It was really about time that Ben Affleck and Justin Timberlake’s internet poker story was given a strong female lead, and according to CinemaBlend, it’s got that in the form of English actress Gemma Arterton. Before the announcement of the star, the film was looking like a very boys_only affair. Just have a skim of this plot synopsis:
The film focuses on a Princeton studentplayed by Timberlakewhose online poker hobby loses him his tuition money, before ultimately landing him at the side of the shady website’s proprietor, played by Affleck
Arterton is the perfect actress to add a bit of much needed glamour to a film about the world of poker, which could otherwise end up being a very dry and humorless piece. This isn’t the only upcoming project Arterton will work in her magic: she’ll star in vampire film Byzantium
later this year and in fairytale reworking Hansel and Gretel: Witch Hunters in 2013. Nothing has been confirmed about her role other than that she will play Timberlake’s love interest, and considering he’s just finished starring against Amanda Seyfried in Sci-Fi blockbuster In Time, I’d say that makes him a pretty lucky man.Now any film about gambling is going to need to encapsulate all the danger, mystery and possibility that high-stakes play has. Just take a look at great poker movies of the past: Matt Damon in Rounders, Daniel Craig in Casino Royale or for a real classic try the king of cool Paul Newman in The Sting. It’s been a while since we’ve had a great gambling film: the last I can remember is 21, so here’s to hoping we get another classic in Runner Runner.
