Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp mocked the 'c-list' celebrities like Ben Stiller, Amy Schumer and Alyssa Milano who have threatened not to film in his state if the strict anti-abortion law isn't repealed before it goes into affect in January.

'I understand that some folks don't like this new law. I'm fine with that,' Kemp said at the state Republican convention, according to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. 'We're elected to do what's right and standing up for precious life is always the right thing to do.'

'We are the party of freedom and opportunity. We value and protect innocent life - even though that makes C-list celebrities squawk,' he added.

Georgia has become a major filming location for television shows and movies because of the 30 percent tax break offered by the state.

It's resulted in almost $3 billion in Hollywood productions happening there, including Netflix's Stranger Things and Ozark series.

Georgia's controversial ban - along with new anti-abortion bans in Alabama and Missouri - is seen as part of the Republicans' effort to return the issue to the national stage and potentially force a Supreme Court challenge to Roe v. Wade, the 1973 ruling which enhshrines abortion rights across the U.S.

Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp mocked the celebrities who have threatened not to film in his state if the strict anti-abortion law isn't repealed

Alyssa Milano, Amy Schumer and Ben Stiller are among the celebrities threatening not to work in Georgia

But numerous celebrities have spoken up against Georgia's law as it was debated in the state legislature.

In March, before Kemp signed the bill, actress and activist Alyssa Milano sent a letter to the governor and state House Speaker David Ralston - signed by 49 fellow actors - threatening to boycott the state if it became law.

WILL REPUBLICANS GET TO CHALLENGE ROE V. WADE AT SUPREME COURT? The growing list of 'heartbeat' abortion bans are designed openly to get the Supreme Court to reconsider Roe v. Wade, with many Republicans gambling that a 5-4 conservative bench would overturn it. But is that the case? Here is how the case may - or may not - reach the Supreme Court. ROUND ONE: LITIGATE IN STATE COURTS The outcome does not matter too much in legal terms because the aim is to get to: ROUND TWO: PRO-CHOICE CHALLENGE Each of the laws passed by the states is going to be challenged in the local federal court by pro-choice groups, with Planned Parenthood and the ACLU litigating some already and getting ready for more. The heartbeat bills are fairly clearly incompatible with Roe v. Wade so it is likely a federal judge would first grant an injunction against them to keep them from being enacted, and order a full-scale hearing. This could be the pro-life movement's first chance to ask for a Supreme Court hearing, by appealing the injunction rather than waiting for a full trial in a federal court. Or they could wait for a trial - but either way the next stage is: ROUND TWO: FEDERAL APPEALS COURT All federal cases can be appealed to the next level - a federal appeals court. The country is divided into 12 geographical circuits and some swing liberal, some conservative. The best bet for the pro-life group to force a Supreme Court hearing is to get an appeal into a liberal circuit, where judges are likely to vote down a heartbeat bill. Cases are heard by three judges and can be appealed to the entire bench of the circuit. Missouri is in the liberal-leaning Eighth Circuit, so if its bill becomes law, look here for a challenge which would come from the state or its pro-life supporters going to the next stage: ROUND THREE: PETITION THE SUPREME COURT - AND GET JOHN ROBERTS ON SIDE Anyone involved in a federal appeals case can petition the Supreme Court to ask for review of the outcome. But the tricky part for the pro-life movement is that the Supreme Court is not compelled to take up a petition. So assuming a heartbeat bill has been blocked by an appeals court, the pro-life petitioners have to find a way to get a majority of the justices to agree to hear their appeal. That means getting Chief Justice John Roberts - the swing vote - to agree to hear the case. But he has made clear since his confirmation hearing that he wants a court respected by all sides and seen as above politics. So it is an uphill task to persuade him not to do the simple thing: keep the hypothetical block on the heartbeat bill in place without a hearing, ending the process without a public and divisive airing of the issues. Exactly that scenario has already happened in North Dakota, whose restrictive laws got struck down by the liberal Eighth Circuit. The Roberts court simply declined to intervene. But assuming a pro-life lobbyist or state, or group of states, succeeds in getting Roberts to agree to a hearing, the next challenge is: ROUND FOUR: WHAT EXACTLY WILL THE JUSTICES REVIEW? Just because the justices have taken up the case a pro-life lobby group want to push doesn't mean their dream of a full-scale Roe v. Wade challenge is anywhere near complete. The justices can look as widely or narrowly at the issue as they want, so could consider a detail in the case rather than looking at abortion in full. Roberts has been a 'gradualist' before, on issues such as gay marriage, so he might guide the court to consider far narrower issues. Examples could include allowing states to make licensing of abortion clinics more difficult, or restricting reasons for having an abortion, such as banning Down Syndrome diagnosis as a reason for termination. Pro-choice groups fear the most likely outcome of the heartbeat bills is not sweeping new abortion bans, but Roberts leading the conservatives to allow more restrictions to stay in place state-by-state without Roe v. Wade being overturned. Advertisement

'We want to stay in Georgia. We want to continue to support the wonderful people, businesses, and communities we have come to love in the Peach state. But we will not do so silently and we will do everything in our power to move our industry to a safer state for women,' the letter stated.

Actors Uzo Aduba, Christina Applegate, Mia Farrow, Adam Goldberg, Colin Hanks, Jamie King, Debra Messing, Rose O'Donnell, Sean Penn, Amy Schumer, Ben Stiller, and Bradley Whitford were among those who signed the pledge.

Milano is filming the second season of Netflix's 'Insatiable' in Georgia.

Kemp signed the 'heartbeat bill' - the most restrictive anti-abortion legislation in the country - into law on May 7.

It bans bans abortion once a heartbeat can be detected, which can be as early as six weeks - and that's before some women even know they are pregnant.

Georgia follows in the footsteps of Alabama, which passed a law virtually outlawing abortion. Alabama's measure prohibits all abortions - even in cases of incest and rape - unless there is a risk of death for the mother.

Missouri is in the process of passing a law that ban abortion at eight weeks that includes no exceptions for cases of rape or incest and imposes criminal penalties on doctors who perform the procedure.

The legislation is making its way through the Republican-controlled legislature and the state's GOP governor has pledged to sign it.

All the new laws are expected to be challenged in court.

The ACLU has already filed a lawsuit in Ohio challenging a law that bans abortions after a fetal heartbeat is detected.

Legal challenges are also pending in Mississippi and Kentucky, where Republican governors have signed similar fetal heartbeat abortion laws.

Several of the states' laws appear to specifically challenge a key component of Roe vs. Wade - that states can't place an 'undue burden' on a woman's right to an abortion.

Lower courts could strike down state laws under that provision and the Supreme Court could choose to revisit the case or let the lower court rulings stand.

Republicans hope such a case eventually makes its way to the Supreme Court, offering the high court the chance to overturn Roe vs. Wade, the 1973 decision that legalized abortion in the United States.

The Supreme Court has tilted to the right under justices appointed by President Donald Trump.

Justice Anthony Kennedy, a key swing vote on the court who was a supporter of abortion rights, was replaced by the more conservative Brett Kavanaugh.

Even some liberal justices on the court seem to fear just that.

Last week, Justice Stephen Breyer appeared to raise such a warning in an opinion opposing conservative justices' reversal of an unrelated 1979 ruling.

'Today's decision can only cause one to wonder which cases the court will overrule next,' Breyer wrote.

Additionally there are questions on if the high court would want to take up such a controversial subject during an election year.

Either way both sides are likely to use the strict state laws as a rallying cry for the base in the 2020 election.

Georgia, meanwhile, has become a new Hollywood hot spot for filming thanks to its tax incentives. The Marvel hit 'Black Panther' filmed there.

Currently filming in the state is Jon Stewart, who is working on the political satire 'Irresistible,' starring Steve Carell and Rose Byrne.

Bruce Willis is scheduled to start filming a thriller in Georgia in June.

Gerald Butler and Mel Gibson also have projects starting in the state next month.

Also in production in Georgia is the popular AMC show 'The Walking Dead.'

'Ozark' star Jason Bateman is another actor threatening a boycott.

'If the 'heartbeat bill' makes it through the court system, I will not work in Georgia, or any other state, that is so disgracefully at odds with women's rights,' he told the Hollywood Reporter.

Netflix's 'Stranger Things' also films in Georgia

Other Hollywood producers have agreed to stay and film but have pledged to donate money to organizations fighting the law, such as ACLU of Georgia and Fair Fight Georgia.

J.J. Abrams and Jordan Peele promised to donate 100 percent of their fees on their upcoming HBO drama 'Lovecraft Country' to those groups, according to the Hollywood Reporter.

Ron Howard and Brian Grazer, who scheduled to film Netflix's 'Hillbilly Elegy' in Georgia later this month, told the trade magazine production would continue in the Peach State but they would make a donation to the ACLU, which is challenging the law in court.

'After much thought and deliberation, we decided to continue with shooting Hillbilly Elegy in Georgia next month,' they said in a statement.

'We felt we could not abandon the hundreds of women, and men, whose means of support depend on this production - including those who directly contribute on the film, and the businesses in the community that sustain the production.

'We see Governor Kemp's bill as a direct attack on women's rights, and we will be making a donation to the ACLU to support their battle against this oppressive legislation.

'Should this law go into effect in January, we will boycott the state as a production center.'