National Security… for Movies?
President Trump just declared war on your movie night. The man who once proclaimed the American movie industry was ‘DYING a very fast death’ is now floating a 100% tariff on films made overseas.
The proposal, blasted on Truth Social, sent shockwaves through Hollywood. After all, how do you slap a tax on something as intangible as a movie?
Implementation would be a nightmare. Unlike cars or avocados — physical goods with clear import values — films are a tangled web of global collaborations.
Even blockbusters branded as “American” often shoot scenes abroad or rely on international talent and tax breaks. Would *Oppenheimer*, with its Czech Republic filming, get dinged? What about Marvel movies lensed in Australia? Trump’s team hasn’t clarified, and Hollywood’s confusion has only deepened.
The idea reportedly sprouted from a meeting with actor Jon Voight, a MAGA loyalist dubbed Trump’s “special ambassador” to revive Hollywood. Voight’s leaked plan, published by Deadline, mixes sweeteners (bigger tax incentives for U.S. productions) with threats: a 120% tariff on any film that could have been made in America but opted for foreign subsidies instead.
