Netflix is joining with the production company for the movie "Crazy Rich Asians" to make a film about last July's dramatic rescue of 12 boys and their soccer coach who were trapped in a flooded cave in northern Thailand for more than two weeks.
Netflix and SK Global Entertainment said they acquired the rights to the story from 13 Thumluang Co. Ltd,, a company that Thailand's government helped establish to represent the interests of the boys and their coach, who attended the news conference for the announcement Tuesday in Bangkok.
Thailand's Culture Ministry in March first unveiled the deal, announced as a miniseries. Deputy government spokesman Weerachon Sukoondhapatipakat was quoted then as saying that the families of the cave survivors would each be paid 3 million baht ($94,000).
A date for the project to be released wasn't disclosed.
The boys of the Wild Boars soccer team and their coach became a center of world attention after they became trapped in the cave on June 23 last year, with doubts they were able to find shelter from rising flood waters that poured in after unexpected rain. They were found by two British divers and brought out by an international crew of experienced cave divers who teamed up with Thai navy SEALs in a dangerously complicated mission that was successfully concluded on July 10.
"We are grateful for the opportunity to thank the people and organizations from Thailand and around the world who came together to perform a true miracle, by retelling our story," said Ekapol "Ake" Chanthawong, the boy's assistant coach who shared the ordeal with them. "We look forward to working with all involved parties to ensure our story is told accurately, so that the world can recognize, once again, the heroes that made the rescue operation a success."
Tuesday's announcement said 13 Thumluang "has committed to donating 15% of the revenues derived from bringing this story to global audiences to charity organizations that focus on disaster relief."
Jon M. Chu, who helmed "Crazy Rich Asians," and Nattawut "Baz" Poonpiriya, a Thai filmmaker, will be directors on the cave project.
"We are immensely proud to be able to support the retelling of the incredible story of the Tham Luang cave rescue," Erika North, director of International Originals at Netflix, said in a statement. "The story combines so many unique local and universal themes which connected people from all walks of life, from all around the world. Thailand is a very important country for Netflix and we are looking forward to bringing this inspiring local but globally resonant story of overcoming seemingly insurmountable odds to life, once again, for global audiences."
The rescue was a rare bit of feel-good news from Thailand, which has been mired in political conflict and heavy-handed military rule for more than a decade. The cave rescue also allowed the government of Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha, who had seized power in a 2014 military coup, to share in some glory.
An independent film about the adventure, "The Cave," was shot soon after the rescue and is supposed to be released later this year.
South Korea fines Meta $15 million for illegally collecting information on Facebook users
South Korea's privacy watchdog on Tuesday fined social media company Meta 21.6 billion won ($15 million) for illegally collecting sensitive personal information from Facebook users, including data about their political views and sexual orientation, and sharing it with thousands of advertisers.
It was the latest in a series of penalties against Meta by South Korean authorities in recent years as they increase their scrutiny of how the company, which also owns Instagram and WhatsApp, handles private information.
Following a four-year investigation, South Korea's Personal Information Protection Commission concluded that Meta unlawfully collected sensitive information about around 980,000 Facebook users, including their religion, political views and whether they were in same-sex unions, from July 2018 to March 2022.
It said the company shared the data with around 4,000 advertisers.
South Korea's privacy law provides strict protection for information related to personal beliefs, political views and sexual behavior, and bars companies from processing or using such data without the specific consent of the person involved.
The commission said Meta amassed sensitive information by analyzing the pages the Facebook users liked or the advertisements they clicked on.
The company categorized ads to identify users interested in themes such as specific religions, same-sex and transgender issues, and issues related to North Korean escapees, said Lee Eun Jung, a director at the commission who led the investigation on Meta.
"While Meta collected this sensitive information and used it for individualized services, they made only vague mentions of this use in their data policy and did not obtain specific consent," Lee said.
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