Hollywood Week: Trump Announces Film Tariffs, WGA Sanctions Scabs, Menendez Hearing, Combs Jury Set

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Category: Entertainment News

Published on Saturday, 10 May 2025 12:33

Written by Janet Walker

President Trump, this week, made a loud and reverberating tariff statement, directed at the film industry indicating he will be adding 100% tariffs to all films who utilize production services outside the United States.

Trump Imposes Film Tariffs

While this immediately sent Hollywood's Powers Players into their own conclave to determine how to deal with the possibility, holding a secret in-person and remote session, to determine the industry's next steps in dealing with someone who has complete control.

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The simplest activity the execs could take is being aware of Trump's patterns and If this statement is like many of his previous, big, loud, imposing and shocking statements, he will quietly walk this back, without the noted fanfare and audience ready presentations.

Until that happens, studio exec's, entertainment critics, commentators, and even the Ambassadors to Hollywood are presenting ideas on how to revive the dying production landscape in what was once considered the Entertainment Capital of the World. Having a plan in place on the off chance Trump becomes determined to burn those who burned him, is like a 72-hour earthquake emergency kit: have it ready, and hope it's never used.

What this translates to in the many production locations in the U.S., is the possibility of inflated and price gouging production costs, years long delays in rebates, and take it or leave it ultimatums, leaving filmmakers to decide if filming in low cost regions, "in Foreign Lands," that offer a 30 day cash back on the majority, even up to 90%, of included production costs is worth the battle of the possibility of 100% tariffs.

As American allies are still muddling through the first round of tariff sticker shock, and new deals are being struck between Washington and the world, more than likely the film production industry in these regions and territories will somehow be written into the new tariff negotiations and independently hammered out.

While many interpret Trump's wording of "in Foreign Lands," to mean outside the United States, the possibility remains that nations like Serbia could be a foreign land, and other countries, such as the United Kingdom, may not register as a foreign land, in this instance.

"President Trump has signaled that he is open to meeting with the studio chiefs, though no sit-down has been scheduled. If one takes place, the MPA and the studios for whom it lobbies plan to stress that the U.S. maintains a $15 billion trade surplus when it comes to film exports and that the sector is net positive. The goal is to find a way to work collaboratively with Trump and to get in front of the potentially disruptive moves from the president," Variety reported.

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WGA Sanctions Scabs

Remember the Writer Strike of '23? Well, you can bet four Writer's Guild of America members will not forget it, as their peers have upheld sanctions against three of them for taking scab work during the strike, and a fourth has been sanctioned for a Facebook posting.

"Discipline was upheld after very tight results in the case of Julie Bush (745 to 686), Edward Drake (769 to 652) and Roma Roth (778 to 639). [Tim] Doyle's punishment was overturned and an alternative action taken after members voted 915 to 557," reported The Hollywood Reporter.

Three additional members of the writer's guild are also under disciplinary action, although no other information is available yet on the punishment or proceedings.

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Menendez Hearing Set

The resentencing hearing of Erik Menendez and Lyla Menendez has been set for this coming week, after several delays, and assessment found the brothers posed minimum risk to the community should they be released.

Evidence of sexual abuse was squashed at the second trial and the brothers were convicted of the brutal 1989 slaying of Jose and Kitty Menendez in their Beverly Hills home. The pair were sentenced to life without parole for the gruesome murders, which included 13 gunshots, an execution style hit to the back of Jose Menendez's head, and a point blank gunshot to Kitty, who lie on the floor.

In the more than three decades behind bars, the brothers according to the assessment, had minor violations, illegal cell phones, and helping inmates, who are still required to file taxes, cheat, and the assessment also indicated they pose little risk to the community.

The upcoming hearing will include expert witnesses, and Mark Geragos, the attorney for the Menendez brothers, has stated he paired down his witness list from 20 to seven, plus three experts. Los Angeles DA Nathan Hochman has repeatedly stated the position of his office is clear and the pair should remain in prison.

The outcome of the upcoming hearing can only go two ways, no changes and the pair remain in prison, or a resentencing which convicts them of murder, making them eligible for parole. Should they be eligible for parole, they could be denied by the parole board, as a reactionary tactic to determine behavior over the next year, or they could receive parole, and the governor could deny them parole. The murderer of Robert F. Kennedy, Sirhan Sirhan, has been denied parole 17 times, and is slated again for a parole hearing in 2026.

Janet Walker, Screenwriter, Novelist, and Publisher of Haute-Lifestyle.com, Featured in ELLE Magazine

Sean Combs Jury Set

Music mogul Sean Combs, who has been incarcerated in Brooklyn's Metropolitan Detention Center since his arrest in September 2024, appeared in court this week, while a jury was empaneled.

"Combs, 54, was arrested by federal agents at a New York City hotel on an indictment charging him with a racketeering conspiracy, sex trafficking and transportation for purposes of prostitution, the U.S. Attorney's Office in Manhattan said, " reported NBCnews.com.

Over the course of three days, hundreds of New Yorkers who had been summoned for jury duty arrived to undergo voir dire, the questioning by both the attorneys for the state, in this case is was Maurene Comey, the daughter of former FBI Director James Comey, one of eight prosecutors for the state who are charged with proving the allegations against Combs.

By end of day Friday, "Judge Arun Subramanian, who is overseeing the case, expressed concern that if jurors were selected before the weekend, they could grow uneasy and drop off the panel before the trial begins on Monday. The decision came after one potential juror sent an email to the court asking to be left off the panel for "issues of personal well-being," the defense said," reported The New York Times.   

On Monday, May 12, 2025, a jury of twelve men and women, and six alternate will be sworn in, charged with determining if the evidence presented by the state meets the threshold of guilt or leave reasonable doubt.

Janet Walker is the publisher, founder, and sole owner of Haute-Lifestyle.com. A graduate of New York University, she has been covering international news through the Beltway Insider, a weekly review of the nation's top stories, for more than a decade.  A general beat writer/reporter and entertainment/film critic, she is also an accomplished news/investigative news/crime reporter and submitted for Pulitzer Prize consideration "Cops Conspire to Deep Six Sex Assaults" in the Breaking News Category and was persuaded to withdraw the submission. Ms. Walker has completed five screenplays, "The Six Sides of Truth," "The Assassins of Fifth Avenue," "The Wednesday Killer," "The Manhattan Project," and the sci-fi thriller "Project 13: The Last Day." She is a member of the Los Angeles Press Club, the National Writers Union, and a former member of the International Federation of Journalists.