Filmmakers vow to boycott Georgia after state passes controversial abortion bill
Filmmakers are vowing to boycott Georgia after the governor signed a controversial abortion bill into law earlier this week. While many people might not think of Georgia as a booming place for film production, more top-grossing films are produced there than anywhere else in the world, according to the state's website.
Several prominent production companies said they will no longer shoot their films in the state. Christine Vachon's Killer Films, which is responsible for the Oscar-nominated movie "Carol," and the Oscar-Winning film "Still Alice," will no longer shoot in Georgia," the filmmaker tweeted Thursday.
"Add my company to the list," Neal Dodson of CounterNarrative Films tweeted shortly after Vachon and Simon announced their boycott. Several other people in the film and TV industry praised the production companies, and urged others to follow.
David Simon said his Blown Deadline Productions will no longer consider the state as a shooting location. Simon is responsible for "The Wire" and HBO's "The Deuce."
Killer Films will no longer consider Georgia as a viable shooting location until this ridiculous law is overturned.
— Christine Vachon (@kvpi) May 9, 2019
Can only speak for my production company. Our comparative assessments of locations for upcoming development will pull Georgia off the list until we can be assured the health options and civil liberties of our female colleagues are unimpaired. https://t.co/WTb0tj95zH
— David Simon (@AoDespair) May 9, 2019
Nina Jacobson's production company Colorforce, which is responsible for "The Hunger Games," "Crazy Rich Asians" and "American Crime Story," responded to Simon's tweet in agreement.
Ditto https://t.co/ArJ1EYxSco
— nina jacobson (@ninajacobson) May 10, 2019
Don’t give your business to Georgia. Will you pledge with me not to film anything in Georgia until they reverse this backwards legislation?
— Mark Duplass (@MarkDuplass) May 9, 2019
But J. J. Abrams and Jordan Peele have decided not to pull productions out of Georgia. Both have vowed to donate their profits from their upcoming HBO horror series "Lovecraft Country" to organizations that will help fight the abortion law, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
"We stand with Stacey Abrams and the hardworking people of Georgia, and will donate 100 percent of our respective episodic fees for this season to two organizations leading the charge against this draconian law: the ACLU of Georgia and Fair Fight Georgia," they said in a joint statement according to The Hollywood Reporter. "We encourage those who are able to funnel any and all resources to these organizations."
The filmmakers are outraged by the state's "fetal heartbeat bill," which Governor Kemp signed into law Tuesday. The law appears to violate Roe v. Wade, the 1973 Supreme Court decision that protects a woman's right to an abortion up until when the fetus is viable, which typically happens between 24 and 25 weeks.
At the bill signing, Kemp recognized that the bill will likely be "challenged in the court of law," but said Georgia will "always continue to fight for life."
Several states have passed laws restricting abortion access. Georgia, however, is the only state that is now losing a major industry because of it.
The state is attractive to filmmakers because productions shot in Georgia receive a 30% tax credit. Since this tax law was passed in 2008, the state's film industry has taken off. "That's a bit of an understatement, actually. Georgia went from being one of the film locations in the world to being the #1 film location in the world," Georgia's official website reads.