President Trump’s recent Truth Social post declaring, “I am authorizing the Department of Commerce and the United States Trade Representative to immediately begin the process of instituting a 100% tariff on any and all movies coming into our country that are produced in foreign lands,” has sent shockwaves through the entertainment industry. This proposal could significantly accelerate studios’ adoption of AI-driven content creation.
Even before this tariff proposal, studios were grappling with the integration of AI-generated assets into their production pipelines. The ongoing debate centers on the ownership of actors’ name, image, and likeness (NIL) in AI-generated works, and the potential job losses for union members due to virtual sets and streamlined workflows. Tools like Sora (from OpenAI) and Veo 2 (from Google), are capable of generating sophisticated video content, are rapidly evolving, raising concerns about the future of traditional filmmaking.
The proposed tariffs, by eliminating access to foreign tax credits, could push studios to accelerate their investment in AI. In this scenario, studios may aggressively seek stronger protections for their talent’s NIL rights, arguing that these rights are essential for their survival. Simultaneously, technology companies are asserting that using AI for training models and generating content falls under fair use, as evidenced by the UK’s proposed copyright training legislation and the Meta AI copyright case, see https://www.reuters.com/legal/
It’s conceivable that films produced entirely within the U.S. using artificial intelligence and virtual sets would be exempt from these tariffs. While the long-term impact remains uncertain, it’s safe to say that many studio executives are now considering an accelerated adoption of artificial intelligence.
