First TV and film productions leave Georgia over abortion law

After several TV and film companies vowed to pull their businesses from Georgia, one director said they’ve already canceled plans to shoot a TV show there.

Emmy-winning director Reed Morano told TIME she will no longer film her Amazon show, “The Power,” in the state following the governor’s decision to sign a bill banning abortions after six weeks.

“We had no problem stopping the entire process instantly,” Morano told TIME. “There is no way we would ever bring our money to that state by shooting there.”

Earlier this month, Gov. Brian Kemp signed the state’s “fetal heartbeat bill” into law. The legislation prohibits abortion after a heartbeat is detected in an embryo, which usually happens between five and six weeks into a woman’s pregnancy, before many women know they are pregnant.

TIME reported that location scouts were searching for filming locations around Georgia when Morano decided to pull production from the state. Amazon declined to comment on the decision. 

In addition to Morano’s show, a rep for Kristen Wiig told TIME her upcoming Lionsgate comedy “Barb and Star Go to Vista Del Mar” was also pulled out of the state following the bill’s signing. Lionsgate did not immediately respond to CBS News’ request for comment.

An Amazon show from Reed Morano an Lionsgate film from Kristen Wiig are both being pulled out of Georgia. Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images for DGA & ROBYN BECK/AFP/Getty Image

Earlier this month, Christine Vachon said her film company, Killer Films, would no longer shoot in Georgia. The company is responsible for the Oscar-winning film “Still Alice,” and the Oscar-nominated “Carol.”

David Simon said his Blown Deadline Productions will no longer consider the state as a shooting location. Simon is responsible for “The Wire” and HBO’s “The Deuce.

“Add my company to the list,” Neal Dodson of CounterNarrative Films tweeted shortly after Vachon and Simon announced their boycott. Several other people in the film and TV industry praised the production companies and urged others to follow. 

Jordan Peele and J.J. Abrams took a different approach. Instead of pulling their production of HBO’s “Lovecraft Country” out of the state, they decided to donate to local organizations fighting against the abortion measure. They said they made the decision so that people’s jobs wouldn’t suffer.