Chilean Mining Accident Gets Film Adaptation

The Chilean mining accident of August 2010, which saw 33 miners trapped down a mine for 69 days, was a global news story followed by billions around the globe.  It was only a matter of time before a film was put into development and that time is now.  Producer Mike Medavoy, the man behind such films as Shutter Island and Black Swan, has snapped up the rights to the story and has been swift to find not only a director, in the shape of La Misma Luna helmer Patricia Riggen, but also a star in the shape of Antonio Banderas.  The film will be called The 33 with Banderas playing the charismatic Mario Sepúlevada who became the host of the miners’ videos to the surface for which the media nicknamed him Super Mario.  The screenplay has been written by Mikko Alanne and Jose Rivera in close conjunction with help from the miners, their families and the rescuers who helped get them out.  Medavoy is currently producing the remake of Robocop while Banderas, when he isn’t holding court with talking donuts in surreal chewing gum adverts, will next be seen in Robert Rodriguez’s Machete Kills.  Source – Variety