Will Smith Pulls ‘Emancipation’
Out of Georgia in Protest of New
Restrictive Voting Laws.
Apple’s ‘Emancipation’ will no
longer be filmed in Georgia. .
The decision to pull the film from the state
is predicted to cost production around $15 million,
as Georgia would have provided lucrative tax rebates. .
The film's star, Will Smith, and director Antoine Fuqua
released a joint statement explaining their decision. .
They explained that they
“cannot in good conscience”
film in Georgia after its passing
of “regressive voting laws.”.
We cannot in good conscience provide
economic support to a government that
enacts regressive voting laws that are
designed to restrict voter access, Will Smith and Antoine Fuqua, via 'Complex'.
Smith and Fuqua went on to say that the new laws were
reminiscent of Reconstruction era “voting impediments.”.
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, Will Smith and Antoine Fuqua, via 'Complex'.
It has not yet been confirmed where the film’s production
will move to, although Louisiana is likely a strong contender.