Clint Eastwood to Shoot Film About Hero of “Miracle on the Hudson”

Warner Bros. Pictures said in a press release that the studio owns the film rights for a biography written by the pilot himself, Chesley Sullenberger, and Jeffrey Zaslow.

The film “will go beyond Sullenberger’s almost impossible and much-heralded achievement” to examine the drama behind the scenes that could have cost him “his reputation and his wings.”

“I am very glad my story is in the hands of gifted storyteller and filmmaker Clint Eastwood,” Sullenberger said in a statement.

The story will analyze in detail the man who became a national hero after saving the lives of the more than 150 people on board the plane.

The airliner he was piloting had to land right after takeoff because the engines weren’t working and his only solution was to use the Hudson River as his runway.

The screenplay for the biopic will be penned by Todd Komarnicki based on the book “Highest Duty: My Search for What Really Matters.”

Producer Frank Marshall acquired the film rights to the book in 2010 and has been developing the project every since.

Clint Eastwood’s “American Sniper” was last year’s biggest box-office hit in the United States with a take of over $350 million.