Business
As Trump Returns to G7, Rift With Allies Is Even Deeper
When President Trump last attended a Group of 7 meeting in Canada, he was in many ways the odd man out.
At that meeting, in 2018, Mr. Trump called for the alliance of Western countries to embrace Russia, antagonized allies and ultimately stormed out of the summit over a trade battle he began by imposing metals tariffs on Canada.
As he returns on Sunday for the Group of 7 meeting in Alberta, those fissures have only deepened. Since retaking office, the president has sought to shrink America’s military role abroad and made threats to annex the summit’s host after embarking on a much more expansive trade war.
Mr. Trump is now facing a self-imposed deadline of early July to reach trade deals. His trade adviser even promised in April that the tariffs would lead to “90 deals in 90 days.” Despite reaching framework agreements with Britain and China, the administration has shown scant progress on deals with other major trading partners.
The future of the president’s favored negotiating tool is uncertain as a legal battle over his tariffs plays out in the courts. But a failure to reach accords could lead the Trump administration to once again ratchet up tariffs and send markets roiling.
“I think we’ll have a few new trade deals,” Mr. Trump told reporters at the White House on Sunday as he left for the summit.
The gathering also comes amid fears of a broader, regional war in the Middle East after Israel launched a surprise attack on Iran’s leadership and nuclear facilities last week, prompting both nations to trade strikes.
“Sometimes they have to fight it out, but we’re going to see what happens,” Mr. Trump said when asked what he was doing to de-escalate the conflict between Israel and Iran. “I think there’s a good chance there will be a deal.”
Mr. Trump’s aides say he will discuss a range of topics, including fairness in global trade, critical minerals, illegal migration, drug smuggling and international security. World leaders will also be focused on surging oil prices and Russia’s war against Ukraine.
Leaders of the Group of 7 nations — Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan and the United States — will convene in Kananaskis, a remote town west of Calgary. The summit this week, the 50th such meeting, is usually a forum for the U.S. president to leverage allies and partners to further its agenda and assert its leadership on global issues of consequence.
But world leaders appear to be bracing for Mr. Trump’s shift away from global partnerships. Canadian officials have said that they were scrapping hopes of issuing a joint communiqué, the traditional statement leaders put out at the end of such meetings. Mr. Trump refused to endorse the joint statement moments after it was released at the end of the 2018 summit.
“One thing that the G7 represents just beyond the world’s largest economies is a community of shared values — shared values that Trump doesn’t necessarily share or subscribe to,” said Rachel Rizzo, a nonresident senior fellow at the Atlantic Council’s Europe Center.
Beyond trade, the war in Ukraine is likely to be a point of contention at the summit. While Mr. Trump has signaled reluctance to stay engaged in the war and derided multilateral organizations like NATO, European allies have rallied around Ukraine.
President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine is expected to be in attendance.
François-Philippe Champagne, Canada’s finance minister, said the presence of Ukraine was meant to “send a strong message to the world,” that the Group of 7 was recommitting to support Kyiv and hold Moscow accountable.
At the 2018 summit in Canada, one of the biggest disputes between Mr. Trump and allies was when he demanded Russia’s readmission to the Group of 7 nations. The country was ousted from the diplomatic forum after Mr. Putin violated international norms by seizing parts of Ukraine in 2014.
Since returning to office, Mr. Trump has boasted about his close relationship with Mr. Putin, and has repeatedly taken his side in the war — even falsely accusing Ukraine of starting it. Thus far, his embrace of Mr. Putin has not helped broker peace in the war.
“Given Trump’s ongoing conversations with Russian President Vladimir Putin, the prospect of any meaningful new G7 action to promote a durable resolution of the three-year-old conflict is highly uncertain,” Matthew P. Goodman, the director of the Greenberg Center for Geoeconomic Studies at the Council on Foreign Relations, wrote last week.
He said Mr. Trump’s attendance at the summit and his decision to impose tariffs on the other members had “cast a deep shadow over the gathering in Canada.”
Mr. Trump’s increased hostility toward U.S. allies is perhaps most exemplified by the relationship with the host country.
The relationship between the neighbors and top trading partners has been at a historical low since Mr. Trump’s re-election because of his decision to impose tariffs on Canadian goods and his continuing to threaten its sovereignty by asserting that Canada should be a part of the United States.
Prime Minister Mark Carney of Canada has sought a cordial relationship with Mr. Trump, but during a meeting in the Oval Office last month delivered a stern response to Mr. Trump’s suggestions: Canada “won’t be for sale, ever.”
“Never say never,” Mr. Trump replied.
Kori Schake, a former defense official in the George W. Bush administration who directs foreign and defense policy studies at the American Enterprise Institute, said that Mr. Trump’s treatment of Canada was “emblematic of the bullying Trump considers appropriate.”
“If this is the behavior toward a country with which we share a 5,500-mile border and a common air defense, it’s sure to be similarly antagonistic to other allies,” Dr. Schake said.
A May poll showed that Canadian sentiment toward the United States was at a historical low. Nine out of 10 Canadians rejected Mr. Trump’s idea of making their country the “51st state.” And recent travel data showed that Canadians were canceling or changing plans to visit the United States.
Canadians have been so galvanized against Mr. Trump that the rift appeared to have swung national elections. After Canada seemed poised to elect a conservative as prime minister in its April elections, the pendulum swung in favor of Mr. Carney, a liberal, by 30 percentage points, because the conservative candidate was seen as too close to Mr. Trump.
Still, while protests are expected during the summit, Alberta is a conservative stronghold within Canada, so Mr. Trump will find some friendly welcome there. Sometimes referred to as “Canada’s Texas” on account of its oil riches and conservative politics, Alberta is in the middle of a push to hold a secession referendum.
Mr. Carney, who this year holds the Group of 7 presidency, has invited the leaders of several nonmember countries: India, Brazil, South Africa, Mexico, Ukraine, Australia and South Korea, and the head of NATO.
In his second term, Mr. Trump has had explosive clashes in the Oval Office with Mr. Zelensky and Cyril Ramaphosa, the president of South Africa.
Michael Froman, the president of the Council on Foreign Relations, said that while the United States had historically played a role as a consensus builder at Group of 7 summits, it had often come to the table with a different perspective than its allies.
Mr. Froman argued that Mr. Trump was engaging the world, just under different terms than his predecessors.
“On some of these issues, we are currently alone,” Mr. Froman said.
“But I think one of the goals will be to bring other countries in our direction,” he added, “whether that’s through careful diplomacy” or “the threat of tariffs and sanctions.”
Matina Stevis-Gridneff contributed reporting.
Business
David Ellison hits CinemaCon, vowing to make more movies with Paramount-Warner Bros.
Paramount Skydance Chief Executive David Ellison made his case directly to theater owners Thursday, pledging to release a minimum of 30 films a year from the combined Paramount and Warner Bros. Discovery company during a speech at the CinemaCon trade convention in Las Vegas.
“I wanted to look every single one of you in the eye and give you my word,” Ellison said in a brief on-stage speech, adding that Paramount has already nearly doubled its film lineup for this year with 15 planned releases, up from eight in 2025.
He also said all films will remain in theaters exclusively for 45 days, starting Thursday. Films will then go to streaming platforms in 90 days. The amount of time that films stay in theaters — known as windowing — has been a controversial topic for theater owners, as some studios reduced that period during the pandemic. Theater operators have said the shortened window has trained audiences to wait to watch films at home and cuts into theater revenues.
“I have dedicated the last 20 years of my life to elevating and preserving film,” said Ellison, clad in a dark jacket and shirt with blue jeans. “And at Paramount, we want to tell even more great stories on the big screen — stories that make people think, laugh, dream, wonder and feel — and we want to share them with as broad an audience as possible.”
Ellison’s CinemaCon appearance comes as more than 1,000 Hollywood actors and creatives have signed a letter opposing Paramount’s proposed acquisition of Warner Bros. Supporters of the letter have said the deal would reduce competition in the industry and “further consolidate an already concentrated media landscape.”
Some theater operators have also questioned whether the combined company could achieve its goal of releasing 30 films a year, particularly after the cost cuts that are expected after the merger closes.
“People can speculate all they want — but I am standing here today telling you personally that you can count on our complete commitment,” Ellison said. “And we’ll show you we mean it.”
The speech came after a star-studded video directed by “Wicked: For Good” director Jon M. Chu that was shot on the Paramount lot on Melrose Avenue and showcased directors and actors including Issa Rae, Will Smith, Chris Pratt, James Cameron and Timothée Chalamet that are working with the company.
The video closed with “Top Gun” actor Tom Cruise perched atop the Paramount water tower.
“As you saw, the Paramount lot is alive again,” Ellison said after the video. “And we could not be more excited.”
Business
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Business
Civil case against Alec Baldwin, ‘Rust’ movie producers advances toward a trial
Nearly two years after actor Alec Baldwin was cleared of criminal charges in the “Rust” movie shooting death, a long simmering civil negligence case is inching toward a trial this fall.
On Friday, a Los Angeles Superior Court judge denied a summary judgment motion requested by the film producers Rust Movie Productions LLC, as well as actor-producer Baldwin and his firm El Dorado Pictures to dismiss the case.
During a hearing, Superior Court Judge Maurice Leiter set an Oct. 12 trial date.
The negligence suit was brought more than four years ago by Serge Svetnoy, who served as the chief lighting technician on the problem-plagued western film. Svetnoy was close friends with cinematographer Halyna Hutchins and held her in his arms as she lay dying on the floor of the New Mexico movie set. Baldwin’s firearm had discharged, launching a .45 caliber bullet, which struck and killed her.
The Bonanza Creek Ranch in Santa Fe, N.M. in 2021.
(Jae C. Hong / Associated Press)
Svetnoy was the first crew member of the ill-fated western to bring a lawsuit against the producers, alleging they were negligent in Hutchins’ October 2021 death. He maintains he has suffered trauma in the years since. In addition to negligence, his lawsuit also accuses the producers of intentional infliction of emotional distress.
Prosecutors dropped criminal charges against Baldwin, who has long maintained he was not responsible for Hutchins’ death.
“We are pleased with the Court’s decision denying the motions for summary judgment filed by Rust Movie Productions and Mr. Baldwin,” lawyers Gary Dordick and John Upton, who represent Svetnoy, said in a statement following the hearing. “He looks forward to finally having his day in court on this long-pending matter.”
The judge denied the defendants’ request to dismiss the negligence, emotional distress and punitive damages claims. One count directed at Baldwin, alleging assault, was dropped.
Svetnoy has said the bullet whizzed past his head and “narrowly missed him,” according to the gaffer’s suit.
Attorneys representing Baldwin and the producers were not immediately available for comment.
Svetnoy and Hutchins had been friends for more than five years and worked together on nine film productions. Both were immigrants from Ukraine, and they spent holidays together with their families.
On Oct. 21, 2021, he was helping prepare for an afternoon of filming in a wooden church on Bonanza Creek Ranch. Hutchins was conversing with Baldwin to set up a camera angle that Hutchins wanted to depict: a close-up image of the barrel of Baldwin’s revolver.
The day had been chaotic because Hutchins’ union camera crew had walked off the set to protest the lack of nearby housing and previous alleged safety violations with the firearms on the set.
Instead of postponing filming to resolve the labor dispute, producers pushed forward, crew members alleged.
New Mexico prosecutors prevailed in a criminal case against the armorer, Hannah Gutierrez, in March 2024. She served more than a year in a state women’s prison for her involuntary manslaughter conviction before being released last year.
Baldwin faced a similar charge, but the case against him unraveled spectacularly.
On the second day of his July 2024 trial, his criminal defense attorneys — Luke Nikas and Alex Spiro — presented evidence that prosecutors and sheriff’s deputies withheld evidence that may have helped his defense . The judge was furious, setting Baldwin free.
Variety first reported on Friday’s court action.
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