Georgia’s anti-choice legislation, dubbed the “heartbeat bill,” has caused quite a bit of controversy around the country, and especially in Hollywood. Considering there are billions of dollars worth of productions that happen yearly in the Peach State, actors, directors, and studios have voiced their disapproval of the new abortion bill and some have even vowed to never work in the state again if it goes into effect in January. One of those people is definitely not Clint Eastwood.
According to WJCL, a local Savannah ABC affiliate, Eastwood is set to bring the production of “The Ballad of Richard Jewell” to Georgia when filming commences. The film, which tells the story of wrongfully-accused 1996 Atlanta Olympic bombing suspect Richard Jewell, is set to begin production this summer in Georgia, which is obviously a natural location to film about the Atlanta Olympic Games. The film stars Sam Rockwell, Kathy Bates, Olivia Wilde, Jon Hamm, and Paul Walter Hauser.
Disney and Netflix have already voiced their concerns over the “heartbeat bill” that is set to go into effect in January in Georgia, with both studios saying that if it goes into effect in January, they’d likely pull their productions from the state.
The controversial anti-choice law prohibits abortions for women after a “heartbeat” can be found, which is approximately six weeks after conception. This means that for the vast majority of women, abortion is effectively illegal in the state, as many don’t find out they’re pregnant until 8 weeks or later.
It’ll be interesting to see if there’s any blowback from the rest of the film community, as filming in Georgia commences. Of course, ‘Richard Jewell’ is far from the only film or TV project currently filming in the state, but it’s clearly one of the most high-profile.