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Host Cole McCormick dives into the surprising news of Donald Trump's proposed tariffs on foreign-made movies, a move that could significantly impact Hollywood and the global film industry. Cole discusses the implications of a 100% tariff on films produced outside the United States, questioning how this could affect major studios like Disney and Warner Brothers, which often film internationally to take advantage of tax incentives. He reflects on the potential for this policy to revitalize American filmmaking by encouraging more domestic production, while also considering the challenges and economic pressures that have driven studios to seek cheaper production locations abroad.

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Trump is tariffing Hollywood?   What's up, everyone? It's America Plus. I'm your host, Cole McCormick. It's another week. Another episode. What's going on, everybody? Happy to be here. It's a wonderful week to be alive, folks.   It's Sunday,   May 4. May the fourth be with you. 05:35 in the PM, guys.   What a beautiful time to be alive. Okay. So I'm coming at you   with insane energy right now, y'all. I just finished editing a video for my side gig. I'm feeling good with that. I accomplished something. I had some potatoes.   I baked some potato. I'm feeling like I'm feeling energized, dude. I'm feeling great.  

And then   before I go on, so the plan   the the the plan was to always talk about movies this week because I saw a couple movies. And I wanted to, like, talk about how, like, the movies are coming back. The like, movies are doing pretty good right now. We got an original movie making a lot of money. We got a Marvel movie that's actually really good.   And,   all of a sudden,   we got Trump   pulling out the the the big thing, dude. Like, look at this right now, dude.   Donald j Trump has come out with the one of the most insane things that has ever come out of,   yeah, one of the most insane things that he's ever tweeted,   about. Check this out.  

We have to talk about this,   new Hollywood tariffs.   The movie and and this was this was tweeted,   like, forty minutes an hour ago.   The movie industry in America is dying a very fast death.   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 USA   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   %   tariff on any and all   movies coming into our country   that are produced in foreign lands.  

We want movies made in America.   Holy jonoles,   dude. What is going on here, man?   That's crazy.   That's an insane thing.   So right off the bat, does this mean   that   Disney movies that are made in London are being tariffed?   Does this mean any movie   like, if there's an Australian filmmaker   and they somehow make a deal with an American   distributor,   there's gonna be a tariff on that?   That's   wild, dude. Okay. So Department of Commerce, that's Lutnick. And then he's also saying   the trade representative. I don't know who that is right now. This is a this is a really big deal, and this is coming off of the backs of   of a phenomenal last two weeks within the movie theaters.  

If you haven't seen the movies yet, I would recommend to go see Sinners. That came out a couple days ago or a couple weeks ago. And then I just saw Thunderbolts last night, which was freaking   legit. Okay?   I know for a fact that Sinners was made in America.   I don't think they went to any other foreign country. They definitely didn't go to Canada. They definitely definitely did not go to The UK or anywhere or Australia.   A lot of movies that takes place in, like, deserts, they sometimes film in Australia.   But Sinner's filmed in, like, Mississippi and Atlanta   and California, I think. And then yeah. And then,   Thunderbolts, they filmed in Atlanta and The UK, I believe,   and then a little bit in Utah.  

And so this goes into this broader conversation   of   Hollywood quote unquote dying,   and other countries and states creating more tax incentives for productions to go there and to create movies.   This is a big deal because if it comes to Disney,   who is currently filming the new Avengers movies back to back in London,   they're filming in London because of the tax incentives.   When you film a movie in London, you are getting,   I believe it's 25%   of your budget back through   through tax incentives,   which is a really big deal, dude.   Really, really big deal.  

And how do how does America combat that? How do we how do we do anything to combat that?   I guess we can tear off the movie. A 100%   tariff.   So   that's also pretty insane. So does that mean so Avengers movies okay. Let's just take Endgame for an example.   Avengers Endgame costs, like, over   $390,000,000   to make. Right? That's, like, the that that's the reported number.   If you have to get a 100%   tariff on that, that's gonna be almost that's, like, $700,000,000.   Almost dude, that's almost 800,000,000. That's almost a billion dollars.   Dude.  

And that and these numbers are barely   they're barely reported. Like, they always, like, downsize   the numbers for some reason. I know that for a fact. All, like, the all the Hollywood Accounting stuff, like, that's all fake, dude. That's all fake shit.   And so Disney might be spending more money   on that.   So Disney might be paying   double   to per to release the movie, to release Avengers in America.   That's   crazy, dude.   That's   nuts. And I think I'm the first one to talk about this right now. I'm the only podcaster   on on on the air right now, which is pretty pretty exciting.  

What does this mean for me? What does this mean for you as, like, the viewers, as the moviegoers?   What this means is that they're   at least, like, from Trump's perspective, I think he wants to make   more incentives for movies to be made in America. You know, he he says it right here. We want movies made in America again.   You know, like, every time you do any research about Hollywood and movies,   the whole thing was about, like, how incredible   California is, and how diverse   the landscape is, and how,   the innovators within America were trying to, like, run away from people who were, like,   stifling them, you know. A part of the big reason why Hollywood   came to, why movies came to California is because of, Thomas Edison. Thomas Edison, the inventor, he had this insane,   clinch on what type of projectors you could use and   and   and all the equipment. And so if but if they if people, like, moved away, if they moved west enough,   they went out of the jurisdiction   of those   of those, patents. And then so they were able to build a new industry with new equipment and and new things, new patents,   new contracts.  

And right now,   we're seeing people   go away for somewhat similar reasons. You know? California, you know, that's it's just so expensive to make a movie in California.   We got clips of Rob Lowe   and, and his costar from   what is his name? Adam something?   His costar from Parks and Recreation,   talking about how, like, it's a lot less expensive to make something in Budapest   than it is to film it on the Fox studio lot   in in LA. It's cheaper. Like, it so everyone lives in LA,   and it's cheaper to move everyone to a foreign country to film the thing than it is to stay   and film their thing.  

That is the situation we're in. And we've seen some aspects of people going to Atlanta,   people going to New Jersey, people going to New Mexico. You know, famously, Breaking Bad was filmed in New Mexico, not because of,   you know, artistic reasons. You know, maybe they wanted to use the desert, and New Mexico just has a nice desert. But, like,   realistically,   Breaking Bad was filmed in New Mexico because of taxes.   And so   you got a good amount of states   that are doing their best to to compete with California, and they've been beating California.   And just, last week,   California,   is about to pass a new bill to raise   the tax incentive,   to to raise the the tax breaks,   on   on Hollywood. And that's gonna be a total of, like, $750,000,000,   I believe, if my memory is correct.  

And   we'll see how that works out. I mean, it just depends on how much these movies are being made for   and   and how many movies are being made in general.   When it comes to, like okay. So the biggest studio, right, is Disney. The biggest studio is Disney. And that's in terms of, like, money. That's in terms of IP. Like, they have the most, and they make the most.   Okay?   And so they wanna get the best bang for their buck.   And the only things that Disney films are, like, their shitty TV shows that they film in, like, six months.   Like, the they only film the TV shows that nobody watches, dude. Like, the shitty Disney Channel movies filmed in California,   The terrible   whatever shows on Disney plus. They've they might they most likely film on in California.  

But if it's Marvel, and if it's, like, a real movie, and if it's, if it's anything big, you know,   they're going somewhere else.   Back in the day now Tom Cruise still does this, but back in the day,   you used to go to a different country to film a movie because you wanted the environment,   because you wanted a certain geography,   because you wanted a certain architecture,   and you wanted that to be in the film. You wanted to give your film a certain type of accent.   You know?   But now it's all just money. Now it's all just contracts.   So things are getting really tight. Things are getting really, like, Hollywood's being pushed into a corner, dude. And that's a pretty big deal. That's a pretty big deal.  

I, for one, I would like more movies to be filmed in America, because what that means for me is, as a person who wants to make movies, I've made a couple short films, I've shared a short film on one of these streams before.   You know, I made the short films for free with my friends, but   the goal has always to been to make movies. You know? And now, I'm in a place where I'm sort of, like, trying to reorganize myself and reorganize my artistic stuff   of, like, what am I really aiming for?   You know, because as the years have gone on, I moved out, to to LA in 2017, and I have personally seen   Hollywood crumbling.  

I have seen this industry   just decrease in numbers.   And it's been really surreal, you know. So I got,   I got out here in 2017.   I got hired at Warner Brothers Studios as a tour guide.   And that's me actually working on the lot,   and I actually worked on a television show. I was, I was able to to work on the Conan O'Brien show, which was an incredible experience.   And,   so I would go back and forth between, like, giving a tour and then working on Conan. Right?   And   late, in, like, 2039,   like, it things were just getting, like, less. Like, there were less productions going on. When I first got hired, there seemed to be a good amount of productions going on.   And, you know, of course, like, COVID sped everything up, and,   people were looking for people were trying to save money. People were trying to go to where the restrictions,   were less.  

And California had really heavy restrictions during COVID. And so they would wanna film in Arizona. They would wanna film in New Mexico, in Texas,   in Oklahoma, where these thing where in Atlanta. Like, the only reason there is any Marvel movies made during the pandemic is because they filmed in Atlanta, and Atlanta had,   less strict COVID policies.   And then it it was up to the individual   production company to institute extra, you know. It was one of those things. But, ultimately,   nobody was filming in California   specifically   because   of of the COVID restrictions   and the cost   to,   to   to align yourself with those restrictions.  

So many people I know a few people who were on set, and they were COVID monitors. That was their position, COVID monitor.   And they got paid,   but then that position ended as soon as the restrictions were lifted.   And,   no one else got hired for anything for any other position,   and   people were just trying to survive, you know.   People that were filming during COVID, they were doing their best to just, like, finish the thing.   You know, it wasn't like they wanted to be there. They were just trying to finish the thing,   which is so crazy.  

And so California definitely shot themselves in the foot,   during that era because people just, like, were looking for better deals. And then during that same time,   other states and other countries saw that opportunity and and said, well, hey. You know, like, we don't have as heavy restrictions here, and we're actually like, we just passed a brand new tax incentive. So how about you come over here?   Which is a really big deal.   If you could save   25%   of your budget,   if and all you had to do was just go to a different area,   dude, a lot of people are taking that deal.  

A lot of people.   And we're seeing that in the normal businesses, you know. We're seeing that in, whatever   other businesses are leaving California. You know? Tesla is, like, the biggest example.   A lot of tech is moving away from California   into Texas, into Austin,   into Arizona.   People it's California is just way too expensive.   You need to raise everyone's,   salaries,   and then you need to just pay more for whatever else you're doing. It's not just about the salaries.   It's about the environment that is the production because you have to feed everyone. You know? So food is more expensive in California.   It's less expensive   in other places. And so you're saving money on many, many areas   of the entire   system of how to make a movie, you know.  

And this is a big deal. So as I read this right now, as I read this this announcement,   I agree with Trump that Hollywood is dying. The movie industry in America is dying.   I don't know how tariffing   100%   of the   of the money. I mean, the way I'm reading it right now, like, the amount of money that's being spent on a movie, it   100%   of that will be an extra tax to bring that movie into America,   which is a huge deal. I don't know how that's gonna happen.   I imagine Disney's gonna have to make a deal.   Bob Iger's gonna have to do something pretty pretty drastically right now.   So we'll see what's going on.  

We'll see how that works out.   But I don't know how else to talk about that, man. Like, that's such a   that's a really big deal.   Whoever who who are the other CEOs? Like, there's not a lot of other CEOs that have as much   sway as Bob Iger. Like, Bob Iger.   But okay. So for   Disney again, dude. Bob Iger is in this insane position,   CEO of Disney. He first of all, he's trying to save Disney because it was like, because that shit's crumbling too, the whole brand and everything. And now he's gonna have to negotiate with Trump   on tariffs?  

Like, what? Can you imagine being 70 years old, and you're gonna have to   beg the president to not tax your movie 100%?   That's insane.   That's really insane.   David Sasloff, I'm thinking about the CEO of Warner Brothers right now. They make their movies. Okay. So let let me just talk about the movies that that I saw this past week. So Sinners   was a Warner Brothers movie directed by Ryan Coogler.   This movie is incredible. This movie is awesome. This movie filmed   in The United States Of America.   And so   I'm leaning into saying sinners is, like, a goddamn great American   masterpiece, dude. Sinners   is an American   masterpiece, dude. Like, that's for real, dude. Shout out to Ryan Coogler.  

Ryan Coogler's legit, dude.   Sinners was amazing.   Go see sinners.   Go see sinners right now.   Sinners is worth worth your money. Okay? So but between sinners and and the new Marvel movie, Thunderbolts,   they're both worth your money,   but I'm going to tell you to go see sinners. That is the real recommendation.   It's nineteen thirties.   There's a twist. It's bloody. It's a little spooky.   And   it's   it's just really well made.   Really, really well made. I don't wanna spoil anything.   I think the trailer sort of gives it away. There's some interdimensional   stuff going on,   with Michael b Jordan and Hailee Steinfeld. But   ultimately, man, it's just a good old fashioned movie, man. Like, when I was sitting in the theater, I saw it in IMAX. I was able I'm I'm privileged enough to see   to see films on film, on 70 millimeter film in the IMAX at at Universal Studios.  

That's an that's an experience I love to have. I saw that. I saw Tenet there. I saw Interstellar there,   when they re released it. I saw what else did I see there? What else was it released on? Oh,   Oppenheimer, when Oppenheimer was released on on '70 millimeter.   This type of IMAX,   film experience   is so special. And to see sinners,   to see   not just a re release, not just a Nolan movie, but a new   original film   from a young director.   You know, Ryan Coogler, he he did, the Creed movie,   Creed. He did the first, two Black Panther movies, and I think he's about to make the third one soon.   Very talented guy. Very talented. He like, he just   his movies have strong ideals   and, like, strong morals   and strong messages.  

And a lot of his films have centered around,   ancestors   and the morality   around   honoring your ancestors   and how you engage with with them, and how you move forward.   And it's just an interesting   that's a very interesting thing.   The way he's gone about these things   is very good.   Very, very good.   So go see Sinners.   That's a great American film.   And,   Thunderbolts is good too, man. But if you want the Marvel experience, go see Thunderbolts.   It's entertaining. You know, if you like Marvel, you're gonna   love Thunderbolts.   But if you're not that into Marvel, if you don't really care,   like, it's good, but, like, go see Sinners. You know, that that's what I'm saying.  

That's what I'm   saying. So we'll see   how that all works out, dude. Like, that's incredible. Right?   You know, Trump's been going on a wild tariff rampage, and he he's making deals with all these different countries. He's trying to reorganize   the economic structure, Earth's   economic structure. That's what Trump is doing.   And, you know, Hollywood is a part of that.   To my memory, there's a movie that came out last year with Dev Patel. He's an Indian guy.   It's like a John Wick   movie, but it's Dev Patel. It's like an Indian version of John Wick.   And, that was filmed in in in India.  

And one of the biggest,   or at least, I'm not sure if it was filmed in India, but it was about, like, people from India.   And Hollywood wants to make a whole huge deal about making movies about other cultures   and doing all these things.   And they're they really have been ignoring American culture.   They really have been ignoring,   like like, the domestic side of things,   you know. I think one of the issues with Hollywood is that   it's gotten too global, you know. As the economy   has become globalized,   it seems as though our entertainment   has also been globalized.  

Not just in the way that it's been made,   but in the way that the stories are crafted.   And that's something that I don't fully agree with, you know. It's something that I can,   I'm empathetic to.   I'm empathetic to the idea that we should represent other cultures with our films.   If America is this is the biggest guy putting out the best in the biggest movies,   then maybe America has a responsibility   to shine a light on other cultures.   That's something I can agree with.   But at the same time,   it's just not equal. Like, it's not an even balance. Like, Hollywood has all these morals, but they don't really believe in anything.   You know?  

Hollywood who said that in La La Land? Ryan Gosling said that in La La Land. Like, LA is a place where   Hollywood worships everything but believes in nothing.   Like, that's a real fucking statement, dude. That's a real statement. So we'll see how Hollywood responds to this. I would imagine,   Hollywood doesn't wanna respond or they they it's they're sort of caught in between   these things of hating Donald Trump, but also trying to work with Trump,   which is low key amazing.   Trump could just, like, ignore this industry.   He could just let the industry die and just let movies be made somewhere else, but he's actually sticking his neck out   to an industry that actually hates him.  

Hollywood   actually hates Trump.   And   it it Hollywood dying, like, quote unquote dying is one of these things. It's like it's like an unspoken   truth.   There's conversations about, like, whenever a celebrity makes a movie for Netflix. Right? Netflix has been,   very outwardly against putting movies in movie theaters.   Netflix's position is that the future of movies and entertainment is in your home.   And, you know, classic Hollywood, classic studios, actors who have been around for decades,   every actor pretty much, you know, the movie theater is really important to them. And yet, there's so much work with Netflix,   and that shit's not in the movie theater.  

And then they try to make a movie for the movie theater, and it doesn't do very well.   And it doesn't do very well, but they the only way they can make that movie is if they went somewhere else, is if they went to a different state, if they went to a different country.   You know?   And so I would love for there to be a marketplace where different states are competing   to make movies because maybe Hollywood shouldn't be centralized.   Maybe Hollywood should be a bit more decentralized.   You know, that sounds like a good idea to me.   What if we could just what if it was   as accessible to make a movie in your hometown, like a professional   movie, dude? What if it was accessible to make a professional movie   to be put in the movies, movie theaters   in your home state? You know, what if we didn't have to move?  

You know,   what would that look like?   Would that be a big deal? Would that would that hurt who would that really hurt, you know?   Because all that's changing is culture   in that in that example. Because, like, in in reality, what's changing is culture   and the economics.   And,   I think we gotta try to strengthen the domestic economics of how we make a movie so that there can actually be an American film industry. Because America is the place where the best art is produced.   Andy Warhol,   American.   You know what I mean? Steven Spielberg, American.   Ryan Coogler,   American.  

Who else? Who Denzel Washington,   American.   Who else do I wanna say? Charlie Chaplin? American.   Who else have we got here? Well, like,   Harrison Ford?   American. Like, these people are   quintessentially   American, and the world   loves him for that. This pioneering spirit, this artistic flare.   Good and bad. You know? Bill Cosby, American. Woody Allen, American. Kanye West, yay, American.   We make we have the best fucking artists.   We have the absolute   best. R. Kelly,   American. You know what I mean?   No one does it like America, man. No one does it. George motherfucking   Lucas,   American.  

It's May. May the fourth be with you, dude.   George Lucas   channeled   God   when he made Star Wars.   And   we're not supposed to think that the culture of America didn't influence that at all.   I think it did. Of course, everyone is their own individual, and we all have our own way of expressing ourselves, but I firmly believe your environment   also implies how you create within the world.   And America   is this.   They call it a a boiling pot. Right?   America is like a stew. America is like this, like, this melting pot.   And dude, it's up to you to make a good flavor or not. It's up to you to make a good a good dish.   You know? George Lucas made a made a great dish. Ryan Coogler made a good dish   using   the culture   of America.  

You know, that's incredible.   That's really incredible.   And I'm inspired by that. It's something that I wanna engage with, that I wanna do. That's why we're talking about it here on America Plus, dude. America Plus is about, like, contrarian innovation.   Trump is the ultimate contrarian.   Can he bring back Hollywood?   Can we can Hollywood make a deal with Donald Trump?   You know? What states   and I'm just, like, guessing here. I'm just sort of, like, talking out loud. What states are gonna step up and try to try to bring back   the Marvel movies? You know?  

The biggest Marvel movies are filmed in London. Star Wars movies are filmed in London.   Dune was filmed in I don't know where the fuck Dune is filmed. Not in America.   Not in America.   We gotta bring Dune to America.   We gotta bring Star Wars to America,   like, which is so crazy for me to think about.   I can't believe it's that that's just not the   case. You know? So so we need this.   Pray for America. Pray for Hollywood.   Pray for Hollywood. And what the the funny thing is that so Trump is making Hollywood work with him. You know? If Hollywood doesn't work with him,   then they really, like that's the side they picked, hon. They really picked the side of killing an American industry.  

They're turning themselves   into into Detroit.   That's what that's what happens if Hollywood doesn't work with Trump. But if they work with Trump,   then we have a chance.   America has a chance to to sustain   our greatness   as   as artistic   outputs.   You know?   That's what I wanna see. So   I'm praying that the studios make a deal with Trump. I'm praying that states make a deal with Trump. You know, that's, that's a big deal that needs to happen. That's a really big deal. So   tell me what you think, man. I would love to know what you I would love to know your thoughts.   That's pretty much all I got, dude.  

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