Latest news with #movieindustry
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Jackie Chan says 'too much money' was to blame for the lukewarm critical reception to ‘Rush Hour 3'
While reflecting on his long career, Jackie Chan has declared 'too much money' was to blame for the lukewarm critical reception to 'Rush Hour 3'.
Fox News
14-05-2025
- Business
- Fox News
Lights, camera, tariffs: Will Trump's proposal to boost American film jobs work? Americans aren't sure
Print Close By David Rutz, Alba Cuebas-Fantauzzi, Joshua Nelson, Elizabeth Heckman, Nikolas Lanum, Gabriel Hays Published May 14, 2025 President Donald Trump's vow to slap tariffs on movies being made in foreign countries was met with a mixed reaction from Americans speaking with Fox News Digital this week. Trump announced last week his plans to institute a tariff are in the works, and he authorized 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 a Truth Social post, Trump wrote that the "Movie Industry in America is DYING a very fast death" and Hollywood was being "devastated" by other countries luring filmmakers and studios out of the country. Fox News Digital asked everyday Americans whether they thought such a move would help film jobs in the United States. TOM CRUISE SHUTS DOWN TRUMP MOVIE TARIFF QUESTION WHILE PROMOTING 'MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE' "I know that they do a lot of film in here in the United States, so anything that would boost the economy, because we need help right now, it's going to be some rocky roads, but there's no question about it, if it's going to help America, I'm pro-America," said Josh, a Bostonian vising New York City. More skeptical was Bill, a Californian visiting Washington, D.C., who said, "As far as I knew, we were the film capital of the world, so I'm not exactly sure what that's meant to achieve." "I don't think it's going to make a big difference," said Zharko in Birmingham, Mich. "I think it's going to be better for us to tell you the truth, and even for them, because they're going to step up." Tamara, in Washington, D.C., said it would "absolutely not" help boost American film jobs, "not during his term anyway." Mark, an American living in Germany who was visiting the nation's capital again, said he thought Trump was on the right track. TEAMSTERS BOSS PRAISES TRUMP FOREIGN FILM TARIFF, CONDEMNS HOLLYWOOD'S 'UN-AMERICAN ADDICTION TO OUTSOURCING' "Needs that little push to start making films back here in the States, so I think that's a good idea, at least temporarily, and see what happens," he told Fox News Digital. "You can always adjust them." Brissa noted her town of Austin, Texas, had become "film city" so it could help a place like that. "I think it could potentially, but I don't know, it's hard to say," she said. Catherine, speaking in Birmingham, Mich., had another suggestion for Trump. "I think he should be doing what would generate activity in business and commerce in the U.S. That seems like that would be prohibitive, adding a tariff of that nature, but I wouldn't support it if it was creating another barrier," she said. CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP "I think his focus really is to bring more jobs back to America and to make sure that America is wealthy and prosperous," said Jay in Knoxville, Tenn. "Because we've kind of faded from that era, and he's trying to get us back." David Rutz is a senior editor at Fox News. Follow him on Twitter at @davidrutz. Print Close URL
The Verge
10-05-2025
- Business
- The Verge
Can Donald Trump really put a tariff on films?
After slamming everything from clothing to avocados with tariffs, now President Donald Trump has taken aim at films. 'The Movie Industry in America is DYING a very fast death,' Trump proclaimed on Truth Social last week, while floating a 100 percent tariff on movies 'produced in Foreign Lands.' The news stirred up confusion across Hollywood, as it would seemingly apply to a broad range of films, maybe even US films with scenes shot abroad. Though Trump has already begun to reel his original statement back in, as he told CNBC that he's 'not looking to hurt the industry,' it doesn't seem like he's given up on the idea completely. But like many of Trump's plans, he's relying on presidential powers that are stretched to a breaking point. 'A car has a value when it arrives at a US port that they can slap a tariff on,' says Mark Jones, a professor of political science at Rice University. 'But because of the way the film industry works, it'd be much tougher to determine what proportion of the film you would actually apply a tariff to.' Trump's tariff plan appears to have spun out of a meeting with actor Jon Voight, a fervent Trump supporter who has been appointed a 'special ambassador' to 'make Hollywood great again.' The plan, which has since been published in full by Deadline, mentions offering more tax incentives for producers, but also proposes tariffs. Voight's plan says that if a film 'could have been produced in the U.S. but the producer elects to produce in a foreign country and receives a production tax incentive,' then the government should impose a tariff 'equal to 120% of the value of the foreign incentive received.' Typically, Congress is in charge of imposing tariffs, but Trump has become an expert at pulling emergency levers to unilaterally stick fees on imported goods. His past few months of sweeping tariffs leverage the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) of 1977, a law that grants the president the power to implement tariffs in response to an 'unusual and extraordinary threat' to national security or the economy. As pointed out by the Brennan Center for Justice — and the many states suing Trump — the current global trade situation doesn't call for a national emergency. 'By no stretch of the imagination can long-standing trade relationships be considered an unforeseen emergency,' a writeup from the Brennan Center for Justice says. 'If Trump believes that global tariffs could benefit the United States, he needs to make his case to Congress.' Trump hasn't said what law he'd use to tax movies. If it's the IEEPA, then even by his usual standards, that's a stretch. The rule includes a specific carveout to protect the exchange of 'informational materials,' such as publications, films, posters, photographs, CDs, and artwork. That language suggests even under his emergency powers, Trump shouldn't have the authority to impose tariffs on movies. We saw the 'informational material' rules come into play during Trump's first term, when a federal judge blocked his initial ban on TikTok in 2020. The judge ruled the president doesn't have the 'authority to regulate or prohibit' the import of informational materials and 'personal communications, which do not involve a transfer of anything of value.' But there's a different rule Trump could use to impose tariffs on films: Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act of 1962. This law allows the president to impose or adjust tariffs if the US Secretary of Commerce finds that a particular import can 'threaten or impair the national security.' In his post proposing a tariff on films, Trump called the film incentives offered by foreign countries a 'concerted effort' to take away films from the US, making it a 'National Security Threat.' Even if that dubious logic holds, collecting the money would raise more problems. Films can cross our borders in many different ways that would allow them to avoid going through customs and facing tariffs — whether they're uploaded to a cloud storage service, beamed through a streaming service like Netflix, or even transferred to movie theaters using hard drives. 'If it was going to happen, it wouldn't look at all like a tariff.' 'The laws that the President can rely upon to hit imported goods aren't laws that provide him authority to do that in respect of audio-visual content that doesn't clear customs or is already here,' John Magnus, president of Tradewins LLC, a DC-based trade consultancy, told The Verge. 'So most likely, if it was going to happen, it wouldn't look at all like a tariff.' It might be possible to collect something like an excise tax, which is placed on goods purchased in the country, like cigarettes, alcohol, soda, and gas. But this would likely be out of Trump's control, as, again, only Congress typically has the authority to impose taxes — and unlike tariffs, there's no emergency power for excise taxes.. If Congress took up the cause of an excise tax, it would likely be applied to the distributor of a foreign film, which would then be passed onto consumers, likely raising the price of everything from movie tickets to streaming services. 'Prices are already much higher than they used to be,' Christopher Meissner, a professor of economics at the University of California Davis, tells The Verge. 'It'll limit the range of movies we can watch.' Like many of the things Trump espouses, the specifics surrounding film tariffs are nonexistent, and the plan may never come to fruition. 'We spend a lot of time and energy discussing things and analyzing things that, at the end of the day, are going to lead to nothing, because he [Trump] has no real intention,' Jones says. 'It may be that he has an intention now, but moving forward, they're never going to amount to anything.'
Yahoo
10-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Nevada film tax credit proposal promises jobs, spurs debate
LAS VEGAS (KLAS) — As a bill that would introduce a movie industry tax credit is considered, Nevadans debated on Friday the quantity of jobs it will create, and if the legislation is competitive with other states. During a May 9 Nevada Assembly Ways and Means Committee meeting, legislators heard arguments for and against an $80 million annual tax credit, possibly starting in 2028 and ending in 2043. 'We're asking in this bill for the industry to make an investment in the state of Nevada,' Nevada Assemblywoman Danielle Monroe-Moreno said. The studios would have to spend a minimum of $400 million in Nevada, 50 percent of its photography and filming must take place in Nevada, and the film would need to be finished within 18 months to qualify for the tax credits. Electrical and carpentry worker unions filled the Nevada Legislature hearing room in Las Vegas. Most of them voiced support for Assembly Bill 238. 'This is going to be a multi-generational type of investment within the state,' said Ronnie Young, spokesperson for the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers. 'We're looking at not only job growth, but a diversification of the economy in Nevada, which … is going to produce apprenticeship opportunities, new trades.' The committee heard arguments against the Assembly Bill, specifically about concerns over the competitiveness of the tax credits. Anahit Baghshetsyan, a research assistant at Nevada Policy, made the case that the Assembly Bill would be similar to those in effect in 30 other states, potentially making the incentive less competitive. 'We cannot base our policy recommendations on shallow promises,' Baghshetsyan said. 'But we can base it on existing statistics and make sure that Nevada doesn't go down the wrong road.' Young responded to claim that the tax credit and movie studio in Summerlin was unfair to northern Nevadans. 'If you think about it, there's tons of places to film within Nevada,' Young said. 'They're not limiting it to just Southern Nevada … Tahoe is beautiful. The mountains of Reno are beautiful. We have some really cinematic-ready areas in Nevada. I think that they can expand … all over the state.' A similar film bill, currently in the State Senate, would build a studio for rent at Harry Reid Technology Park. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
News.com.au
08-05-2025
- Business
- News.com.au
‘Tax on Bluey': Kevin Rudd mocks Donald Trump's film tariff plan
Former prime minister Kevin Rudd has scoffed at Donald Trump's tariffs on the movie industry and an uninhabited Australian territory in comments at a high-profile conference in LA. Mr Rudd, now Australia's US Ambassador, spoke against Mr Trump's proposed 100 per cent tariff on foreign-made films by evoking a beloved kids cartoon: 'I don't think we want to see a tax on Bluey'. 'What happens if we all lock down our countries with competitive, punitive arrangements against each other's movies?' he said, speaking at a Milken Institute event in Los Angeles. 'Movies are the way in which we kind of understand each other more. So I'd be all for opening this up.' The White House has said 'no final decisions have been made' on the proposed tariffs after they were announced by the US President on social media. 'The Movie Industry in America is DYING a very fast death,' he wrote. 'Other Countries are offering all sorts of incentives to draw our filmmakers and studios away from the United States. 'Therefore, I am authorising 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. WE WANT MOVIES MADE IN AMERICA, AGAIN!' It remains unclear how the measures could work, but many Hollywood productions are currently being filmed in locations such as Australia due to tax incentives. Mr Rudd's previous criticism of Mr Trump was last year used by the Opposition to pressure the Albanese government, which has backed the former Labor leader. In a now deleted tweet, Mr Rudd called the President a 'traitor to the west'. Mr Trump was drawn on the comments in a 2024 interview with UK broadcaster Piers Morgan, saying Mr Rudd was 'nasty' and 'not the brightest bulb'. Now Mr Rudd, speaking at the Milken Institute Global Conference this week, has made light of the Trump administration's efforts to impose global tariffs after it was revealed some uninhabited territories were also included. He used another pop culture reference to make his point on the inclusion of Australian territory Heard and McDonald Islands, home only to penguins. 'If you've seen the other great Australian movie, Happy Feet – you know, the penguins – those penguins of ours have just been tariffed down in Heard and Macquarie (sic) Island in Antarctica,' he said. 'They're producing a sequel, it's called Unhappy Feet. There'll be a march of penguins on Washington.' The conference draws some of the world's most high-powered business and political minds to LA, where the biggest humanitarian and economic challenges are discussed. Australia's Home Affairs and Arts Minister Tony Burke said earlier this week the government was monitoring the proposed film tariffs closely. 'Nobody should be under any doubt that we will be standing up unequivocally for the rights of the Australian screen industry,' he said. Major productions such as instalments in Marvel's Thor franchise, Mad Max prequel Furiosa and the Sydney Sweeney rom-com Anyone But You are among some of the big budget films made in NSW in recent years. Premier Chris Minns hit out at the plan as a 'bad decision for films and movies whether they're made in Australia or the United States'. 'It's short sighted and won't work. We'll be defending our screen industry as well as the local jobs it creates,' he said. 'NSW is home to more than half of Australia's screen production businesses and film industry. It's estimated to be around $1.15 billion to the local economy.'
