Clint Eastwood is tackling another real-life hero: Capt. Chesley “Sully” Sullenberger.
The prolific director’s next film will be the story of Sullenberger’s life and the dramatic tale of how the veteran pilot ditched U.S. Airways Flight 1549 in the Hudson River in January 2009, saving everyone on board. Eastwood will make the movie for Warner Bros., his longtime home studio.
“I am very glad my story is in the hands of gifted storyteller and filmmaker Clint Eastwood, and veteran producers Allyn Stewart and Frank Marshall. The project could not have found a better home than Warner Bros. Pictures. This is truly a dream team,“ Sullenberger said in a statement.
In addition to directing, Eastwood will produce the "Miracle on the Hudson” saga via his Malpaso Productions alongside veteran producer Frank Marshall of Kennedy/Marshall and Allyn Stewart of Flashlight Films. Kennedy and Stewart optioned the rights to Sullenberger’s life story and memoir, Highest Duty: My Search for What Really Matters, in 2010, but it wasn’t until now that the project landed at a Hollywood studio. (Harrison Ford, an aviation enthusiast and pilot, first introduced Sullenberger to Marshall).
Related: CinemaCon: Clint Eastwood Takes Aim at Michael Moore, Reflects on ‘American Sniper’ Success
All of Hollywood had been waiting to see what Eastwood would direct following his global blockbuster American Sniper, likewise from Warners. Released in December, Sniper grossed north of $543 million globally to become the most successful war themed-film of all time. The biopic, starring Bradley Cooper as the late Navy SEAL Chris Kyle, is also the most successful R-rated movie in history behind The Passion of the Christ ($612 million), not accounting for inflation. And it is by far Eastwood’s most successful directing outing.
Eastwood’s involvement is a huge boost for the Sullenberger project. Todd Komarnicki is writing the adapted script, drawing from Sullenberger’s life and memoir. Sullenberger co-wrote his memoir with Jeffrey Zaslow, who died in a car crash in 2012. The announcement was made by Greg Silverman, Warner Bros. Pictures’ president of creative development and worldwide production.
Said Silverman in a statement: “Simply put, Clint Eastwood is at the top of his game, not to mention a global treasure. On the heels of his extraordinary work in American Sniper, it is tremendously exciting to see him explore the life of another captivating true-life hero. It is also great to be collaborating with Frank Marshall and Allyn Stewart to produce this compelling script by Todd Komarnicki.”
Sullenberger and his crew had just taken off from LaGuardia Airport when both engines were knocked out by a flock of Canadian geese. The veteran pilot quickly realized there was no time to return to LaGuardia, or reach another airport, so made the decision to attempt a water landing on the Hudson. The plan worked, and all 155 people on board survived. He instantaneously achieved hero status, and was dubbed "Captain Cool” by then-New York City mayor Michael Bloomberg.
Eastwood had been mulling directing Fox’s untitled Richard Jewell biopic, but a deal to bring Warners aboard as a partner failed to materialize. The movie stars Jonah Hill as the heroic security guard who helped save numerous lives during the bombing at the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta. Eastwood also decided against directing a remake of A Star is Born. LINK
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