Jennifer Lopez has become the latest actor of Hispanic descent to join the increasingly stellar cast of The 33, the movie about the rescue of the Chilean miners trapped underground three years ago, according to the Hollywood Reporter.
Lopez will join Antonio Banderas, Martin Sheen and Rodrigo Santoro in a true life tale of the 33 men rescued after being trapped underground for 69 days three years ago, attracting worldwide attention. It is not yet clear which role Lopez will take; her last big screen appearance was opposite Jason Statham in action thriller Parker.
Banderas will play Mario Sepúlveda, who became known to the world as the ebullient host of regular video journals sent to the surface by the miners, earning the nickname "Super Mario". Sheen will play a miner's father, while Santoro takes on the role of the group's second-in-command, Florencio Ávalos. Due to his youth and good health, the 31-year-old was chosen to be the first miner to ride in the rescue capsule to the surface in case of complications during the 15-minute ascent.
The 33 is the official version of the miners' story and has been put together with the exclusive co-operation of the men involved in the incident. Patricia Riggen (Under the Same Moon) is directing from a screenplay by Mikko Alanne and José Rivera and expects to shoot this autumn in Chile.
The rescue of the miners, who were trapped more than half a mile underground for 69 days, was carried out by a Chile-led international taskforce and was watched on TV by more than a billion people.
