On the heels of US President Donald Trump floating the idea of imposing 100% tariffs on films made abroad, more details have emerged about a broader plan that the administration might be considering as a measure to boost the US film industry.

Veteran actor Jon Voight (who was chosen by the president to serve as a special ambassador to Hollywood, alongside Mel Gibson and Sylvester Stallone) submitted a number of proposals over the weekend in a now-leaked draft plan called “Make Hollywood Great Again” that was first published by Deadline. 

Trump’s hastily announced film tariffs only reflected one aspect of this document, which was crafted with Voight’s special adviser Steven Paul and SP Media Group/Atlas Comics president Scott Karol. And in fact, Voight proposes a higher 120% tariff—but only on the budget portion covered by a foreign production incentive.

But by far the biggest flex in the plan is a recommendation that producers should retain rights and own their productions, which can be achieved by blocking streamers from securing 100% rights to projects they finance in what Voight describes as “draconian licensing terms”.

The draft makes a case for restoring the financial interest and syndication rules (commonly known as “fin-syn”) that were introduced by the Federal Communications Commission in 1970 and then later axed in the ’90s. Fin-syn prevented networks from owning their prime-time programming—a restriction that Voight wants to bring back, along with a number of other rules that could significantly benefit indie producers and studios. He argues that streamers should pay a minimum guaranteed premium based on a certain percentage of the total production cost across a certain period (25% for a five-year exclusive license, for instance), and that producers should be able to co-finance and co-own the rights in unlicensed territories when the deal doesn’t involve full global rights.

Additionally, Voight’s plan proposes a 10% federal tax incentive for all domestic TV series and movie productions, on top of existing state incentives (with states that don’t have incentives receiving a 20% federal credit instead). And he’s also in favor of implementing a requirement that 75% of production must take place in the US, and that projects must meet a minimum threshold American “cultural test” in order to qualify (similar to one established by the UK Film Council).

While Voight’s plan is only a collection of suggestions for now, they have certainly gotten the industry talking about the potentially huge ripple effects they could have on US studios and streaming companies. Following Trump’s film tariff announcement on Sunday, White House spokesman Kush Desai clarified that nothing has been set in stone yet. “Although no final decisions on foreign film tariffs have been made, the administration is exploring all options to deliver on President Trump’s directive to safeguard our country’s national and economic security while Making Hollywood Great Again.” 

Image courtesy of Nathan DeFiesta/Unsplash