Wes Anderson‘s films are painstakingly detailed to capture his signature style. Donald Trump‘s plan to impose a supposed 100 percent tariff on American films produced outside of the U.S., on the other hand, is not particularly detailed or well thought out. During a press conference for The Phoenician Scheme at Cannes Film Festival, Anderson poked some holes in the president’s logic — or lack thereof.
“The tariff is interesting because I’ve never heard of a 100 percent tariff before,” Anderson said. “I’m not an expert in that area of economics, but I feel that means he’s saying he’s going to take all the money. And then what do we get? So it’s complicated to me. Can you hold up the movie in customs? It doesn’t ship that way.”
Earlier in the press conference, Anderson joked that the tariff announcement was a free promo for The Phoenician Scheme, which was filmed in Germany and will be released in U.S. theaters on May 30. “I thought you said he was giving us a plug or something,” he said. “Did Trump see it?”
Trump announced earlier this month that he is authorizing the Department of Commerce and the United States Trade Representative to start the process to impose a 100 percent tariff on American films that are produced in “foreign lands,” also known as runaway productions. He claimed filming movies outside of the U.S. posed “a national security threat” and that doing so is causing the movie industry to die “a very fast death.”
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Per Variety, the U.S. domestic box office brought in $8.7 billion in 2024, which saw the release of films that were delayed, either in completion or in release, by the double Hollywood strikes in 2023. So far, 2025 has seen successful releases with Sinners, Thunderbolts, Captain America: Brave New World, A Minecraft Movie, and Final Destination Bloodlines.
The Phoenician Scheme will receive a wide release on June 6. It marks Anderson’s first film since 2023’s Asteroid City. The film stars Benicio del Toro, Michael Cera, Mia Threapleton, Tom Hanks, Bryan Cranston, Jeffrey Wright, Riz Ahmed, Scarlett Johansson, Mathieu Amalric, Rupert Friend, and Hope Davis.
