clint eastwood
Clint Eastwood will direct the biopic of pilot Chesley “Sully” Sullenberger, who landed his disabled jet on New York’s Hudson River in 2009, saving all on board, Warner Bros. announced Tuesday. Reuters/Robert Galbraith

Clint Eastwood is set to direct the biopic about pilot Chesley “Sully” Sullenberger, who landed his disabled jet on New York’s Hudson River in 2009, Warner Bros. Pictures announced Tuesday. The film will be adapted from the book, "Highest Duty: My Search for What Really Matters," written by Sullenberger and the late author Jeffrey Zaslow, which describes the events of the Jan. 15 incident.

The movie will portray the behind-the-scenes drama, which surrounded Sullenberger's landing of the US Airways Flight 1549 in the river after the plane hit a large flock of birds that disabled both its engines. All 155 people aboard the flight survived the incident, which was dubbed the “Miracle on the Hudson.”

“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.

Greg Silverman, president of creative development and worldwide production of Warner Bros. Pictures, also said the untitled film will be made in collaboration with Marshall and Stewart as the producers, while Todd Komarnicki will be in charge of the screenplay.

“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,” Silverman said in the statement.

Eastwood’s Oscar-winning movie, "American Sniper," starring Bradley Cooper as Navy SEAL Chris Kyle, reportedly earned about $543 million globally for the studio and went on to become the top domestic release of 2014.

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