Miners' rescue: Film deals, TV rights … can solidarity survive journey to fame and fortune?

AFTER a mandatory 48-hour stay in hospital, the rescued miners of San José will emerge into a different world from the one they left - one of book deals, television interviews and the prospect of a Hollywood movie starring Javier Bardem.

According to reports, the miners called in a lawyer and had a contract sent down ensuring a binding agreement that each will earn an equal share from the lucrative media deals on offer. The group were said to have initially rejected a string of interview requests and have, instead, made plans jointly to write a book about their experiences half a mile below the Earth's surface.

It has been reported that television companies were offering 250,000 to each miner for his exclusive story, with publicity agents battling to sign up their families.

There have also been offers to endorse products ranging from beer to mining equipment to a sex-aid vitamin product. Each wore a pair of protective Oakley sunglasses as they reached the surface, an indication of the product endorsement deals they may now attract.

The miners will find themselves at the centre of worldwide media interest. The men, who were previously earning about 630 a month, have also been offered media and book deals - not to mention job offers.

As recognition of the problems they could face readjusting to life, the miners will receive a psychiatric consultation immediately after leaving the mine, and they will also be offered psychiatric treatment for six months, if they want it.

At the Frankfurt Book Fair last week, Transworld, the British publisher, bought the rights to 33 Men Buried Alive: The Inside Story of the Trapped Chilean Miners by Jonathan Franklin, a British journalist based in Chile for the past 16 years who has had full access to the rescue efforts.

The book is expected to be completed in the next six to eight weeks and will go on sale early in the new year.

Meanwhile, there have also been reports of a potential movie, Buried Courage, with Javier Bardem, the Spanish actor who won an Oscar for No Country for Old Men, mentioned as a possible lead.

The family of one of the 33 miners has launched a lawsuit against the mine owners and the government inspectors. When the lawsuit was announced, a judge ordered 1.2 million of the mine's assets to be frozen. This is believed to have happened in order to cover possible compensations costs.

The owners of the mine have been accused by the family of safety lapses and the government officials have been accused of negligently allowing the mine to reopen in 2008 following an accident there. The owners, the San Esteban Mining Company, have denied any wrongdoing and refuse to take the blame for the accident occurring.

The president of Chile, Sebastin Piera, has made it clear anybody found to be responsible for the accident will be punished.The question is: will the solidarity that existed in the the mine survive the journey to the surface.