New York (AFP) – Donald Trump He wants to make Hollywood “bigger, better and stronger,” and has chosen Mel Gibson, Jon Voight and Sylvester Stallone as the stars of what he calls “his own ambassadors to a great but very troubled place, Hollywood, California.”
The president-elect announced on Wednesday on his social media site that the three actors will be his eyes and ears for the film city.
“It will once again be, like the United States of America itself, the Golden Age of Hollywood!” Books on social truth.
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The three also appointed special envoys. Ambassadors and special envoys are usually chosen to respond to troubled hot spots like the Middle East, not California.
Gibson said in a statement that he received the news “at the same time as you all did, and was completely surprised. However, he answered the call. My duty as a citizen is to offer whatever assistance and insight I can.”
Gibson, who lost his home in Barrier fireHe added: “Is it possible for the position to be accompanied by an ambassadorial residence?”
American film and television production has been hampered in recent years, with setbacks resulting from the Covid-19 pandemic. Hollywood union strikes in 2023 Last week, wildfires continued in the Los Angeles area. Overall U.S. production fell 26% from 2021, according to ProdPro data.
In the greater Los Angeles area, production was down 5.6% from 2023 according to FilmLA, the lowest level since 2020. Last October, Gov. Gavin Newsom proposed expanding California’s film and television tax credit program to $750 million annually (up from $330 million dollars). Other American cities such as Atlanta, New York, Chicago, and San Francisco have used tax incentives to attract film and television production to their cities. Actor Mark Wahlberg is even planning to establish a production center in Las Vegas.
“I’m old enough to have touched a few years of the Golden Age of Hollywood, and I’ve seen its slow decline ever since. Today, we’re in very bad shape,” Voight said. “Very few movies are made here now, but we’re lucky because “We have a president coming in, who wants to bring Hollywood back to its former glory, and with his help, I feel we can get it done.”
It’s unclear what exactly Gibson, Foote and Stallone will do in this effort to bring production back to the U.S. and Stallone’s representatives did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Trump’s decision to select actors to be his chosen “ambassadors” highlights his preoccupation with the 1980s and 1990s, when he was a rising New York tabloid star and Gibson and Stallone were among the world’s biggest movie stars.
Stallone is a frequent guest at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago club and introduced him at a party held in November, shortly after the election.
“When George Washington defended his country, he had no idea he would change the world. “Without him, you can imagine what the world would look like,” Stallone told the crowd. “Guess what? We got George Washington II. Congratulations!
The decision also reflects Trump’s willingness to overlook his supporters’ more controversial statements.
Gibson’s reputation in Hollywood has changed since 2006, when he made anti-Semitic remarks while being arrested for drunk driving. But he also continued to work in mainstream films and directed Wahlberg’s upcoming film, “Flight Risk.”
Voight is a longtime Trump supporter and has called Trump the greatest president since Abraham Lincoln.
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