Viggo Mortensen, Colin Farrell, and Joel Edgerton will lead a large international cast starring in Ron Howard’s new true story drama “Thirteen Lives” at MGM, Universal Pictures International, BRON Creative, Imagine Entertainment, Storyteller Productions, and Magnolia Mae.
The film, to be shot in Australia and Thailand starting this month, deals with the rescue of twelve boys and their soccer coach from a flooded, impenetrable cave system in Thailand in 2018.
Families, government, and volunteers from around the world came together in an effort to get everyone out of the Tham Luang Nang Non cave system in Chiang Rai Province. The eighteen-day ordeal made headlines around the world, but all of the boys and the coach were saved before floodwaters completely filled the caves.
Mortensen and Farrell play veteran British cave divers Richard Stanton and John Volanthen respectively, while Edgerton portrays Australian anesthetist and experienced cave diver Dr. Richard Harris. Also onboard as divers are Tom Bateman as Chris Jewell, Paul Gleeson as Jason Mallinson, and Lewis Fitz-Gerald as Vernon Unsworth.
Also starring are Weir Sukollawat as former Thai Navy SEAL Saman Kunan who lost his life during the attempt, Teeradon ‘James’ Supapunpinyo as the boy’s coach, Nophand Boonyai as groundwater expert Thanet Natisri, Thiraphat Sajakul as Thai Navy SEAL Anand, Sahajak Boonthanakit as Chiang Rai province acting governor Narongsak Osatanakorn, and Vithaya Pansringarm as General Anuphond.
William Nicholson (“Gladiator”) penned the script while Brian Grazer, Ron Howard, P.J. van Sandwijk, Gabrielle Tana and Karen Lunder are producing.
The new comes as Ron Howard and Brian Grazer’s Imagine Entertainment has signed a multi-year, first-look deal to create scripted features exclusively for Apple. This film will not fall under that deal with United Artists Releasing opening the film domestically and Universal Pictures handling the international release.
Source: Deadline
