Hollywood collapsed as a film city – Finnish filmmaker plans to move to Mexico

Two Finnish film professionals assess what Donald Trump’s proposed tariffs on films shot outside the US could mean for Hollywood.

– Last year we shot the film in Arkansas. The year before, we shot *The Legend of David Crockett* in Tennessee near Nashville,” says Park at his home.

– Since then I’ve been travelling to other states and Europe, because it’s cheaper to shoot there.

Studios say that shooting films and TV programmes outside the US can reduce production costs by up to 30%. Universal Studios received nearly $120 million in tax breaks for filming the upcoming *Jurassic World: Rebirth* in the UK.

-The first season of the Wednesday series was filmed in Romania, even though the events are located on the east coast of the United States. New productions are also portrayed in Australia, New Zealand, South Africa and Hungary, the park lists.

Many states in the United States attract production to improve their own finances. Indeed, filming films in Hollywood has fallen by almost forty percent over the past ten years.

– I’ve made TV shows here. They are still being photographed in Hollywood because they are longer -term, and there are studios here, says Puisto.

Half of the savings have been spent

Hollywood’s importance in film production has also been reduced by corona pandemic, a monthly strike for screenwriters and actors in 2023, and the January Fires of the past year.

The park has not worked since last year.

– I’ve lived with my savings because I’m used to a freelancer to live. I have had to raise money three times from my pension savings account, which has now been fascinated. This is a pretty shocking situation.

In the United States, employees have to save themselves for their pension, even though the employer and the trade union often pay part of the pension. Freelance workers in non-unions have to save everything in addition to the national pension themselves.

-It seems that if I ever retire, I have to move to a cheaper country, even in Mexico, says a 62-year-old park.

It is expensive to live in Los Angeles, but also very expensive to photograph. According to the park, the shooting permit and insurance easily reach $ 1 million for a small half -hour period or short film.

– In some other states, you can shoot for free on the street, but here are accurately monitored.

Is it even possible to impose duties on products

The threat came after China announced that it would limit the number of American films on the ground due to the Customs War started by Trump.

Setting duties on services such as movies is not as easy as imposing import fees for physical products such as cars. The film may be cut or other post -production is made in different countries or in countries than where the film is filmed. It makes it difficult to determine the country of origin.

– I don’t know how it would work in practice. Customs would know billions of dollars, the park thinks.

– They would limit the creative freedom of filmmakers even more, especially since the film has become so international. The idea of \u200b\u200bcoming up is completely against it, ”says Sohrab.

Hollywood films produced more than $ 21 billion, which is why they are filmed in many different countries.

Sohrab depicted his first long film * Layers of Lies * in Finland and Iran. He could not imagine describing it anywhere else because of the story.

– By no means, because the entire artistic vision behind the film was to combine the culture of Finland and Iran. The richness of the entire culture would be watered if such films were not filmed in real environments.

Other countries may retaliate

Trump wrote in his Truth Social service service in early May that one hundred percent customs is necessary because \”Hollywood is threatened by destruction.\”

-As production decreases, how could this type of initiative help and bring back Hollywood Glamour? wonders Sohrab.

The leaders of the major studios, who held a crisis meeting in early May, are also wondering.

They are afraid that the film production model will change and production will decrease if customs are realized. In addition to traditional movie studios, they would be particularly affected by Netflix, a streaming service, with 75 % of which is international production.

There is also a risk that other countries may take revenge and set their own customs and taxes on American films.

Sohrab hopes to get out of Pälkäh as he is about to shoot the pilot of the * My Travel * documentary series in Puerto Rico.

– Let’s hope that Trump does not put 100 percent customs so I can show it in the United States. After all, you do not know how customs would apply to Puerto Rico. In the series, I go into the middle of the jungle to delve into consciousness through indigenous natural drugs and ceremonies.