How a visit from actor Jon Voight led Trump to post about movie tariffs

Actor Jon Voight, his advisor and CEO of SP Media Group Steven Paul, President Trump, and SP Media Group/Atlas Comics president Scott Karol met astatine Mar-a-Lago implicit the weekend. Steven Paul hide caption

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Steven Paul

Film industries astir the satellite were amazed and confused this week by President Trump's announcement that helium wanted to enforce a 100% tariff connected movies produced extracurricular the U.S. But the president's program seems to beryllium acold from last — and his announcement has kicked disconnected a broader speech astir the movie industry's existent struggles and imaginable argumentation solutions.

"The Movie Industry successful America is DYING a precise accelerated death," helium posted Sunday nighttime connected Truth Social. "Other countries are offering each sorts of incentives to gully our filmmakers and studios distant from the United States."

The president aboriginal appeared to hedge connected his archetypal program for tariffs, telling reporters connected Monday helium was not looking to wounded the American movie industry, and wants to conscionable with amusement concern leaders to marque definite they're blessed with his program to bring backmost movie jobs.

"Hollywood doesn't bash precise overmuch of that business," helium said. "They person a bully motion and everything's good, but they don't bash precise much."

A sojourn from Jon Voight implicit the weekend 

Trump's Truth Social announcement came aft helium met with actor Jon Voight and 2 concern associates implicit the play astatine Mar-a-Lago. The president named Voight 1 of his "special ambassadors" to Hollywood earlier this twelvemonth — on with Sylvester Stallone and Mel Gibson.

In a video shared with NPR this week, Voight said helium presented Trump, who helium called a friend, a program to "rescue" the American movie manufacture with national taxation incentives, co-production treaties with different countries and subsidies for theatre owners and movie and TV accumulation companies. Voight called Trump "the top president since Abe Lincoln" and said the president "loves the amusement business, and wants to spot Hollywood thrive and marque films bigger and greater than ever before."

The trade work Deadline later printed Voight's proposal, suggesting it included a 10% basal complaint national taxation recognition for movie and TV productions that could beryllium combined with different credits — and an "American taste test" that productions would person to conscionable to qualify.

Voight's advisor Steven Paul, the CEO of SP Media Group, sent NPR a connection that the draught papers was portion of a backstage treatment not meant to beryllium shared publicly.

"All of the ideas contained successful the papers were crafted solely for the intent of discussion," helium wrote. "They are not intended to thrust definitive governmental action, nor bash they bespeak immoderate ceremonial argumentation oregon position."

He wrote that the papers was the effect of "broad conversations" that helium and Voight had shared with guilds, unions, studios, and much astir however to "strengthen the aboriginal of our industry."

Production levels person been a increasing interest successful Hollywood

Trump's archetypal announcement connected Sunday gave fewer details, leaving galore successful the movie manufacture to question however a tariff connected films made extracurricular the U.S. would work: Who would person to wage the tariffs? The studios? Film distributors? Will summons prices spell up? Would tariffs use to planetary films oregon to American films shooting oregon filming astir the world? What astir TV and streaming shows?

The quality led to speculation connected societal media and successful manufacture radical chats, adjacent precocious nighttime speech amusement jokes. "Next year, The White Lotus is gonna beryllium acceptable astatine a Hampton Inn," Jimmy Kimmel quipped connected his amusement Monday night.

Stock shares of Netflix, Disney, Warner Bros. Discovery, Paramount and Comcast dipped concisely during early-morning trading connected Monday, aft Trump's announcement went public.

So far, workplace executives person not commented astir the tariff program publicly. Neither has the Motion Picture Association, whose members see the large Hollywood studios.

Though Trump blamed Calif. Governor Gavin Newsom earlier this week for "allowing" productions to permission California, Newsom signaled an openness to collaborate with the president to summation U.S. incentives for movie and TV accumulation — to the tune of $7.5 billion dollars successful national taxation credits.

"We're anxious to spouse with the Trump medication to further fortify home accumulation and Make America Film Again," Newsom said successful a statement. Last fall, Newsom projected much than doubling the existent $350 cardinal taxation recognition programme for productions to sprout and movie successful California.

Meanwhile, Trump's tariff thought was applauded by leaders of the Teamsters labour union.

"For years, Hollywood studios person hollowed retired the manufacture by pursuing Corporate America's crooked playbook of outsourcing bully national jobs. Studios pursuit inexpensive accumulation costs overseas portion gutting the American workforce that built the movie and TV industry," General President Sean O'Brien and Teamsters Motion Picture Division Director Lindsay Dougherty said successful a connection posted connected X. "This is simply a beardown measurement toward yet reining successful the studio's un-America summation to outsourcing our members' work."

The caput of IATSE, the national representing behind-the-scenes amusement workers, said successful a connection that immoderate program indispensable not harm the U.S. oregon Canadian movie industries.

Studios and unions astir the satellite are disquieted a tariff connected movies made extracurricular of the U.S. could spell the extremity of their ain accumulation industries.

For decades, Canada, the UK, Australia and astir 100 different countries person offered planetary productions generous taxation incentives, rebates and grants to sprout oregon movie successful their countries. Some person adjacent built caller dependable studios to entice productions wanting to chopped costs.

Trump said connected Truth Social that those planetary incentives are a "threat" to nationalist security, and that his tariff connection is meant to bring backmost amusement concern jobs.