Haute 100 Update: Clint Eastwood & Tom Hanks Begin Filming ‘Sully’

Production for the highly-anticipated Warner Bros. Pictures’ drama Sully has began. Sully stars Oscar winner Tom Hanks as Captain Chesley “Sully” Sullenberger, with Oscar winner Clint Eastwood directing the film.

The screenplay was written by Todd Komarnicki, based on the book Highest Duty: My Search for What Really Matters, by Sullenberger and Jeffrey Zaslow. Eastwood will also serve as a producer along with Frank Marshall, Allyn Stewart and Tim Moore, with Kipp Nelson serving as executive producer.

The biopic also stars Aaron Eckhart (Olympus Has Fallen, The Dark Knight) as Sully’s co-pilot, Jeff Skiles, and Oscar nominee Laura Linney (The Savages, Kinsey, Showtime’s The Big C) as Sully’s wife, Lorraine Sullenberger.

Earlier this summer, Sullenberger, 64, expressed how pleased he was about his story being told. “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,” he said.

For those of you who are not familiar with Captain Sullenberger, he was the veteran pilot who safely landed a plane on the Hudson River. On Jan. 15^th, 2009, the plane departed at 3:26 p.m. However, minutes after departing both of the vessel’s engines were disabled due to a flock of Canadian geese. Sullenberger, who is certified as a glider pilot, according to Federal Aviation Administration records, safely landed on the Hudson and all 155 passengers on board survived.

The incident quickly became referred to as a “Miracle on the Hudson.”

Sullenberger was an airline safety expert who has consulted with NASA and others, as stated on his resume. He has 40 years of experience, 29 with US Airways, and hold masters’ degrees in public administration and industrial psychology, according to NBC.

Photos via Shutterstock