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South China Morning Post
09-05-2025
- Entertainment
- South China Morning Post
Emily in Paris or Pasadena? That might depend on Trump's tariff plan
Last weekend, Jon Voight, the 86-year-old Hollywood actor most famous for his role in the 1969 film Midnight Cowboy, met US President Donald Trump in Mar-a-Lago, Florida. As one of Trump's three emissaries to Hollywood , Voight's aim was to discuss how to make Hollywood great again. Advertisement Tinseltown has had a terrible time in the last five years. Not only did Covid-19 batter the industry, but the long strikes that followed in 2023 provided a second body blow. Technology changes, including video streaming and artificial intelligence innovations, have compounded challenges. The devastating Palisades and Eaton wildfires only made things worse. The International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees, a Los Angeles-based trade union that represents a large proportion of film industry professionals, says California has lost 18,000 jobs in the last three years. But it appears that rather than these multifaceted challenges, 'runaway production' became the focus of Voight's meeting with Trump. According to data from ProdPro, which tracks studio spending, the amount of money spent in the United States on films and television series with a budget of US$10 million or more fell around 26 per cent in 2024 compared to 2021. Generous incentive programmes offered by other countries contributed to this drop-off. ProdPro notes that the most popular challenges came from Toronto and Vancouver in Canada, the United Kingdom, central Europe and Australia. In its assessment of the state of film and television production, Entertainment Partners says: 'Despite California's unmatched workforce, iconic location and century-long industry leadership, it faces increasing competition from states and countries offering more robust incentives .' Advertisement
Straits Times
07-05-2025
- Business
- Straits Times
UK in talks with US officials over movie tariffs, says minister
FILE PHOTO: Chris Bryant speaks at the House of Commons in London, Britain, June 28, 2023. UK Parliament/Jessica Taylor/Handout via REUTERS UK in talks with US officials over movie tariffs, says minister LONDON - Britain is in "active discussions" with top U.S. officials over the 100% tariff on all movies produced outside the U.S. announced by President Donald Trump, as it aims to protect one of its biggest creative industries. "We are already in active discussions with the top of the U.S. administration on this subject. We are working hard to establish what might be proposed, if anything, and to make sure our world-beating creative industries are protected," creative industries minister Chris Bryant told parliament on Wednesday. Bryant noted that Trump had not given any details about his proposal, adding that it was not clear how tariffs could be applied to the film industry, with productions often created and developed across different locations and countries. The entertainment industry was left flummoxed on Monday by Trump's announcement of tariffs, with executives questioning both the timing of the proposed levy and how it could be enforced. Britain has a leading film and TV production industry, centred on studios located close to London. Production spending on films in Britain in 2024 totalled $5.91 billion, according to ProdPro, compared with $14.54 billion in the United States. REUTERS Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
Business Insider
06-05-2025
- Business
- Business Insider
Hollywood's biggest winners and losers from Trump's potential movie tariffs
Hollywood is the latest industry to be brought into President Donald Trump's trade war. Many in the movie business were spooked when Trump said he planned to impose a 100% tariff on films produced in foreign countries. Trump said his goal was to stop Hollywood from "dying a very fast death." But while there are more questions than answers, industry insiders and analysts said they felt tariffs could wreak havoc on an entertainment business already struggling to come back from labor strikes and spending cuts. "It basically will hit the whole industry," NYU entertainment industry professor Paul Hardart said. Industry insiders said they feared tariffs could raise costs (and potentially sink revenues if other countries retaliate). But there also could be winners, depending on what the ultimate plan is. White House spokesman Kush Desai said in a statement that "no final decisions on foreign film tariffs" had been made and that the administration was "exploring all options to deliver on President Trump's directive to safeguard our country's national and economic security while Making Hollywood Great Again." Here's a rundown of the potential winners and losers if tariffs come to the movie business. Potential winner: US film hubs Foreign countries have long lured productions with financial incentives. The five top destinations for filming were outside the US, including Vancouver and the UK, a survey of studio executives by production services firm ProdPro found. If Trump's tariffs steer films back to the US, it would benefit burgeoning hubs beyond LA and New York. Cities like Atlanta and New Orleans have built film industries through tax breaks and lower living costs. At least 18 states have started or expanded film tax incentives since 2021. Potential loser: Producers, directors, actors, and writers Although Trump's tariffs appear well-intended, many in Hollywood are afraid of them. "Tariffs risk triggering retaliation, inflating costs, and stalling productions — hurting the very professionals we aim to support," Producers United, an organization representing producers, said in a statement. The group instead advocated for a federal production rebate to counteract foreign tax incentives. Film producer Randy Greenberg wrote on LinkedIn that Trump's film tariff proposal would "have the opposite effect" of what it intends and "will kill the movie industry faster." Morgan Stanley analyst Ben Swinburne wrote in a note that Trump's proposed 100% tariff "would lead to fewer films, more expensive films, and lower earnings for all in the business." Potential winner: Below-the-line crew The clearest beneficiary from film tariffs would be those in LA who work in pre-production, production, and post-production, said Schuyler Moore, a partner at LA-based law firm Greenberg Glusker. Unlike actors and directors, many of these crew members can't easily join overseas productions. The same goes for those in food catering or makeup artists. More films made in LA would make them busier. "It's clearly a positive for the below-line crew," Moore said. "It's a hammer to everyone else." However, these workers might not be better off if film production plummets and there are fewer projects overall. Independent production firms like industry darlings A24 and Neon may be big losers from tariffs. Global outsourcing helped indie production companies that have less access to financing. Film financing is tenuous, so higher costs could mean fewer films getting made. It could also make it cost-prohibitive for indies to bring films like Neon's Best Picture-winning "Parasite," which came from South Korea, to US audiences. "If you're going to do something to squash the independent sector, this is what you would do," said Peter Marshall, a former Lionsgate film executive who's now a media consultant. Foreign TV networks with US exposure could be crushed if there are tariffs or quotas on films or shows, analyst Brian Wieser of Madison & Wall said. Sean Furst, an overseas-focused producer, said European players have been trying to reduce their reliance on the US entertainment market. If overseas production is penalized, US producers filming abroad could similarly give up on getting US distribution and look abroad. "Talk to anyone in Europe, and nobody is relying on a US commitment in a finance plan anymore," Furst said, adding that the knock-on effect of tariffs could be a shift to fewer productions with lower budgets. Hollywood has been slow to adopt AI and has mainly limited it to tasks like post-production, special effects, and dubbing. However, AI use could speed up as filmmakers look for ways to cut costs. This could mean expanding to generating video from text prompts. Potential loser: Global streamers The tariffs have put a spotlight on Netflix, which has the most output and the biggest global footprint of the US streamers. Netflix has been seen by some investors as recession-resistant after reaching utility-like status. We don't really know how the tariffs would be implemented. But Citi media analyst Jason Bazinet estimated that, in a worst-case scenario for Netflix, it could raise the streamer's costs by $3 billion a year and hit its earnings per share by 20%. He calculated this by assuming Netflix licenses 40% of its total content budget and produces half of the remaining 60% abroad. However, Bazinet added that Netflix could limit the impact by shifting production to the US, cutting down US access to foreign-made content on the service, and raising prices to cover higher production costs. Potential loser: Audiences Frank Albarella, a KPMG partner who studies media and telecom, said tariffs could "inadvertently force audiences to pay more for what could become a narrower creative landscape." Mike Proulx of research firm Forrester warned that if tariffs go through, there could be fewer films as production costs and the prices of movie tickets and streaming subscriptions soar. "Any way you slice it, this measure equates to consumer pain," Proulx said.
Gulf Today
06-05-2025
- Business
- Gulf Today
Trump orders 100% tariff on foreign-made movies to save 'dying' Hollywood
US President Donald Trump on Sunday announced a 100% tariff on movies produced outside the country, saying the American movie industry was dying a "very fast death" due to the incentives that other countries were offering to lure filmmakers. "This is a concerted effort by other Nations and, therefore, a National Security threat. It is, in addition to everything else, messaging and propaganda," Trump said on Truth Social. Trump said he was authorizing the relevant government agencies, such as the Department of Commerce, to immediately begin the process of imposing a 100% tariff on all films produced abroad that are then sent into the United States. He added: "WE WANT MOVIES MADE IN AMERICA, AGAIN!" Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said on X: "We're on it." Neither Lutnick nor Trump provided any details on how the tariffs would be implemented. It was unclear if the tariffs would apply to movies on streaming services as well as those shown in theaters, or if they would be calculated based on production costs or box office revenue. Hollywood executives were trying to sort out details on Sunday night. The Motion Picture Association, which represents the major studios, had no immediate comment. Donald Trump In January, Trump appointed Hollywood veterans Jon Voight, Sylvester Stallone and Mel Gibson to bring Hollywood back "bigger, better and stronger than ever before." Movie and TV production has been exiting Hollywood for years, heading to locations with tax incentives that make filming cheaper. Governments around the world have increased credits and cash rebates to attract productions and capture a greater share of the $248 billion that Ampere Analysis predicts will be spent globally in 2025 to produce content. All major media companies, including Walt Disney, Netflix and Universal Pictures, film overseas in countries such as Canada and Britain. On Monday, leaders in Australia and New Zealand responded to Trump's tariff announcement by saying they would advocate for their local industries. Some Marvel superhero movies have been filmed in Australia, while New Zealand was the backdrop for "The Lord of the Rings" films. 'Lot more to lose than to gain' In 2023, about half of the spending by US producers on movie and TV projects with budgets of more than $40 million went outside the US, according to research firm ProdPro. Film and television production has fallen by nearly 40% over the last decade in Hollywood's home city of Los Angeles, according to FilmLA, a non-profit that tracks the region's production. The January wildfires accelerated concerns that producers may look outside Los Angeles, and that camera operators, costume designers, sound technicians and other behind-the-scenes workers may move out of town rather than try to rebuild in their neighbourhoods. A ProdPro survey of executives found California was the sixth most preferred place to film in the next two years, behind Toronto, Britain, Vancouver, Central Europe and Australia. Hollywood producers and labour unions have been urging Governor Gavin Newsom to boost the state's tax incentives to better compete with other locations. Trump's proposed movie tariff follows a series of trade conflicts initiated by his administration, which have roiled markets and led to fears of a US recession. Former senior Commerce official William Reinsch, a senior fellow with the Centre for Strategic and International Studies, said retaliation against Trump's film tariffs would be devastating. "The retaliation will kill our industry. We have a lot more to lose than to gain," he said, adding it would be difficult to make a national security or national emergency case for movies. Reuters
Irish Examiner
06-05-2025
- Business
- Irish Examiner
ieExplains: How would a 100% tariff on foreign-made films impact Ireland's economy?
Ireland has once again found itself in the crosshairs of US President Donald Trump's punitive tariff policies, with fresh concerns emerging around proposed levies on Ireland's growing film industry. In a bid to combat what he has called a "dying" American film industry, Mr Trump has threatened levies of 100% on films made outside of the US, but did not elaborate on how tariffs might be applied or who specifically they would target. Posting on social media this week, Mr Trump said: "The movie industry in America is dying a very fast death. Other countries are offering all sorts of incentives to draw our filmmakers and studios away from the United States. Hollywood and many other areas within the USA are being devastated.' Most of this year's Oscar best picture nominees were filmed outside the U.S. and a survey among studio executives over their preferred production locations for 2025 to 2026 by ProdPro showed that the top five choices were all overseas. Mr Trump added that he had authorised the Department of Commerce, and the United States Trade Representative, to immediately begin the process of instituting a 100% Tariff "on any and all Movies coming into our Country that are produced in Foreign Lands." In the past few years, Ireland has become a hot spot for US film companies due to its generous tax incentives, skilled workforce and numerous studios. So, how will a 100% levy on foreign films impact Ireland's growing sector? How big is Ireland's film industry? According to Screen Ireland, the gross value added of Ireland's audiovisual industry, which includes film, television and animation, is more than €1bn. In 2024, the total production spend generated by the Irish screen industry was valued at over €430m, reflecting a 33% rise on 2023 figures. In terms of employment, the industry supports a total of 15,899 full-time equivalent jobs. The sector generates €890m in labour compensation, €595m of which is direct labour compensation, making it a significant contributor to local wages and economic activity. Ireland also has several major film production facilities, including Ardmore Studios, Troy Studios and Ashford Studios, which, between them, have helped produce Braveheart, King Arthur, Wednesday, Wayfinders, Vikings, and Rob Lowe's The Floor. In addition, Tourism Ireland's research from 2024 revealed that 26% of tourists coming to Ireland indicated that film, television and travel shows were a source of travel inspiration. Why do so many US producers film in Ireland? Ireland has become an increasingly popular location for foreign film production, largely due to the Section 481 tax credit, which is a credit incentivising film and TV, animation and creative documentary production in Ireland, administered by Ireland's Department of Culture and the Revenue Commissioners. The rate of tax credit is worth up to 32% of eligible Irish expenditure, with no annual cap or limit on the funding of the programme, enticing many US producers who have criticised the rising cost of producing films and TV series in Hollywood. Speaking earlier this year, actor and filmmaker Rob Lowe, who spent time in Ireland filming his game show The Floor, said in a podcast: "It's cheaper to bring one hundred American people to Ireland than to walk across the lot at Fox, past the sound stages, and do it there." How could these tariffs hurt Ireland's economy? If President Trump were to press ahead with a 100% tariff on films made outside the US, it could impact thousands of jobs across the Irish film and television industry, as US companies will likely be deterred from travelling abroad. It would also undercut the appeal of Ireland's generous Section 481 tax credit, which could slow investment and have knock-on effects for Ireland's tourism industry, which has largely benefited from Ireland's increased exposure in the US.
