Two Hollywood Projects Pull Production From Georgia Due to Abortion Ban

Kristen Wiig's Lionsgate comedy 'Barb and Star Go to Vista Del Mar' and Reed Morano's Amazon series 'The Power' have opted to relocate production from the state in the wake of the controversial legislation.

Hollywood is beginning to take action against Georgia in light of the state's new abortion ban.

Two projects, Lionsgate's Kristen Wiig film Barb and Star Go to Vista Del Mar and Amazon's Reed Morano series The Power, have both pulled production from Georgia after initially intending to shoot in the state. A source close to the production confirmed the former, while Morano posted about the latter on Instagram. Both projects appear to have been in the location planning stages.

According to Time, which broke the news, Morano was supposed to fly to Savannah to scout locations for her new TV series, a female-focused drama — but she canceled the trip in the wake of the "heartbeat bill," which bans abortions after only six weeks. “We had no problem stopping the entire process instantly,” the director told the magazine. "There is no way we would ever bring our money to that state by shooting there.”

In addition, Wiig's Lionsgate and Gary Sanchez-produced comedy, which she co-wrote and will star in opposite Annie Mumolo, has opted not to film in Georgia due to the legislation. The movie is a buddy comedy centered on two best friends from the Midwest who find themselves caught up in a bizarre plot when they take a vacation to Vista Del Mar, Florida.

In the weeks since the state's passage of the bill, Hollywood has largely been silent on the legislation. Instead, most major studios have been taking a wait-and-see approach as the law is likely to be challenged in court and potentially deemed unconstitutional before it is set to go into effect in January. (The ACLU has already said it will sue.)

Some production companies have called for a boycott, including Christine Vachon's Killer Films, David Simon's Blown Deadline Productions, Mark Duplass' Duplass Brothers Productions, Nina Jacobson's Colorforce and Neal Dodson's CounterNarrative — though it's unclear if any of them had plans to film in Georgia.

J.J. Abrams and Jordan Peele, who are at work on the upcoming HBO drama Lovecraft Country, and Ron Howard and Brian Grazer, who are prepping the Netflix film Hillbilly Elegy, have released statements saying they will continue with their plans to shoot in Georgia in the coming weeks but are making donations to leading organizations fighting the bill, namely the ACLU of Georgia and Fair Fight Georgia.