'Then what do we get?': Director Wes Anderson ridicules Trump's '100% tariff' plan to save Hollywood

American director Wes Anderson has publicly mocked US President Donald Trump's plans to impose a heavy 100% tariff on all films produced outside the country, explaining that it would financially affect filmmakers and questioned how it could possibly be put into practice.

The acclaimed director had been at the 78th Cannes Awards to promote his new film, 'The Phoenician Scheme', an expansive family story with an exhaustive cast headlined by Benicio Del Toro. Even this has been filmed (mostly) at Studio Babelsberg in Potsdam, Germany.

“The tariff is fascinating because of the 100% ... I’m not an expert in that area of economics, but I feel that means Trump is saying he’s going to take all the money. And then what do we get?” he said, at a Cannes press conference, eliciting laughter from his cast members, as well as those gathered.

Earlier this month, in another protectionist measure similar to his controversial tariffs, Trump had announced a 100% tariff on all movies “produced in Foreign Lands”, citing the”very fast death” of the US film industry due to an increasing number of American filmmakers shooting in other countries to avail tax incentives or cheaper production costs.

“Can you hold up the movie in customs? ... I feel it doesn’t ship that way. I’m not sure I want to know the details so I’ll hold off on my official answer,” he added.

Anderson also teased his next project at Cannes, that he had been writing with 'The Phoenician Scheme' co-writer Roman Coppola, as well as with British actor Richard Ayoade, a part of the ensemble cast in his latest film.

The director also used the news conference to tease his next project, which he said was writing with fellow filmmaker Roman Coppola and British actor Richard Ayoade, another star of "The Phoenician Scheme".

Known for creating films with exquisite cinematography and idiosyncratic character movements, he has won numerous Oscar nominations for films like 'Fantastic Mr. Fox', 'The Grand Budapest Hotel', and 'The Royal Tenenbaums'. It was 'The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar' that finally won him an Oscar for Best Live Action Short Film. 

'The Phoenician Scheme' is slated to hit theatres in India on June 6, 2025.

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