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Source: Pixabay

The Hollywood film industry has begun speculating about its future under a new political administration in the wake of Donald Trump’s victory in Tuesday’s (Nov 5) US presidential election. 

Initial reactions to Trump’s win have ranged from cautious to despairing. 

The major studios’ lobbying group the Motion Picture Association (MPA) issued a statement saying it “congratulates President-elect Donald Trump and the incoming 119th Congress on their electoral victories. We look forward to working with them on a wide range of important issues for the film, TV, and streaming industry, which supports more than 2.7 million American jobs, boosts more than 240,000 businesses in cities and small towns across the country, and delivers over $242 billion in wages to our workforce each year.” 

The MPA added: “We commend everyone who worked this year to ensure fair elections and preserve our nation’s legitimate democratic processes.” 

Many creatives in the predominantly liberal industry expressed fear and anger on the day after the election. 

Actress Jamie Lee Curtis posted on Instagram that the election “means a sure return to a more restrictive, some fear draconian time. Many fear their rights will be impeded and denied. Many, minority groups and young people will be afraid. Gay and trans people will be more afraid. We know that many women will now find it difficult to get the reproductive healthcare that they need and deserve. For all those people there will be those who will help you. Me included.” 

Writer-director Adam McKay tweeted about the Democrats election strategy: “Who would have guessed lying about Biden’s cognitive health for 2 yrs, refusing to do an open convention for a new nominee, never mentioning public healthcare & embracing fracking, the Cheneys & a yr long slaughter of children in Gaza wouldn’t be a winning strategy?” 

Discussion in executive suites is now likely to turn to how the new administration’s policies will affect the industry. 

International trade tariffs that Trump has said he will impose could hit the importation of US films and TV shows, if affected countries such as China retaliate by reducing access for American entertainment content. 

Deregulation under the Trump administration, meanwhile, could lead to increased merger and acquisition activity among studios and streamers such as Warner Bros Discovery and Universal-owner Comcast. 

The changing political climate could also have implications for attempts by California politicians to bolster the US film and TV production sector, which has struggled to fully recover from last year’s actors and writers strikes. 

California Governor Gavin Newsom, who recently proposed doubling the funding for his state’s film and TV tax incentive programme, said the day after the election that he will “seek to work with the incoming president.” 

Adam Schiff, a current Democratic US representative from California, recently indicated his support for a federal tax incentive to keep production work in the US, which in recent decades has lost many projects to Canada, Australia, the UK and other European countries. 

In this week’s election, Schiff won California’s open seat in the US Senate but the Republican party took control of the Senate from Democrats.