Hollywood is a failing industry, and the writing has been on the wall for some time now.
The legacy film industry is chock-full of self-congratulatory and self-centered actors, directors, and producers who believe it’s their job to educate Americans in their woke worldview, not entertain us. They do this by preaching to us and making movies that try to evangelize the masses.
As a result, the American people, who are starving for good film entertainment, aren’t interested in wasting their money on woke, weak, or woefully bad movies. The less people go see movies, the less money there is to take risks on films that might actually be good.
This vicious cycle is slowly killing filmmaking in Hollywood.
Tinseltown’s situation has caught the attention of President Donald Trump, who asked Congress in late August to immediately create a tax incentive for film and television creators. Trump said the industry has gotten so strapped that talent is finding work overseas — despite Hollywood still being the most successful and influential film industry in the world.
Filmmaking is generally a massive financial undertaking, particularly through the major film studios based in California. The Golden State, under the “leadership” of Governor Gavin Newsom and the far-left Democrat legislature, is strangling them. But instead of forcing California to reckon with its inane policies that are driving out industries, Trump is calling for a subsidy.
This is both counterintuitive and counterproductive. It’s doubly foolish because Trump is proposing to fund an industry that is staffed almost exclusively by Democrats and that blackballs dissenters (just ask Gina Carano). Most of the people who populate Hollywood despise Republicans and ordinary Americans — Trump’s support for their industry won’t win them over.
Theirs are the very voices talking about how terrible capitalism is and how America isn’t great, and perhaps never was. Hollywood elites see their platform as a way to voice their political opinions and their imbecilic takes.
Actor Ryan Reynolds, of “Deadpool” fame, just said that America was in a time as bad as the 1980s because of the Cuban Missile Crisis. For those following at home, the Cuban Missile Crisis happened in 1962 under the presidency of John F. Kennedy. Reynolds is Canadian, but still, how embarrassing. He’s happy to throw the country that enriched him under the bus for the sake of politics. Just how much has Canada done for him with all its leftist policies?
Let’s just say that these people should stick to acting. They are the problem, or at least a very big part of it.
Yet Trump wants to give the Hollywood film studios a federal tax break. Worse, those tax breaks probably won’t benefit those he’s trying to reach — lower-level production workers and the like. The benefits will likely go to those at the top of the food chain, like CEOs and studio moguls.
Even Senator Adam “Impeach Trump” Schiff wholeheartedly agrees with the president here. Honestly, if the worst people in Congress are saying your idea is a good one, perhaps that’s a clue to reevaluate your position.
Hollywood also spoils everything it touches. Look what it did to Georgia — which led the nation in movie and television production just a couple of years ago. It was a red state that was turned purple after being overtaken by Hollywood types.
I also believe that federal government interference will stifle the innovation happening in the film industry. Creators no longer rely on studios or members of the actors’ and writers’ unions to make movies. They are filming less expensively on smartphones and then posting on streaming platforms. With artificial intelligence (AI) as a tool, those films could get even better.
Plus, independent creators have built audiences over years of interacting with them on social media. Film is evolving, and perhaps for the better. We may never get a chance to find out, however, if the federal government puts its thumb on the scales.
Perhaps the biggest question Trump needs to answer is how a subsidy for Hollywood would benefit the American people. It’s ostensibly about “saving” an all-American industry, but will it put food on the table? Make gas and houses more affordable? No.
Is there an angle we are just not seeing? Does the president know something we don’t? Is he trying to undermine Governor Newsom ahead of 2028? Perhaps.
The Wall Street Journal’s Kimberly A. Stassel said it best: “Mr. Trump has pledged to spend the final 30 days before the election stumping for the GOP. He can use those stops to reassure voters that Republicans will improve their day-to-day lives — or he can pledge to spend their money on Tinsel Town. Those messages don’t go together.”
Americans don’t care about propping up this dying industry. Hollywood has lost our business fair and square. The American people do care about the cost of living and sky-high interest rates. Perhaps the AI boom will dig us out of this hole, but only if Trump can stay on message and remember who he is talking to: We, the People.
