PHILADELPHIA - Jennifer Lopez and Ben Affleck will star in the next Kevin Smith film, Jersey Girl, which will be shot in Philadelphia this summer.

"I pushed to shoot in Philadelphia over Toronto because it's in America, I liked the locations here and because it's a great production centre," Smith told the Philadelphia Inquirer. The sixth film from writer-director Smith, the dramatic comedy features Lopez, 31, and Affleck, 29, as parents of a preschool-aged daughter and has a budget of more than $20 million US. Smith's previous works include Clerks, Mallrats and Chasing Amy, all set in New Jersey.

Since Lopez's recent split from husband Chris Judd, rumours have circulated that she and Affleck are romantically linked. The two recently finished another film together, Martin Brest's Gigli, which will be released next year.

But Smith said the two aren't a couple.

"Are they dating? Unequivocally, no," he said.

With episodes of the CBS-TV drama Hack starring David Morse and Jersey Girl both in production in Philadelphia this summer, the Greater Philadelphia Film Office is bucking the U.S. trend of productions going north where, because of the exchange rate on the Canadian dollar, budgets go further.

"We're thrilled to be bringing millions of dollars and hundreds of jobs to the region," said Sharon Pinkenson, executive director of the film office.