Will Smith, producer and lead actor of the Apple TV+ movie ‘Emancipation’ has decided to no longer film the movie in Georgia in protest to the states’ new voting law. Smith along with director Antoine Fuqua made the decision to leave the state to register their opposition to the newly imposed restriction on absentee voters and time reduction of early voting hours on the weekends.
Apple’s CEO, Tim Cook also expressed disapproval of Georgia’s new law and said that the right to vote is “fundamental” in a democracy that Americans, in particular the Black community, fought for generations. He also proposed that technology could be used to make it easier for citizens to use their Democratic right to vote, “thanks in part to the power of technology, it ought to be easier than ever for every eligible citizen to exercise their right to vote “We support efforts to ensure that our democracy’s future is more hopeful and inclusive than its past.”
Apple TV+ original movie ‘Emancipation’ will not be filled in Georgia as a protest to the state’s new voting law
In a joint statement, Smith and Fuqua said that at a time when the country is fighting against systematic racism, Georgia’s latest law is “regressive” which they can not support. The Hollywood Reporter writes that star/producer Will Smith and director Antoine Fuqua said in a joint statement:
“At this moment in time, the Nation is coming to terms with its history and is attempting to eliminate vestiges of institutional racism to achieve true racial justice.
“We cannot in good conscience provide economic support to a government that enacts regressive voting laws that are designed to restrict voter access,” they continued. “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,” they concluded.
Apple TV+ acquired ‘Emancipation’ for $120 million and its production was scheduled to commence in early 2021. Based on a slave’s life and his escape during the civil war to join the Union Army, the action thriller will feature a historical background with an emotional plot that will focus on Peter’s (played by Will Smith) struggles to escape his captors and his barefoot using his smartness and strength. The was reported to first premiere in theatres, and later on Apple TV+, world wide.
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