Tom Hanks explores the drama and trauma of being a hero in 'Sully'

Record ID: 87616

  • Title: Tom Hanks explores the drama and trauma of being a hero in 'Sully'
  • Date: 7th September 2016
  • Summary: WEST HOLLYWOOD, CALIFORNIA, UNITED STATES (AUGUST 28, 2016) (REUTERS) (SOUNDBITE) (English) PILOT, CHESLEY 'SULLY' SULLENBERGER, SAYING: "It was shocking, it was startling and our bodies started responding immediately in intense ways - you know, pulse, blood pressure, narrowing of vision and then of course in the weeks afterwards inability to sleep more than a few minutes,
  • Embargoed: 23rd September 2016 00:20
  • Keywords: Tom Hanks Sully film Sullenberger plane landing crash emergency
  • Location: UNIDENTIFIED FILMING LOCATIONS / WEST HOLLYWOOD, CALIFORNIA, UNITED STATES
  • City: UNIDENTIFIED FILMING LOCATIONS / WEST HOLLYWOOD, CALIFORNIA, UNITED STATES
  • Country: USA
  • Topics: Film
  • Reuters ID: LVA0044YKJG3X
  • Aspect Ratio: 16:9
  • Story Text: On January 15, 2009, US Airways pilot Captain Chesley 'Sully' Sullenberger became an overnight hero after he successfully landed Flight 1549 carrying 155 people into New York's Hudson River after both engines were crippled after hitting a flock of geese.
    'Sully', a new film by Hollywood heavyweight Clint Eastwood brings the story to the big screen but also shows what happened after the media averted their gaze from the story.
    "What they don't know is that immediately afterward we had to undergo an investigation to find out what went wrong and make safety improvements going forward for aviation," explained Sullenberger at the film's press junket in West Hollywood, California.
    "My professional reputation was absolutely at risk until the investigators ultimately did validate that we made the best choice at every juncture and that was a very difficult time for us. We were waiting for the other shoe to drop. Until that process was complete, we couldn't relax."
    'Sully' also endured PTSD (Post Traumatic Stress Disorder) for weeks after the successful water landing with symptoms including insomnia and elevated pulse and blood pressure.
    Two-time Academy Award winner Tom Hanks undertook the role of the titular character, bringing the stresses and strains of the events to life on the big screen.
    "This is like the fourth time I've played someone that is not only real but I spoke to in order to find out what went on and try and make it as authentic as possible," explained Hanks. "That's really what the trick is of the whole thing, getting behind the events and not dealing with just the procedure - something about the relationships he had with the other people involved and also with the event itself."
    Director Clint Eastwood is not only a keen pilot himself but also in 1951 survived a plane crash two miles off the coast of Point Reyes near San Francisco.
    However, according to Aaron Eckhart, who plays 'Sully's co-pilot Jeff Skiles, there are even further similarities between the pilot and Eastwood.
    "Everybody looks at Clint throughout his movie career as this hero. He's this man to us and.... that's who Sully is too. He's a born leader, he has that aura about him."
    'Sully' touches down in cinemas from September 9th.
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