As reported by Deadline, Laura Linney has signed on for a starring role in Sully, Clint Eastwood’s drama about Captain Chesley “Sully” Sullenberger, the airline pilot who landed a plane in the Hudson River after colliding with a flock of geese and saved the lives of all 155 passengers on board. Tom Hanks will play Sully, Aaron Eckhart will play the co-pilot (who was instrumental in landing the plane but did not become famous), and Linney will play Sully’s wife, Lorraine “Lorrie” Sullenberger—apparently nicknames are a big thing in the Sullenberger household. This will be Linney’s third time working with Eastwood, after appearing in Mystic River and Absolute Power. Also, as humorously noted by Deadline, Linney has been “drawing raves opposite Ian McKellan in Mr. Holmes” and she “just filmed Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 2.” Oh, Hollywood.
Sully was written by Todd Komarnicki, and it’s based on the book Highest Duty: My Search For What Really Matters, which was co-written by Sullenberger.