Richard Linklater on Trump’s Film Tariff Threat: ‘That’s Not Going to Happen, Right? That Guy Changes His Mind Like 50 Times in One Day’

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.

“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 of the U.S., it would be kind of dumb to… Whatever, we don’t have to talk about that.”

Guillaume Marbeck stars as the iconic French filmmaker, with Zoey Deutch playing the movie’s leading lady, Jean Seberg, and Aubry Dullin starring as the film’s male star Jean-Paul Belmondo. The movie is Linklater’s first project shot in French.

“Nouvelle Vague” premiered at Cannes on Saturday night to an enthusiastic ovation and glowing reviews. Variety’s Owen Gleiberman called the movie a highlight of the 2025 festival, writing: “Guillaume Marbeck is so perfect as Jean-Luc Godard he’s uncanny. And so is the whole movie.”

More to come…