Clip It: Each day, Jon Davis looks at the world of trailers, featurettes and clips and puts it all in perspective.
I think everyone knows the story of the “Miracle on the Hudson.” But one thing I didn't notice until this featurette is that Sully's first name is “Chesley.” You don't hear that name very often. If I had told my wife that I wanted to name our son “Chesley” she would have said “That's not a real name. Stop making up names!” To be fair, I also wanted to name our son Voltron, which some (not me) would argue is not a real name.
What surprised me even further about Sully was that there's more to this story than the 208 seconds where Sully became a hero and landed the plane – whose jet engines were destroyed by a flock of geese – in the Hudson River. This man is a hero, and I can't imagine anyone thinking otherwise, but I didn't necessarily see a movie in this story. Maybe a short?
I'm guessing there's going to be a Social Network story structure where we're going to see this plane landing in flashback as he reports to a group of suits. Apparently not everyone was convinced Sully did the right thing. Who are these wet blanket bureaucrats and why have they decided to be jerks to an awesome pilot who saved people's lives? I guess we need to see the movie.
In recent years, I haven't been as thrilled with Clint Eastwood's work. As a screenwriter, I love that he shoots the script. But as a film watcher, sometimes I think he only shoots the first draft of a said script. You gotta admire how prolific he is, but his films of late seem to come apart at the seems.
I can imagine what it was like on the set of American Sniper. A producer might suggest, “These domestic scenes are a little dull, can we –“
“Shut up, roll film!”
“But that's clearly a plastic baby.”
“Who cares, we're on a schedule, p-ssy! Let's go!”
Of course, I'd love to work with Clint Eastwood on just about anything. “Do you have any notes for me, Clint?”
“No.. we're done, let's shoot this puppy!”
“But I didn't even proofread it.”
Two months later, it's in the theater. And ten seconds after that, it's won an Oscar. Now that's makin' movies!
Is there really enough there for a Sully movie? I don't know. I just can't picture myself ever doubting that Sully is a hero. Aside from some second act straw men, it seems pretty straightforward. But I'll tell you what, if I get the screener, you can come over and we can watch together.