For his next feat of Everyman awesomeness, Tom Hanks is stepping into the shoes of another American hero – arguably, if you’ll forgive the heresy, an even bigger one. Hanks is playing Captain Chesley “Sully” Sullenberger in Sully: Miracle On The Hudson, the pilot responsible for the Miracle on the Hudson in 2009. Featuring some new, unseen footage, this new featurette from the filmmakers is a handy insight into what was involved.
The pilot was hailed globally when he safely landed a bird-struck, malfunctioning plane full of passengers on the New York waterway, becoming a symbol for old-school guts and professionalism at a moment of crisis. A memoir, Highest Duty: My Search For What Really Matters, followed, as well as a fair amount of soul-searching and a painful civil aviation investigation.
Clint Eastwood will, once again, be chipping away at the veneer of American heroism to find out what lies beneath. Probably, in the case of Sully, more heroism.
Eastwood called the shots based on Todd Komarnicki's script, and the film features Aaron Eckhart as co-pilot Jeff Skiles who helped land the plane, Laura Linney as Lorraine Sullenberger, Anna Gunn as Dr. Elizabeth Davis, and on this evidence, a tonne of awesomely bushy moustaches.
Sully: Miracle On The Hudson arrives in UK cinemas December 2. Head here to watch the latest trailer.