Gov. Gavin Newsom (D-CA) met with actor Jon Voight, President Donald Trump‘s Hollywood ambassador, on Thursday to discuss ways to revitalize the state’s fizzling film industry.
Ideas included a combination of federal tax credits and state tax code changes that would incentivize production companies, which have increasingly been moving their operations to other states and overseas, to come back to California, Politico reported.
The pair also talked about Newsom’s push to double California’s film tax incentive, which was revealed in his revised May budget. Newsom, who spent much of his budget presentation blaming Trump for a $12 billion budget shortfall that led to tough cuts in the state’s healthcare services, carved out more than $750 million a year in tax credits for Hollywood. That’s more than double its current $330 million offer.
California’s film and TV tax credits were first instituted in 2009 by then-Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger to boost the industry. California’s tax credit was created in response to other states luring production companies away. As of 2024, 37 states had similar incentives. New York raised its incentives to $800 million a year from $700 million last month, while Georgia has an unlimited tax credit, which it proudly touts.
Newsom’s office reiterated Thursday that the tax credit expansion was a top priority for next year’s budget, which is entering its final negotiations before the June 15 deadline.
“The Governor is fully committed to this proposed $750 million investment in California’s film and television industry, which will protect good-paying jobs and support the workers who power the state’s creative economy,” Tara Gallegos, a spokeswoman for the governor, said.
Newsom, widely assumed to be running for the Democratic presidential ticket in 2028, initially said any big funding requests from Los Angeles would be denied due to the tremendous cost from the wildfires earlier this year, but he seemed to change his mind. When he rolled out his 2025-26 proposed budget, Newsom claimed the film and TV industry was “on life support” and that helping Hollywood would, in turn, help the state’s “economic recovery, economic growth.”
To be sure, Hollywood has suffered. The pandemic shut down production, writers went on strike, and attractive deals from other states and countries to bring production there have led to a drop-off in production in Los Angeles.
Still, the push to prop up the industry might be a tough pill to swallow for Californians, whose healthcare will be slashed under Newsom’s budget, despite a promise just a year ago to deliver “universal healthcare for all,” regardless of immigration status.
Voight, the father of Angelina Jolie and who starred in Midnight Cowboy, was chosen by Trump as a “special ambassador” to Hollywood. Vought’s business partner, Steven Paul, and producer Scott Karol were also at the Newsom meeting. All three have been meeting with studio executives, labor leaders, and Trump to pitch a plan to rescue Hollywood.
Voight’s ideas include harsh tariffs on producers who choose to make their movies abroad, though Politico reported that the tariffs were not discussed during his meeting with Newsom.
On May 4, Trump announced a 100% tariff on movies produced outside the country, saying the American movie industry was dying a “very fast death.”
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“This is a concerted effort by other Nations and, therefore, a National Security threat. It is, in addition to everything else, messaging and propaganda,” the president posted on Truth Social.
He added: “WE WANT MOVIES MADE IN AMERICA, AGAIN!”