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Red carpet awaits for Will Smith, Antoine Fuqua in Buffalo

Max Morse for TechCrunch
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Wikipedia Commons

Georgia may no longer be on their mind, but perhaps New York is.

The recent decision by movie producers Will Smith and Antoine Fuqua to pull the filming of their new movie "Emancipation" out of Georgia because of that state's new more restrictive voting laws has prompted state Sen. Tim Kennedy to ask them and Apple Studios to bring their crews to Western New York.

In a letter to the studios and producers, Kennedy highlighted Buffalo's strong track record of movie production and "some of the most competitive film production tax credits in the country."

The Buffalo Democrat applauded the move out of Georgia and cited New York's progressive record on voting reforms, especially in the past couple of years. He also talked about the diverse number of location sites and the thousands of jobs provided to New Yorkers by film production.

"If we learned anything in 2020 it is that our goal should be to expand access to voting, not make it even harder," he said. "Buffalo is ready to roll out the red carpet."

Mark Wozniak, WBFO's local All Things Considered host, has been at WBFO since mid-1978.
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