From the moment Donald Trump on May 4 proclaimed 100% tariffs on movies produced in “foreign lands,” a throw down with Gavin Newsom was inevitable. Now the California Governor wants Trump to get behind a national tax incentives program similar to what other nations have been using for years, but with a lot more zeros at the end.
As the Golden State moves to increase its own film and TV tax credit program to $750 million annually, Gov. Newsom wants the feds to put their money where their MAGA is to the tune of $7.5 billion.
“California built the film industry — and we’re ready to bring even more jobs home,” the Governor said tonight on social media after that $7.5 billion figure got out. “We’ve proven what strong state incentives can do. Now it’s time for a real federal partnership to Make America Film Again”
There has been no response to Newsom’s big bucks scheme from the White House, yet.
This fluid situation started when Trump posted a tariffs bellowing “WE WANT MOVIES MADE IN AMERICA, AGAIN!” on Sunday. Then, on the White House lawn, he slagged the West Coast Democrat as “a grossly incompetent governor” who let Hollywood fall apart and runaway production run amok. Next, Newsom’s office declared that POTUS had “no authority” under the International Economic Emergency Powers Act to hit anyone making films abroad with tariffs. Later today, as the details of the former Apprentice host plan were not forthcoming, it became public that Trump’s Special Ambassador to Hollywood Jon Voight had put forth a Make Hollywood Great Again proposal based on tax incentives and more.
For most of Sunday and Monday, the word out of the Governor’s office was wait-and-see when it came to the specifics and impact of the often impulsive Trump’s tariff plans. At the same time, behind closed doors, it became clear Gov. Newsom wasn’t enjoying the waiting part of wait-and-see that much as events picked up steam back in DC.
On one level, this flurry of proposals to ills that have been festering in California and domestically for years is more posturing than problem solving. It’s going to take tremendous act of bipartisan political will to get a national tax incentive out of committee on Capitol Hill anytime soon and signed into law by Trump. And, tariffs are pretty much DOA once the lawsuits start flying fast and furiously. To that, take down the heat and the reality is somewhere between Netflix‘s Ted Sarandos sending out a note today to the streamer’s staff essentially telling them to stay cool, and Trump having a bargaining chip in his pocket for talks Tuesday with Hollywood North PM Mark Carney.
Still, ambitious two-term Democrat Newsom knows talking about tax incentives nationally hits all the right notes. Conveniently dovetailing into some of the notions offered this weekend to Trump at Mar-a-Lago by Oscar-winner Voight and his team, Newsom’s pitch of a national tax incentive for big screen and small screen production is clearly aimed to appeal to Trump’s bigger-is-better inclinations.
Of note, there were rumblings during last year’s bitter election that then Vice President and California native Kamala Harris would entertain a federal incentive program for the film and TV industry if elected. Also, Trump’s sworn foe, now Senator and former Burbank Congressman Adam Schiff said Monday that he is crafting his own federal incentive plan to help California TV and film industry workers. As much as it may play well with the GOP-leaning Teamsters, Trump may not want to be seen as inheriting ideas from the ex-VP and one of the Democrats who tried to impeach him.
However, insisting he had no desire “to hurt the industry,” Trump earlier today stated at a White House photo-op that he was going to meet with Timseltown executives over his tariffs trial balloon. Contacted Monday by Deadline, studios and streamers indicated they had heard nothing from the administration about any sit-down.
Instead, in a classic case of real politick in action, they may be getting calls and texts from Sacramento.
