Hollywood is in a crisis and Trump makes everything worse

In the US adaptation of the Scandinavian myth Thor, the protagonist swings up with his hammer as a superhero. The film is not on the, but certain parallels between the US President and the fictional figure cannot be denied. For example, your power, arrogance and awesome. But while Thor becomes a superhero, Trump from this ethos is probably far away for many.

The American film industry should see similar. To her supposed protection, Donald Trump recently announced that the US president believes that the US President thinks the domestic film industry. To prevent this, the competition is to pay abroad. But Trump’s Zollhammer already turns out to be a boomerang.

In any case, skepticism in Hollywood and Co. is great. Green screen beats the original backdrop, which still applies today, although digitization and artificial intelligence make a lot possible, which was still unthinkable a few years ago. For creative reasons, producers still shoot abroad on site – in Canada, Great Britain, Hungary, Australia or in Germany.

Stripes such as “Planet the monkey: A New Kingdom”, “The Fall Guy” and “Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga” were created in Australia, the “Mission Impossible” classic in Europe. The Australian Gold Coast became Memphis in Tennessee for the “Elvis” film. And the shooting for the next “Avengers” film by Disney’s Marvel Studios in London was just starting. “If the stunt is that Tom Cruise climbs onto the Eiffel Tower, what should we do – turn on the replica of the Eiffel Tower in Las Vegas?” Says the entertainment lawyer Jonathan Handel. It is “just nonsensical”.

The situation is similar with TV series. At the US streaming service Netflix, international productions are part of brand core.

Trump’s film duties make no sense for the industry.

But it is true: the US film industry is doing badly. The recession harmed the business, as did the four -month strike 2024, in which the actors demanded better working conditions. According to unions, almost 20,000 jobs fell away last year alone. Donald Trump blames abroad-and California’s governor Gavin Newsom, whom the US President is doing on every occasion.

Even if Trump’s accusations are very rigoros, it is not quite next to it. The fear of job losses have long been dealing with employees in Hollywood because studios are increasingly turning and producing somewhere else. In the film business you speak of “outlier productions”.

The reason is not only the longing for original scenes, but the price. A shooting day in Los Angeles can cost several hundred thousand dollars. “The fact is that it is cheaper for Hollywood studios to get on planes and pay for hotels because the labor costs, the lack of discounts and the possibility of making things overseas are infinitely cheaper,” explains the deputy chairman of the United Talent Agency, Jay Sures, in the broadcaster CNN. In Eastern Europe, for example, the costs can be clearly pressed through the lower wages. This saves the producers money.

Trump’s tariffs would hit US productions abroad and “bring the film business to a standstill-which is the last thing that Hollywood needs after two strikes and a recession of content,” says Sures.

Trump’s customs announcements leave a deeply unsettled and perplexed film industry. However, there are also doubts as to whether he really gets through with it. Films are considered intellectual property and are therefore not classified as goods, but as a service, which in turn no tariffs are collected. The US government would have to evaluate films differently in order to declare them as an imported goods. Minister of Commerce Howard Lutnick already said that it was on the subject.

Meanwhile, the US President announced talks with leading representatives of the film industry. Perhaps you can convince Trump that the tariffs harm more than use. If Trump continues to insist on his plans, he has to deal with questions about how he wants to spare his own film industry. Should historical dramas produced by US studios over the Second World War with original films? What regulations apply to films that were only partially created abroad?

Oscar winner Jon Voight, whom Trump had named together with Sylvester Stallone and Mel Gibson as Hollywood “ambassador”, recently presented a “comprehensive plan” with changes in Hollywood. These are suggestions for tax prices, subsidies for cinema owners and production companies as well as agreements for co -productions with abroad. Customs should be used “under certain restricted circumstances”.

Voight is optimistic that Trump can save the industry: “The President loves entertainment business and this country and he will help us make Hollywood great again,” he said.

With the right plan, Donald Trump could still become a superhero – at least for Hollywood.