Stampede for the cave drama scoop

[rooster59]

Stampede for the cave drama scoop

By The Nation Weekend

 

The Mu Pa (Wild Boar) football team and their coach attend a ceremony at Tham Luang cave in Chiang Rai yesterday, earning merit for the late Lt-Commander Samarn Kunan, the former Navy Seal who lost his life amid efforts to rescue them.

 

Producers of movies, games, and books are queuing to see who gets a share in the Tham Luang story

 

After Hollywood studio Universal Pictures was reported acquiring the rights to make a movie about the Tham Luang cave rescue, the Culture Ministry is insisting that no such rights have been granted to anyone.

 

Culture Minister Vira Rojpojanarat said on Wednesday that the “Creative Media Panel” the government established for the purpose would hold an open call from November 15-23 for submissions for rights to make movies about the cave drama, as well as for depictions in all other media.

 

Several Hollywood-based and Thai studios were swift to pitch plans for feature and documentary films about the cave rescue, with games-makers joining in the frenzy to depict an event that caught the world’s attention.

 

 

Vira said the government was “representing” the 12 youngsters rescued from the Chiang Rai cave, along with their coach and their parents, to protect their intellectual property rights. The panel, set up in July, has officials from the culture, tourism, foreign affairs and human development ministries and reputable figures from the Thai film industry.

 

To date there are 22 movies, a TV series, animated games, music videos and books in the works, Vira said. Five foreign film studios and five in Thailand are proposing feature movies and 10 documentary projects have been touted by companies at home and abroad. Three projects involve books and music videos, and Thai and foreign news media have extended invitations to the boys and their coach to be interviewed on 27 different TV programmes.

 

Vira said local moviemakers could make their pitches to his Culture Ministry, while foreigners have to submit their proposals to the Tourism and Sport Ministry. The Creative Media Panel is also tasked with screening the information flow to and from the boys and safeguarding both their privacy and the country’s image. Once rights are granted to specific film projects, it will also oversee production.

 

The panel will help the families negotiate contracts with foreign studios, Vira said, with careful attention paid to their intellectual property rights. The restrictions on rights do not apply to the use of information already in the public domain, he said. Vira did not name any studios interested in the Mu Pa story, but it was widely reported that Universal Pictures had sealed a deal with the boys and their coach, Ekkaphol Chantawong, as well as Australian cave divers Dr Richard Harris and Craig Challen.

 

 

The Wall Street Journal reported that Universal had offered $1.5 million (Bt49 million) to be split among the boys and Ekkaphol. It listed Dana Brunetti and Michael De Luca as producers, a duo previously associated with box-office hits “Fifty Shades of Grey”, “Captain Phillips” and “The Social Network”.

 

Despite the report, panel members have insisted that no studio had as yet been granted the rights to produce a film about the cave rescue. Ekkaphol has also been quoted as saying he has accepted no such deal. “But we are not sure if Universal Pictures bought the rights from the Australian divers,” panel spokesman Lt-General Weerachon Sukondhapati-pak said.

 

At least three other major foreign studios have expressed interest in producing movies. De Warrenne Productions, headed by Thai-Irish producer-director Tom Waller, recently announced plans for a movie titled “The Cave”. He was looking for distributors at the Toronto International Film Festival. It was Waller who made the award-winning films “Mindfulness and Murder” and “The Last Executioner”.

 

Pure Flix managing partner Michael Scott and co-producer Adam Smith interviewed people around the cave in the immediate aftermath of the rescue in early July. Their firm is known for Christian-theme movies like “Do You Believe?” and the “God’s Not Dead” series and they hope to focus on the inspirational aspects of the rescue operation. “Now You See Me 2” director Jon M Chu and Ivanhoe Pictures meanwhile announced they were teaming up for a movie about the incident. “There’s a beautiful story here about human beings saving other human beings,” Chu said on Twitter.

 

 

The cave rescue drama that began on June 23 held people across the world spellbound as efforts to locate the Wild Boar team were repeatedly stymied by rising water levels and strong currents. Thai Navy Seals, joined by a slew of foreign professional divers including Australians Challen and Harris, coordinated the complicated operation. One former Navy Seal, Lt-Commander Saman Kunan, lost his life in the operation. The boys and their coach were all safely extracted by July 10.

 

Source: http://www.nationmultimedia.com/detail/national/30356806

 

 

 

-- © Copyright The Nation 2018-10-20

[Samui Bodoh]

"...Vira said the government was “representing” the 12 youngsters rescued from the Chiang Rai cave, along with their coach and their parents, to protect their intellectual property rights. The panel, set up in July, has officials from the culture, tourism, foreign affairs and human development ministries and reputable figures from the Thai film industry..."

 

The question MUST be asked; what benefits are the government/committee members taking for their actions? How much money in expenses, fees, honorariums, etc. do committee members make? Who are these 'reputable' figures and who chose them? 

 

Call me cynical, but I have been in Thailand long enough to fear greatly for the kids' future. The committee was set up 'to protect' the kids and secure their future, but who will protect the kids from the committee? Forgive me, but I see the 'committee' as a MUCH greater threat than a Hollywood producer.

 

Bloody hell! Isn't that a hell of a comment on the state of Thailand today...

 

 

Edited October 20, 2018 by Samui Bodoh

[tominbkk]

Really though, its not that interesting of a story, unless they are allowed to tell the REAL story.

[newcomer71]

1 hour ago, rooster59 said:

Vira said the government was “representing” the 12 youngsters rescued from the Chiang Rai cave, along with their coach and their parents, to protect their intellectual property rights.

Aren't they so caring, huh? They smelled money and those sharks went right for it.

[Denim]

Deary me, what a media circus this has degenerated into.

[Tarteso]

Mmmm... I guess is a second part of 20.000 leagues under the ....“cave”?

 

 

Edited October 20, 2018 by Tarteso

[yellowboat]

It should have been packaged and sold already.  The average Hollywood script usually goes for US$300-600k, not included performance bonuses.  Some fetch a million, so why are they screwing around ?   The longer they wait, the less likely they will get a good deal.  Typical silliness we have come to expect in military controlled Thailand.

[newcomer71]

8 minutes ago, yellowboat said:

It should have been packaged and sold already.  The average Hollywood script usually goes for US$300-600k, not included performance bonuses.  Some fetch a million, so why are they screwing around ?   The longer they wait, the less likely they will get a good deal.  Typical silliness we have come to expect in military controlled Thailand.

Silliness + greed = junta

[Ossy]

1 hour ago, tominbkk said:

unless they are allowed to tell the REAL story.

What . . . the one that my pal wrote about? That would make a good movie.

[fvw53]

I saw on Discovery Channel a documentary on the cave drama : no mention of Australians or New Zealanders or British ....it looked as if American rescuers only were there

[Misterwhisper]

Somebody really should make a movie or TV series about that tiresome media circus.

 

And video games have been pitched? Honestly? Is there no decency left, only greed? What's the premise of such a game? Get bonus points for every boy you rescue and points deducted for every boy you let suffocate or drown? The mind just boggles.  

[Chopperboy]

2 hours ago, tominbkk said:

Really though, its not that interesting of a story, unless they are allowed to tell the REAL story.

And don't mention about the other persons that went missing in the cave.... 

[Oziex1]

I expect movies will be made with or without permission from any money grubbing committee. 

 

Can somebody comment on who can sell the rights. 

[HHTel]

They can make the movie with or without the consent of the Thai authorities.  The authorities can only dictate regarding locations within Thailand.

 

Look at the various makes and re-makes of the Anna Leonowens story.  It was attempted for the last remake to be filmed in Thailand. Despite changing the script to appease the Thais,  agreement couldn't be reached.  No problem.  The film makers upped sticks, built a Sanam Luang elsewhere and made the film mostly in Malaysia.

[toofarnorth]

1 hour ago, Misterwhisper said:

Somebody really should make a movie or TV series about that tiresome media circus.

 

And video games have been pitched? Honestly? Is there no decency left, only greed? What's the premise of such a game? Get bonus points for every boy you rescue and points deducted for every boy you let suffocate or drown? The mind just boggles.

Just what I was thinking.  ' shake dice , move forward 3 squares , pick up a card '

You have just walked in to a wall , wait 3 goes .

Thinks !   get of the computer , make a board game save it for xmas day afternoon , but don't tell the PM , cave ( that is Latin )

[Mavideol]

3 hours ago, Denim said:

Deary me, what a media circus this has degenerated into.

only in thailand they praise somebody who broke the law.... for god's sake, the teacher went into the cave that was supposed to be closed, he placed the kids life in jeopardy and he's been claimed as an HERO.... in any civilized country he would be paying all costs and would be in jail

[HHTel]

1 hour ago, Mavideol said:

only in thailand they praise somebody who broke the law.... for god's sake, the teacher went into the cave that was supposed to be closed, he placed the kids life in jeopardy and he's been claimed as an HERO.... in any civilized country he would be paying all costs and would be in jail

As far as has been reported, the caves were not closed.  There was a warning of potential flooding but that wasn't in effect at the time the boys went in.  Maybe a bad decision to go in but what law did anyone break?

 

[Jonmarleesco]

8 hours ago, rooster59 said:

Several Hollywood-based and Thai studios were swift to pitch plans for feature and documentary films about the cave rescue

For Christ's sake, some kids foolishly got themselves trapped in a cave, leading to the need for other people to put their lives at risk to rescue them. Documentary? Perhaps. Feature? Emphatically not.

[Stargeezr]

Hey! This Cave story is a new idea for a movie, so unlike so many

movies that go back to their beginnings, because the writers in Hollywood

are almost out of new ideas, this is something new that has to be thought

about. I wonder if It will be set in modern times or some future time to get

a sci fi look about it, as in beam them up Scotty!

[balo]

So the boys will now become millionaires? Become hi-so Thais? No need to dream about becoming professional soccer players anymore. They can open their own business.