When Uncle Sam becomes the villain of the movie
It seems that Donald Trump decided that his next role after the presidency would be that of “the guy who ruined your international movie marathon on Netflix”. The former president announced with great fanfare (or rather with a Truth Social thread written in capital letters, as if he had won an Oscar for drama) a 100% tariff on all foreign films that reach Hollywood. Yes, you read that right: double. As if it were the price of avocado at a hipster brunch.
The justification: a script full of holes
“The American film industry is dying quickly,” Trump declared, blatantly ignoring that Deadpool & Wolverine has just broken box office records. According to him, other countries are like the Joker seducing studios with tax incentives (that is, what he himself did with his hotels, but that’s another story). The funny thing is that their solution is not to compete with better films, but to put up a tariff wall. Next step? Charging Tom Cruise to jump off a building in London.
Among the collateral victims would be gems like Flow (a Latvian animation that no one saw but sounds cultured) or the Brazilian drama I’m Still Here (which won the Oscar, but Trump probably confused it with a soap opera). And not to mention franchises like Mission Impossible or Avengers, which will now have to add an extra credit: “Filmed in South Africa, Norway and… the wrath of the former president.”.
The “ambassadors” of the absurd
To save Hollywood from its “devastation” (read: they no longer just make superhero movies), Trump recruited his dream team: Sylvester Stallone, Mel Gibson and Jon Voight. In other words, three actors whose relevance in today’s cinema is comparable to a folding phone. Voight even had a “secret meeting” with Trump to revive the industry, which sounds like the plot of a ’90s direct-to-DVD movie.
The irony is that, in 2023, 3 of the 5 highest-grossing films in Hollywood (Deadpool & Wolverine, Wicked and Moana 2) were filmed outside the US. But of course, why talk about data when you can blame “other countries that play dirty”? Spoiler: China is already preparing its counterattack with tariffs on Fast & Furious 12.
The final result? The studios will probably continue filming in Canada (as always), Trump will tweet angrier than a Zack Snyder fan, and we will pay more to see European indie films. The end.
Did it outrage you or make you laugh? Share this political-cinematic drama on your networks and continue exploring how politics always ends up stealing the spotlight. 🍿
Note to self: If this is a strategy to get Marvel to stop making movies, maybe it’s not so bad…




