When President Donald Trump returned to the White House, his priorities included an unusual pledge for a Republican administration: Trump wanted to save the American movie industry, and he appointed Hollywood legends like Mel Gibson and Jon Voight to positions to do just that.
Now, Trump is getting bipartisan, bicameral, and bicoastal backup from Sens. Tim Scott (R., S.C.) and Adam Schiff (D., Calif.), as well as Reps. Nathaniel Moran (R., Texas), Linda Sánchez (D., Calif.), Brian Jack (R., Ga.), Laura Friedman (D., Calif.), David Kustoff (R., Tenn.), Judy Chu (D., Calif.), Mike Carey (R., Ohio), Tom Suozzi (D., N.Y.), Vince Fong (R., Calif.), and Josh Gottheimer (D., N.J.) in the form of the Motion Picture, Television, and Entertainment Revitalization Act.
The bipartisan bill comes as America is shedding film jobs overseas; in 2025, nearly half of the films made were filmed abroad, and American spending on film production has dropped steadily since the coronavirus pandemic. The lawmakers aim to stop this by introducing their bill, which aims to put American jobs first and keep film production at home in the United States.
Most of the lawmakers represent states with historic and current film industries. Due to a variety of incentives, American staples like Little House on the Prairie are being filmed overseas.
Voight and other industry legends have urged Congress to help their cause. Voight, who serves alongside Mel Gibson as the first ever Special Ambassador to Hollywood, praised the bill.
The Hollywood legend said that industry stars tell him that they “would like to work in the United States, but it’s not economically possible.”
“I received a call from one of the producers of one of our big blockbuster series of films, and he said to me, ‘Jon, we can’t make films in Hollywood. We can’t make films in the United States,’” he added.
The bill, if passed, would create a 20 percent federal tax credit for those films produced in America and would successfully restore over 145,000 jobs a year, while creating $250 billion for American workers.
Trump himself has sounded supportive of legislation like this in the past. “I am going to suggest that Republicans and Democrats get together, and immediately craft Legislation to save the Movie, Television, and Entertainment Business in America,” Trump said. “Congress should approve, immediately, a Federal Production Incentive to create Entertainment Jobs in America. It can be done quickly, accurately, efficiently and, importantly, will benefit ALL of America. What we watch on the Silver Screen should be made in what was once the Movie and Motion Picture Capital of the World. Let’s get this done!”
