Hollywood is dying – but insiders fear Trump’s tariff threat may hasten demise
At Sony Production studios in Culver City, an area of Los Angeles steeped in the movie business, a steady stream of cars and lorries comes and goes through the security gate.
It occupies the MGM lot which dates back to 1924. Gone With the Wind, The Wizard of Oz and Citizen Kane were shot here and, more recently, Interstellar and The Dark Knight Rises. But this is no longer the beating heart of movie making.
In Tinsel Town the bright lights of the film industry have been fading for some time. Production in Hollywood has fallen by 40% in the last decade, sometimes moving to other states like New Mexico, New York and Georgia, but more often outside the US entirely.
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A recent survey of film and TV executives indicates that Britain, Australia and Canada are now favoured locations over California when it comes to making movies.
San Andreas, a blockbuster film about a California earthquake, was shot in Australia. In America, a film about an Irish family settling in New York, was shot in Canada.
Although about a California disaster, San Andreas was actually shot in Australia. Pic: Jasin Boland/THA/Shutterstock
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The exodus of the film industry from Hollywood is mostly owing to economic reasons, with other countries boasting lower labour costs and more expansive tax incentives. But as productions have moved overseas, studios across Los Angeles are frequently empty and those who work behind the scenes are often out of work.
President Trump has approached this problem with a familiar reaction – sweeping tariffs, a 100% tariff on all foreign made films coming into the USA.
‘It’s a different kind of situation than producing cars overseas’
Justine Bateman is a filmmaker and sister of actor Jason Bateman. She is glad Trump is looking for solutions but does not understand how the tariffs will work. “I will say, I’m very glad to hear that President Trump is interested in helping the film business. But part of the problem is we just don’t have very much detail, do we?” she says.
“He’s made this big announcement, but we don’t have the detail to really mull over. He doesn’t even say whether it’s going to be films that are shown in the cinema or streaming movies, for example.
“Tariffs can be a profitable situation for when we’re just talking about hard goods, but something like a film and, particularly if you’ve got an American film that takes place in the south of France, you want to be in a particular location.
“So it’s a different kind of situation than producing cars overseas and bringing them back here.”
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At the Hand Prop Room in Los Angeles, they supply props for TV and film. The warehouse is brimful of virtually any prop you could imagine, from portraits of former presidents, to replica handguns to African artefacts and 18th century teapots. The walls are decorated with posters from some of the productions they’ve supplied, including Babylon, Oppenheimer and Ghostbusters.
Reynaldo Castillo believes the tariffs could be harmful to Hollywood unless properly thought through
‘It needs to be thought through’
In the past five years, the prop shop has been impacted by the COVID pandemic, by both the writers’ and actors’ strikes and the globalisation of the film industry. Business is at an all time low.
“It’s not helping when so many productions are not just leaving the state, but also leaving the country,” says Reynaldo Castillo, the general manager of the Hand Prop Room. “It’s Hollywood, we have the infrastructure that nobody else has and I think maybe to a certain point we took it for granted.
“I think we can all agree that we want more filming to stay in the country to help promote jobs. But you also don’t want to do something to hurt it.
“How does it work? Are there exceptions for X, Y, and Z? What about independent movies that have small budgets that are shot somewhere else that would destroy their ability to make something? It needs to be thought through and make sure it’s implemented the right way.”
Deliveroo has agreed terms for a £2.9bn takeover by US-based delivery platform DoorDash.
It emerged just over a week ago that a deal was on the table.
DoorDash said on Tuesday that its 180p-per-share offer was final though it reserved the right to raise it should a rival bidder emerge.
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The offer represented a 44% premium to the value of Deliveroo’s shares on 4 April – the day before it approached the company with its takeover proposals.
The offer, which was unanimously agreed by an independent board, is being recommended to shareholders.
Deliveroo co-founder and chief executive, Will Shu, stands to make more than £170m from his holding if the sale progresses as expected later this year.
Will Shu is supportive of the takeover
The deal is aimed at expanding the DoorDash brand into Europe for the first time, scrapping for market share with rivals including Just Eat and Uber Eats.
Deliveroo operates in nine countries and handled orders worth £2bn last year.
The combined firm will have a presence across 40 countries, with annual orders worth around £10bn.
It was not immediately clear whether the Deliveroo brand name would survive.
Tony Xu, CEO and co-founder of DoorDash, said “The enlarged group will bring together DoorDash’s strong operating playbook with Deliveroo’s local expertise to invest in innovation and execution at an even higher level.
“Together, we will work to deliver the best experience for all of our stakeholders, to grow the GDP of cities around the world, and to build the leading global platform for local commerce.”
Mr Shu added: “I’m very proud of everything we have achieved as a standalone business.
“We are now at the beginning of a transformative new chapter.
“DoorDash and Deliveroo are like-minded organisations with a shared strategic vision and aligned values. Together, we will be even better positioned to serve consumers, merchants, riders and local communities. The Enlarged Group will have the scale to invest in product, technology and the overall consumer value proposition.
“I want to thank all of our incredibly skilled people, dedicated riders and merchants and our loyal consumers for helping us to build the successful business we have today. I hope they share our excitement about what the future holds. I know that DoorDash will be a great long-term partner for our business.”
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Market analysts have long seen Deliveroo as a target due to the company’s share price struggles since its flotation in 2021 – a time when a COVID-led surge in demand for deliveries had tailed off.
Deliveroo’s shares had weakened nearly 50% since their market debut ahead of the offer.
Shareholders will have to vote on the deal but it is not expected to face regulatory hurdles as it provides DoorDash access to 10 new markets where it currently has no presence.
The takeover will represent a blow to the City of London, given the loss of a tech-focused player.
Deliveroo shares were trading up 2%, at 175p, in early Tuesday trading.
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