The rescue of 33 miners trapped in an underground mine in Chile is now going to hit the big screen. Producer Mike Medavoy maker of the Black Swan and his company Phoenix Pictures have come to an agreement with the miners to turn their ordeal into a motion picture.
A joint statement was issued on behalf of both parties to this effect. While no studio is known to be directly involved in the movie as yet the screen writer Jose Rivera of the Motorcycle Diaries fame is working on the script.
The movie will be based on the 69 days that the miners were trapped underground at the San Jose mine. Medavoy who grew up in Chile said that, “like millions of people around the world, I was completely engrossed watching the rescue at Copiapó”.
“At its heart, this is a story about the triumph of the human spirit and a testament to the courage and perseverance of the Chilean people,” said Medavoy. He added that he could not think of a better story than this one to bring to the screen.
Miner Juan Andrés Illanes was amongst those trapped in the ordeal. He said that one year after the collapse of the mine, they considered this to be a great step towards the realization of a film based on their experience in the mine. This was the only official and authorized film about what they lived in the San José mine. Much of the story has never been told he said.