Ingrid Betancourt's Hollywood saga

Since Ingrid Betancourt's liberation from jungle captivity in a daring rescue operation early this month, Ingrid-mania has swept the globe.

The saga of Betancourt, the former Colombian presidential candidate liberated after more than six years as a hostage of leftist guerrillas, has captivated Latin America and Europe and is generating major media interest in the United States. Book and film deals are in the works.

Hollywood sees box office potential in Betancourt's ordeal, which she has described as a living hell, and its exotic subtexts: jungles, hostages, political intrigue, rifle-toting rebels and a strong-willed, religious woman callously separated from her two children. And, of course, her dramatic rescue.

Betancourt and 14 other hostages, including three U.S. defense contractors, were rescued July 2 through stealth and guise, Colombian authorities say. Officials have denied reports in Europe that a ransom of as much as $20 million was paid to the insurgent Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or FARC.

"Once again, life trumps art," said screenwriter and producer Larry Gelbart, who saw fertile script material in the rescue. "[It] seems as though it was ripped from a motion picture screen and rushed with all haste to the 11 o'clock news. . . . Such creative planning led to the best of all possible movie finishes: a happy ending."

Betancourt has appeared on numerous television programs in the United States, including an interview with Larry King on CNN.

Art Monterastelli, a writer and producer in Los Angeles, likened the allure of the Colombian politician to that of Barack Obama or Bill Clinton.

"She's intelligent, speaks four or five languages, has led an interesting life -- half jet set, half social commitment -- and is this incredibly attractive figure," said Monterastelli. "She's a media rock star."

Betancourt's tale "has it all," said Jim McNamara, chairman of Miami-based Panamax films, a Spanish-language film producer.

"Her captors are ugly, ugly villains out of central casting," McNamara said.

More Hollywood fodder: The Colombian press has documented the strain on Betancourt's marriage while she was in captivity.

Creative Artists Agency of Los Angeles is representing Betancourt in any future book or film deals, in association with her French literary agent, Susannah Lea, said one industry source.