Richard Linklater sounded off on Trump’s tariff threat on foreign-made films during the Cannes press conference for his new film “Nouvelle Vague,” saying: “That’s not going to happen right?”
Linklater shot “Nouvelle Vague,” which chronicles the making of Jean-Luc Godard’s “Breathless,” in France. When asked if he had any thoughts on Trump’s recent threat to impose a 100% tax on films made outside of the U.S., the director doubted the viability of the proposal.
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“The tariff thing, that’s not going to happen right? That guy changes his mind like 50 times in one day,” Linklater said. “It’s the one export industry in the U.S., it would be kind of dumb to… Whatever, we don’t have to talk about that.”
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On if it has become more expensive to make films in the U.S., Linklater said: “I think the true indie film, the no-budget film, has cost the same for the last 60 years. It’s always about how much you have, so that doesn’t change much.”
Zoey Deutch, who plays “Breathless” leading lady Jean Seberg in the film, then chimed in to say that “it would be nice to make more movies in Los Angeles.”
“The history and the studios and the culture and the crews, it would be so beautiful,” she said. “I just finished doing a movie there and it was magical in the same way that Paris is magical and has this history. I would love for there to be more movies in Los Angeles.”
Linklater agreed and added that he “really admires” the French for “taking care” of their film industry. “They make sure it’s healthy and they nurture it and they help it. The government, everyone is all in,” he said. “From production to distribution, they care. And our country, the U.S., could use a little bit of that.”
“Nouvelle Vague” premiered at Cannes on Saturday night to an enthusiastic ovation. Guillaume Marbeck stars as Godard in “Nouvelle Vague,” with Aubry Dullin playing “Breathless” star Jean-Paul Belmondo. The movie is Linklater’s first project shot in French.Variety’sOwen Gleiberman called the moviea highlight of the 2025festival, writing: “Guillaume Marbeck is so perfect as Jean-Luc Godard he’s uncanny. And so is the whole movie.”
Elsewhere in the conference, Linklater reflected on the current state of cinema, saying that he’s “optimistic” due to the passion he’s seen from young people, who he called the “Letterboxd generation.”
“Cinema is optimistic — it has to be,” Linklater said. “It always feels under attack, you know? I’ve had movies out for over 30 years now and it’s always, ‘Things are terrible, it’s tough.’ And it is tough, it’s a struggle — but it always has been.”
He continued: “There’s new threats, but there’s something perpetual. We like stories told to us, we like the format of feature films. There’s more films than ever being made, indie films, it’s just harder to get them seen. But we adapt.”
