On March 8, Georgia legislators proposed a bill that would prohibit discussion of gender identity and sexual orientation at private schools that receive state funding. Republican state senators introduced it on the same day the Florida Senate passed similar legislation, dubbed the “Don’t Say Gay” bill by critics, that prohibits educators from discussing LGBTQ issues.

While a firestorm has erupted over Florida’s legislation, studios have remained largely silent about the introduction of the Georgia bill. But if it does eventually become law, arguably more Hollywood decision-makers will face tough choices given that Georgia hosts far more projects than the Sunshine State.

Armed with what are likely the most generous tax incentives in the country, Georgia enjoys a booming production landscape. It has no annual cap on tax credits given to Hollywood through a 30 percent tax credit. In 2021, it handed out $1.2 billion in film and TV tax credits, far more than any other state. According to permitting group FilmLA, 39 cable and streaming series were shot in Georgia in 2021 — good enough for third in the country after California and New York.

“You have up to 30 percent tax credit that you can turn around and sell. That’s going to be a big hole in the budget that not a lot of other tax credits can fill,” says Vanessa Roman, an attorney at Akin Gump who regularly counsels high-profile clients in various aspects of production and financing.

Of the nearly 40 production companies, filmmakers and actors The Hollywood Reporter reached out to that have business in Georgia, none were willing to comment for the story. This includes companies based in Georgia, such as Tyler Perry Studios, which operates a 330-acre studio in Atlanta; Trilith Studios, which houses Disney’s Marvel productions; Crazy Legs Productions; Swirl Films; and Blackhall Studios.

Feature films that are now shooting in the state include A24’s Civil War and Road Trip, 20th Century Studios’ Cinnamon, Amblin’s The Color Purple, Apple’s The Beanie Bubble, Annapurna Pictures’ Landscape With Invisible Hand and Davis Entertainment’s Harold and the Purple Crayon.

Notably absent from responses to Georgia’s bill are Disney and MGM, both of which have major tentpole movies filming in Georgia: respectively, Black Panther: Wakanda Forever and Creed III. On the TV side, AMC’s Tales of the Walking Dead is filming in Georgia and has no stated plans to leave in the near future. The state is also home to a number of other TV series, including The CW’s Dynasty and Star Girl, Fox’s The Resident and Monarch, FX’s Class of ’09 and HBO’s Doom Patrol.

Hollywood has grappled with contentious laws in Georgia before. When Gov. Brian Kemp in March 2021 signed into law a bill imposing onerous voting restrictions, there was a flurry of activity from the industry objecting to the legislation.

The most notable action was taken by director Antoine Fuqua and Will Smith, who pulled their upcoming drama Emancipation from shooting in the state. Ford v Ferrari director James Mangold also said he’d no longer direct movies shot in Georgia. Star Wars icon Mark Hamill supported the action, tweeting #NoMoreFilminginGeorgia.

But after the initial wave of activity, calls to boycott shooting in Georgia quieted. Some closely tied with the film industry in Georgia supported keeping production in the state.

Then those calls quieted following no discernible change in voting policy. The silence on the LGBTQ bill can be partially explained by the fact that it was just introduced and will likely not be passed this legislative session — meaning that it could be early 2023 before this debate is reignited in Georgia.

A rep for a production company closely tied to the state underscores this, saying: “It would be premature of us to do anything at this point.”

A version of this story appeared in the March 16 issue of The Hollywood Reporter magazine. Click here to subscribe.