Hollywood has never been in a more fragile place. For the first time, the worry isn’t about the industry shifting from one medium to another. There was the introduction of sound, then television. But with streaming — and the shift toward alternative forms of entertainment — some are genuinely worried about a full-on shrinking. When Donald Trump announced plans to slap 100% tariffs on films “made in foreign lands,” those worries only deepened.
For years, journalists, poets, and authors have scoured the late 20th century trying to better understand Trump’s thinking. Sebastian Stan was even nominated for an Oscar for portraying him at the last ceremony. But one thing that’s rarely explored is Trump’s undying desire to be accepted by famous and powerful people. Even on a grand presidential debate stage, he kept moaning about being rigged out of a couple of Emmys. For obvious reasons, Hollywood has just never liked him. To this day, he’s still strangely angry that George Clooney doesn’t like him.
So it’s no surprise he crafted a “Hollywood policy” that seemed aimed more at provocation than policy. Once in office, Trump formed a team of Hollywood Special Ambassadors — mostly just as unlikeable as he is — including Jon Voight and Mel Gibson. After the tariff announcement, Variety called Voight to get clarity on how and where these new measures would be applied. He apparently took the call during a car wash just to show how seriously he was taking the entire thing.
Hollywood — and the U.S. in general — has been losing productions to the UK, Canada, Hungary, and others. These countries have pulled it off by offering tax incentives that cut production budgets immensely. But that shift comes with the cost of American jobs. Voight acknowledged this, and told Variety his goal is to eventually offer such incentives within America too, to level the playing field. Still, he added that the American film industry needs “more than that.”
What that “more” is, he didn’t say. He promised the specifics in a draft presentation will “speak for itself.” But what Voight did demand was appreciation. “How about enthusiasm and gratitude?” he asked Variety.
He feels they’ve been doing what they can — and have only been criticized for acting in what they believe is Hollywood’s best interest. Voight told Variety:
“It’s come to a point where we really do need help, and thank God the president cares about Hollywood and movies. He has a great love for Hollywood in that way. We’ve got to roll up our sleeves here. We can’t let it go down the drain like Detroit.”
The two have apparently been close friends since the late 1970s and share values, with both being longtime fans of pop culture and movies. Of Trump, Voight said, “I think he’s been treated unfairly. I think I have too.”
The idea of tariffing movies is so baffling that most people are simply waiting to see how it unfolds. Will the next $300M Marvel movie be taxed another $300M? Will movie ticket prices go up? Will your Netflix bill swell? Right now, how any of this will work is a mystery to everyone.
The only certainty in this whole Hollywood tariff saga is that President Trump will likely move on to the next outrageous statement on Truth Social — only to backtrack the very next day. And so, the vicious cycle continues.
Published: May 8, 2025 08:12 am