Justin Berfield to Establish Film Commission in Cayman Islands

February 27th, 2008

Justin Berfield (Reese) Justin Berfield and his production company, J2 Pictures, are working with the Cayman Islands Government and local investors to establish an official film commission in that country.

Former “Malcolm in the Middle” star Justin Berfield, and frequent visitor to Cayman, has confirmed his company’s discussions with the Cayman Islands Government and local investors to establish an official film commission to service all of the Cayman Islands, a press release said.

Recognizing that tourism and banking are the primary industries that the island benefits from, Berfield’s goal was to formally introduce a whole other industry to the government and people of Cayman.

“The island is so conducive to many different types of filming and can double as many different locations,” Berfield said. “There is so much local talent in Cayman in terms of not only on camera, but trade, electricians, sound engineers, and transportation. The Cayman Islands have done a very good job of servicing tourists. Through this, there is an infrastructure in Cayman that is conducive to television and film production. The infrastructure needs direction and a clear presence. My partners and I hope to work closely with the government and the creative community of Cayman to establish a commission that will truly benefit the country.” said Berfield

Cayman is no stranger to film production, having played host to several productions over the last few decades including Paramount Pictures The Firm in 1993 starring Tom Cruise, and most recently the independent feature film Haven in 2004 starring Orlando Bloom and directed by local Caymanian Frank E. Flowers.

It is the intention of Berfield and his proposed advisory board to act as a liaison between Hollywood and the Caymans and as a result bring productions to the island. Further, the proposed film commission would aide local business owners and residents with their existing filming and television commercial production.

Actor/producer Justin Berfield is a partner in highly regarded Los Angeles based boutique production company J2 Pictures. Berfield and his producing partner Jason Felts got their start in film when they served as producers and investors on the feature film Romance & Cigarettes, starring James Gandolfini, Susan Sarandon, Kate Winslet, Mandy Moore and Christopher Walken. The film was written and directed by actor John Turturro.

Berfield and Felts themselves are currently in pre–production on ESCOBAR, a full–length motion picture that will chronicle the life of Pablo Escobar, the infamous Colombian drug cartel leader.

J2 also has a strong interest in comedy, and produced Blonde Ambition, a comedy feature starring Luke Wilson, Jessica Simpson and Rachel Leigh Cook.

Source: Caymanian Compass | Thanks Rye | Discuss in FORUM

Entry Filed under: Justin Berfield (Reese), The Cast

6 Comments Add your own

1. nvmmyname | March 11th, 2008 at 12:34 pm

how is anyone from the cayman islands supposed to ascend in the filming industry when things like this happen! me and my girlfriend have been studying film for the past year and will continue to do so for the next 3 years in the hope that we could return home (cayman) and start our own filming company, how are we supposed to do this when people with unlimited funds come down from the states and take the opertunity away from us.
2. Cayman-Islands » Ju… | April 25th, 2008 at 5:32 am

[...] Justin Berfield to Establish Film Commission in Cayman IslandsFormer “Malcolm in the Middle” star Justin Berfield, and frequent visitor to Cayman, has confirmed his company’s discussions with the Cayman Islands Government and local investors to establish an official film commission to service all … [...]
3. Cayman-Islands » Ca… | May 2nd, 2008 at 5:51 am

[...] Justin Berfield to Establish Film Commission in Cayman IslandsFormer “Malcolm in the Middle” star Justin Berfield, and frequent visitor to Cayman, has confirmed his company’s discussions with the Cayman Islands Government and local investors to establish an official film commission to service all … [...]
4. i.D | July 9th, 2008 at 12:53 pm

He is dangerous.He is cool.He is Justin Berfield!
5. Dan | July 17th, 2008 at 3:12 pm

Just to note: According to Wikipedia information, It is important for tourists from the United States, Canada, Europe, and other Western countries to be aware of certain laws and customs that are still in effect from British Colonial rule. Discrimination Against Gay Men/Lesbians
Homosexuality is illegal in the Cayman Islands, and gay men and lesbians will be jailed and expelled from the Cayman Islands if caught. A gay American tourist from Massachusetts was arrested and detained after a Cayman Islands police officer witnessed him kissing his partner in a nightclub. Gay men and lesbians are warned against visiting the Cayman Islands, as they may be at risk either from government agents, or hostile Caymanians. Beatings of gay tourists are common, and are encouraged by law enforcement. In particular the George Town Police Station is well known for arresting gay tourists and extorting money in return for being released.
Either Justin does not care or does not know. But he goes there freguently, so I guess its the former. Justin Berfield appears to be nice and smart, so he should have used better discretion befor cozing up to this militant government.
6. Dan | July 23rd, 2008 at 7:19 am

Typographical error: it was suppose to be q as in Q, NOT g as in G, pertaining to the word frequently!

Some HTML allowed:
<a href="" title=""> <abbr title=""> <acronym title=""> <b> <blockquote cite=""> <cite> <code> <del datetime=""> <em> <i> <q cite=""> <strike> <strong>

Trackback this post | Subscribe to the comments via RSS Feed