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Clint Eastwood To Direct Captain 'Sully' Sullenberger Biopic 'Miracle on the Hudson'

SAN FRANCISCO (CBS SF) -- The 153 passengers aboard U.S. Airways Flight 1549 were in good hands the day Capt. Chesley "Sully" Sullenberger III landed the distressed plane on the Hudson River. The movie about that fateful day is in good hands, too, now that Clint Eastwood is set to direct it.

US Airways flight 1549
US Airways Flight 1549 floats in the Hudson river as passengers wait to be rescued, January 14, 2009. (GregL/Wikimedia Commons)

Warner Brothers announced Tuesday that Eastwood is directing, 'Miracle on the Hudson.' According to the Hollywood Reporter, veteran pilot 'Sully' couldn't be happier.

"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, 64, said in a statement.

Clint Eastwood
Clint Eastwood (credit: Mireya Acierto/Getty Images)

The film is based on Sullenberger's life and memoir, "Highest Duty: My Search for What Really Matters." The pilot co-wrote it with late Wall Street Journal columnist, Jeffrey Zaslow. Screenwriter Todd Komarnicki (Perfect Stranger, Elf, Resistance) will adapt it for the big screen.

Eastwood, a longtime resident of in Monterey County, and former mayor of Carmel, will hopefully give Sully's tale the same Midas touch he gave Navy SEAL Chris Kyle's saga in 'American Sniper.' That film grossed more than $543 million and is the "most successful war-themed movie of all time" according to the Hollywood Reporter.

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