Two of Hollywood’s Biggest Names to Shoot in Georgia Despite Heartbeat Bill Boycott; but There’s a Catch

Georgia House lawmakers passed a new bill HB 481, also known as the “heartbeat abortion bill,” – which outlaws abortions as soon as the heartbeat is detected and Georgia Governor Brian Kemp signed it into law last week. This sent liberals into a hysterical frenzy, especially Hollywood elitists.

Celebrity filmmakers plan to boycott filming anything in the state due to Georgia’s generous 35% tax incentive, which sees approximately 300 film productions every year.

But two of Hollywood’s biggest names are ignoring the boycott and plan to shoot their new HBO series in Georgia; but there’s a catch.

Georgia’s economy thrives due to the enormous amount of productions filmed there every year. The figure is that it injects somewhere in the range of $10 billion into the economy, which is why it’s smart to offer such a lucrative tax incentive to lure filmmakers in.

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 the controversial bill.

And it was all but a foregone conclusion Governor Kemp would sign the bill into law because he immediately 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.”

Kemp wasn’t lying either because he followed through on his promise.

Now, Hollywood is pulling productions right and left out of Georgia and those productions who stay will be shamed by the others.

But they won’t shame two of Hollywood’s biggest power players, Jordan Peele (director of “Get Out” and “Us”) and JJ Abrams (director of “Star Wars: The Force Awakens” and “Star Trek”), who have announced their joint HBO production will continue filming in the state despite the heartbeat bill.

The upcoming HBO series “Lovecraft Country” is about a young African-American who travels across the United States in the 1950s Jim Crow era in search of his missing father and stars Elizabeth Debicki, Aunjanue Ellis and Jonathan Majors.

Although they’re going against the boycott grain, Jordan Peele’s Monkeypaw Productions and JJ Abrams’ Bad Robot Productions plan to donate the profits of the show to two charities.

Monkeypaw and Bad Robot issued a joint statement that read, “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. 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. We stand with Stacey Abrams and the hardworking people of Georgia, and will donate 100% 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. We encourage those who are able to funnel any and all resources to these organizations.”

The subtext here is to calm anybody who will criticize them for not pulling out immediately because they don’t have the budget to upend the whole production to a new place.

Peele and Abrams are at the tippy-top of the hierarchy in Hollywood so many would look to them for guidance on what to do, but it looks like most new productions won’t shoot in Georgia because it will kill any chance the producers had at making a profit.