How stunned Netflix and Hollywood execs privately reacted to Trump's 'Make Movies Great Again' policy behind the scenes
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Major studios like Netflix and Disney went into 'damage-assessment mode' after Donald Trump announced plans to tariff films produced on foreign soil Sunday night.
A studio executive told Status the situation was still 'fluid and evolving' on Tuesday, as the industry continues its tailspin.
An announcement to Truth Social Sunday was the cause - and a proposed 100 percent tariff on 'any and all Movies coming into our Country that are produced in Foreign Lands.'
The post came with little detail but caused shares of entertainment companies to immediately crater.
Execs across the industry remain terrified about their studio being the first to be targeted by the president, insiders said.
They're also reportedly reluctant to speak out - with Disney, Netflix, Warner Bros. Discovery and Paramount Global all choosing not to address Trump's announcement in official statements.
Privately, they're hoping someone can convince the president to change his mind, insiders said.
Netflix boss Ted Sarandos was among the steady stream of bigwigs meet with President Trump late last year. The two enjoyed 'a nice long dinner together' at Trump's mansion in Mar-a-Lago, he said
'It was interesting,' he said at Q&A at a Paley Media Council event in NYC moderated by Semafor’s Ben Smith last month.
Asked whether Trump had tried to sell him on the Melania Trump doc bought by Jeff Bezos and Amazon for a reported $40million weeks later, Sarandos said no.
'For $40 million, 'I hope it’s great,' he added, when asked about the widespread consensus that his rival overpaid.
When sked if he felt pressure 'to be a little careful now' under the new administration, Sarandos, 60, said 'No... We program exactly the same.'
The president's public attacks on firms like Paramount loomed large as he spoke - as did his increased oversight into legacy broadcast stations.
He has accused such organizations of pedaling cultural propaganda - a claim echoed in his chaos-inducing Truth Social post that also insisted foreign markets were luring American filmmakers with tax breaks.
'Hollywood, and many other areas within the U.S.A., are being devastated,' he wrote following a meeting with well-known MAGA loyalist Jon Voight at Mar-a-Lago over the weekend.
'This is a concerted effort by other Nations and, therefore, a National Security threat.
'Therefore, I am authorizing the Department of Commerce, and the [US] Trade Representative, to immediately begin the process of instituting a 100 percent Tariff on any and all Movies coming into our Country that are produced in Foreign Lands.'
The meeting with Voight, 86, just before, also included the actor's manager and the president of Paul’s production company, Status learned.
It was called in hopes of 'reviv[ing] the American film industry,' insiders said.
The trio submitted to Trump what was billed as a 'comprehensive plan' to do so - paving the way for his post.
Zaslav, meanwhile, was one of many business leaders who originally expressed hope the then-president-elect would implement policies that would ease media woes once elected, as analysts now warn of the increasingly real prospect of fewer films.
Movies that are more costly to make could also be an unforeseen fruit of the Republican's plans, analysts at firms like Morgan Stanley have warned.
Questions also remain as to what constitutes a 'foreign'-made film, and whether productions like television shows will be subject to the president's proposed policy.
Netflix (NFLX), Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD), and Paramount Global (PARA) each slipped around 2 percent total Monday, following steeper losses seen earlier in the day. Shares have stayed steady since.
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