So-called Hollywood ambassadors Jon Voight and Sylvester Stallone joined with a coalition of entertainment industry groups for a letter delivered this week to President Trump urging him to support tax measures and a federal tax incentive that would help bring film and TV production back to the U.S.

The letter is signed by Voight, Stallone, all the major Hollywood unions and trade groups such as the Motion Picture Assn., the Producers Guild of America and the Independent Film & Television Alliance, indicating widespread support from the entertainment industry.

“Returning more production to the United States will require a national approach and broad-based policy solutions … as well as longer term initiatives such as implementing a federal film and television tax incentive,” the letter states.

In the letter, which was obtained by The Times, the groups say they support Trump’s proposal to create a new 15% corporate tax rate for domestic manufacturing activities that would use a provision from the old Section 199 of the federal tax code as a model.

Under the previous Section 199, which expired in 2017, film and TV productions that were made in the U.S. qualified as domestic manufacturing and were eligible for that tax deduction, the letter states.

The letter also asks Trump to extend Section 181 of the federal tax code and increase the caps on tax-deductible qualified film and TV production expenditures, as well as reinstating the ability to carry back losses, which the groups say would give production companies more financial stability.

The tax measures — particularly Sections 199 and 181 — are issues the entertainment industry has long advocated for, according to two people familiar with the matter who were not authorized to comment publicly. The letter itself came together over the weekend, they said. It was intended to present different measures that shared the same goal of increasing domestic production, one person said.

“Everything we can do to help producers mange their budgets is important,” said Susan Sprung, chief executive of the Producers Guild of America. “In an ideal world, we’d want a federal tax incentive, in addition to these tax provisions, but we want to advocate to make it as easy as possible to produce in the United States and make it as cost-effective as possible.”

Last week, Trump threw the entertainment industry into chaos after initially suggesting a 100% tariff on films made in other countries. Then, California Gov. Gavin Newsom jumped into the mix, calling for a $7.5-billion federal tax incentive to keep more productions in the U.S.

The proposals on the federal level come as states are upping their own film and TV tax credits to better compete against each other and other countries. Late last week, New York Gov. Kathy Hochul signed the state’s budget, which increased the cap for its film tax credit to $800 million a year, up from $700 million.

The expanded tax incentive program allocates $100 million for independent studios and gives additional incentives to companies that produce two or more projects in New York and commit to at least $100 million in qualified spending.

The program was also extended through 2036, which could help attract TV producers, who often want to know that their filming location is committed if they’re embarking on a series.

Production in New York has been slow, and the state needed this boost, said Michael Hackman, chief executive of Hackman Capital Partners, which owns two film and TV studio properties in the state, as well as several facilities in California. The increase from New York could also push California to increase its own film and TV tax credit program.

Last year, Newsom called to increase the annual amount allocated to California‘s film and TV tax credit program from $330 million to $750 million.

Two bills are currently going through the state legislature that would expand California’s incentive, including increasing the tax credit to cover up to 35% of qualified expenditures (or 40% in areas outside the Greater Los Angeles region), as well as expanding the types of productions that would be eligible for an incentive.

“We have the best infrastructure, the best talent, we have everything going for us,” Hackman said. “So if our state legislature can get more competitive with our tax credits, I think more productions will stay. But if they don’t, this will result in more productions continuing to leave the state and going to New York and to other locations.”

SAN FRANCISCO — Earlier this month, a mysterious store selling a vision of the future opened its doors in downtown San Francisco’s Union Square district.

A cryptic message appeared on the storefront window: “World is the real human network. Anonymous proof of human and universally inclusive finance for the age of AI. Millions of humans in over 160 countries. Now available in the USA.”

The store attracted a small crowd and curious onlookers. People took turns scanning their eyes by peering into white devices known as orbs — to prove they are human. Then they received, free of charge, a verified World ID they could use to log into online services and apps. As an extra bonus, participants were given some Worldcoin cryptocurrency tokens.

Some just observed from a distance.

“I’m afraid to walk inside,” said Brian Klein, 66, as he peered into the window on his way to the theater. “I don’t want that thing taking any of my data and biometric scanning me.”

The futuristic technology is the creation of a startup called Tools for Humanity, which is based in San Francisco and Munich, Germany. Founded in 2019 by Alex Blania and Sam Altman — the entrepreneur known for OpenAI’s ChatGPT — the tech company says it’s “building for humans in the age of AI.”

In theory, these iris scans offer a safe and convenient way for consumers to verify their human identity at a time when AI-powered tools can easily create fake audio and images of people.

“We wanted a way to make sure that humans stayed special and essential in a world where the internet was going to have lots of AI-driven content,” said Altman, the chairman for Tools for Humanity, at a glitzy event in San Francisco last month.

Like the early stages of Facebook and PayPal, World is still in a growth phase, trying to lure enough customers to its network to eventually build a viable service.

A chief draw, World says, is that people can verify their humanness at an orb without providing personal information, such as, their names, emails, phone numbers and social media profiles.

But some are skeptical, contending that handing over biometric data is too risky. They cite instances where companies have reported data breaches or filed for bankruptcy, such as DNA research firm 23andMe.

“You can’t get new eyeballs. I don’t care what this company says. Biometric data like these retinal scans will get out. Hacks and leaks happen all the time,” said Justin Kloczko, a tech and privacy advocate at Consumer Watchdog. “Your eyeballs are going to be like gold to these thieves.”

World has been making waves in Asia, Europe, South America and Central America. More than 12 million people have verified themselves through the orbs and roughly 26 million have downloaded the World app, where people store their World ID, digital assets and access other tools, the company says.

Now, World is setting its sights on the United States. The World app says people can claim up to 39 Worldcoin tokens, worth up to $45.49 if a user verifies they’re human with an orb.

World plans to deploy 7,500 orbs throughout the U.S. this year. It’s opening up spaces where people can scan their eyes in six cities — Los Angeles, San Francisco, Atlanta, Austin, Miami and Nashville. The L.A. space opened on Melrose Avenue last week.

Backed by well-known venture capital firms including Bain Capital, Menlo Ventures, Khosla Ventures and Andreessen Horowitz, Tools for Humanity has raised $240 million, as of March, according to Pitchbook.

The crypto eye-scanning project has stirred up plenty of buzz, but also controversy.

In places outside the United States, including Hong Kong, Spain, Portugal, Indonesia, South Korea, and Kenya, regulators have scrutinized the effort because of data privacy concerns.

Whistleblower Edward Snowden, who leaked classified details of the U.S. government’s mass surveillance program, responded to Altman’s post about the project in 2021 by saying “the human body is not a ticket-punch.”

Ashkan Soltani, the former executive director of the California Privacy Protection Agency, said that privacy risks can outweigh the benefits of handing over biometric data.

“Even if companies don’t store raw biometric data, like retina scans, the derived identifiers are immutable … and permanently linked to the individuals they were captured from,” he said in an email.

World executives counter that the orb captures photos of a person’s face and eyes, but doesn’t store any of that data. To receive a verified World ID, people can choose to send their iris image to their phone and that data are encrypted, meaning that the company can’t view or access the information.

Frankie Reina, of West Hollywood, left, gets an eye scan with the help of Myra Vides, center.

(Christina House / Los Angeles Times)

The idea for World began five years ago. Before the popularity of ChatGPT ignited an AI frenzy, Altman was on a walk with Blania in San Francisco talking about how trust would work in the age where AI systems are smarter than humans.

“The initial ideas were very crazy, then we came down to one that was just a little bit crazy, which became World,” Altman said onstage at an event about World’s U.S. debut at Fort Mason, a former U.S. Army post in San Francisco.

At the event, tech workers, influencers and even California Gov. Gavin Newsom and San Francisco Mayor Daniel Lurie wandered in and out of a large building filled with orbs, refreshments and entertainment.

Tools for Humanity Chief Executive Blania highlighted three ways people could use their verified World ID: gaming, dating and social media.

Currently, online services use a variety of ways to confirm people’s identities including video selfies, phone numbers, government-issued IDs and two-factor authentication.

World recently teamed up with gaming company Razer, based in Irvine and Singapore, to verify customers are human through a single-sign on, and is placing orbs in Razer stores.

Blania also touted a partnership with Match Group, where people can used World to verify themselves and their ages on apps such as Tinder , an effort that will be tested in Japan.

“We think the internet as a whole will need a proof of human and one space that I’m personally most excited about will be social,” Blania said at the San Francisco event.

Alex Blania, the chief executive of Tools for Humanity, speaks onstage during an event for the U.S. launch of World at Fort Mason Center on April 30 in San Francisco.

(Kimberly White / Getty Images for World)

Back at the World store in San Francisco, Zachary Sussman was eager to check out the orbs with his two friends, both in their 20s.

“For me, the more ‘Black Mirror’ the technology is, the more likely I am to use it,” Sussman said, referring to the popular Netflix sci-fi series. “I like the dystopian aesthetic.”

Doug Colaizzo, 35, checked out the store with his daughter and parents. Colaizzo, a developer, described himself as an “early adopter” of technology. He already uses his fingerprint to unlock his front door and his smartphone to pay for items.

“We need a better way of identifying humans,” he said. “I support this idea, even if this is not gonna be the one that wins.”

Andras Cser, vice president and principal analyst of Security and Risk Management at Forrester Research, said the fact that people have to go to a store to scan their eyes could limit adoption.

World is building a gadget called the “mini Orb” that’s the size of a smartphone, but convincing people to carry a separate device around will also be an uphill battle, he said.

“There’s big time hype with a ton of customer friction and privacy problems,” he said.

The company will have to convince skeptics like Klein to hand over their biometric data. The San Francisco resident is more cautious, especially after he had to delete his DNA data from 23andMe because the biotech company filed for bankruptcy.

“I’m not going to go off and live in the wilderness by myself,” he said. “Eventually, I might have to, but I’m going to resist as much as I can.”