Governor vists 'Punisher' movie set
After starring in 2 Fast 2 Furious and Bad Boys 2, Florida will be back next summer in The Punisher.
Current Governor of Florida, Jeb Bush, took an on-set tour of the upcoming 'Punisher' movie this past Monday, August 18th. Although admitting his knowledge of The Punisher in comic book form was sketchy, his real purpose was to highlight the amount of money that the film is pumping into the local economy. An estimated $12 million dollars will go into filming the Florida sequences alone, which is more than the entire $10 million dollar budget of the original, 1989 Punisher movie starring Dolph Lundgren.
"This is great for Tampa Bay," remarked Governor Bush. "We've been aggressive letting people know in Hollywood about our locations and the caliber of our workforce. I don't think people realize how many people it takes to make a movie."
The workforce is being spread out over 52 locations in and around the Tampa area. For the purposes of Governor Bush's visit, he toured the Honeymoon Island location which is doubling for Puerto Rico and Frank Castle's beachfront home. Other locations that figure into the film include Fort De Soto Park at the southern tip of Pinellas County and the AmSouth skyscraper in downtown Tampa.
Though Governor Bush did opt not to volunteer his services for the film, former Florida Governor Bob Martinez (1987-1991) did film a cameo for the 1989 James Bond 007 film License To Kill. Blink and you'll miss him directing traffic at Key West International Airport.
Eileen Schulte and Adrienne P.Samuels of The St.Petersurg Times contributed to this article.