Actors go behind-the-scenes on how Trump is making Hollywood great again
Two people who know all about the inner-workings of Hollywood’s iconic film and television industry are detailing the "very, very" difficult task President Donald Trump has to turn around La-La Land’s legacy.
"That's one of the things we export the most from our country is our culture. And that's the films and the things that we make," former "Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman" star Dean Cain said on "Fox & Friends Weekend" Sunday. "The fact that they've made it so difficult to be working in California is the biggest problem there," the actor said.
"It's just very, very difficult and sad to see so many jobs leaving there," industry producer and production manager Michael Miller chimed in.
Shortly before President Trump’s inauguration in January, he elected three special envoys – Jon Voight, Mel Gibson, and Sylvester Stallone – with the purpose of promoting business in Hollywood.
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"They will serve as Special Envoys to me for the purpose of bringing Hollywood, which has lost much business over the last four years to Foreign Countries, BACK—BIGGER, BETTER, AND STRONGER THAN EVER BEFORE!" Trump wrote at the time on Truth Social.
Now, one of the Hollywood ambassadors, Jon Voight, is getting ready to deliver their first pitch to the Trump administration, hoping to give the town and industry a "MAGA" makeover; Voight’s manager, Steven Paul, told NBC News that plans could include infrastructure investment incentives, job training, and tax code operations to help reclaim businesses that have gone overseas.
"The regulations and the ridiculous policies make it almost impossible to film there, so everybody is fleeing," Cain said. "Jon Voight, Mel Gibson, and Sylvester Stallone, all three legends to this advisory board, give some cache to some folks who were otherwise ostracized for being conservatives in Hollywood, and I think that's a great first step."
"It's going to be interesting," the actor continued, "but I think it's a tall task."
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"The overregulations in California are wild. And right now, when all of these states are offering a 30% incentive to take the industry and shoot in Georgia, Connecticut, other states, I was asking four months ago for the governor to enact something simple: match the Georgia tax incentives," Miller also noted.
"California now, four months later, [is] still talking about it, super complicated formula, doesn't address many of the types of shows that I do," the producer clarified, "unscripted alternative programming, which are a huge part of Hollywood output."
A New York Times report released last month found that over a two-year period from 2022 to 2024, roughly 18,000 film and TV jobs "evaporated" from Hollywood.
"It’s a business," Cain reflected. "It's impossible to make a film for x, y, z numbers when you have a very limited budget. So you look for what's the best deal."
"I've shot one film in California in the last five years. And I wrote it, produced it, and directed it. It comes out June 6th, by the way, 'Little Angels,’" he said. "That's just the way it is. So they're driving people out… it's all about financial policy and regulation."
Fox News’ Tracy Wright contributed to this report.