborative, to use your word again – and I wonder if we might just talk about California in that sense, because a car ride away from each other are these two communities, and it really bothers me when I hear people talking about a system of some barrier rather than recognizing the beauty of having in this one state, these two capitals, in a sense.

Leader Pelosi.  Well it is, it has something that has so blended, because we had technology in the North – we had creativity in the North too – but by and large, writ large, the technology in the North and the content, the magic of the center of the universe of creativity in the Los Angeles area, and now so many more technology centers of excellence from San Diego, throughout the state, are there and creativity exists throughout the state.  And it was a challenge, because the strength of our country – this California, this Golden State, this resilient state – it started with the Gold Rush, and people came from all over the world to find gold and then agriculture was a big boost to the economy and the part of the exports in our favorable balance in terms of trade.  And then the movie industry came along and, oh my gosh, the whole world was enthralled with what came out of California.  And then the technology industry moved in.  So then here we have movie and technology, oh my gosh, we don't want them to be at odds, because they're all about the greatness of our state – says she who represents California in Congress – but it was really a reflection of what was also happening in the rest of the country, because certainly there's creativity in the rest of the country and certainly there's scientific excellence and technology development.

So it was really important that we use our imagination, shall we say, in order to exploit the creativity in a way so people could reach their aspirations and that I think is the virtue of technology with something like Flixster, which is a place where people can pay for seeing movies in the new media or what you are all doing where you can find out where the movie is playing or what other opportunities there are for viewing.  So for us, it was – we knew, because we had confidence in the intellectual capacity of those who were creating the magic, the content, and those who were creating the technology and it moves fast.  And the technology people would say to us, "Well, you ain't seen nothing yet."  Okay, well let's gear it toward how we can have content and pay for it.

And by the way, if I knitted you a sweater, would I expect you to take it and run out of the place?  No, you would pay me for it.  If I wrote a poem, or wrote a song, or develop a movie or something, it's property; it's something that should be compensated for.  That talent should be rewarded.  In fact, it has to be rewarded so that people can make a living, support their families, be part of our economy, because of what they created, and while it may be intellectual property and not a physical object that you can no sooner just pick up and walk away with, you can't do that with intellectual property either.  In our Constitution, right from the start, that was recognized.  So, while we have the blessings of all of this distribution, we have to also recognize that if we want to have the fullness of the creativity, we have to be fair about how that is compensated for.

Chris is the perfect person, because he understands young people.  Focusing on young people was such a center.  We would not have had the Family Medical Leave [Act] without Chris Dodd.  I mean, there are things that are absolute facts.  He was central to creating so many things in the Congress and he understood technology from the start; he took an interest more than most any other Members – especially not being from California and even then.  So he saw how all these things could come together, so we're very well-served by his leadership where he is, because we were very well served with his understanding of the future and through the eyes of public policy and how that could facilitate, again, life, healthier life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.  So thank you, Chris Dodd, for your leadership then and for your leadership now, because creativity, that is almost God-given.  I don't know whether you would call it all invention or a discovery, but it is something that is the inspiration and it makes life very special.

I just want to close – because I think it's down to zero. It says two zeros; I don't know what that means, but I think it means lunch.  But this place, this museum, this room, this auditorium has 535 seats, that's the number of people who in Congress; 435 in the House, 100 in the Senate.  But what I love about it is it has no aisle.  It has no aisle, so there's no one side of the aisle or other.  Everyone is in it together.  And I think on this subject there's probably no aisle; we all agree that the arts – may I just say this one thing about the arts and our country?  John Adams said, wrote to Abigail – speaking of great women in our country – wrote to Abigail and he said: I must study war and politics so that our sons can study law and medicine and architecture, so that their children have the liberty to study painting and music – he said embroidery too –embroidery and the arts, the freedom, the freedom to do that.

So it's always about America making opportunity available to future generations and recognizing that the fulfillment was including the arts and the opportunity we gain from future generations.  So we have the arts, we have technology to distribute it, we have to have the ethical and legal infrastructure to get it done, and we have to have a free internet so that everyone can access all of that.  I thank you for the opportunity to share some of these thoughts here today.

Senator Dodd.  I know the clock says zero-zero but if you'd like to talk about me a little further that would be fine.

[Laughter]

Leader Pelosi.  When I first met him, he was in high school, we were freshman in college, and he was doing the monkey and he was teaching us the swim, the monkey...

[Laughter]

Thank you so much.  It gives you some idea of how long ago that was.  You never heard of the monkey or the swim?

Senator Dodd.  Listen, I can't thank you enough. How about rouse of applause?  You're terrific, you're wonderful!

[Applause]

Thank you very much, very, very much.  And thank all of you for coming.  I hope you will go up and see some of the exhibits put on the Oculus, enjoy the afternoon here with us, but thank you all for coming and participating in this our third Creativity Conference.  See you next year.