The Daily Star's FREE newsletter is spectacular! Sign up today for the best stories straight to your inbox Sign up today! Thank you for subscribing See our privacy notice Invalid Email

Lopez, 44, will join Antonio Banderas and Martin Sheen to tell the tale of the 33 men who, three years ago, were trapped underground for 69 days.

But family and friends of the miners are outraged because the movie, entitled The 33, has yet to pay out a penny to the real stars of the film – the men who survived the ­ traumatic ordeal.

Our insider said: “J.Lo is a big star and comes with a hefty price tag. Unfortunately a lot of the miners are incredibly poor.

“They were hoping this movie would help them live a better life but so far all it’s done is left them feeling isolated once again.”

The miners at the San José mine in ­Copiapó hoped to make millions ­following their incredible rescue, which was watched by the world in October 2010.

But the reality has seen some of the men forced to return to the mines.

Pedro Cortez, 25, the 31st man to be rescued, said: “People thought that because we were part of the 33 we would find work easily after the rescue. That didn’t happen.

“We looked for work for more than a year in both public and private companies and we got nothing.”

The desperate miners are now reaching out to Hollywood ­ producers for money as filming ­begins in Chile.

“They aren’t asking for millions of dollars but they feel they deserve something,” added our source.

It is thought the miners will receive a small fee but it will be ­pennies compared to what J.Lo will get, despite many of them living in squalor.

Three years after their rescue the ­miners say most of them are unemployed and many are poorer than before.

The most desperate have returned to mining while Víctor Zamora, 33, and Daríos Segovia, 48, are trying to make ends meet by selling fruit and ­vegetables.

“They made us feel like heroes,” said Edison Peña, 34, another miner, who is now having treatment in a ­psychiatric clinic.

“In the end, we are selling ­peanuts. It’s ironic, isn’t it?”

Banderas, 53, will play the role of Mario Sepulveda, 40, the charismatic miner nicknamed Super Mario, while Sheen, 73, will play a miner’s ­father. It is not yet clear which role Lopez will take. The new flick is due for release in 2014.