Battle lines in Georgia
Abortion bill has some Hollywood filmmakers, actors seeking boycott
A backlash against Georgia’s new anti-abortion law is slowly growing across one of its important industries: filmmaking.
At least four independent production companies have announced they won’t do business in the state after the governor signed the “heartbeat” bill, which bans most abortions the moment physicians hear a fetal heartbeat.
More than 50 actors have also signed a letter to Georgia legislators saying they will seek to stop production in the state, a popular venue for Hollywood projects, if the law goes into effect.
But the biggest corporate players remain on the sidelines. The movie industry’s Washington-based trade group has said it will hold off on taking action, and no major studios have said they will move any of their productions out of the state.
Adding a further complication, many workers in the Georgia film industry itself say a boycott might do more harm than good.
More than 700 film workers have signed a petition titled “We are the women of the film & media industry in Georgia” urging Hollywood to step back from a boycott.
“We’re the boots on the ground,” said Sara Riney, 46, a set decoration buyer who has worked on The Walking Dead, Pitch Perfect 3 and Doom Patrol. “If they cut our legs from under us when we’re out here on the battlefield, how’s that going to help?”
Meanwhile, Milla Jovovich and Jameela Jamil are among actresses to reveal they’ve had an abortion and criticizing the bills in Georgia and other states.
On Instagram, Hellboy and Resident Evil star Jovovich said: “Abortion is hard enough for women on an emotional level without having to go through it in potentially unsafe and unsanitary conditions.” And The Good Place star Jamil wrote on Twitter that she had an abortion when she was young, and “it was the best decision I have ever made.”
The controversy stems from a Georgia bill that would ban abortions as early as six weeks into pregnancy, similar to bills in Alabama, Ohio and other U.S. states and considered one of the most restrictive in the country. The Georgia law will go into effect on Jan. 1 if it is not overturned by the courts.
The pledged boycott comes from companies run by actor-directors Mark and Jay Duplass, indie-film maverick Christine Vachon, Wire writer David Simon and Triple Frontier producer Neal Dodson. All said they would no longer do business in Georgia.
“Killer Films will no longer consider Georgia as a viable shooting location until this ridiculous law is overturned,” Vachon tweeted.
Simon said, “I can’t ask any female member of any film production with which I am involved to so marginalize themselves or compromise their inalienable authority over their own bodies.”
Mark Duplass tweeted: “Don’t give your business to Georgia. Will you pledge with me not to film anything in Georgia until they reverse this backwards legislation?”
But those moves are likely to have mainly symbolic impact. Neither the Motion Picture Association of America, the industry’s trade group, nor any of its member studios have said they will stop shooting in Georgia.
The law may not go into effect as written if the courts get involved. But studios often need to make location decisions on top-tier projects a year or more in advance, limiting their ability to wait and see how this controversy plays out.
A little more than a decade ago, the state passed a tax credit that allowed productions to collect a credit of up to 30 per cent of its budget. That sum is significant, making many studios wary of leaving them behind, even with the controversy.
Producers also prefer the state’s generally lower prices, as well as the geographic diversity: With big cities such as Atlanta and many rural locations, Georgia can double for a variety of settings.
The most recent fiscal year saw additional direct spending of $2.7 billion in Georgia as the industry took advantage of the credit, according to the state’s film commission. Georgia has flourished as Disney, Sony, MTV, Lionsgate and numerous other companies have come calling. The Hunger Games movies were shot in Georgia; so was Black Panther. The Walking Dead and Stranger Things TV series also shoot there.
J.J. Abrams and Jordan Peele, who are about to shoot a new show in Georgia, have said they would move forward with shooting — relocating a production at the 11th hour is difficult — but will make donations to civil-rights groups.
“In a few weeks we start shooting our new show Lovecraft Country and will do so standing shoulder to shoulder with the women of Georgia,” they said, referring to their dramatic horror series set amid the segregation of the 1950s South for HBO. “Governor Kemp’s ‘Fetal Heartbeat’ Abortion Law is an unconstitutional effort to further restrict women and their health providers from making private medical decisions on their terms. Make no mistake, this is an attack aimed squarely and purposely at women.”
Actress Alyssa Milano, who is shooting the Netflix series Insatiable in Georgia, has been among those outspoken about the legislation. She recently tweeted, “Hollywood! We should stop feeding GA economy,” and she wrote a column on the industry trade site Deadline speaking out against the act.
“Why is HB 481 so alarming for Georgia when it comes to film?” she said, referring to the bill’s official designation. “Each time leaders in the film industry schedule a production, they think very carefully about where we are going to film it. Women are increasingly in these decision-making roles. A lot of factors go into filming decisions, and when multiple options are available, state and local laws become part of the equation. It’s not just about tax laws; it’s about how the government treats its people.”
Milano also wrote a letter to Kemp and Georgia House Speaker David Ralston, R, in which she and the signees pledged to seek ways for productions to move outside the state if the law goes into effect. Scores of actors signed it, including Gabrielle Union, Mia Farrow, Don Cheadle, Amy Schumer, Patton Oswalt and Sean Penn.
What leverage the actors and creators have, remains to be seen. Big-budget decisions are made by A-level producers and studios.
That makes the Georgia situation a tricky one. The talent don’t have the power to force productions out of the state. And those with that power have a huge financial incentive to stay in it.