Obviously this story is comprised of first reactions from people in the industry, who were all blindsided by the announcement. None of them know what it means. The devil is in the details, and (as usual) the initial announcement is 99 percent bloviation and posturing, with the details to be worked out later.
Note, however, that these are people in the bidness, with projects in development right now. They have to make timely decisions about what, when and where to shoot. The big studios have multiple projects in advanced stages of development, and these probably involve shooting locations not only in the U.S. and Europe, but in Africa, likely Asia, perhaps Australia and South America as well. Many of these will be partnerships with foreign companies and will involve a lot of foreign actors, directors, and funding sources.
The lead time on a major movie or tv show is two years and usually more. I'm aware of a couple of small indie films that were written and shot within a much tighter window; Montana Story, one of the best of the covid movies, is my current go-to example (and is an excellent movie with very conservative themes buried in the subtext). But that was as indie as indie can get, with a writer-director team of two who probably check under the couch cushions to find the money -- and who have produced some very good films, proving it can be done. But for big productions and big studios, it's a couple of years at least, and they've got their rollout schedules roughed out several years in advance.
So what are these people supposed to do now? Shut everything down until Trump's twitter barrage tapers off? Lining up locations, production facilities and casts that can block the necessary time -- often 4-5 months or more -- is a Chinese fire drill. They have to know what the rules are, and they need to be able to count on the rules being predictable for a couple of years. Lead time is the key.
So: shoot everything in the U.S.? That means abandoning all location shooting, which has been basic to the industry since the early days. Heck, no problem; we'll just walk away from castles and stately homes and iconic cityscapes, cathedrals and palaces and shoot everything in front of greenscreens on soundstages in California or Georgia or wherever? Well ... no, that ain't gonna work. J.K. Rowling isn't going to sign off on shooting the Harry Potter series on a Hollywood backlot.
The article is worth a read. Note one European exec who, when he got done sputtering, pointed out that U.S. productions constitute 60 percent!!!! of the content currently consumed in Europe. The U.S. dominates this industry, but when U.S. exports dominate the market, why blow it up?
The legitimate core issue is foreign production tax credits that are essentially bribes to U.S. studios to shift production abroad. But before declaring war over that, recognize that the substantial majority of U.S. states also offer production tax credits, some as rich as those offered in Europe. What is the rationale for nuking Ireland, the U.K. or Hungary for doing what California, New York, Georgia and a couple of dozen other states are already doing? Sauce for the goose, sauce for the gander. I'm not familiar with this publication and can't speak to the accuracy or currency of what is reported here for September 30, 2024, but I found this enlightening: Film Industry Tax Incentives: State-by-State
Movie list ping
Does it count as a foreign film to be taxed if the film is entirely AI (not out of the question for the near future) and done by someone sitting on a computer in LA, but the server doing the processing is overseas?
For folks who want excellent analysis, check out YouTube channel WDW Pro. They got into this in a vid from this morning, will be do8ng another show tonight.
What Trump is doing is freaking brilliant.
As long as this prevents a reshoot of The English Patient, I’m all for it.
Everything is made overseas because it’s cheaper to make heck look at all the programs on hdtv it’s all made in Canada you can bet those who work behind the scenes on tv shows and other things who have been out of work for months on end will be thrilled about this
Up hollywood’s. Sideways. Repeatedly. Good and Hard.
You blow it up because the films aren’t shot here with our citizens benefitting from the work.
This policy makes sense.
Hollywood movies stink. They don’t deserve protection.
All the good movies have already been made, anyway. Everything is a derivative now.
Confusing dumb actors is pretty easy to do.
Love good movies, movies from all over the world. But I care about their industry as much as they care about me.
They have done as much as they humanly can to harm America. They openly hate America at their awards events. I wouldn’t lift a finger to help them.
Destination shoots will soon be totally unnecessary. Everything and place can be created in a computer. Soon the tech nerds will become outrageously expensive due to their specialized technical skills. The only reason to live shoot on location will be to accept humongous stipends from foreign governments that are craving the showcase of a major film.
Thanks for that analysis.
Sounds like Trump is channeling the old time penny-pinching producer’s response to the director’s request to film on location: “A tree’s a tree - shoot it in Griffith Park.”
Who pays to see movies? You can see almost anything for free. You just have to be able to wait (or break the law).
Trump has to make the Dems shiver in their boots for all the horse shit he received during the years. Who know what Trump is going to do. Now is his time to laugh. He’s on top of the world.
Well, yes. That's why they call it a US film.
Echoes another London-based producer: “If this goes the distance, it will decimate the industry.
Make that your film industry, kemosabe. Isn't that the point? How about your London-based industry produces U.K. Films and Hollyweird continues putting out its own garbage.
One thing I did not see in any of the analysis is whether or not any other countries are currently charging any tariffs on America productions. Or, asked another way, is it possible this is a reciprocal tariff on existing charges?
“The legitimate core issue is foreign production tax credits that are essentially bribes to U.S. studios to shift production abroad.”
Canada offers tax breaks (or at least British Columbia does). Lots of films with the story set in Seattle or Northern California are filmed in B.C. and Vancouver.
I watched “First Blood” with my young son 15 years ago and he swore that one of the logs was the same one he had climbed over while in the woods of Washington State. He was adamant - even after telling him that it was filmed in Canada!