LOS ANGELES/WASHINGTON — The entertainment industry reacted with alarm and bafflement on Monday after US President Donald J. Trump said he would impose a 100% tariff on all movies produced outside the US, but issued few details on just how such a levy would work.

Veteran studio executives who spoke with Reuters on condition of anonymity said the announcement on Sunday left unanswered the timing of the proposed levy and how it would be enforced for an industry whose biggest-budget films are often produced across several continents.

Mr. Trump’s pronouncement followed his meeting at Mar-a-Lago with his Hollywood ambassador, actor Jon Voight, special advisor Steven Paul, and media executive Scott Karol. The group mulled a range of ideas to revive domestic film and TV production, including federal tax incentives, tax code changes, and imposing tariffs “in certain limited circumstances,” the group said in a statement.

Slapping levies on an industry like film would mark a major extension of tariffs as a policy tool into services, for which the US runs a sizable trade surplus. And like the auto, pharmaceutical, and chip industries before it, Mr. Trump’s declaration threatens to put another business in a tariff-induced state of limbo.

The industry has been pressing for tax incentives to boost output in Los Angeles, the movie industry’s glitzy historic hub of cinema, as studios have shifted production to locations such as the UK, Canada, and Australia to take advantage of generous tax credits and lower labor costs. A survey among studio executives over their preferred production locations for 2025 to 2026 by ProdPro showed the top five choices were all elsewhere.

The White House’s trade policy is aimed at boosting US industrial activity, but the series of levies and rollbacks has sapped consumer and business confidence.

Tariffs on movies might prove particularly hard to implement.

One studio executive compared movie production to auto manufacturing, with various pieces — filming, visual effects, and other elements — completed around the world, then assembled, through post-production, in the US. Some executives wondered whether the levy would apply only to the work done elsewhere, or attach to projects jointly financed by foreign investors.

Producer Todd Garner said proposed tariffs could have the unintended consequence of stymieing creativity. He cited director Steven Spielberg’s acclaimed World War II epic on the invasion of Normandy, France, Saving Private Ryan.

“How would you make Saving Private Ryan in the US? In Shreveport?” Mr. Garner said from Australia, where he is filming the action-drama Runner. “Or a globe-trotting Mission: Impossible?”

On Monday, Mr. Trump told reporters he would meet with industry officials first to make sure they liked the idea. The White House said it had not made any final decisions, but noted that Hollywood film production had sharply declined from the previous year.

The primary union representing actors issued a supportive statement on Monday. SAG-AFTRA National Executive Director and Chief Negotiator Duncan Crabtree-Ireland said the union supports efforts to increase domestic movie, television, and streaming production and adding jobs for American workers.

“We look forward to learning more about the specifics of the plan announced by the president and to advancing a dialogue to achieve our common goals,” Mr. Crabtree-Ireland said.

The International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees, a union representing more than 170,000 technicians and craftspeople, called for a balanced federal response that includes tax incentives to help bring jobs back.

Any trade policy “must do no harm to our Canadian members — nor the industry overall,” said International Alliance President Matthew D. Loeb.

IMPLEMENTATION CONFUSION
Shares of media companies slipped on Monday.

Streaming pioneer Netflix, which relies on global operations to produce content for international audiences, posted a 2% decline in its stock. Disney and Universal-owner Comcast edged lower. Stocks of theater operators such as Cinemark and IMAX were down 1.6% and 2%, respectively.

IMAX declined to comment, while others did not respond to requests for comment.

Entertainment attorney Stephen Weizenecker said producers, financiers and film offices were trying to figure out how tariffs would be implemented, but said it could lead to a notable shift in production back to the United States.

“If you get any sort of significant tariff, 10% or 20%, it takes away whatever production incentive there was for filming outside the United States,” said Mr. Weizenecker, who advises producers and financiers on production incentives.

However, traditional enforcement tools, like customs inspections at ports of entry, will not work for movies that are licensed, streamed, or distributed on global platforms using a borderless cloud infrastructure, wrote TD Cowen media analyst Doug Creutz. The “risks to putting digital goods and services on the table in trade negotiations/wars are overwhelmingly tilted against the US,” he noted.

Hollywood brings in most of its box office revenue from overseas. In 2024, about 70% of the roughly $30 billion in global ticket sales came from outside the United States and Canada, said Daniel Loria, senior vice-president at The Boxoffice Company. — Reuters

NEW YORK — Singer Rihanna revealed her third pregnancy, Pharrell Williams sported a jacket with 15,000 pearls, and musician Andre 3000 strapped a piano to his back as celebrities celebrated Black style and tailoring at the Met Gala fundraiser on Monday.

Mostly black-and-white looks populated the daffodil-accented deep-blue carpet covering the steps to the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Guests arrived as assistants sheltered them under umbrellas in the heavy rain.

Formula 1 driver Lewis Hamilton and actor Colman Domingo, co-chairs of the gala, were among the first of the stars of sports, music, film, and television to appear.

Mr. Domingo wore a full-length royal blue pleated cloak falling from a gold-and-white casing around his shoulders. He removed the cloak to reveal a bejeweled, checkered black-and-white jacket and grey trousers. Mr. Hamilton chose an ivory suit with a beret.

The last to arrive was Rihanna, who sported a wide-brimmed black hat and a striped, corseted bodice that hugged her stomach. Her partner, musician A$AP Rocky, had arrived earlier and confirmed that Rihanna was pregnant with the couple’s third child.

In between, former Democratic presidential candidate Kamala D. Harris had made her way into the event. She was not spotted on the carpet, but the Democratic Party posted a photo of her on social media in a long black-and-white gown.

Andre 3000 turned heads with one of the most over-the-top looks — a replica of a piano that he hauled on his back like a backpack.

Mr. Williams, the musician and creative director of Louis Vuitton menswear, wore black tuxedo pants paired with an ivory jacket adorned with 15,000 pearls.

The Met Gala, a fundraiser for the art museum’s Costume Institute, has become known for its roster of A-list celebrities in extravagant outfits. This year’s guests were told to dress according to the theme “Tailored for You,” a nod to the exhibit called Superfine: Tailoring Black Style at the museum’s Costume Institute. The exhibit focuses on an elegant Black dandy aesthetic.

The theme was chosen before the election of US President Donald J. Trump, who launched an assault on diversity and inclusion efforts during the first weeks of his second term.

Andrew Bolton, head curator of the Costume Institute, said that even though work began on the exhibit in 2022, “in this current political climate, it resonates very differently. Timing is everything.”

Also on the carpet, legendary Indian actor Shah Rukh Khan wore a silk black sherwani-style jacket over black trousers with several necklaces including one with a giant “K.”

Euphoria actor Sydney Sweeney shimmered in a fitted sparkling black gown with her hair slicked back in a bun. Her co-star Zendaya wore a white silk suit with a brimmed hat.

Some pops of color made a statement on the carpet.

Olympic gymnast Simone Biles stood out in a short bright blue dress with a white collar. Director Spike Lee wore a black suit with a silver crossbody bag, orange glasses, and an orange New York Knicks cap. Singer Chappell Roan donned hot pink.

Among the notable accessories, Bad Bunny carried a brown and yellow bowling-style bag and Tessa Thompson had a fan with an image of the late fashion journalist Andre Leon Talley, who many cited as an inspiration for their outfits.

Other attendees included musicians Stevie Wonder and Shaboozey and actors Demi Moore, Nicole Kidman, and Cynthia Erivo.

Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James, honorary chair of the event, could not attend because of a knee injury. “Hate to miss an historical event!” Mr. James wrote on social media platform X. — Reuters

NEW YORK— Prospective jurors in Sean “Diddy” Combs’ sex trafficking trial acknowledged on Monday being familiar with allegations against the hip-hop mogul, seeing a video of him allegedly assaulting a woman and hearing a comedian joke about baby oil that prosecutors say was found in his residences.

But having followed the case in the media did not exclude them from potentially serving on the jury for a trial expected to last up to two months on charges of racketeering conspiracy, sex trafficking, and transportation to engage in prostitution.

Mr. Combs, 55, has pleaded not guilty. The Bad Boy Records founder is known for elevating hip-hop in American culture in the 1990s and 2000s, and hosting lavish parties for the cultural elite in the Hamptons and Saint-Tropez.

In a 26^th-floor courtroom in Lower Manhattan, US District Judge Arun Subramanian questioned 32 prospective jurors one-by-one, a process known as voir dire, in a bid to seat a panel of 12 jurors and six alternates who can be fair and impartial to both sides despite heavy media coverage of the case.

Opening statements are scheduled for May 12.

Mr. Subramanian deemed 19 qualified to serve — including two who said they were fans of 1990s hip-hop — and the rest were dismissed. More will be questioned on Tuesday, and jury selection is expected to finish by the end of the week.

The judge’s goal is to choose 45 potential jurors who are qualified to serve, and lawyers for both sides will then have the opportunity to dismiss jurors without stating a reason.

With Mr. Combs looking on wearing dark glasses and sporting a salt-and-pepper goatee, one juror said they had seen a video on the news that showed Mr. Combs allegedly assaulting someone in a hotel. Mr. Subramanian decided that juror, referred to as Juror No. 5, was qualified for the panel after they assured the judge they would be a “blank slate entering this courtroom.”

A prospective juror was dismissed after writing in a screening questionnaire that a still image they had seen below a news headline of a woman on the floor in a hotel hallway and Mr. Combs standing near her “could be damning evidence.”

Last year, CNN broadcast surveillance footage of what it said was a 2016 incident in which Mr. Combs attacked his former girlfriend, the R&B singer Casandra Ventura, in the hallway of a Los Angeles hotel. Mr. Combs apologized after the footage aired.

The jury will be anonymous, which is frequently the case in high-profile trials in which jurors could face threats or harassment if their identities are known.

Prosecutors have said the incident depicted in the hotel surveillance video was evidence of how Mr. Combs used force and threats over a two-decade period to coerce women to take part in days-long, drug-fueled sexual performances with male sex workers, which the mogul called “Freak Offs.”

COMBS JAILED SINCE SEPTEMBER ARREST
Prosecutors say employees of Mr. Combs’ business empire helped the “Freak Offs,” including by booking hotel rooms, buying controlled substances and other items used during sex, and helping him cover up the activity. During raids of Mr. Combs’ homes, authorities found drugs and 1,000 bottles of baby oil and lubricant, prosecutors said.

One prospective juror said they had “liked” a video on social media in which a comedian joked about Mr. Combs and baby oil.

“I remember liking it because I thought it was funny,” said the juror, who Mr. Subramanian decided was qualified after they said they would be able to put the video aside and be impartial.

Mr. Combs’ lawyers say the hotel surveillance video depicted a domestic dispute over infidelity and was not evidence of sex trafficking. They are expected to argue that the sexual activity described by prosecutors was consensual.

Mr. Combs is the latest powerful man in the entertainment industry to be accused of sexual misconduct since the #MeToo movement encouraged women to speak up about abuse.

Since September he has been held at Brooklyn’s Metropolitan Detention Center, about an hour by subway from the Harlem neighborhood where he was born. His rags-to-riches life story is of a boy reared by a single mother who through perseverance grew up to live in mansions in Los Angeles and Miami.

If convicted on all counts, he faces a mandatory minimum of 15 years in prison and could face life in prison. — Reuters