Georgia could take another potential revenue loss after this. Will Smith and Antoine Fuqua plan to move their big-budget movie out of Georgia as a result of the recent new voting restrictions recently set in place.
The movie is called “Emancipation” and it’s a runaway slave thriller that appears to be running away from Republican Gov. Brian Kemp. It wasn’t too long ago that MLB moved the all-star game out of Atlanta and into Denver, despite Denver being considered more “white” than Atlanta – a move that many criticized was a mistake, but MLB has gone through with it thus far.
Kemp’s new law requires ID for absentee voting, less time for absentee votes, limited drop box use, and it’s now illegal to provide free food or water to any voter standing in a line.
Fuqua, the director, and Will Smith issued a statement, provided by NBC News: “At this moment in time, the Nation is coming to terms with its history and is attempting to eliminate vestiges of institutional racism to achieve true racial justice. We cannot in good conscience provide economic support to a government that enacts regressive voting laws that are designed to restrict voter access. The new Georgia voting laws are reminiscent of voting impediments that were passed at the end of Reconstruction to prevent many Americans from voting. Regrettably, we feel compelled to move our film production work from Georgia to another state.”
Emancipation was set to begin filming on June 21 in Georgia, but now it’s unclear what state and date the movie production will take place.
The Hollywood Reporter also covered this in a recent news video.
