Because Canada is such a film-making superpower. 
Don’t get me wrong, I enjoy Canadian films. But there’s a reason so many Canadian actors, writers, directors and crew members go to Hollywood. It’s because, generally speaking, they can make a much better living at it there than here.
And some context as to why this is a problem and how big of a problem if realised:
One senior figure in the British creative sector said: “If it becomes real, it will be huge. It could possibly wipe out the British film industry and its crews … If it hits TV too then we might as well pack up and go home.”
Currently not clear how it’s supposed to work and affect productions:
Senior politicians are calling for Keir Starmer’s government to prioritise the UK film industry in US trade talks, though sources have already told the Guardian that a deal is a second-order priority for Trump.
“Any US tariffs on foreign-made films would harm not just British jobs and creativity but also the US studios and audiences who rely on our skilled workforce and production expertise. It is in everyone’s interest to protect this deep, highly successful partnership.”
Industry insiders said it was unclear how the tariffs would work in practice, and they would end up penalising US studios and cutting production and jobs as a result. Big studios are understood to be trying to seek clarity on the plans.
This would no doubt massively interfere with studios, producers and all kinds of talent in front and behind the camera. As it is obviously intended to.
If I had to make up my mind whether it’s a good idea to kick off a major, several hundred million dollar production right now…I probably wouldn’t.
Canada, mainly Vancouver, Toronto and Montreal are used by tons of Hollywood movies as cheaper locations doubling for New York etc.
Take away these incentives to lower the skyrocketing costs of filmmaking and Hollywood cannot produce anything but cheap reality shows.
Also, say goodbye to big budget productions filming overseas then.
Totally agree. But the reasoning inside the current regime seems to be to strike out with whatever - and if a single tv/cinema production gets cancelled because of the bizarre erratic behaviour of the regime they’ll claim it’s a win.
While watching the third season of THE WHITE LOTUS I see that about 95 per cent of the crew was local.
Look at your favourite shows and movies and find out how much of it was filmed outside of the US.
Then think about all of these films and shows not being financially feasible anymore under these tarrifs.
This is a devestating blow, dealt by someone who has no clue how and why production financing works.
Just think of productions currently underway. They’ve all got their intricately calculated finances - which might turn into confetti at the stroke of a pencil.
And some analysis:
The current thinking is that Trump’s most realistic option is to levy a tariff on any financial packages a film receives from a foreign government, rather than tax cinema tickets or streaming subscriptions. However, the effect of any tariff is likely to be dramatic. Recent figures from the British Film Institute (BFI) show that in 2024 £4.8bn($6.37bn) of production spend on film and high-end TV in the UK came from international sources, 86% of the total spent on film and TV made in Britain. In Australia, the film industry stands to lose up to AUS$767m.
Wonder if that might possibly affect a certain franchise…?
Bezos is the one who should now call and ask for a withdrawal, having sold his soul to him thinking he can get something in return.
Of course, after last week‘s cowardly rollback of Amazon making additional costs due to tarrifs visible, Bezos will not even dare.
So, Bond and green screen Mi6, then taking place in the US, or maybe just becoming a US citizen anyway.
Yeehaw!
Problem is, that hasn‘t stopped him so far with anything.
We hear this for over 100 days now: ‘no authority’. But the simple fact is, as long as no court order actually stops anything, as long as the Supreme Court doesn’t act, or act fast enough, to hinder anything…so long the regime has power and authority to do as it pleases.
Whatever constitutional institutions don’t prevent they enable.
And for people asking themselves why this is a thing at all:
Of course, movies shot in the US aren’t required to head for an Atlanta parking lot, use green-screens for exteriors, or to shoot Albany for Manhattan. There are, indeed, plenty of opportunities for visually spectacular location shoots in the United States. But shooting in other countries isn’t (always) just a matter of (only) saving money. After all, the last couple of Mission: Impossible and James Bond movies shot all over the world, and were mind-bogglingly expensive. These movies follow the rich tradition of giving audiences a look at landscapes and cities that they may not be able to visit themselves – at least not all of them, and certainly not in the span of two or three hours. Part of the reason that movies like No Time to Die or Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning feel more “real” than the average streaming action picture (which also, after all, tend to feature spies, action, big stars and so forth) is that they take place in a physical world that’s both recognizable and, to people around the world, exotic in its reach and diversity.
I’m sure most seasoned CBners will know about the value of location footage, will know what it means to have a backdrop like Siena for a chase sequence (or how disappointing a chase in Rome can turn out in the finished product). But this is exactly the kind of quality production standard that would disappear with a green-screen diet.
So, free trade, open markets, no regulations… but only if it goes one way?
If a government wants to help an industry, why not make the situation for that industry easier, more affordable, in short better?
This is just destructive, and the ripple effect destroys the industry around the world, too.
It really is such a bitter and sad irony that the Bond films, after the MGM sale, were supposed to be in a better situation.
Now I think EON did the right thing: getting out while it still was profitable.
If this actually comes to pass - which is still not a given, regardless of the grandstanding sound bites - it’s certainly putting everything up in the air and all bets would be off again. Frankly, I cannot say either way, and the finance and tax tribes are usually the ones having an idea about shapes and outcomes before many others.
Not so right now. 
So we have Jon Voight to thank for putting an insane idea into this guy…
And as for the „he does not have the authority“-argument, here is what Mechanic closes on:
„Let’s hope it dies a natural death and that someone in the industry shows the courage to challenge the decree in court.“
The courage. Who will have it?
This is it, exactly.
Perhaps this new breed of authoritarian libertarians will insist that productions hire a Musk figure to strip out waste. (But it’s only ‘nanny state’ when the other side does it.)
I mean…I guess we’re good???
Can’t make it up.
We‘re not good.