Actor Will Smith along with director Antoine Fuqua announced they are moving production of their upcoming film “Emancipation” out of Georgia in protest of the state’s “regressive voting laws that are designed to restrict voter access,” Deadline reported.
What are the details?
The outlet cited a Monday statement from the production companies headed by Smith and Fuqua explaining their reasons for exiting Georgia: “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.”
What does the law say?
But the law merely ramps up security for Georgia’s elections by requiring photo IDs for mail-in ballots, and it even expands early voting hours. Yet it’s been almost universally criticized by the left and has fallen victim to their false attacks.
For example, President Joe Biden earned “Four Pinocchios” from the Washington Post for saying the law “ends voting hours early so working people can’t cast their vote.” And the paper added that Georgia’s far-left U.S. Sen. Raphael Warnock signed on to a third-party email that contained false information about the voting law.
Big budget dent
Deadline noted that “Emancipation” production leaving Georgia will cost it about $15 million in state tax rebates which have made the state “such a busy U.S. production hub.” The outlet said the new location for the movie likely will be Louisiana, given that’s where the events of “Emancipation” — which is about a runaway slave — take place.
Prior to the decision to move production out of Georgia, Smith and Fuqua held discussions with Stacey Abrams, who urged Hollywood to not leave the state over the law, Deadline said. But the outlet noted that “the optics of shooting in the state would be difficult given the subject matter” of the movie.
“Emancipation” was scheduled to begin filming June 21, Deadline reported, and will star Smith in the lead role while Fuqua will direct.
Just proves how totally ignorant our celebrities and elites are. Follow the democrat party who were in fact the party of Jim Crow and KKK. Of course we have racists/bigots in our lives but this is not limited to caucasions and has always been the case. Talk to me about militant blacks who paint all non blacks as bad people. Generalizations need to be recognized for what they are and stop tearing up all that has been accomplished over the years.