If you’re a regular HBO viewer, the work of Tim Van Patten, though possibly not distinctive, is almost undoubtedly known — be it through The Sopranos, Game of Thrones, Boardwalk Empire, Deadwood, or a little show called The Wire. Heck, non-subscribers can move past HBO and just reach out into the land of regular television, where the man’s now been operating for up to 20 years.

And while he’s never helmed a feature, the time for that opportunity is starting to dawn. Variety reports that Van Patten has been in talks with Disney over The Finest Hours, a true-to-life Coast Guard drama scripted by Eric Johnson and Paul Tamasy (The Fighter), based on the book by Casey Sherman and Michael Tougias. There’s not as much crack smoking to be found here, given that this 1952-set story centers on the group’s successful retrieval of 84 men stranded off Cape Cod when “two oil tankers collided and were torn in half by waves during a fierce blizzard.”

Why did Van Patten‘s name came up for the brass at Disney? No idea, but I’d think his long-standing work with the cable titan — in addition to some recent Emmy nominations — definitely played a part in him nabbing the job. After decades of good work, it’s about time.

Is it nice to see Van Patten come into the world of feature directing?