Amazon’s ‘The Power’ And Kristen Wiig Comedy Withdraw From Georgia Over Abortion Law

A Lionsgate film reuniting the Bridesmaids duo of Kristen Wiiig and Annie Mumolo and Amazon Prime series The Power have withdrawn from planned shoots in Georgia.

The state, which has become a hotbed of film and TV production in recent years, is also in the vanguard of states passing aggressive new proposals to ban abortion in all but a fraction of cases.

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The pullout of Barb and Star Go to Vista del Mar, co-written by Wiig and Mumolo (who also co-wrote Bridesmaids), was confirmed to Deadline by a source close to the production. Produced by Gloria Sanchez Productions and directed by Josh Greenbaum, the film centers on best friends who leave their Midwestern town for a vacation in Florida.

The Power also opted out of filming its 10 episodes in Georgia, abandoning a recent scouting effort in the state. The adaptation of Naomi Alderman’s book, announced earlier this year, pairs Broadchurch producer Jane Featherstone and The Handmaid’s Tale director/executive producer Reed Morano. After word of the withdrawal surfaced Tuesday, Morano retweeted several approving reactions. On Instagram, she wrote that it “felt wrong to us to go ahead and make our show and take money/tax credit from a state that is taking this stance on the abortion issue. We just couldn’t do it.”

Georgia is among several states with Republican-controlled governments that are challenging abortion rights long protected by the U.S. Supreme Court’s Roe v. Wade decision by passing aggressive anti-abortion laws. Several Hollywood notables have been speaking out about working in Georgia. Even those not heading there for work, like Saturday Night Live‘s Leslie Jones, have been making their outrage known. Film and TV production, thanks to an attractive 30% tax incentive, has recently boomed in the Peach State, with state officials reporting 455 productions in fiscal 2019 and more than $2 billion in economic impact.

The “heartbeat” law will take effect on January 1, barring an effective legal challenge. A range of entertainment figures have been speaking out against the state’s move, but Gov. Brian Kemp last weekend dismissed the backlash as a “squawk” from “C-list celebrities.”

Time had the first report of the withdrawals.

Neither Lionsgate nor Amazon responded to Deadline’s requests for comment.

Here is Morano’s Instagram comment:

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