Banderas to play real-life 'Super Mario'

It's been announced at the Cannes Film Festival that Antonio Banderas will star in 'The 33,'  a movie based on the true story of the 33 Chilean miners who were rescued after being trapped for 69 days in 2010.The announcement was made today by producer Mike Medavoy.

Production is scheduled to begin in Chile in the Autumn and Martin Sheen and Rodrigo Santoro are also confirmed as cast members. The director will be Patricia Riggen ('La Misma Luna').

[Amodovar - Explicit dialogue and ambiguous sexuality]

Banderas will play the role of Mario Sepulveda, one of the miners who came to be known as known as “Super Mario.” in the real-life drama which was watched by more 1 billion viewers worldwide in 2010, while Santoro will be playing Florencio, the first miner to surface in the rescue.

Producer Medavoy obtained the miners’ exclusive life rights last year and developed the film in collaboration with all the people involved, including the rescuers and the miners' families.

The screenplay has been written by Mikko Alanne and Jose Rivera and Carlos Eugenio Lavin and Leopoldo Enriquez are exec producing.

[The most epic movie set meltdowns]

It's the first time producer Medavoy has  worked with Martin Sheen since “Apocalypse Now” in 1979 while he was at United Artists. Previous credits include Darren Aronofsky’s “Black Swan” and Martin Scorsese’s “Shutter Island.”

Meanwhile Antonio Banderas will be seen next in Robert Rodriguez’ 'Machete Kills.'