Yesterday, President Trump renewed his threat to impose a 100% tariff on all films made outside of the United States. This move sent shockwaves through an industry that heavily relies on international co-productions and global box office revenue.But after conversations with lots of different people, actors, writers, directors, and producers, none of them took the threat seriously. In fact, Variety is reporting that most think this is an idle threat built for headlines, but with no way of enforcing or actually coming to fruition. Let's dive in. - YouTube www.youtube.com What's the Big Deal?For decades, Hollywood studios have chased tax incentives and lower production costs by filming in countries like Canada, the U.K., and Australia. This has hurt Los Angeles and other parts of the United States, where production used to inject billions into the economy. You can't argue with that. The US has tried to keep up, with many states trying to enact their own incentives, but not being able to keep up with what happened internationally. Trump's idea of a tariff is supposed to keep these jobs at home. But it came with no actual ways to make that happen and no nuance. Unlike physical goods, films are intellectual property that can be transmitted digitally, making them difficult to tax at the border. You can't just reach up into the cloud and stop them from being shared. Furthermore, many "American" films are actually international co-productions, with financing, filming, and post-production taking place in multiple countries. This makes it...
Published By: NoFilmSchool - Yesterday