Hilary Swank Talks ‘Amelia' & Getting Her Pilot's License

With Swank's new movie due in theaters on Friday, she's ready to take to the air once more

Hilary Swank may play famed aviatrix Amelia Earhart in "Amelia," but soon she'll become a real-life pilot.

"I had about 19 hours of flying under my belt," she told Access Hollywood at the film's premiere in New York City on Tuesday. "You have to fly solo, obviously, to get your pilot's license and the insurance policy on the movie was never going to allow me do that."

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With the movie due in theaters on Friday, Hilary's ready to take to the air once more.

"I definitely want to see that through," she said.

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She added that Amelia, who disappeared mysteriously during a 1937 flight, was more than just an impressive pilot.

"She had the Amelia Earhart clothing line, the Amelia Earhart luggage – and it was all to finance her flying," Hilary said of Amelia's stardom.

Such celebrity endorsements may be common now, but in Amelia's era, they were groundbreaking.

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"This was a woman who made no apologies for living her life the way she wanted," Hilary told Access at the film's junket. "She was ahead of her time, in the '20s and '30s. She was living in 2009."

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