Just about everyone has heard about US Airways 1549, the Airbus A320 that did a water landing in the Hudson River in January 2009 after it had multiple bird strikes leading to a double engine failure. The flight is often referred to as “the miracle on the Hudson,” and the flight’s captain, Sully Sullenberger, is often referred to as a hero for his performance that day.
The captain received a lot of media attention following that incident, and a while back I had heard that they were going to make a movie about him. As an aviation geek, I was of course intrigued.
Well, the official trailer for the movie has now been released, and the movie will be in theaters on September 9, 2016. It’s a film by Clint Eastwood, and Sully is played by Tom Hanks, which seems like great casting.
Here’s the trailer:
I can’t wait to see the movie, because clearly there was a lot going on behind the scenes that we weren’t really aware of. Given that this is a big name Hollywood movie, I suspect it’ll be more like a Hollywood drama than a straight documentary, but I think that’s to be expected.
Based on the trailer, my first impression is that I’m impressed by the accurate plane cabins at least. Most movies that involve airplanes use cabins that in no way reflect the interiors of the planes shown. In the case of this movie, they seem to use actual US Airways interiors for the movie.
Do you plan on watching the Sully movie once it’s out?
Only a 6 minute flight? Come on, how long was the worst plane crash in history, at Tenerife? Yet they turned that into a 90 minute documentary, and it's excellent.
@Terence "Wait for it to be loaded onto AA’s IFE!" Too funny, but I expect the suits at AA will miss the joke, and just look at it as good advertising.
Interesting commentary by 'washing machine' wannsbe's...it did 'help' that the river's current was flowing at a sunstantial rate, in the proper direction, assisting in some reduction in static resistance....
Just after the imcident, I did download an App of the challenging non powered glide approach to the Hudson. Which has simce..mysteriously dissppeared....
Sam Elliot must be pissed this acting gig got away...
Hanks will also make a cameo appearance as "The Terminal's" Victor Navorski, who is still living in the airport full-time.
lol at the comments about this being "just a six minute flight". It's a drama. It's not a technical recreation of the actual flight. It's an examination of the people involved, the internal struggle and second guessing anyone has after making critical decisions like that where the stakes are high.
Sullenberger still advocates always following all FAA rules (including about electronics, back in the day), unlike Lucky.
Hero or not, he did his job, everyone survived, and now he consistently advocates for safety and respect for aviation authorities. The man is an example for others.
Sullenberger is very good at self-promotion. But the plane is designed to ditch, and crews trained to do it. No miracle.
And in fact the A320 has a ditch button, which he failed to hit. Had he done so, the fuselage would have sealed and the aircraft wouldn't have sunk.
You want heroes, google the Gimli Glider.
Does this really need to be a film? It all happened in a few minutes. Not saying the guy didnt do a good job but a full film? Hollywood really has a lack of creative minds if this is the best they can make a film about.
Is there a "save " scenario movie that Tom Hanks did not have a role in?
Bridge of Spies, Captain Philips, Angels & Demons / Da Vinci Code, Band of Brothers, Cast Away, Saving Private Ryan, Apollo 13, etc
I believe the captain's name is Chesley "Sully" Sullenberger, not Sully Sullenberger
"Well how hard could it be to land a plane on a large river at 180 mph once you’ve flown a crippled command module safely back to Earth in the 70s? Piece of cake."
Thanks for that. I sprayed coffee all over my iPad laughing.
Wait for it to be loaded onto AA's IFE!
If they could get a washing machine to fly, my Jimmy could land it!
Is this all dramatized or is it true? By that I mean, was there actually a huge investigation regarding whether he did the right thing by ditching the plane into the Hudson? Seems a little sensationalized to me.
Can't wait!
They also have United planes in their current livery (the merger livery). So is that quick little shot supposed to represent 2009, or is it just a general image several years later not tied to an exact date.
Well how hard could it be to land a plane on a large river at 180 mph once you've flown a crippled command module safely back to Earth in the 70s? Piece of cake.
I love Clint Eastwood movies.. and I like Tom Hanks.. but making a 6 minute flight in to a 90 minute movie? Yes, it was heroic act by Captain Sullenberger and it was indeed miracle that everyone survived the water ditching.. but I'm going to pass on this movie... Redbox maybe.
Plus.. releasing it two days before 15th anniversary of 9/11? Nothing like putting more fear of flying in to the public mind..
The planes look good except they cgied an AA 738 with the new livery which would not have been a thing for another 4 years.