Heartbeat Bill 481 stands for the state of Georgia’s values, according to its myriad supporters.
Who wants to kill babies?
Sounds harsh and hysterical to a liberal, and pragmatic and Christian to a conservative.
To most of those who voted for the passage of the bill, it’s a no brainer. If there’s a detectable heartbeat, typically around the six-week mark, that fetus is a person and abortion makes it murder.
Liberal pro-choice Hollywood cried foul.
Major studios have made threats like Disney, Netflix and Amazon have all to abandon the state, but will they make good or is it all just a bluff?
There a lot to lose, and gain, either way.
According to a recent report from The Wrap, the CW president Mark Pedowitz stated that while many of his network’s shows do film in the Georgia, “boycott” decisions are made by the network’s parent companies.
“First, anybody who interferes with people’s right to make medical choices, I am solely against,” Pedowitz said at the Television Critics Association press tour on Sunday. “Second, the law is not in effect yet. We are following the path of our parent companies. If the law is passed, I am certain we’ll have discussions with both studios about what to do and what not to do.”
Governor Brian Kemp signed a bill in May 2019 aiming to outlaw abortion in Georgia after the detection of a fetal heartbeat which is expected to take effect on Jan. 1, 2020, pending any legal challenges.
Many of The CW’s programs currently film in Georgia, including the superhero drama “Black Lighting” and the “Vampire Diaries” spinoff, “Legacies.”
Pedowitz’s comments are in line with the stance of many other film and television production companies in the months and weeks since the bill was signed. The heads of Disney, NBCUniversal, AMC Networks, WarnerMedia and Netflix have all made some version of a promise to reconsider filming in Georgia should the law go into effect. The CW is jointly owned by CBS and WarnerMedia.
The CW’s producers are hardly alone. Many others have said they would boycott filming in Georgia in response to the law, while others have pledged to donate their earnings to groups fighting the action.
Heavy-hitters like Spike Lee weighed in on the issue in June, calling for Hollywood to pull their productions out of Georgia. According to the Associated Press, the “Do the Right Thing” producter attended Denzel Washington’s American Film Institute lifetime achievement tribute on Thursday and called for Georgia-based productions to “shut it down” and boycott the state.
Meanwhile, as more and more filmmakers and actors refuse to work in states that pass such legislation, other states are lining up to fill the void. The $10 billion industry has states like New York cozying up to potential production companies in hopes they’ll become the next darling.
Georgia’s tax incentives and spending credits made it the belle of Hollywood’s ball. It succeeded in surpassing even California as the favorite setting for TV and film production in the US.
Studios such as Disney, roasted Georgia for the legislation, but few have announced that they are officially moving out.
Georgia became a filmmaking mecca thanks to a tax credit of as much as 30 percent on qualified spending without limit.
Last year, a record 455 film and television productions were responsible for more than 92,100 jobs and nearly $4.6bn in wages in the Georgia, including indirect jobs and wages, according to the Motion Picture Association of America.
