Puerto Rican artists Residente and Bad Bunny are teaming up to tell the story of their home in an original historical drama.
René Pérez Joglar, the Grammy winner known professionally as Residente, will make his directorial debut with “PORTO RICO,” filmmakers and producers said Wednesday. Bad Bunny, the artist born Benito Antonio Martínez Ocasio, is set to lead a starry cast which currently includes Viggo Mortensen, Javier Bardem and Edward Norton.
“I have dreamed of making a film about my country since I was a child. Puerto Rico’s true history has always been surrounded by controversy,” Residente said in a statement. “This film is a reaffirmation of who we are — told with the intensity and honesty that our history deserves.”
“PORTO RICO” is being described as an “epic Caribbean Western and historical drama” inspired by true events. Residente co-wrote the script with Alexander Dinelaris, the Oscar-winning screenwriter behind “Birdman.”
It will mark the first leading role for Bad Bunny, who has appeared in several supporting roles in movies recently including “Happy Gilmore 2” and “Caught Stealing,” and who recently made waves with his historic Super Bowl halftime performance, which highlighted Puerto Rican culture and history.
The film has a bevy of power players behind it, including Oscar-winning Mexican filmmaker Alejandro G. Iñárritu, who is executive producing, and backing from Live Nation Entertainment. No details were available about when the film might shoot or be released.
Norton signed on to produce as well, saying in a statement that the film “sits in a tradition of films we deeply love, from ‘The Godfather’ to ‘Gangs of New York,’ that both thrill us with visceral drama and iconic characters and eras while also forcing us to face up to the shadow story under the American narrative of idealism.”
He added: “Everybody knows what a poet of language and rhythm René is. Now they’re going to see what a visual visionary he is as well. And bringing him and Bad Bunny together to tell the true story of Puerto Rico’s roots is going to be like a flame finding the stick of dynamite that’s been waiting for it.”
René Pérez Joglar, also known as Residente, appears at the premiere of "Caught Stealing" in New York on Aug. 26, 2025, left, and Bad Bunny appears at the 68th annual Grammy Awards in Los Angeles on Feb. 1, 2026. (AP Photo)
TRENTON, N.J. (AP) — A New Jersey Catholic diocese this week agreed to a $180 million settlement to resolve allegations of clergy sexual abuse, a figure far exceeding agreements in some large dioceses but still dwarfed by other massive settlements.
Bishop Joseph Williams of the Diocese of Camden, covering southern New Jersey and its Philadelphia suburbs, announced the settlement Tuesday in a letter.
“For the survivors of South Jersey, this day is long overdue and represents a milestone in their journey toward restored justice and the healing and recognition they have long sought and deserve,” Williams said.
Mark Crawford, state director of the Survivors Network for those Abused by Priests, said in a phone interview Wednesday that the settlement was long overdue but he was glad the ordeal was coming to an end. He praised the bishop for listening to survivors and for pledging transparency, contrasting him with his predecessor, who fought a legal battle over a state investigation into alleged clergy abuse.
"This settlement and this bishop have acted very differently," Crawford said. “I hope it sends a message that this is possible, that this is right.”
Greg Gianforcaro, one of the attorneys representing victims suing the diocese, credited survivors' persistence in reaching the agreement. The diocese has said there about 300 survivors of abuse raising claims.
“It’s been an extremely long and arduous battle,” he said in a phone interview.
It's the latest agreement in a scandal set off more than two decades ago when the scale of the abuse and the church's effort to hide it came to light in Boston. The New Jersey settlement agreement is more than the roughly $80 million settlements in Boston and Philadelphia, though settlements in California ranged much higher. In 2024, the Los Angeles Archdiocese agreed to an $880 million payment.
The Camden settlement comes less than a year after the diocese withdrew its objection to the state of New Jersey's grand jury investigation into decades of alleged sexual abuse of children by religious. The state Supreme Court has since ruled the state's investigation could move ahead.
The Camden diocese, like others nationwide, filed for bankruptcy amid a torrent of lawsuits after the statute of limitations was relaxed.
In 2022, the diocese agreed to pay $87.5 million to settle allegations involving clergy sex abuse against some 300 accusers, one of the largest cash settlements involving the Catholic church in the U.S. The latest settlement announcement includes these funds, according to victims' attorneys.
The diocese of Camden covers six southern New Jersey counties outside Philadelphia. The agreement must still be approved by a bankruptcy court.
FILE - The Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception is seen in Camden, N.J., April 20, 2022. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke, File)
