ATLANTA — While the future of filming in Georgia remains in flux, the state continues to host a number of future blockbusters.
The Georgia Film Office added Paramount Pictures' "Coming 2 America" to the projects currently in production or prepping in Georgia. The comedy is a sequel to Eddie Murphy's 1988 hit that grossed nearly $300 million at the worldwide box office. Variety reports Murphy is expected to again star, alongside Jermaine Fowler, with an expected August 2020 release date.
Paramount, a subsidiary of Viacom Inc. (Nasdaq: VIA), is among the major film studios in the Motion Picture Association of America that pledged to "monitor developments" related to Georgia's "heartbeat" bill signed into law in May that prohibits abortions after a fetal heartbeat is detected, typically about six weeks into pregnancy. The state's measure won't go into effect until January 1, 2020.
The law caused a handful of entertainment deals to fall through — such as an Amazon Studios TV series scouting Savannah, a comedy to be distributed by Lionsgate, and comedian Tiffany Haddish's Fox Theatre performance — but many others appear to be continuing as planned until the issue is taken up by the courts. That includes Netflix Inc. (NYSE: NFLX), which started the cascade of boycott threats following its May 28 vow to work with the ACLU to fight the measure in court but noted it would continue filming in Georgia unless the law comes into effect, at which time it would "rethink" its investment in the state. The movie and TV streaming giant currently has five projects in the works — the most among all distributor/networks, according to the state's film office.