Top Hollywood studio execs are scheduled to hold a call with Motion Pictures Association chair-CEO Charles Rivkin on Friday to discuss President Donald Trump’s surprise proposal to impose tariffs on movies shot outside of the United States, The Hollywood Reporter has learned.
The film industry was left reeling over the weekend after Trump took to social media on Sunday to proclaim that it’s time to “make Hollywood great again” and that shooting films in other countries is nothing short of a threat to national security.
The very next morning, however, the White House seemed to downplay Trump’s decree when issuing a statement clarifying that “no final decisions have been made” regarding such tariffs.
So far, the MPA — which is the main trade organization representing movie studios and their parent companies — has yet to officially respond to Trump’s comments regarding tariffs. (Also on Sunday, he suggested reopening Alcatraz as a working federal prison after watching Escape From Alcatraz.)
Those expected to take part in Friday’s call with Rivkin include Disney Entertainment co-chairman Alan Bergman, who oversees the conglomerate’s film empire, Amazon MGM Studios’ chief Mike Hopkins, longtime Universal Pictures chair and NBCUniversal Entertainment & Studios chief Donna Langley, Paramount Global co-CEO Brian Robbins, Sony Pictures Motion Picture Group chair Tom Rothman, Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos and Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav.
Numerous sources say such tariffs, depending upon how they were calculated, could devastate the film industry, along with television, considering how many shows and movies are shot overseas because of more lenient tax breaks and production incentives. Production budgets could be subject to a crippling rise of 25 percent or more at a time when the industry has yet to fully recover from the pandemic and the labor strikes. That could result in fewer films, which would in turn could pose further economic strain on theater chains both in the U.S. and overseas.
Rivkin has been a staunch advocate of increasing production incentives in the U.S. on behalf of his studio members, as have union leaders. (His organization also tracks how many production jobs the industry creates around the world.)
There are numerous other unanswered questions as to how it would work to impose tariffs on a service that is made from a U.S.-based company — and a digital one at that, since most movies are now transferred digitally, versus on physical film reels. And, as of 2023, U.S. movies generated more than $15 billion in trade surpluses. Put another way, Hollywood films dominate the box office in many foreign markets (among major markets, exceptions include China, Japan and South Korea).
Trump’s pronouncement appears to have emerged from a plan crafted by Jon Voight, who, alongside Mel Gibson and Sylvester Stallone, was named as the new president’s Hollywood ambassadors when reelected to the White House. Gibson and Stallone have remained silent so far this week on the subject of tariffs, with one source telling THR that Stallone was taken aback (both he and Gibson have upcoming movies that are set to shoot overseas).
Word of Friday’s meeting comes as Disney prepares for its earnings call on Wednesday morning. It’s virtually guaranteed that Disney chief Bob Iger will be asked about Trump’s push for tariffs. Paramount Global earnings follow on Thursday.
