Hollywood recently received Trump’s pricing treatment. Sunday, the president announcement A 100% price on films made outside America. The filmmakers said that this decision would harm us in the cinema. Netflix actions and other entertainment companies have dropped. The next day, the White House said that no price would take effect.
We have already seen it for other sectors of the economy. But why would President Trump think that Hollywood could benefit from more protectionism? Today’s newsletter examines the contrary winds with which the industry is faced.
Hollywood problems
When Trump talks about prices, he usually talks about manufacturing. He invokes the American industries which fell from grace – steel, coal, cars – and the physical goods they have made for the world. He complains that the United States imports more goods than it exports, leading to a trade deficit.
Hollywood does not correspond to this description. There remains the dominant industry of cinema creation in the world. Exports of American films are three times higher than imports, according to the Motion Picture Association. Films are also a service; The product is entertainment, not physical good. And unlike goods, the United States has a trade of nearly $ 300 billion surplus with services.
However, Hollywood has problems. On the one hand, fewer films are made in Los Angeles today. The shooting has passed to other states and, more and more, abroad. Other countries offer cheaper labor and tax work for filmmakers. This has erased jobs formerly occupied by Americans. “We want films made in America, once again!” Trump posted online.
Other fixes
Prices, however, are a disorderly solution to Hollywood problems.
A sample on a Chinese manufacturing phone is simply applied to the value of this product. But what would a price on films look like? Would it apply to production costs? Genuations at the box office? Would it depend on the quantity of film from the film and the modification abroad? What about films – think of “James Bond” or “Harry Potter” – which require shooting abroad? Would the toll apply to television shows? The filmmakers say that a 100% price will force them to stop the production completely.
The prices could also turn against him. Other countries could put their own samples from American films. This could affect global ticket sales. Most studio income is now international, Axios noted.
The industry says that it prefers a carrot instead of a stick: America could attract filmmakers back with its own tax credits. This is the approach that California Governor Gavin Newsom supported on Monday when he called Trump to support a federal tax relief of $ 7.5 billion for films made in America.
But it would cost money at a time when Congress is already in trouble To find ways to pay for tax discounts, the president wishes. Trump therefore invoked prices again like his favorite solution.
Cashmere confrontation
Early yesterday morning, Indian planes hit Pakistan. The attack was reprisals against a neighbor and in Nemeis who, according to India, helped a terrorist attack last month which killed 26, mainly Hindu tourists. Pakistan, which denies its participation in the attack, said that it had shot down five Indian planes In response.
What’s at stake?
The terrorist operation has targeted the cashmere, a region that the two countries have affirmed since India and Pakistan have become independent nations in 1947. Today, each controls only parts of the cashmere. A border of around 460 miles, known as the control line, divides the Indian and Pakistani territory. In 2019, India stripped the cashmere of autonomy which it had enjoyed under the constitution of the country and opened the region to more tourism. Visitors went up, upsetting many cashmiris.
Could this conflict spiral?
The two nations periodically compete on cashmere. Over the decades, they fought three wars and had countless skirmishes along their disputed border. Since the two countries have nuclear weapons, an escalation could become dangerously uncontrollable.
How could it end?
India may not want a war. Government representatives have described air strikes as “measured, non -ecological, proportionate and responsible”. It is less clear what Pakistan could do; Officials called the air strikes an “act of uninsured and obvious war” which violated the sovereignty of the country. Maybe the last tit-for-tat will satisfy both sides, As some analysts expect. But if everyone continues to respond, a wider conflict is looming. The United States could eventually play the mediator.
In relation: The Pakistani Minister of Defense said he We welcomed us the efforts To help defuse conflict. In the video below, Mujib Mashal, the head of the Times office in South Asia, explains how things degenerated.
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Black smoke has dropped off from the sixtine chapel chimney this morning, reporting that the cardinals had Still not made a decision On a new pope.
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There will be three other series of votes today, the second day of the conclave and four others each day until a candidate reaches the majority of two thirds required.
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Thousands of faithful and simply curious, assembled Place de Saint-Pierre Last night to look at the results of the first vote.
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The stove and the oath of secret: read objects guiding the conclave.
Attract the faithful
I spent last year to account for the way we believe now.
A papal conclave displays the power and majesty of the Catholic Church. With scarlet breaks, chapel and Sistine smoke, the church reminds the world that its traditions and rituals persist, linking more than a billion people together.
After more than a decline of decline, the frequentation of the Church among Catholics in the United States has stabilized in recent years. Many are attracted to rituals. Here are three one -year stories of Report on the way we believe now.
A conversion: The way from Erin Patrick to Catholicism started on a treadmill in 2005. TV at the gym was broadcast live from the Vatican during the Conclave which chose Pope Benoît. After having finished his race, Patrick, who worked in Atlanta sales, sat on the ground, pierced, until the white smoke emerged from the headquarters of the Sistine Chapel. When it did, she “inexplicably melted into tears”. Patrick, 44, says she is now a devout Catholic. She prayed for the church last week. “I am already talking to Pope Francis and I thank him for everything,” she said.
A reversion: Nick Woomer -Detters, a 45 -year -old public defender in North Carolina, was a zealous atheist who swore that he would never return to his Catholicism – until a few years ago, when he started to secretly watch Father Mike Schmitz’s videos on Youtube while his wife was sleeping. He began to attend mass, drawn by “odors and bells”, he said-dresses, incense, hymns, liturgy. “It persisted for two millennia,” he said about the Church. “I am happy to be part of it.”
A curiosity: Griffin Devine, 24, is responsible for the budget in Los Angeles who spends his day in spreadsheets. He identifies himself as an agnostic but recently began to attend mass – inspired by friends of the university and his girlfriend. He said that the Pope’s death made him feel connected to a world church. “Some people consider it outdated,” he said. “But I think it’s very convincing and attractive.”
In a card
Pope Francis appointed around 80% of cardinals who are sequestrated to elect his successor. As the map above shows, its appointments have moved the balance of powers to Asia and Africa, where Catholicism increases rapidly. But these names may not choose another pope like him: many come areas with much more conservative opinions.
“Crunchy” adolescents: Young influencers use others Children who are concerned about online health. Some of their captures echo Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and his supporters.
Bricks on wheels: Lego has built full size F1 cars for the driver’s parade of the Miami Grand Prix. Read how the designers did.
Your choice: For the second consecutive day, the most clicked article in the morning was about The appearance of Kamala Harris at Met Gala.
Online trend yesterday: Trump announced that Dr. Casey means an influencer of well-being, like his new candidate for the general surgeon.
Lived life: Clarence Smith, founder of the petrol magazine, convinced traditional skeptical advertisers of the power and value of the market for black women. He Died at 92.
SPORTY
NBA: For the second consecutive match, the Knicks overcome a 20-point deficit to stun the Celtics in defense-champion on the road. Read a summary.
NHL: Panthers, also reigning champions, are also down 2-0 after Another narrow loss to the Maple Leafs.
Arts and ideas
Have you ever wanted to know, really knowing, your pet? You are not alone. On social networks, people publish videos of sessions with so-called animal communicators who claim to be able to relay the messages of pets both living and dead. Some customers say they want real answers; Others do it simply for entertainment. Anyway, the Videos are online success.
More about culture
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Anthony Bourdain, The Smoking Ban and Covid Sheds: The Times has watched the moments that have defined restoration in New York in the past 25 years. See the chronology.
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Jimmy Fallon joking about the conclave: “The doors of the Sistine Chapel were sealed, and they debated who should be the Pope and if 100 cardinals could defeat a gorilla.”