Why complaints of Hollywood inaccuracies are unlikely to spoil 'Sully'
Aviation officials who investigated the zero-casualty crash landing of a jetliner on the Hudson River in 2009 complain that Clint Eastwood鈥檚 film 鈥淪ully,鈥� which premieres Friday, unfairly portrays them as cruel and adversarial.
Even if the misrepresentation claims are true, they鈥檙e unlikely to spell serious trouble for the film鈥檚 prospects at the box office and awards shows 鈥� that is, if movie critics, box office predictions, and historical precedent can be trusted.
The movie, which stars Tom Hanks as level-headed and quick-thinking pilot Capt. Chesley Sullenberger, casts investigators with the National Transportation Safety Board as 鈥�,鈥� as The New York Times reported.
But the investigators contend their line of questioning, which ultimately resulted in a report , remained respectful, professional, and within standard protocol.
Malcolm Brenner, a retired NTSB specialist who was among the first to interview Sullenberger following the water landing, told Bloomberg he understands why the film would cast his team in a harsh light.
鈥淎ny good story ,鈥� Mr. Brenner said.
海角大神 Science Monitor film critic Peter Rainer noted that Sullenberger, as played by Hanks, "seems wounded more by the NTSB investigation than by his memories."
The investigators鈥� in a draft script, but they were removed at Sullenberger鈥檚 request, Mr. Hanks told The Associated Press.
When mentioned by movie critics, the complaints seem less significant than the work as a whole. The Wall Street Journal's Joe Morgenstern聽dubbed the film 鈥渙ne of the best aviation movies ever made,鈥� while noting certain fictional elements in the script, including an NTSB hearing that inaccurately portrayed investigators as shamelessly hostile.
鈥淚 wish the hearing had been , but 鈥楽ully鈥� remains an impressive achievement, a portrait of a good man whose heroism lay in having the right stuff and knowing how to use it during a small eternity of looming chaos and unprecedented peril,鈥� Mr. Morgenstern wrote.
Without mentioning the NTSB鈥檚 complaint, The Associated Press film writer Jake Coyle noted that Eastwood and screenwriter Todd Komarnicki drew from Sullenberger鈥檚 book and 鈥�,鈥� since the entire flight lasted less than six minutes.
During its box office debut this weekend, 鈥淪ully鈥� is projected to rake in $22-25 million.
Furthermore, the Academy Awards have been kind in recent memory to quality cinema that, despite falling under historical scrutiny, promotes itself as 鈥渂ased on a true story.鈥�
Last year鈥檚 Oscar for best picture went to 鈥�Spotlight,鈥� despite a Boston College spokesman claiming it . In 2013, the honor was bestowed upon 鈥淎rgo,鈥� despite its at the Tehran airport. And recent nominees 鈥淟incoln," 鈥淪elma,鈥� 鈥�The Big Short,鈥� and 鈥淎merican Sniper鈥� have faced .
These complaints are as old as the medium itself, according to Joshua Moss, a visiting assistant professor of film and media studies at the University of California, Santa Barbara.
鈥淭he question of creative licenses versus historical accuracy dates to the silent era,鈥� Mr. Moss told UCSB鈥檚 The Current, noting that motion pictures in the 1890s were called 鈥渁ctualities,鈥� a term that implied absolute truth.
鈥淭he criticism focuses on the inherent tension between historical events and the need for material that will satisfy audience demands established by narrative screen traditions,鈥� Moss added. 鈥淭he need for three-act structures, happy endings, and a clear protagonist鈥檚 journey often reduce complex historical events to fodder for mainstream entertainment.鈥�
In discussing these sometimes-competing demands, journalist Roy Peter Clark wrote in Creative Nonfiction magazine that solid storytelling is both factual and meaningful.
鈥淪tories should not only be true, ,鈥� Mr. Clark wrote.
Allyn Stewart, one of the 鈥淪ully鈥� producers, said the film didn鈥檛 try to tell a purely objective account of the so-called Miracle on the Hudson. It sought, rather, to convey the investigators鈥� scrutiny as experienced by Sullenberger and co-pilot Jeff Skiles.
鈥淚t鈥檚 not a documentary,鈥� Ms. Stewart told The New York Times. 鈥淏ut at the same time it needs to be an authentic view of what Sully and Jeff experienced, and this is what they faced. This is what they went through.鈥�
