Actor Jon Voight Turns In His Plan To Save Hollywood

Actor Jon Voight, who was named by President Donald Trump as a “special ambassador to Hollywood” alongside Mel Gibson and Sylvester Stallone, has revealed a detailed plan to bolster film and TV production in America.

The Big Picture: President Trump threw Hollywood into a tizzy Sunday night when he announced a 100% tariff on all movies and shows filmed outside the US. While he quickly walked that directive back, it came on the heels of Voight presenting him with the plan. Now that Trump says he plans to meet with studio and union heads about a domestic-filming initiative, the Voight plan could play an outsized role in the discussions.

Behind the Scenes: Voight, alongside special adviser Steven Paul and SP Media Group/Atlas Comics President Scott Karol, developed the “Make Hollywood Great Again” plan after sitting down with leaders across the entertainment industry.

Here are some recommendations from the document:

• A 10% federal tax credit would be added to states that already have an incentive (like California, New York, and Georgia), while a 20% tax credit would be allocated to states with no incentive in place.
• Projects that hope to qualify for a tax incentive are subject to an “American cultural test,” similar to the one in the UK.
• A 120% tariff would be imposed on any production that shoots internationally when it could have been filmed in the US (so, not a globetrotting Mission: Impossible movie) and receives tax credits from another country.
• More ownership rights would be put in the hands of producers by re-establishing the Financial Interest and Syndication Rule and overhauling the “draconian licensing terms” imposed by streamers.

The Future: Karol said that “this plan is about leveling the playing field so that producing right here in America is not only a competitive option but the first choice.” That’s an ambition already being looked at positively by crew unions like IATSE and the Teamsters, especially as US-based production has plummeted over the past decade, especially in California.

If — and it’s a big if — the plan allows more movies to be produced in the US at the same cost as in production hubs like Canada and Australia, it could mark one of the few times that Hollywood and the current White House administration see eye to eye. That kind of alignment could remake the entire global film and TV production pipeline.