Some Hollywood trade unions and other groups are urging lawmakers to give financial incentives to the American film industry following President Donald Trump’s sweeping tariffs on foreign nations.
Actor Jon Voight, Trump’s special ambassador to Hollywood, alongside Voight’s manager Steven Paul, met with the president over the weekend to discuss a strategy to boost domestic film production. The proposed plans include introducing federal tax incentives, making changes to several tax codes and implementing infrastructure subsidies for production companies and movie theater owners, The New York Times reported.
SP Media Group, a Chicago-based media production company headed by Paul, did not respond to the Daily Caller News Foundation’s request for comment.
“After meeting with many of the entertainment leaders, I have brought forward recommendations to the president for certain tax provisions that can help the [film] industry,” Voight said in a video posted to X on Monday. “Some provisions that could be extended, and others that could be revived or instituted.”
Voight left from the meetings with Trump with two letters to Congress drafted by the Motion Picture Association (MPA), according to the NYT.
The Hollywood groups asked Congress to “adopt a domestic manufacturing and production incentive to encourage more domestic employment, including in film and television production,” according to a copy of one of the letters obtained by the Daily Caller News Foundation.
Meanwhile, the other letter asks Congress to extend Internal Revenue Code Section 181, a tax code which allows production companies to deduct certain film and television expenses in the year they are incurred.
“Returning more production to the U.S. will require broad-based policy solutions and extending Section 181 represents an important step to help keep jobs in America,” the letter states.
The two letters were backed by a variety of Hollywood groups, including SAG-AFTRA, the Producers Guild of America, the Writers Guild of America East, the Independent Film and Television Alliance, Producers United, the Director’s Guild of America and the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees.
The MPA referred the DCNF to the two letters when reached for comment. The Director’s Guild of America could not be reached for comment.
“We believe the best path forward is incentives in the form of a federal rebate program rather than tariffs,” a Producers United spokesperson told the DCNF.
SAG-AFTRA, the Producers Guild of America, the Writers Guild of America East, the Independent Film and Television Alliance and the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees did not respond to the DCNF’s request for comment.
Hollywood has notably been faced with several hurdles in recent years, including a large number of consumers shifting to streaming services and COVID-19 pandemic-era lockdowns halting film production and temporarily shutting down movie theaters.
The calls for incentives also come following several high-profile box office disappointments lost hundreds of millions of dollars for major Hollywood studios. Disney’s “Snow White” remake, released in March, both bombed at the box office and was panned by critics. The remake, which is projected to lose around $150 million, made headlines for its leading actress’ comments disparaging Trump and his supporters, as well as for changes made to the 1937 original which observers have characterized as “woke.” In 2023, Disney’s “The Marvels,” a superhero film also described as “woke,” reportedly lost the media conglomerate $237 million.
Democratic California Gov. Gavin Newsom said on Monday that he wants to work with the Trump administration to builda federal film tax credit that would be worth at least $7.5 billion, to bolster film production in the United States. Newsom’s proposal comes after Trump on Sunday announced in a Truth Social post that he wanted to institute a 100% tariff on any movies coming into the U.S. from “foreign lands.”
“The Movie Industry in America is DYING a very fast death,” Trump wrote in the post. “Other Countries are offering all sorts of incentives to draw our filmmakers and studios away from the United States. Hollywood, and many other areas within the U.S.A., are being devastated. This is a concerted effort by other Nations and, therefore, a National Security threat. It is, in addition to everything else, messaging and propaganda! Therefore, I am authorizing the Department of Commerce, and the United States Trade Representative, to immediately begin the process of instituting a 100% Tariff on any and all Movies coming into our Country that are produced in Foreign Lands. WE WANT MOVIES MADE IN AMERICA, AGAIN!”
Trump’s tariff announcement caused some Hollywood studios’ stock prices to dip on Monday. Still, the president told reporters at the White House on Monday that he was aiming to help the U.S. film industry, not harm it.
“I’m not looking to hurt the [film] industry; I want to help the industry,” Trump said. “We’re going to meet with the industry. I want to make sure they’re happy with it, because we’re all about jobs.”
While American movies were predominantly filmed in Los Angeles for many years, tax breaks have prompted many movie and television companies to film in locations where costs are low in recent years, The Wall Street Journal reported.
“California built the film industry — and we’re ready to bring even more jobs home,” Newsom wrote Monday in a post on X. “We’ve proven what strong state incentives can do. Now it’s time for a real federal partnership to Make America Film Again. @POTUS, let’s get it done.”
In October 2024, Newsom proposed expanding California’s Film & Television Tax Credit Program from $330 million annually to $750 million annually.
“America continues to be a film powerhouse, and California is all in to bring more production here,” Newsom said in a statement shared with the DCNF. “Building on our successful state program, we’re eager to partner with the Trump administration to further strengthen domestic production and Make America Film Again.”
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