Will Trump have a chilling effect on Hollywood? Insiders say it’s already happening

LA Times ^ | 2/11/25 | Samantha Masunaga

[DallasBiff]

Eight years ago, Hollywood proudly donned the mantle of anti-Trump resistance.

This time around, the industry’s reaction can best be summed up by the tale of two Trump films.

Just two weeks before President Trump’s inauguration, Amazon Prime Video made an unexpected announcement — the company would release a documentary about Melania Trump, with the first lady serving as an executive producer.

Meanwhile, another Trump-related movie — “The Apprentice,” a biopic that chronicles the president’s rise to power decades ago — still has not secured a streaming deal, despite two Oscar nominations for lead actor (Sebastian Stan as Trump) and supporting actor (Jeremy Strong as New York legal pit bull Roy Cohn).

The contrasting fates show the more muted mood in liberal Hollywood. There is a general sense of unease among industry insiders about what’s to come, the speed with which Trump has enacted sweeping executive orders across the federal government — and the seeming buy-in from corporate leaders — and how that all could influence future creative content. ,p. “I don’t think that people have really figured out what to do yet, how to express themselves or what’s going to be the most effective,” said Tom Nunan, co-head of the graduate producers program at the UCLA School of Theater, Film and Television. “It’s hard to be creative when you’re afraid.”

[Huskrrrr]

Hanoi Jane went ballistic at the SAG awards, Nuff said.

[No name given]

Or if they ditched the political lecturing and virtue signaling, which I don’t foresee happening anytime soon if ever at all.

[dfwgator]

All the good movies have already been made.

[Cobra64]

👍

[cowboyusa]

better than the orginal.

[Fledermaus]

Implausible but fun. Rooster should be 40 years old.

[cuz1961]

“It's hard to be creative when you're afraid.”

\/
.

afraid of what ?

been touching stuff you shouldn't have touching ?

afraid of videos from the island ? . afraid someone knows of films you already made or starred in ? ...or just reasonless trump fear ?.aka delusional paranoia ?

[ProtectOurFreedom]

Tom Nunan, co-head of the graduate producers program at the UCLA School of Theater, Film and Television -- “It’s hard to be creative when you’re afraid.”

Does Tom teach "Intro to Drama Queens 101"?

[SMARTY]

Hollywood has beena dead letter or a long time...unless you are a 13 year ol boy

[blitz128]

Chilling? Really decade of massive cash losing DEI/woke crap, huh sure Trump is the problem😎

[minnesota_bound]

They are already blaming Trump for their lousy tv shows and movies...

[NelsTandberg]

I’m learning how to reply to multiple posts. Gearing up to actually see if I can get a comment posted at the LA Times article re Tom Nunah.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Landing_craft

The image dates from almost 3 decades before my time, but suck it up, you damnable snowflake. I wasn’t in a landing craft off Omaha Beach. Instead think of the margins of a rice paddy with an RTO and a PRC-25 handset. A dozen months earlier, I was an undergrad completing a BS in comparative zoology and a BA in philosophy. A half-dozen years later, I was working on a PhD in biophysics.

3 dozen people were hoping that I could still be creative, or at least, not a damned fool. Now, over 5 decades later, I alternate between pity and supressed disgust.

Quote after me, “It’s hard to be creative when you’re afraid.”