Cate Blanchett has hit out at Donald Trump’s proposal to impose 100 percent tariffs on foreign-made films, warning the move undermines the global nature of the film industry.
Speaking at London’s National Portrait Gallery over the weekend, the Oscar-winning actress questioned the idea of Hollywood as a purely American institution.
“Hollywood, such as it is, is a chimera,” she said, as per MailOnline. “The number of times I've worked on American terra firma, I could probably count on one hand. Invariably, you will shoot out of country.”
Blanchett, 56, pointed to her breakout role in 1998’s Elizabeth as a prime example of the industry’s cross-cultural make-up.
She shared: “Queen Elizabeth was played by an Australian [me], directed by a man from Bollywood [Shekhar Kapur], filmed in the UK. That's the reality of how films are made.”
Her comments come weeks after the president announced plan to ‘make movies American again’ with steep tariffs on productions made outside the US.
The proposed move has rattled the global film community and raised concerns about the future of international collaboration.
Although Blanchett, who holds American citizenship but is unable to vote there, made it clear that her artistic choices have never been bound by borders.
She said: “I've thought as much about the Chinese and Indian film industries as I have about Hollywood. The Australian industry, where I come from, is small by scale, but culturally it was incredibly rich when I was growing up.”
Now based in the UK with her husband, playwright Andrew Upton, Blanchett, who is also a UNHCR goodwill ambassador, said working abroad has always been part of the draw. Adding: “If you have the chance to travel and work in other cultures, why wouldn't you?”
In May, Trump first said he had authorised the Department of Commerce and the Office of the US Trade Representative to impose a 100% tariff “on any and all Movies coming into our Country that are produced in Foreign Lands”.
"The Movie Industry in America is DYING a very fast death," he wrote on Truth Social, complaining that other countries "are offering all sorts of incentives to draw" filmmakers and studios away from the US.
"This is a concerted effort by other Nations and, therefore, a National Security threat. It is, in addition to everything else, messaging and propaganda!"
It was not immediately clear how any such tariff on international productions could be implemented. It is common for both large and smaller films to include production in both the US and other countries.
Several recent major movies produced by US studios were shot outside America, including Deadpool & Wolverine, Wicked and Gladiator II.
The global hit "Wicked" was primarily filmed in the UK, with a significant portion of the production taking place at Sky Studios Elstree in Hertfordshire.
While part of the big budget upcoming Mission: Impossible - The Final Reckoning, for instance, was shot in Britain.
The UK film sector is worth £1.36 billion and employs more than 195,000 people, the Government said last year, as it announced independent film productions costing up to £15 million would benefit from an increased tax relief of 53%.
The UK's Department for Culture, Media & Sport, industry body the British Film Institute and the Motion Picture Association, which represents the five major US film studios, did not immediately comment on Trump’s announcement.
