Brad Furman to Direct New Online Poker Movie Runner Runner
Justin Timberlake and Ben Affleck, two of the most acclaimed Hollywood personalities, have teamed up to make a brand new online poker movie called Runner Runner. Brad Furman is going to direct this movie, which will depict “an increasingly tense relationship between a business founder and his protégé.”
It has been confirmed that Timberlake will pay a role in the movie, but negotiations with Affleck are yet to be finalized. Leonardo DiCaprio will also be playing a role in the movie, but behind the camera. He will be co-producing the movie in collaboration with Jennifer Davisson.
Runner Runner clearly indicates the fact that online gambling, including online poker has become an important part of people’s lives and that more and more people all over the world are registering at online gambling sites for adventure and entertainment.
Brad Furman directed his first movie called The Take in 2007. In 2011, he and Matthew McConaughey directed The Lincoln Lawyer.
Finer details about the new movie, such as characters and plot, have not yet been revealed to the public, but it is rumored that Runner Runner will be about high-stakes gambling. The writers of the script are David Levien and Brian Koppelman, who are not new to the online gambling theme as they also wrote the script of Rounders in 1998. However, work has not yet begun on Runner Runner because Timberlake and Affleck and busy with other projects although a tentative launch date of October 4 has been set.
Meanwhile, the American Gaming Association (AGA) sees some opportunity in using Runner Runner to promote its mission of getting US online poker legalized and regulated at the earliest possible. The person who first got this idea was Geoff Freeman, AGA president and chief executive officer. In an email written to the board, the AGA chief suggested that the movie has the potential to act as a catalyst in the association’s efforts to legalize and regulate online poker at the federal level.
Freeman wrote: “The plot of Runner Runner centers on illegal online poker and unscrupulous offshore operators, dramatically underscoring the risk American consumers face in a poorly-regulated market. The film underscores the AGA’s message to lawmakers about the urgent need for online poker regulations in the United States. The AGA will leverage the certain coverage this film will receive to raise awareness about the need for proper regulation of online gaming. Tactics may include releasing research on the amount of illegal Internet gaming currently estimated to be taking place in the United States, driving theater-goers to the AGA website to learn more about properly regulated gaming.”
Not everybody agrees with Freeman though. As Dave Behr, who is associated with Bluff Magazine, puts it, nothing has worked so far to get the federal government to legalize online poker. Predicting the failure of poker bills in California, he pointed out that there is no sign of online poker being legalized at the federal level so far. Referring to the AGA’s move as “unorthodox,” he said that there is no harm in trying.
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