Above: a scene from “Runner, Runner”
By the Caribbean Journal staff
The new Ben Affleck and Justin Timberlake vehicle Runner, Runner has a third major star: the island of Puerto Rico.
The film, which is set for release at the beginning of October, stars Affleck as a gaming mogul and Timberlake his young poker-playing protege.
Above: Ben Affleck (centre) in Runner Runner
And almost all of the film was shot on the Caribbean island, although it wasn’t called Puerto Rico in the film. (The rest was shot in Princeton, New Jersey).
It’s the latest major movie or series to film on the island, which has been taking the lead as a Caribbean film location — Johnny Depp’s The Rum Diary, the USA series “White Collar,” and the HBO show “Eastbound & Down.”
This year, the soon-to-be-released third season of Showtime’s Homeland series filmed portions in Puerto Rico as well.
Last year, then-Governor Luis Fortuño signed a series of amendments in a bid to increase incentives for filming in Puerto Rico.
At the time, he said the new version of the territory’s Law 27 increased the package of incentives available for production.
Since the territory first enacted its new filming incentives package in 2011, the territory has reported more than $80 million in film-related revenue.