Whatever you might think of “American Sniper,” it was a landmark moment for Clint Eastwood in a career already filled with landmark moments. The film was the biggest domestic moneymaker of 2014, raking in over $350 million, good for more than double Eastwood's previous high mark ($148 million for 2008's “Gran Torino”). So how is he following it up? By bringing another real-life persona to the screen.
You probably remember the saga of Captain Chelsey “Sully” Sullenberger, who in January of 2009 forced an emergency landing/ditching in the Hudson River after engines on a New York-Charlotte flight were taken out by a large flock of birds. Dubbed the “Miracle on the Hudson,” t's the kind of story that plays havoc on a fear of flying – that a flock of birds can take you down in an instant. Nevertheless, Sully's story garnered him a national spotlight, and now Eastwood is planning to bring that story to the big screen.
Allyn Stewart and Frank Marshall, who optioned the rights to Sullenberger's life story and memoir “Highest Duty: My Search for What Really Matters,” will produce alongside Eastwood.
Eastwood softly retired from starring in his own movies after “Gran Torino,” but this might be reason enough to step back in front of the camera of one of his productions. If not him, though, perhaps Harrison Ford could take on the role. According to the Hollywood Reporter story that broke the news, he first introduced Sullenberger to Marshall. And he knows a thing or two about ditch landings.
Anyway, what are your thoughts?