President Trump seems to think massive tariffs on foreign-produced films are the answer to helping keep productions — and American jobs — in the U.S.
But the heads of several top Hollywood studios, speaking on a panel Wednesday at the 2025 Milken Institute Global Conference in Beverly Hills, said the more urgent issue is keeping productions in California and for the state to reform how it offers film and TV incentives.
“It’s a big issue, obviously,” said Ravi Ahuja, president and CEO, Sony Pictures Entertainment. “I think in terms of productions leaving [the U.S.], it’s almost more a California issue, honestly, than a U.S. issue. So while it’s true a lot of production has left the United States, it’s even worse for California.”
He said industry reps, including at Sony Pictures, are working with the California state government on developing legislation that will help. The issue is of course primarily economics, Ahuja said: If incentives are stronger in the U.S. than elsewhere, studios will shoot in the States. “I think what’s often forgotten in our business is, the margins are pretty modest” – about 10% for any studio. “So it’s not a business that relies on an enormous well of profit,” Ahuja said. “And producers will tend to locate in the place that’s efficient, so the more we can make the U.S. more efficient, the better.”
Casey Bloys, chairman and CEO, HBO and Max Content, agreed that it’s a “big California issue,” mentioning that Max’s “Hacks” shoots in L.A.
“The issue becomes, when you’re trying to plan, because [California incentives are] capped, you have to get into a lottery and you’re not sure if your show is going to get the tax break or not,” Bloys said. “When you’re looking at that vs. Atlanta vs. Canada, and the others [have] guaranteed the incentive. If California could address that, that would make a big different. The entertainment industry is based here. There’s a lot of infrastructure here, but the uncertainty around that incentive has been problematic to plan.”
Mike Hopkins, head of Prime Video and Amazon MGM Studios, said the company would prefer to produce its films and shows in California. But he agreed that having the state guarantee incentives will help. He said there may be a misconception that such economic incentives go toward writing big stars’ paychecks, rather than to production personnel. “It’s not that we’re taking money and giving to Tom Cruise or somebody,” Hopkins said, noting that above-the-line talent “will get the fee wherever they go.”
Pearlena Igbokwe, chairman, Television Studios, NBC Entertainment and Peacock Scripted, agreed with the other panelists’ comments. “It’s not as if we wake up to say, ‘Oh, I’d love to go to Budapest today,’” she said.
“Our objective is always, you want to give the producers, the writers, the storytellers whatever resources they need to make and tell the stories they want,” Igbokwe said. “And that includes location, if the story requires it, and it includes resources, because you want all the money as much as you can to end up on screen. And that may or may not mean you can afford it locally” in California.
Debora Cahn, creator and writer of “The Diplomat,” which has been in production on Season 3, said the talent pool in L.A. is “unmatched.” But she said, “We are going to overseas because we have a show set in London, and we want castles and palaces — and we don’t have enough of them here.” (To which Hopkins quipped, “Build more castles!”)
“The facilities here, and the talent pool here [in Los Angeles], remains unmatched,” Cahn said. Outside of Hollywood, “you still don’t get the kind of designers, crews, craftspeople, that you do here… This is always my first choice. But if you need Buckingham Palace, you gotta go there.”
After Trump floated his idea of imposing a 100% tariff on foreign movie productions, California Gov. Gavin Newsom said Monday he wants to collaborate with the president to create a $7.5 billion federal tax incentive to help the film industry.
The panel, “Storytelling, Strategy, and Innovation: Shaping the Future of Filmed Entertainment,” was moderated by CNBC correspondent Julia Boorstin.