On May 4, local time, US President Donald Trump suddenly announced his intention to impose a 100% tariff on films not shot or produced in the United States. Although this policy is indeed the same as Trump's recent series of tariffs that he has been imagining, it was actually planned by someone else. On May 5, when Hollywood companies were shocked and their stock prices fell, the "master" behind them took the initiative to stand up. He was none other than Jon Voight, one of the three "Hollywood ambassadors" appointed by Trump.
Jon Voight and Trump
It turns out that last weekend, Jon Voight and his agent, producer Steven Paul, met with Trump at Mar-a-Lago and submitted a "comprehensive plan" on "how to boost domestic film production in the United States." According to Steven Paul's company SP Global Media, the proposal includes "federal tax incentives, major changes to multiple tax regulations, co-production agreements with foreign countries, and infrastructure subsidies for theater owners, film and television production companies, and post-production companies"; as well as "imposing tariffs in certain limited circumstances and focusing on job training."
The industry generally believes that it was this phrase "imposing tariffs in certain limited circumstances" that inspired Trump to announce the new policy of "100% tariffs." So, who is this Jon Voight?
The younger generation of viewers may be accustomed to calling him "Angelina Jolie's dad," even though the relationship between the father and daughter was once very tense and their political positions were diametrically opposed.
Jon Voight and daughter Angelina Jolie
Older audiences mostly know him from the classic film Midnight Cowboy. With this restricted film, the only one in Oscar history to win the Best Picture Award, Voight received his first Oscar nomination in his acting career.
Jon Voight in Midnight Cowboy
Now 86 years old, he has won both the Best Actor Award at the Cannes Film Festival and the Best Actor Oscar for his role as a Vietnam War veteran in the film "Coming Home". Later, he was nominated for the Best Actor and Best Supporting Actor Oscars for "Runaway Train" and "Ali" respectively.
On screen, Jon Voight often plays tough roles; off screen, he is one of the few staunch supporters of the Republican Party and Trump in Hollywood. Compared with Mel Gibson and Sylvester Stallone, the two "Hollywood ambassadors", Jon Voight is closer to Trump. He has not only supported him in many election campaigns, but also met with him in private.
However, in Hollywood, where the Democratic Party is the majority, this does not seem to have affected Jon Voight's acting career. Last year, when Zachary Levi, who also supports the Republican Party, criticized Hollywood for suppressing actors who support the Republican Party, Whoopi Goldberg used Jon Voight's career as an example to refute this statement on his show "The View".
At the last Golden Raspberry Awards, Jon Voight won the Worst Supporting Actor award for four films, "Metropolis," "Reagan," "Shadowland," and "The Stranger." This not only reflects that his acting skills are no longer as good as they used to be, but also proves his high productivity.
Jon Voight won the Golden Raspberry Award for Worst Supporting Actor for four films including "Reagan".
The proposal Jon Voight has made for Trump this time could cause huge losses to Hollywood companies, and the impact is definitely not comparable to his past campaign for Trump. It is doubtful whether he will have the opportunity to star in four movies a year in the future.
"The President loves the entertainment industry, he loves this country, and he will help us make Hollywood great again. We look forward to working with the administration, unions, studios, and streaming companies on a plan to keep our industry healthy and bring more productions back to the United States," Jon Voight said in a statement released on May 5. "Through smart incentives, updated policies, and much-needed support, we can ensure American production companies thrive, keep more jobs at home, and make Hollywood lead the world in creativity and innovation again."
Due to the uproar caused by the new tariff policy against Hollywood, Trump and the White House have begun to find ways to "put out the fire". On May 5, Trump said that he would ask Hollywood companies to see if they were "satisfied" with his proposal to impose a 100% tariff on foreign-made films. "I don't want to hurt the industry, I want to help it," Trump told reporters at the White House. White House spokesman Kush Desai also made it clear that "the policy on imposing tariffs on foreign-made films has not yet been finalized."
On the other hand, the loss of the domestic film and television production industry in the United States is also an indisputable fact. According to statistics from ProdPro, a company that has long been engaged in information collection and data tracking in the US film and television industry, there were 466 film and television projects produced in the United States with a budget of US$10 million or more in 2021, which dropped to 304 in 2024; while such projects produced in other countries increased from 420 in 2021 to 489 in 2024.
"In our survey of studio executives on their top filming locations for 2025-2026, none of the top five were in the United States," ProdPro said. "The United States is declining in both project volume and market share, suggesting that production is shifting to countries with favorable incentives, such as Australia and New Zealand."
Therefore, after Trump's new tariff policy was announced, although Hollywood production companies opposed it, there were also some who applauded and welcomed it. For example, the Screen Actors Guild said it "supports efforts to increase film, television and streaming production in the United States" and will "advocate policies that help enhance competitiveness, promote economic growth, and create high-quality middle-class jobs for American workers."
