'Crazy Rich Asians' director and Netflix to create miniseries inspired by Thailand soccer team cave rescue incident
In 2018, a 12 member youth 'Wild Boars' Thailand soccer team was trapped in a cave during the monsoon floods with their coach. The massive rescue operation received extensive media coverage across the world and the team even got to do an interview with Ellen Degeneres after the rescue operation concluded successfully. Now, 'Crazy Rich Asians' director Jon M Chu, has said that he will be directing a mini-series inspired by the incident along with Nattawut Poonpiriya, produced in collaboration with SK Global Entertainment, the producers of 'Crazy Rich Asians', and Netflix.
They have got the rights from 13 Thumluang Company, which represents the survivors, to make the film. According to Bloomberg, the streaming giant and the production company signed the agreement on Tuesday, April 30, in Bangkok, at the Culture Ministry. The report also suggested that each member of the team will be paid 3 million baht ($94,000) for the rights. The rescue of the team took over two weeks after specialized cave divers pitched in to help.
Erika North, director of international originals at Netflix, said, "Thailand is a very important market for Netflix and we're looking forward to bringing this inspiring local, but globally-resonant story of overcoming seemingly insurmountable odds to life, once again, for global audiences."
According to Deadline, director Chu said, "Like the rest of the world, we were riveted by the news of the Thai cave rescue. With the entire globe watching, this tragic human drama transformed into a beautiful, inspirational story of human beings saving other human beings. Not only did this show the best of the human spirit overcoming even the worst of circumstances, but it also proved that we are stronger when we work together."
He added, "This is why, with the support of the Thai government and our partners at Netflix, SK Global and Starlight, we are honored and grateful to be able to share the full story of this massive, international effort in a unique multilingual format that will allow us to work with filmmakers from all around the world, like the amazingly talented Nattawut "Baz" Poonpiriya, who understand the nuances and details of the local community in which this story unfolds."