Clint Eastwood is in a rut. He hasn’t made a film that’s anywhere close to the greatness of Unforgiven in over twenty years, and yet he dutifully cranks out a movie at a pace of one film per year, and the best thing you can say about these movies is that they come out on time and under budget, because that’s what people are really looking for when they pay to see a movie.
Perhaps his next film, Sully, will break the trend. The film, which opens September 9th, is about US Airways Captain Chesley “Sully” Sullenberger, played by Tom Hanks. Variety reports that Eastwood has surprisingly shot almost the entire film with IMAX cameras, a rarity, especially when you consider that Sully isn’t a blockbuster, effects-driven feature that normally gets the IMAX treatment. “Clint decided to try it and he just loves the cameras,” Imax CEO Richard Gelfond told Variety.
Presumably, this is with one of their newer cameras. The reason IMAX doesn’t get used as often is because their cameras can be rather noisy, which makes them ideal for set pieces, but less-than-ideal for dialogue-driven scenes. Since I doubt Sully will be a non-stop action thrill-ride, Eastwood probably got some of their quieter cameras.
Hopefully the aesthetic ends up benefiting the film because it would be nice to see Eastwood crank out something as good as Unforgiven or even something on the level of A Better World.
Speaking of IMAX, be sure to check out our IMAX screening of Captain America: Civil War on May 4th if you’re in New York City. Click here to learn more.
