Hilary to take flight in swanky biopic

Million Dollar Baby star Hilary Swank is set to swap her boxing gloves for pilot's goggles as she takes on the role of Amelia Earhart in a new biopic, according to industry newspaper Variety.

Swank, whose also appears in current hit PS I Love You and school drama Freedom Writers, will play Earhart in the early years of her career, the paper reports.

Indian director Mira Nair will be behind the camera. Her previous directing credits include Monsoon Wedding and Mississippi Masala, which starred Denzel Washington and Sarita Choudhury and won three awards at the Venice Film Festival.

Amelia Earhart was an aviation pioneer who, in 1932, became the first woman to fly solo across the Atlantic ocean.

She went missing over the Pacific ocean in 1937 during an attempt to circumnavigate the globe by air.

Filming is expected to start on Amelia in April.

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