James Mangold, the director of “Ford v. Ferrari” and “Logan,” tweeted Thursday night that he would not direct a film in the state of Georgia in response to the restrictive new voting laws signed into law earlier that day by Georgia governor Brian Kemp.
Mangold’s tweet was in reaction to the 100-page bill that will make sweeping changes to Georgia election law, including certain provisions that will require driver’s licenses or state ID, new restrictions on ballot drop boxes and even a rule that it would be illegal to give people waiting in line to vote food or beverages in a practice described as “line warming.”
In a series of follow-ups, Mangold said that he can’t work in the state until the voting rules change.
“Georgia has been using cash to steal movie jobs from other states that allow people to vote. I don’t want to play there,” Mangold said. “I am not telling anyone else what to do. I just can’t work there till this changes.”
Georgia has been a hub for Hollywood productions for years, including hosting many Marvel film shoots and Tyler Perry productions, because the state provides large tax credits for film, TV and digital entertainment.
Though some in his mentions pushed back on Mangold, saying a blanket refusal to work in the state would not solve anything and would only hurt the film industry workers who live in Georgia, many of them African American.
“I fully get your stance, James. I am facing this question myself. BUT what gives me pause is that we will be denying work to many of the people who are our allies (in this matter). In all my Georgia based productions so many of my crew and cast were African-American,” “The Outpost” director Rod Lurie said in response. “But many people moved to and or established themselves in Georgia because of the film industry. I am not disagreeing with @mang0ld at all… I just feel for those people who, through no fault of their own, will lose work.”
“Mystic Pizza” screenwriter Amy Holden Jones argued that refusing to shoot in Georgia “is a solution that costs you nothing” and pushed Mangold to donate to voting rights groups.
“Who said it’s a solution? Location is everything to me, Amy,” Mangold responded. “You don’t know how I work. But you do know most prods in Georgia are chasing cash. Cash that lures films from other states, states that don’t bribe, states that never get a chance. States that allow free voting.”
He also shared a video of the song “Sun City” from Artists United Against Apartheid that was a protest song designed to put pressure on the industry to stop performing at a casino in South Africa at the height of the apartheid era.
This latest reaction to new laws in Georgia follows a similar debate a few years back when several films pulled out of making movies in Georgia in reaction to the state’s “heartbeat bill” around abortions.
See some of Mangold’s tweets below:
I will not direct a film in Georgia.
— Mangold (@mang0ld) March 26, 2021
The state will be irredeemably red with these new “laws”. The only reason studios shoot in GA is cause they have steal production from other states and workers w/ cash.
— Mangold (@mang0ld) March 26, 2021
Who said it's a solution? Location is everything to me, Amy. You don't know how I work. But you do know most prods in Georgia are chasing cash. Cash that lures films from other states, states that don't bribe, states that never get a chance. States that allow free voting.
— Mangold (@mang0ld) March 26, 2021
You do what you feel is best but to me this is a classical right wing argument against almost everything. Georgia has been using cash to steal movie jobs from other states that allow people to vote. I don't want to play there. I'm not telling anyone else what to do.
— Mangold (@mang0ld) March 26, 2021
Not a story, Chad. And calling me "a girl" and an asshole doesn't resemble the values of keeping Georgia blue to me. But I will continue to contribute to voting rights organizations and fighting in my own way. And I hope you do too.
— Mangold (@mang0ld) March 26, 2021
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