Tower to control: ''The Aviator'' is cleared for takeoff. Finally. Over the years, several director-actor pairs have toyed with bringing the life of mogul Howard Hughes to the screen -- among them, Christopher Nolan and Jim Carrey, Milos Forman and Edward Norton, and Warren Beatty and...Warren Beatty. But the first team to take flight is Martin Scorsese and Leonardo DiCaprio, reuniting after winning critical plaudits with ''Gangs of New York.'' ''We tend to think of Howard Hughes near the end of his life in Las Vegas, the recluse, et cetera,'' says Scorsese, referring to Hughes' final career incarnation as a casino boss. ''This deals with him as a vibrant young man changing the world and fighting a disease that he didn't know he had: obsessive-compulsive disorder.'' The film also promises to detail Hughes' famous romantic conquests: Cate Blanchett plays Katharine Hepburn and Kate Beckinsale appears as Ava Gardner (Jude Law, meanwhile, shows up as Errol Flynn). ''It's terrifying to play a real person, especially one as beloved as Ava Gardner,'' Beckinsale says, ''because you know there's going to be 15 billion people going 'You completely got it wrong!'''
The film's time span means we'll see DiCaprio age from 26 to 46. ''He goes from this extraordinarily handsome young man, full of life, to a man who's tortured by his own shortcomings,'' says Scorsese, who adds that he and DiCaprio now have a special shorthand together. ''It's almost getting like telepathy,'' says the director. The two other actors with whom Scorsese says he shares such a bond? ''De Niro and Keitel.''
Image credit: The Aviator: Andrew Cooper
Movie Preview
The Aviator (2004)
Details Release Date: Dec 17, 2004; Rated: PG-13; Length: 169 Minutes; Genres: Biography, Drama; With: Leonardo DiCaprio; Distributor: Miramax; More
You Might Also Like
- DVD Review The Aviator
- Movie Article Who'll win the Best Original Screenplay Oscar in 2005?
- Movie Article Who'll win the Best Picture Oscar in 2005?
- Oscar Watch Dave Karger sizes up the Best Picture race
- Movie Article Why ''The Aviator'' could win Best Picture
Movie Calendar
- January 3
- January 4
- January 6
- January 13
- January 20
- January 27
- February 3
- February 10
- February 17
- February 24
- March 2
- March 9
- March 16
- March 23
- March 30
- April 4
- April 6
- April 13
- April 20
- April 27
- * Dates subject to change
Add your comment
The rules: Keep it clean, and stay on the subject or we might delete your comment. If you see inappropriate language, e-mail us. An asterisk * indicates a required field.