Governor of Georgia to Head to Hollywood amid Bill Backlash's Heartbeat – Variety



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While leading studios are watching and waiting to see whether a controversial new bill signed by Georgia's governor Brian Kemp will come into effect, Hollywood actors are considering boycotting the production center, insiders said. Variety. Kemp will also travel to Los Angeles in the coming months to meet with senior executives, where legislation is likely to be in place, many people familiar with the trip said.

The indignation of the prolific independent producers Christine Vachon ("Carol") and Mark Duplass ("Creep") has continued since Kemp signed HB 481 on Tuesday, which would ban abortions after the detection of the drug. a fetal heartbeat. Stars such as Alyssa Milano – who is currently living in Georgia on the set of the original "Insatiable" of Netflix – have announced that they would leave what has become a thriving local film economy in name of women's reproductive rights. The film distributor Oscilloscope Labs was less subtle, tweeting HEART BEAT, INVOICE.

Thanks to an attractive 30% production tax rebate, Georgia is a hotspot for film and TV filming. Kemp's trip to Los Angeles has been scheduled for some time, said one of the insiders, and is expected to take place by the end of July. Meanwhile. His "heartbeat bill" inspired discussions in Los Angeles, as top players cast a critical eye over what the symbolic gesture could mean for the results.

"It's not nearly as easy as you think," said one-half of an award-winning Emmy production team, addressing Variety on the condition of anonymity. "For the people who have invested there, there is a deep infrastructure. You can not just get out of it.

Indeed, content giants such as Netflix and Walt Disney Studios have become dependent on lush facilities such as the Pinewood Studios in Atlanta, with 18 sound trays ranging from 15,000 to 40,000 square feet and a stock of 400 acres. Films from "Captain America: Civil War" to "Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri" were filmed there.

The threat of boycott also affects many local artisans and visitors, as well as their families. A top executive of a streaming company has singled out workers like carpenters, who are so in need of the state to create sets that a huge Los Angeles faction has moved to for sure. to settle in Georgia.

While the studios have individually refused to comment on the issue, their collective voice in Washington – the Motion Picture Association of America – confirmed this economic reality this week.

"Georgian film and television production supports more than 92,000 jobs and brings significant economic benefits to communities," a spokesman for the MPAA said Wednesday, adding that the group "will continue to monitor the evolution of the situation ".

Other people in positions of power make more strategic moves. Late Friday night Jordan Peele 's Monkeypaw Productions and JJ Bad Robot Productions (Abrams) announced that its HBO series "Lovecraft Country" would continue to shoot in Georgia as planned, but that this production money would be donated to two charities fighting the anti-abortion law. Insiders close to the production said the donation was made to strengthen the crusade of the politician Stacey Abrams to prevent the bill from becoming law.

The law, which will come into force on January 1, provides exceptions for rape and incest (if a woman files a police report) or to save the mother's life).

Read some notable reactions in Hollywood:

Gene Maddaus contributed to this report.

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