Earlier this week, the American movie industry was thrown out of whack when president Donald Trump revealed his tariffs for international film productions. Reactions to this news was met with negativity and concern from Hollywood and movie fans, even as the president himself argued this would greatly benefit the local industry. But without any real idea of how he intends to enforce or even enact this, Hollywood is taking matters into its own hands.
According to a recent Variety story, leaders of major studios—Universal Pictures, Disney, and Warner Bros. Discovery, to name a few—gathered on a Zoom call with Motion Picture Association chief Charles Rivkin to find a “delicate way” of telling the White House how the film business works, and the difficulty of applying tariffs onto a movie. As many will tell you, films are a group endeavor. Most blockbusters are shot, financed, or made by teams outside the United States, often for tax credits or other financial benefits. The studio heads hope that when Trump eventually speaks with them, they can make clear the US film industry is “net positive,” and that his concerns about productions leaving the country mainly affect the state of California.
Speaking of California, the state’s Attorney General Rob Bonta told the Hollywood Reporter he thinks these tariffs could mean “a First Amendment basis for action.” He argued president is intentionally went after “a blue state that doesn’t seem to be supportive of him.” Shortly after he announced the tariffs, Trump deemed state governor Gavin Newsom “a grossly incompetent man. [The industry] has been decimated by other countries taking them out…he’s just allowed it to be taken away from.” For his part, both the governor and the Stay in LA organization have separately proposed ideas to the public on how to keep productions in the state (and America more broadly), but the president has yet to meet with either about a potential solution.
The second Trump administration has a history of going after groups they don’t like, or who push back against its orders, like the current dispute against Harvard when the university refused to comply with its demands. Bonta said his office is exploring legal action on the basis of a First Amendment violation, and hopes to “defend our state and our people, including Hollywood.” It’s unclear if such an argument against the tariffs would hold up in court, but at the moment, this is (currently) the only play Bonta and his office has.
As for the studio heads, many are keeping quiet to avoid any financial penalties. They’re also still unclear on what falls under tariff jurisdiction: does it only apply to Hollywood productions, or are TV shows and streaming films also caught up in this? It remains unclear, as does the response from international countries should the administration go through with its decision.
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