A movie producer expressed his intention of making a film out of the dramatic rescue of 12 young boys and their coach. The news of the trapped soccer team in a Thailand cave was reported worldwide and millions followed the story from their discovery to the day they were finally set free after being trapped for days.
Our reporter @johnismay, a former U.S. Navy diving officer, sheds light on the obstacles to guiding the Thai children and their coach out of a flooded cave complex https://t.co/8HzpyFeuhR — The New York Times (@nytimes) July 11, 2018
According to The Hollywood Reporter, Pure Flix Entertainment is producing a movie based on the story of the Wild Boars youths. Michael Scott, co-founder of the said production company, personally witnessed the rescue of the boys as he is temporarily living in Thailand.
Via phone patch interview, Scott told THR, "The bravery and heroism I've witnessed is incredibly inspiring, so, yes, this will be a movie for us." Further explaining why he wants to bring the rescue story to the theaters, he said he became so attached to the story so the idea came to him.
He added that they are planning to make the movie an inspirational one rather than a Christian film. "This story has meant so much to me," Fortune quoted Scott as saying. "My wife actually grew up with the Thai Navy Seal (Sgt. Saman Kunan) who died during the rescue efforts in the caves, and so to see all that heroic bravery in that cave, it's been such a very touching and personal event to me."
The Wall Street Journal pointed out that since many filmmakers are probably interested in producing the film, then Pure Flix has to overcome the competitors in order to fully secure the rights to the Thailand cave rescue story. In light of this, it was reported that Pure Flix was one step ahead as it already spoke to the families of the trapped youngsters.
Scott had also talked with at least 90 of the divers involved in the rescue as his production company exerts more efforts to get the "life rights" that will give Pure Flix the license to dramatize the story. It was said that the projected production budget for the film is around $30 to $60 million. As for the actor who will be in the movie, Ketan Joshi, a Thai communications consultant, tweeted that Matt Damon is starring in the flick.
The movie of the Thai boys trapped in the cave will star Matt Damon as all of the boys — Ketan Joshi (@KetanJ0) July 8, 2018
Meanwhile, the story of the Thailand cave rescue began on June 23 when 12 players of the Wild Boar soccer team was trapped in a cave due to the sudden surge of water. The boys, with ages ranging from 11 to 16, were in the cave with their 27-year-old coach when British divers found them on July 2. All 13 people were finally extracted from the cave on July 10.
