Thai cave rescue: Race begins to acquire movie, book rights

At least one Hollywood producer is in Thailand scouting movie rights to the story of the boys and the harrowing rescue mission.

Now that it is out of the cave, the Thai soccer team may be heading onto the big screen.

At least one Hollywood producer is already in Thailand scouting the movie rights to the story of the boys trapped in a flooded cave and the harrowing rescue mission that saved them.

Michael Scott, a co-founder of Pure Flix Entertainment, said Tuesday he was in northern Thailand near the cave. Pure Flix has begun talking to actors, writers and investors about partnering on a movie about the ordeal, said David A.R. White, the production company’s co-founder. As news spread of the soccer team’s story, some potential partners have reached out to Pure Flix, including Thai investors, he added.

Interest in a potential project has soared since all members of the team were rescued successfully. A story like the Thai rescue, which captivated the world in real time, sends producers scurrying to give it the cinematic treatment while interest is high.

Cave rescues, in particular, have proven appealing to Hollywood, with examples including The 33, about a Chilean mine disaster, and The Pennsylvania Miners’ Story, a 2002 television movie about the Quecreek Mine rescue.

Mr Scott, who lives in Bangkok for part of the year, went to the caves soon after hearing about the soccer team and has been helping at the scene and interviewing divers, Mr White said. Getting on site before such rescue operations drew heightened media attention generally gives a producer an advantage over competitors who arrive later.

The Pure Flix team is pursuing “life rights” of those involved, which would give the company license to dramatise the story.

“You get their stories, and then it’s a matter of making sure the writer can tell the story in a dramatic and inspirational way,” said Mr White, whose company specialises in faith-based stories. “At the same time, these stories still have to be entertaining and moving.”

The story is likely headed into other formats, including TV and books. Discovery Inc. has ordered a one-hour documentary special that will debut Friday, the Hollywood-focused website Deadline reported.

Rescuers move to find trapped members of the youth soccer team from a flooded cave in northern Thailand. Picture: Elon Musk via AP

And publishing-industry executives expect the daring rescue mission also will be the subject of books.

“In the hands of a good writer there are layers to this story that we don’t yet know,” said Jamie Raab, publisher of Celadon Books, a division of Macmillan. “The question is whether we will learn anything in the book that we aren’t getting in these incredibly dramatic accounts in the media. Months from now, will it still captivate an audience?”

She said she hasn’t seen any proposals but suspected they would be arriving shortly. One concern, she said, is that the backstories of the Thai boys may be limited because they are so young.

“I remember loving Into Thin Air because the characters came from such different backgrounds,” she said. That book, written by Jon Krakauer, told the story of a deadly expedition to Mount Everest.

“It’s a great story but I’m not sure I’d want to read 300 pages about it,” said Binky Urban, an agent at ICM Partners. “It seems more like a magazine story. Now, having said that, somebody will sell it for $1 million.”

One publisher said she would be interested, depending on the participation of the soccer coach.

“It would have to focus on the Buddhist training that enabled him to give the kids the courage and stamina they needed to survive,” said Cindy Spiegel, publisher of Spiegel & Grau, a Penguin Random House imprint.

The Wall St Journal