Spike Lee is amongst the most controversial filmmakers in Hollywood working today because of his outlandish racism accusations and questionable politics.
Nearly all of his movies have a toxic racism cultural vibe between Caucasian and African Americans like his most recent Best Picture nominee “BlacKkKlansman”, alludes to all of President Trump’s supporters being paralleled to the Ku Klux Klan of the 1970s.
And now director Spike Lee has taken his infusion of politics into Hollywood to a whole new level when he urged filmmakers to do this massive thing in Georgia.
When the “Heartbeat abortion bill” passed the Georgia House with 92 votes in late March, many famous actors (approximately 50) signed a pledge refusing to work in the state due to the controversial bill. Upon this passing, 50 actors and countless more filmmakers signed a petition saying they would refuse any work in Georgia if it was signed into law.
And it was all but a foregone conclusion because Governor Kemp noted after it passed, “Georgia values life. We stand up for the innocent and speak for those who cannot speak for themselves. The legislature’s bold action reaffirms our priorities and who we are as a state. I thank these lawmakers for their leadership and applaud their undeniable courage.”
That’s exactly what Gov. Kemp did. It hasn’t fully been implemented in state law but it’s on its way, barring any sort of federal overreach that would prevent it from doing so.
Gov. Kemp doesn’t seem to care whether the state loses an estimated $11.5 billion in extra stimulus from Hollywood.
He recently appeared at a GOP convention where he noted, “I understand that some folks don’t like this new law. I’m fine with that. We’re elected to do what’s right – and standing up for precious life is always the right thing to do. We are the party of freedom and opportunity. We value and protect innocent life — even though that makes C-list celebrities squawk.”
Now, most studios and production companies are waiting to see if the “heartbeat abortion” law actually takes effect. But at the arrivals line for Denzel Washington’s American Film Institute lifetime achievement tribute Thursday, Lee said now is the time for Georgia-based productions to “shut it down” and boycott the state’s booming film industry to drive change.
Lee added, “I know it’s going to affect people’s livelihood. But that’s how things change. You’ve got to be on the right side of history, and the state of Georgia and those other states, they’re wrong,”
That’s his opinion and he has every right to it, but the people in Georgia voted a leadership into power so they could reflect their own moral views. That’s what they just did with the new bill.
Hollywood shouldn’t be able to extort Georgia because of laws they disagree with but they’re doing it anyway.
What you may not know is that there is a huge population of cast and crew that range anywhere between actors to directors of photography, casting agencies to editors, lighting to sound operators that live in Atlanta, Georgia and work year round due to the state’s generous tax incentive.
All of them will be out of jobs if Hollywood boycotts, but they simply don’t care about them.