“We have films, American films, which are filmed here in Australia. The collaboration is a good thing. So, let’s not get in the way of that.”
Crocodile Dundee, a 1986 comedy about an Australian bushman transplanted to New York City, helped put Australia’s fledgling film industry on the map in America.
Since then, some of Hollywood’s hottest directors have used Australia to film Marvel blockbusters, Mission Impossible instalments and box office winners like Elvis.
The tariffs could also trouble neighbouring New Zealand, which famously lent its spectacular scenery to the beloved Lord of the Rings trilogy.
New Zealand Film Commission boss Annie Murray said they were still trying to untangle how the tariffs might work.
“We’re mindful, however, this is an evolving situation and it’s too early to speculate on what this could mean,” she told AFP.
The tariffs appear to target a business model favoured by American studios who obtain tax breaks to film in countries such as Britain, Canada, Ireland and Australia.
A recent survey of studio executives found their top five favoured production locations were all outside the United States.
At the start of this year, Trump appointed veteran stars Sylvester Stallone, Mel Gibson and Jon Voight to bring Hollywood back “bigger, better and stronger than ever before”.
- Agence France-Presse
