'Bourne' actress awed by Palawan

“I can live in Palawan forever!”

MANILA, Philippines - These were the words of Hollywood actress Rachel Weisz during the shooting of “The Bourne Legacy” in El Nido, Palawan recently, the movie’s local producer said yesterday.

Jun Juban, of the Philippine Film Studios Inc., told reporters during the weekly news forum at Annabel’s restaurant in Quezon City that Weisz was amazed at Palawan’s beauty.

Juban said the El Nido scene will show the natural beauty of Palawan to millions of viewers across the globe when the movie opens in theaters sometime in August.

“The contingent, including the cast who visited the island, has been very expressive with their awe and amazement,” he said.

Juban said because of the captivating beauty of the islands in Palawan, the end part of the action-packed movie was shot in these places.

Aerial night shots of Manila and Makati will also be seen in the movie, according to Juban.

He said tourism was definitely boosted because of the movie.

“There are close to 200 staff, crew and actors involved in this film. This means 10,000 hotel room nights spread in two major hotels in Manila. This definitely exceeded initial projections,” he said.

The local producer thanked the government for its support, particularly Executive Secretary Paquito Ochoa Jr., the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority, the departments of the Interior and Local Government, Finance and Tourism and local officials of the cities of Manila, Pasay, Navotas, Quezon and Marikina where scenes of the movie were shot.

Juban said the producers of the movie are planning to have the premier showing in Manila.

“We have been part of the Filipino film industry for three decades and it’s only now that a top action franchise movie is featuring Manila as Manila. Once we see The Bourne Legacy on the wide screen worldwide, our fellow kababayans will surely be very proud,” Juban said.