Articles/News

Download Song which was not on the soundtrack

the Song which plays at the XF-11 test flight and while Howard is shooting the Hell’s Angels flying scene.

Normally this song from J.S.Bach would not be performed by orchestra but by organ. I found a version by orchestra. It’s almost exactly as in the film(well known melody starts at 3.25 min).

Download here (3,58 MB)

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02/13/05

Aviator won 4 BAFTAs

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01/25/05

11 Oscar Nominations for The Aviator!!

BEST PICTURE
ACTOR IN A LEADING ROLE
Leonardo DiCaprio - THE AVIATOR
ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE
Alan Alda - THE AVIATOR
ACTRESS IN A SUPPORTING ROLE
Cate Blanchett - THE AVIATOR
ART DIRECTION
CINEMATOGRAPHY
COSTUME DESIGN
DIRECTING
FILM EDITING
SOUND MIXING
WRITING (ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY)

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3 SAG nominations

ACTRESS IN A SUPPORTING ROLE IN A MOTION PICTURE
CATE BLANCHETT

ENSAMBLE CAST IN A MOTION PICTURE
THE AVIATOR

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01/17/05

3 Golden Globes for Th Aviator!

Best Picture
Best actor Drama
Best Original Score

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December 29

Great Interview:

Interview with John Logan

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Updated 12/28/2004 10:12 PM

A vintage year for grown-up fare

By Claudia Puig, USA TODAY

Actors playing real people triumphed this year: Leonardo DiCaprio in The Aviator, Javier Bardem in The Sea Inside, Don Cheadle in Hotel Rwanda and Gael Garcia Bernal in Motorcycle Diaries.

Sideways: Virginia Madsen and Paul Giamatti star in the road-trip/buddy picture that landed on many critics' year-end top 10 lists. By Merie W. Wallace, Fox Searchlight Pictures via AP

Powerful female roles were scarce, but these stood out: Hilary Swank in Million Dollar Baby, Catalina Sandino Moreno in Maria Full of Grace, Kate Winslet in Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind and Julie Delpy in Before Sunset. (Related story: Movie critic Mike Clark's 2004 flick picks)

The 10 best

1.Sideways The development of each character is so thorough and the writing so crisp and witty, it feels more like a novel than a film. This story of four middle-aged people during a week in the wine country, each at a crossroads in their lives, is both funny and tragic and always compelling.

2. Million Dollar Baby This is perhaps the year's most potent drama. Hilary Swank shows off stunning boxing prowess. Eastwood's directorial genius and bravura performance as her manager astound. He keeps getting better.

3.Hotel Rwanda This true story of a hotelier who saves more than a thousand refugees is a moving recounting of the Rwandan genocide of 1994. At the core of the film is a couple (played by Don Cheadle and Sophie Okonedo) dedicated to their family and countrymen.

4.The Aviator Martin Scorsese has fashioned a masterpiece about Howard Hughes' early years in Hollywood, and Leonardo DiCaprio astoundingly and effortlessly takes to the role. Cate Blanchett's Katharine Hepburn also is riveting, but it's mostly a director's picture. [...]

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Jeffrey Wells - Basic Instinct

It's built into our genes to show obeisance before power. It's obviously a big tendency in Hollywood circles, but hardly an exclusive one. Every culture, every species does the bow-down.

I was speaking the other night to this know-it-all guy who goes to a lot of Academy screenings and parties, and we were talking about possible Best Actor nominees. We'd both just seen Ray and knew for sure Jamie Foxx was a shoo-in, but who else?

"Paul Giamatti," I said.

"Who?" he asked.

"The lead in Sideways," I reminded him. "He's amazing, heartbreaking... and the film is masterful."

"Yeah, he was good," he replied. Uh-huh.... not impressed. He'd seen Sideways and liked it, he said, but he had a certain criticism of something Giamatti did in the film that I'm not going to repeat. It was about something obscure that nobody anywhere has mentioned.

What he really meant, I suspect, was that he didn't empathize with Giamatti and/or his "Miles" character because he's balding and chubby and a bit of a loser, and the guy wasn't feeling the tribal urge to celebrate the splendor of Giamatti's craft. Because for him, superb performances in and of themselves lack a certain primal current.

Then he started in about Leonardo DiCaprio in The Aviator. He'd seen the upcoming Martin Scorsese film (opening 12.17) and didn't want to tell me much, but he liked Dicaprio's portrayal of Howard Hughes... mostly. But he had a couple of beefs. One was that Leo doesn't look much like Hughes, and the other is that he looks too young.

"He's 29 now," I reminded.

"He looks like a kid."

"But does he get Hughes?" I asked. "You know, does he channel him?"

He kept beating around the bush, but the basic answer seemed to be that he found DiCaprio worthy but not overwhelming.

"That's what people said about him in Gangs of New York," I replied. "Some said he was miscast, but I thought he was absolutely believable as an immigrant. He really had that scared-rat look in his eyes."

The conversation went on a bit and then he suddenly flipped over. He said that based on his awareness of Academy types and their inclinations, DiCaprio would probably end up with a Best Actor nomination.

"But you just said he was pretty good but not great in the role, and looks like a kid and doesn't really resemble Hughes," I said.

Yeah, he said, but a Best Actor nom is still a likelihood, or so his instincts were telling him.

In other words, however good, pretty good or wonderful the Aviator might turn out to be, it's a big expensive movie coming at the end of the year, and corporate-funded films that have spent well north of $100 million in their desire to win the admiration of the community are given the benefit of the doubt, sight unseen.

Big subject, big canvas, fascinating lead character grounded in old-Hollywood lore. Just what the Academy ordered. And so DiCaprio gets the come-hither and Giamatti has to struggle and prove himself and wait out on the sidewalk.

I realize, of course, that DiCaprio may be phenomenal in The Aviator. He's a truly gifted actor. And I don't trust that guy I spoke to at all -- he's not the most insightful, ahead-of-the-curve person I know.

But something smells in the town of Carmel when a performance as skilled and deeply felt as Paul Giamatti's in Sideways is reluctantly regarded as a "maybe."

Link

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The Aviator nominated for 6 Golden Globes

Nominated for Best Picture, Best Actor(Drama), Best Dirctor, Best Supporting Actress, Best Screenplay, Best Original Score

All Nominations

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8 OCTOBER 2004

Stars of today revive Hollywood's golden age.

In his new movie Jude Law proves he's every inch the silver screen heart-throb. The British actor plays the legendary Errol Flynn in Martin Scorcese's latest blockbuster. And as these newly released publicity shots show, the 31-year-old has no difficulty capturing the style and charisma the iconic performer was famous for.

The Aviator, which tells the story of renowned director Howard Hughes, sees him starring alongside a roll-call of Hollywood's hottest properties. Cate Blanchett takes on the role of Katherine Hepburn, while Kate Beckinsale plays siren Ava Gardner.

Box office favourite Leonardo DiCaprio has meanwhile been cast in the title role. With Howard Hughes remaining a celebrated figure in modern American history, it is sure to be one of the most scrutinsed performances of his career.

From his beginnings as the son of a Texan inventor, Howard became a mover and shaker in Hollywood's Golden Age, while also romancing a series of its leading ladies. In his later years, however, the entrepreneur became famous for his phobias and reclusiveness.

"He was one of the most iconic men the country has ever seen, but he had a strong need for privacy," explained Leo. "He was a dreamer and a visionary. Hughes was a force in Hollywood, in aviation, in about everything he did."

Article

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Leo talking about Aviator Audio Clips

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Posted 10/5/2004 9:55 PM

DiCaprio revels in Hughes' world

By Scott Bowles, USA TODAY

Leonardo DiCaprio loves the story of the eccentric recluse Howard Hughes. But he loves the man's era even more.

"That was such an amazing period," DiCaprio says of Hughes' heyday, from the early 1920s to the mid-1940s. "Hollywood was just getting going. And aviators were looked upon as these great adventurers. They risked their lives to show that anything was possible."

That daring will come alive on screens Dec. 17, when Martin Scorsese's The Aviator opens. It's considered an Oscar contender.

Aviator follows Hughes' younger years, when he turned a small fortune from a drill-bit business into an entertainment and aviation empire.

Hughes produced and directed several films, including 1930's ####'s Angels, which at the time was the most expensive film ever made at $3.9 million. He went on to own RKO studio and helm Trans World Airlines before succumbing to mental illness, paranoia and addiction to painkillers. He died in 1976.

DiCaprio says he became intrigued by Hughes as a 21-year-old, when he read the biography Howard Hughes: The Untold Story.

"I realized what a dynamic figure he was," DiCaprio says. "He was an eccentric and a ladies' man. He wasn't a public man, but he knew legends like Katharine Hepburn and Ava Gardner."

In the movie, Hepburn is played by Cate Blanchett, Gardner by Kate Beckinsale and Jean Harlow is portrayed by Gwen Stefani.

DiCaprio studied hours of audio and video to get Hughes' cadence correct. He also noted early signs of Hughes' obsessive-compulsive disorder.

"We studied his speech patterns, the way he would repeat certain phrases over and over," he says. "Not many people probably know what he sounds like, but I think we got it right."

What audiences won't see are Hughes' final years, when he shuttered himself in a hotel room, obsessed with germs, afraid of human contact and withered from drug addiction.

"It wouldn't have been great cinema," DiCaprio says. "Just me sitting around naked with long fingernails, and tissues everywhere."

Article

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Posted 10/5/2004 9:58 PM

Leo eases into Howard Hughes' shoes

By Scott Bowles, USA TODAY

He may lack the uncut fingernails, crippling paranoia and fierce aversion to germs, but Leonardo DiCaprio can relate to Howard Hughes.

"He was the last private man," DiCaprio says. "He was one of the most iconic men the country has ever seen, but he had a strong need for privacy. I can empathize with that."

That's good news for The Aviator, the big-budget biopic that lands in theaters Dec. 17 and gets its exclusive peek here.

The film, which reportedly cost more than $100 million, depicts the early years of the dashing filmmaker and aviator who courted myriad Hollywood actresses, including Katharine Hepburn, Ava Gardner and Jean Harlow.

DiCaprio, who has dated his share of beauties, including supermodel Gisele Bündchen, says it was less Hughes' lifestyle that drew him to the role than the maverick's work ethic.

"He was Citizen Kane-like," DiCaprio says. "He was a dreamer and a visionary. Hughes was a force in Hollywood, in aviation, in about everything he did."

A lot is riding on the force of Aviator as well. The film reunites DiCaprio with director Martin Scorsese, who is still seeking his first Academy Award.

Scorsese "should have won a long time ago," says DiCaprio, who starred in Scorsese's Gangs of New York in 2002. "He's a genius, and I hope he gets the recognition he deserves with this film."

But Aviator faces more than an Oscar challenge. Only two biopics have taken in more than $100 million: A Beautiful Mind in 2001 and 2002's Catch Me If You Can.

DiCaprio starred in the latter, which raked in $164.4 million. The actor rocketed to superstardom in 1997's Titanic.

DiCaprio, 29, says he is less concerned with the film making money than he is coming off as an authentic eccentric. He read books, listened to tapes and watched movies about Hughes.

"So many people know his story, I have to come off as authentic as possible," he says. "It's really intimidating."

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Empire November

“Leo’s stunning. As an old man, he’s phenomenal.” Producer Michael Mann

If, as is entirely possible, Martin Scorsese picks up his first-and long, long overdue-Best Director Oscar at next year’s Academy Awards for the Howard Hughes biopic The Aviator, the only person who might be more delighted than the bushy-browed maestro himself will be Michael Mann. Why? Because, as The Aviator’s producer, he hooked up Marty with what could be his dream ticket. “I thought I was going to direct Aviator, and then it came time to really decide,”

says Mann. “I had this wonderful screenplay by John Logan but realised that I’d just done two biopics(The Insider and Ali), and it would probably be better served if someone else directed it. And so then I went after two directors, of which Marty was the first, and Marty said, ‘Great.’ And now I have the world’s ideal job as a producer-I don’t have to worry about anything because the last guy on the planet who needs help making a motion picture is Martin Scorsese.”

The $100 million biopic touches on Hughes’ flirtation with Hollywood(which was consummated in the shape of Gwen Stefani’s Jean Harlow, Beckinsale’s Ava Gardner and Blanchett’s Katherine Hepburn), his penchant for flying and building planes(and Trans World Airlines) and his knack for making more money than virtually anyone before Bill Gates.

One area it won’t be delving into, though, is Hughes’ later life, aka The Nutjob years when he became a recluse. “We don’t go past age 47-we don’t go into the old Howard Hughes,” confirms Mann. Which still leaves a heck of a challenge for 29 year-old Dicaprio.

“I think Leo is stunning in this. Particularly in the second half, when he’s playing an older Hughes. He’s phenomenal. It’s a really excellent piece of work”

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FIRST-PEEKERS' inside word on Martin Scorsese's "The Aviator" starring Leonardo DiCaprio as Howard Hughes is spectacular. "The film looks ravishing, exquisite period detail, Leo is great. This might be the Scorsese masterpiece that people expected 'Gangs of New York' to be." (I figure Leo will be superb. As a movie maven, I'm interested to see what Gwen Stefani does with her Jean Harlow role and Cate Blanchett as the one and only Kate Hepburn.)

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'Aviator' skies to Miramax

Mini-major eyes awards-season push for Dec. film

By CATHY DUNKLEY, DAVID ROONEY

"The Aviator" is back in Miramax's hangar.

After much debate, and due to Warner Bros.' tentpole-heavy fourth quarter, Miramax will handle domestic distribution on Martin Scorsese's epic Howard Hughes biopic. Release is set for Dec. 17.

Warner Bros. Pictures and Miramax will retain their financial partnership agreement on the film, splitting costs and revenues 50/50 on the domestic release. Initial Entertainment Group's Graham King produced the pic with Michael Mann's Forward Pass. Initial, the majority financier of the $110 million film, also is handling international distribution rights.

Warner Bros. will retain theatrical distrib rights in Canada and will distribute the film domestically and in Canada on homevideo/DVD, with Miramax controlling all U.S. television rights.

Warner Bros. originally bought North American rights to the pic before production began in July. Since then, concerns about Warner's heavy release schedule -- with "Alexander," "The Polar Express," "The Phantom of the Opera" and "Ocean's Twelve" all hitting theaters in the fourth quarter -- prompted discussions about flipping domestic theatrical distribution responsibilities to Miramax.

Miramax also will distribute pic in the U.K., France, Italy and Germany, with Initial handling the remaining territories. Pic gives Miramax a big event title at the end of 2004, a berth previously unfilled on its slate. Distrib is expected to launch a major awards-season push.

Although the media had a field day with the relationship between Scorsese and Miramax chief Harvey Weinstein during production of "Gangs of New York," the studio got behind the release and pushed the film hard during awards season. Pic grossed $78 million domestically.

"Since our fourth quarter is already committed to four high-profile movies this year, we felt that it is in the best interests of 'The Aviator' to transfer its domestic release to our partners at Miramax," said Dan Fellman, Warner Bros. Pictures president of domestic distribution.

"Both studios have the highest respect for Martin Scorsese and want this exceptional movie to have all the attention and success it deserves. We believe we've found a way to do that with our new arrangement," he added.

Drama follow Hughes' life from the late 1920s though the '40s, when Hughes was directing and producing Hollywood movies and test-flying innovative aircraft he designed and created.

Pic, penned by John Logan, stars Leonardo DiCaprio as Hughes. Cate Blanchett, Kate Beckinsale, John C. Reilly, Alec Baldwin and Jude Law also star. Michael Mann, Sandy Climan, Graham King and Charles Evans Jr. produced.

Date in print: Thurs., Apr. 22, 2004, Los Angeles

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Beckinsale, a beauty who battles beasts

By Susan Wloszczyna, USA TODAY

The Pearl Harbor nurse pursued moonstruck beasts as a leather-clad vampire warrior in last fall's Underworld and hunts them down again alongside Hugh Jackman's monster slayer in Van Helsing, which opens May 7.

The British actress, 30, has a passion for action, not necessarily for hairy men. "I'm always seen as this fragile-looking person, and I realized people didn't think I could play tough," she says.

However, a wolf of a different sort pursues her in The Aviator. The biopic, which is due this fall, follows the early years of Hollywood mogul and playboy tycoon Howard Hughes. Leonardo DiCaprio stars, and Martin Scorsese (a huge fan of Hughes' ####'s Angels, his 1930 ode to fly-boy action) directs.

New glamour meets old as Jude Law channels Errol Flynn, Cate Blanchett does Katharine Hepburn and No Doubt singer Gwen Stefani takes on Jean Harlow, the original blonde bombshell. Beckinsale portrays legendary screen goddess Ava Gardner, one of Hughes' many paramours, who went on to marry and divorce Mickey Rooney, musician Artie Shaw and Frank Sinatra.

"It was a little bit intimidating," she says of the role. "On every page of the script she is described as the most beautiful woman in the world."

As for the relationship between Hughes and Gardner, "It was a cantankerous flirtation. They were good friends, and she was attracted to him and his largesse. But she was worried that something might be required in return."

As a result, "he constantly proposed, and she would turn him down." Adds Beckinsale with a laugh, "He proposed to everyone, though."

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In like Flynn

Buckle me swash! Jude Law to play our Errol in blockbuster

By John McGurk

HOLLYWOOD heartthrob, Jude Law, could soon be experiencing a taste of Ulster - playing legendary film star, Errol Flynn!

The English actor is being lined up to portray the former Belfast resident, in a $110 million movie, directed by Martin Scorsese.

The Aviator will focus on the early life of movie producer and billionaire, Howard Hughes.

Leonardo DiCaprio has signed up to play Hughes.

Lord Of The Rings star, Cate Blanchett, and Pearl Harbor actress, Kate Beckinsale, will portray Katharine Hepburn and Ava Gardner, who had affairs with Hughes.

Hollywood rumours also suggest the movie may hint at a gay liaison, between notorious womaniser Flynn, and Hughes.

The three times-married Flynn was Hollywood's most famous swashbuckler - starring in The Adventures Of Robin Hood, and The Charge Of The Light Brigade.

But his off-screen adventures made him infamous, too - with his boozing, brawling, and serial womanising.

Flynn, who was born in Tasmania, spent part of his childhood, with his Irish-born parents, in Belfast, and attended RBAI for one year.

His father, Professor T Thomson Flynn, was Professor of Zoology, at Queen's University, from 1931 until 1948.

Even after becoming famous, Flynn regularly visited his family, at their home, in Broomhill Park, Stranmillis, where he famously scrawled some rude messages about a number of his female leading ladies on the walls!

Advance publicity for The Aviator confirms the film will "explore the odd relationship" between Flynn and Hughes.

Jude Law, who starred in The Road To Perdition, and The Talented Mr Ripley, is said to be swotting up on videos of the movie legend's films, in preparation for the role.

A film insider said: "Jude is very interested in the part."

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Spruce Goose

Look out for ...Howard Hughes biopic

Four years ago, Leonardo DiCaprio was tipped to play the young Howard Hughes (1905-76) in a biopic to be directed by Michael Mann. DiCaprio will now play the legendary tycoon, pilot, film producer and ladies' man in "The Aviator." Martin Scorsese will direct, with Mann producing for a reported $115 million. Shooting begins next month with Kate Beckinsale playing Ava Gardner and Cate Blanchett as Katharine Hepburn.

The movie, scheduled for a fall 2004 release by Warner Bros., will span the years 1930-46 (Jim Carrey may yet play the older Hughes in another film). One has to question the literalness of some of the casting choices � blond pop singer Gwen Stefani will play platinum-blond Jean Harlow and English charmer Jude Law has been in talks to portray Errol Flynn � and speculate how enigmatic Johnny Depp or intense Edward Norton might have played Hughes.

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review of the script for

The Aviator

by John Logan(undated script)

Let me start by saying that I have practically no interest in stories about aviation, aviators, airlines, engineers, or movie stars thus when this script showed up it naturally found its way to the bottom of the heap where I thought, "Well, maybe I�ll get around to it later." Okay, it�s later, I�ve read it. Not only did I read it but I read it in one sitting, mesmerized by a subject and characters for whom I had no initial interest. For those who know little or nothing about this project, which is the next film for Martin Scorsese and Leonardo DiCaprio, the storyline centers on the inexorable rise and ultimate mental disintegration of the aviation pioneer Howard Hughes. Before we start into this review I will state categorically that I will not give away the ending or some of what I believe are the more critical plot points. I want to see this film on the big screen and I want other film goers to do likewise. If Scorsese and DiCaprio can pull this one off it should, I would hope, prove a major coup. The story opens with a very young Hughes being lovingly washed by his mother who is paralyzed by her fears of contagion and infectious disease. While this might seem initially obscure, the very nature of these ablutions will go a long way to explaining Hughes� eventual obsession with cleanliness. In many ways, the young Howard Hughes is a mirror of the driven Ted Turner -- the Mouth of the South -- a simple Texas boy struggling to maintain the viability of his deceased father�s Hughes Tool Company and driven by his inner demons. But Howard has a passion for aircraft and is using his father�s company to finance his own ambition to film the World War I aerial thriller "Hell�s Angels." Blocked or ignored by such Hollywood icons as the irascible Louis B. Mayer, Hughes sticks to his vision of an aerial tour-de-force and makes his film despite his detractors. Not only does he make his film but it is a huge hit and he is immediately the toast of Hollywood. The effect of this success on Hughes is interesting � a wiry, handsome man to begin with, he soon finds himself surrounded by the anointed of La-La Land �- with Jean Harlow on his arm and a sloshed Errol Flynn picking peas off of his dinner plate. It is evident that Hughes is not all that comfortable in this environment. Where others wear a tuxedo with ease Hughes is more at home in an off-the-rack brown suit from J.C. Penney�s and a pair of white sneakers. He is an odd duck and obviously uneasy with interpersonal relations �- women, drawn to him by his seeming power and handsome good looks, are rather a mystery to Howard who is much more comfortable with a set of blueprints and a Pratt and Whitney rotary engine. Introduced early in the script is Glenn Odekirk, a brilliant aviation engineer and the man destined to become Howard�s lifelong friend and collaborator. In combination Hughes and Odekirk are a juggernaut of aviation innovation and seemingly well matched. Indeed, there are many times when it becomes all too apparent that Howard is infinitely more comfortable in Odie�s presence discussing drag coefficients than he will ever be in the presence of a woman. That is the way Hughes� mind is wired. Howard Hughes� unease in social settings is highlighted by his notorious and wonderfully portrayed association with the actress Katherine Hepburn. Hepburn, wry, direct, almost mannish in her direct, take no prisoners style, is rather an odd match for Hughes but they seem genuinely to hit it off. It is almost as if Hughes has found the other half of himself when he is in her presence. They seem to delight in each others� company. So much so that Kate takes him home to New England to meet her family. Now this is an interesting sequence and can only be alluded to in its wonderfully crafted absurdity think Monty Python's "British Upper Class Twits Competition" and you will have a general appreciation of what transpires at this ultimately ill-fated meeting. Now, equally as captivating as the "human interest" passages of this script are the aviation and engineering sequences. Did I really just write that? Good lord, it seems inconceivable that this material could be interesting and yet it is. Logan has done his job exceptionally well here. In the male dominated and highly technical world of aviation engineering Odie and Howard share a bond which they can never share with a woman and if you have never witnessed such a phenomenon you have never seen teen-aged boy computer geeks interacting. It�s a curiously intoxicating mix of engineering challenges to be overcome by brain power and determination. As Howard and Odie work to produce the ever better performing aircraft, Howard continues to funnel money into their various projects seemingly oblivious of the world around him. Yes, he is making TWA into a cash cow; yes, he is designing and developing aircraft to support America's war effort but, on a personal level, Howard Hughes is a naïf. A frustrated and disillusioned Kate finally leaves him to be with Spencer Tracy. Hughes picks out a young starlet to replace her, much as he would replace an old suit or pair of shoes, and focuses on his brutal competition with Juan Tripp of Pan Am Airlines. He dabbles in film production and all the while he strives to push the envelope on aircraft design and production. When Hughes' maverick experimentation with the XF-11 aircraft project hits a catastrophic speed bump the wolves, led by his arch-rival Tripp, close in for the kill. In a riveting sequence in which Hughes� is aided by the tender attentions of screen legend Ava Gardner, Hughes rises to meet the challenge in a tense face-off before a Congressional hearing. Now, to go any further or deeper at this point would be to give away the game and that I most certainly do not want to do. For those with a short attention span, I said that on going into this reading I was not attracted by the subject matter �- not even remotely. That I was so drawn in and caught up by the characters and the story speak volumes for this script and for the writer. John Logan, wherever you are, good work. I wish Scorsese and DiCaprio the very best on their efforts to bring this story to the screen. It will likely take them a year or so but I will anxiously await the results. There�s an old expression popular among German fighter pilots during World War I -- von Richtofen, Boelcke and that crowd -- "Hals und Bein brech�! Horrido!" or essentially "May you break your neck and your legs" it being considered bad luck to wish a pilot good luck. Well, in this case, "Hals und Bein brech�," boys! Fellows, you�ll have to work hard to screw this one up -� it�s that good.

********************************************************************* Up in the clouds

By Jeffrey Wells

It's very hard to find a copy of John Logan's THE AVIATOR, but I finally succeeded last week. It's a longish (171 pages) biopic drama about the glory days of the brass-balled aviation pioneer and movie producer Howard Hughes, starting in 1928 with his struggle to make HELL'S ANGELS and ending with the triumphant test flight of the Spruce Goose on November 2, 1947. It's only a blueprint, a rough outline...but it got me.

And it definitely made me want to see the film, which Martin Scorsese is planning to direct next year with Leonardo DiCaprio playing Hughes, at a projected cost of at least $90 million.

Word is THE AVIATOR will be getting an official "green light" in a few days, and yet there's a counter-word going around that the project is also looking a teeny bit dicey now, owing to Scorsese and DiCaprio's reputation as artistes first and marquee-attractions second, especially with their latest collaboration, GANGS OF NEW YORK (Miramax, 12.20), being seen as an iffy commercial package.

Rave reviews or not (and these are definitely expected), no one presumes this violent, beautifully composed, 19th Century period drama will generate a big rumble at the box-office. Not to mention the old saw about no Scorsese film except CAPE FEAR having made any real money.

Nonetheless, there exists now a better-than-decent chance that THE AVIATOR will get off the ground. Initial Entertainment Group (IEG) is the financial force behind THE AVIATOR right now, and the latest talk has either Warner Bros. and Miramax discussing the sharing of domestic distribution, or Warner Bros. going it alone. IEG (which also financed ALI and GANGS OF NEW YORK) would handle foreign territories. The film had been expected to roll in March '03, but the latest talk is that it will start around April 15. Others are saying the summer. (This will push back Baz Luhrman's ALEXANDER project a touch more, since Leo has agreed to play the title role sometime in the fall.)

Still, there's some skepticism out there about the wisdom of giving Scorsese and DiCaprio the run of another multi-million-dollar venture. As one talent manager has explained, what's going on now is "a Hollywood wait-and-see."

Wait and see about what, I asked. "About GANGS," she answered. "If it gets great reviews and makes some money and seems to be doing okay, this will go away...but right now, they're scared. They're afraid of artistic indulgence, of a filmmaker who might wind up spending too much." In short, political and artistic loyalties aside, would-be financiers don't want to appear foolish or imprudent, so until the smoke clears they're holding their cards against their chest.

The German-based Intermedia was an AVIATOR backer earlier this year, but they're currently hurting for funds. Charlie Evans, Jr., who's been with the Hughes project since the early '90s, will be one of four producers on the project, along with Michael Mann, who developed it while it was at New Line Cinema in the late '90s. Although Leonardo DiCaprio is listed on the IMDB as a producer, I'm hearing the more likely scenario is that his production company, Appian Way, will have a "presents" credit.

THE AVIATOR is expected to shoot in and around Los Angeles. It's easy to see where the money will go. Period this, period that -- cars, wardrobe, knick-knacks. Lots of CGI landscapes and cityscapes. A full-scale flying replica of the massive Spruce Goose will have to be built. Dog fights between World War I biplanes (the selling point of Hughes' HELL'S ANGELS) will have to be staged in the clouds, along with Hughes' infamous 1946 plane crash on a residential street in Beverly Hills.

"There's no one standing in line for a picture about Howard Hughes except movie aficionados," a marketing veteran commented. "It's not a movie about Jack Kennedy. GANGS is not going to make any money, and DiCaprio isn't a star any more. Doing nothing over the last five years except for THE MAN IN THE IRON MASK and THE BEACH nearly killed his career. The pubescent teens have left him and moved on to the next guy."

An AVIATOR insider disputes this assessment. "Leo is a much bigger force than [just that of an ex-teen magnet]," he says. "He has a special quality that the best director want to ally themselves with...he's high pedigree, and audiences know it."

The rap on Scorsese among producers, the marketing exec contends, is that "he doesn't give a shit about anyone else's money. Nobody wants to touch him because he's notorious for saying 'yes' to a certain figure and then going over budget...and you're left with the tab. I'm talking about GANGS, AGE OF INNOCENCE, CASINO...a very expensive film that he went way over budget on. He's an undisciplined director who [works] under the shield of an artist. His rationale is that he's delivering art and it's a bunch of crap, so why would you do it?"

That's not fair either, argues the AVIATOR insider. "Didn't Scorsese and DiCaprio put up their own money to cover overages on GANGS when it was shooting in Rome? A willingness to shoulder such a burden obviously speaks to their wish to keep to a schedule."

"I wouldn't greenlight any Scorsese film over, say, $40 million these days," a male talent manager in his 30s commented on Monday. "His films don't make money. I liked KUNDUN, but he's better on a smaller scale anyway...the urban stuff...AFTER HOURS, TAXI DRIVER, GOODFELLAS."

The Hughes story "has a name-recognition factor," he admits, "unlike the GANGS story, which is is just a fictional account...and having Leo playing Hughes helps...but this is a period that's not very interesting to people these days." Not to his thirty-something Hollywood peers, he meant.

A Los Angeles-based Hughes expert says "there's some concerns about the script...I have some problems with it [and] with things about Hughes that have been invented or left out." Okay, fine, but then what Hollywood period piece hasn't had historical purists taking potshots about this and that? This is an opportunity, in any event, to get into Logan's screenplay...

Photos of this article:

********************************************************************* Look Hughes Talking

Character actor- that's our way of saying you probably won't know him - Edward Herrmann has filmed his role in Martin Scorsese's Howard Hughes biopic The Aviator.

Unsurprisingly, Herrmann says he had a great time with the film's star Leonardo DiCaprio.

"Leo and his posse! I enjoyed it very much," Herrmann tells High Noon. "I just think he's smart as hell. I think he's wonderful as Howard Hughes. In my scene with him, I was very intrigued by what he was doing because Hughes is an enigma and is so hard to fathom, and it's so hard to follow his processes. Leo did that beautifully." The Aviator co-stars Kate beckinsale, Cate Blanchett,Gwen Stefani and will be released here in 2005.

********************************************************************* Fires Threaten TV & Movie Treasures

October 26, 2003

California wildfires fanned by strong winds threatened film and TV sets as well as national treasures over the weekend, including Reagan Presidential Library. LEONARDO DICAPRIO's new movie set, "The Aviator", is said to be very close to the fire and the beloved "Little House on the Prairie" has been scorched by the flames. The 10.000 acre Big Sky Ranch in Simi Valley, CA, home to tv locations, has reportedly already lost a dozen sets.

********************************************************************* Variety

GOOD MORNING: Martin Scorsese gave himself a birthday (61) present Monday: He wound "The Aviator" principal photography in 91days -- only one day over sked. And that one day was caused when a set burned in the Southern California fire ... "It was a very emotional wrap for me," producer Graham King said. "It's amazing. I'm so proud of him (Scorsese). I was concerned about the schedule," he admitted, having also been an exec producer on the very lengthy filming of "Gangs of New York." "We were on time and on budget -- just south of $110 million. When we got the script (by John Logan) we were ready to go. I couldn't believe it. And it's bigger than we ever imagined." Once again, Dante Ferretti is Scorsese's production designer. Scenes have involved as many as 500 extras, who will be cgi'd into many more. Leonardo DiCaprio was intense in the role -- he worked every day but one. Everyone on the sets was constantly energized by the arrivals of the many stars: Cate Blanchette as Katharine Hepburn, Gwen Stefani as Jean Harlow, Jude Law as Errol Flynn, Alan Alda as Sen. Brewster, Kate Beckinsale as Ava Gardner. In Montreal, the Cocoanut Grove nightclub was reproduced as was the interior of the Spruce Goose; Leo, as Hughes, is seen at the controls as it takes off for its brief flight. The crash of Hughes' small plane in Beverly Hills was reproduced in Palos Verdes; the crash in a Ventura beet field, in Oxnard. An airport in San Bernardino was also put into play.

Moviemaker Hughes is seen in a screening room watching original footage of "Hell's Angels," which he directed. The aerial footage was/is remarkable. Scorsese and King viewed the original several times before starting the film and called it "The "Matrix' of its time." "We show the man's passion for aviation, business, movies -- and women," King said. "The film has evolved to be a lot more commercial than we imagined. I think a lot of young audiences will be attracted to it." A romantic comedy, "Accidental Husband" starring Uma Thurman, is King's next film. The script, by Clair Naylor and Mimi Hare, will be filmed entirely in New York.

********************************************************************* The Aviator Production Update & New Photo!!

Friday, September 5, 2003

Source: Warner Bros. Pictures Martin Scorsese's The Aviator began principal photography July 7 at Mel's Cite du Cinema in Montreal for Initial Entertainment Group. A Forward Pass Inc./ Initial Entertainment Group production starring Leonardo DiCaprio, the film will be distributed in North America by Warner Bros. Pictures/Miramax Films and by Initial internationally.

A Martin Scorsese film, The Aviator stars Leonardo DiCaprio. It is produced by Michael Mann, Sandy Climan, Graham King, and Charles Evans Jr. Mr. Scorsese directs. Exterior sequences will be filmed on locations in Los Angeles.

Cate Blanchett, Kate Beckinsale, John C. Reilly, Alec Baldwin and Jude Law co-star. Featured are Matt Ross, Adam Scott, Danny Huston, Alan Alda, Ian Holm, Kelli Garner and No Doubt's Gwen Stefani.

An original screenplay by John Logan, The Aviator tells the story of aviation pioneer Howard Hughes (DiCaprio), the eccentric billionaire industrialist and Hollywood film mogul, famous for romancing some of the world's most beautiful women. The drama recounts the years of his life from the late 1920s though the 1940s, an epoch when Hughes was directing and producing Hollywood movies and test flying innovative aircraft he designed and created. A daredevil pilot, the most famous flyer since Charles Lindbergh, Hughes became a major force in commercial aviation. He was a mythic figure in the America of his day, imbued with an aura of excitement, glamour and mystery.

The film looks at Hughes' emotional life, and his love affairs with two Hollywood legends, elegant, Yankee-bred screen star Katharine Hepburn in the 1930s, and the sensual and luminous screen beauty of the 1940s, Ava Gardner. It also chronicles Hughes' struggle with his physical disabilities and phobias, and with his increasingly erratic, obsessive-compulsive behavior that leads him ultimately to isolate himself from his associates and withdraw from the world.

Scorsese reunites on The Aviator with several longtime collaborators. Director of Photography is Robert Richardson, the production designer is seven-time Academy Award nominee Dante Ferretti, the costume designer is Academy Award winner Sandy Powell, the set decorator is Francesca Lo Schiavo and the editor is Academy Award winner Thelma Schoonmaker.

Pictured above (click for a bigger version) are Leonardo DiCaprio as Howard Hughes and Gwen Stefani as Jean Harlow arriving at the premiere of Hell's Angels at Grauman's Chinese Theatre.

*********************************************************************

Herald - 07.12.03

Excuse me, aren't you?

Winthrop grad can pass well-enough for Leonardo DiCaprio that he's snagged Hollywood job as stand-in

While Leonardo DiCaprio is in makeup and costume for the shooting of "The Aviator," look-alike Jarrod Bruce, a Rock Hill High School graduate, is standing in for the crew to set up the lights and camera shots.

When Leo is busy -- yeah, Bruce can call him Leo -- far-away shots can be filmed with Jarrod standing in, capturing the back of his head or over his shoulder scenes for the movie.

In down time, Leo and Bruce shoot hoops and chat.

Bruce, 23, moved to California just a few months ago. But he quickly managed to secure the stand-in job on "The Aviator," a movie that shares the life of Howard Hughes.

He also has appeared as an extra on TV shows, including three times on Fox's hit series "The O.C." And he has been an extra on "The District" and a History Channel program, "Boy Toy," featuring Jenny McCarthy. And he has been rubbing elbows with the stars.

Bruce, son of Harry and Pamela Bruce who now live in Charlotte, met Jude Law and Kate Beckinsdale on "The Aviator" set.

"You think they're really untouchable," said Bruce. But he said you realize they're a person and they want to talk to you as much as you want to talk to them, but on a day-to-day level. So he uses his Southern charm to say hello and ask how everyone is doing, without being intimidated by star status.

The '02 Winthrop University graduate and '98 Rock Hill High graduate moved in August to Sherman Oaks, Calif., about 10 miles outside Los Angeles, with his roommates, Erin Chick and Mary Harris, also Winthrop graduates.

His roommates went to California to pursue acting careers, but acting was only in the back of Bruce's mind. Mostly, he thought it was an opportunity to live there for a year or so. He had majored in communications with a minor in theater, and had done some acting at Winthrop. And though he'd always loved it, he didn't see acting as something he could seriously pursue.

So he took a job as manager at Abercrombie and Fitch. While working on "The Aviator," however, he's on the set about 12 hours a day. Since he's earning twice what he would be at his other job, he's taken time off indefinitely and is pursuing acting full-time.

Bruce got "The Aviator" role by going to casting agencies with his roommates to get jobs as extras. He said working as an extra pays about $60 a day and you get fed. That's how he got filmed for "The O.C."

"It was so cool," he said, describing the extras work. Once he got on a set, he figured acting was really something he could do.

He'd given his picture to casting agencies and it eventually got passed on to about five different people, he said. Someone said he looks a lot like DiCaprio, which he'd heard a lot back home.

In fact, he once faked an autograph for a 10-year-old around the time "Titanic" came out. And he gets mistaken for DiCaprio out in L.A. now, too.

His picture was passed to Martin Scorcese, director of "The Aviator." The next thing he knew, he got the job as a stand-in. And he's hanging out with DiCaprio. And he's working with Scorcese, who he said reminds him of his grandfather, because he's laid back and doesn't have the Hollywood mentality.

From this experience, Bruce is eligible for his Screen Actor's Guild card, which qualifies him to work as an actor and allows him to pursue auditioning.

His roommates are happy for him. "If it happens for me, it happens for them," he said.

It's been a wonderful experience, he said. Still, if more nothing comes of his auditions, Bruce said, "I could go home tomorrow and sleep happy for a lifetime."

********************************************************************* Aviator flies

As Martin Scorsese starts the no-doubt-eternal process of editing his Howard Hughes biopic The Aviator, supporting star Adam Scott has been blabbing to us about the picture.

Scott plays Hughes' press agent, Johnny Meyer. "It's great role and a great movie," he enthused. "It's epic in scale yet intimate in story. It spans a little over 20 years and is about a man who is falling apart. It doesn't lose the intimacy whilst it's spanning this huge period of time, and it's just amazing."

And what of Leonardo DiCaprio, who plays the famously loopy filmmaker and, um, aviator? "He's great! Talk about attention to detail. The guy is a workaholic and his performance in the movie is going to blow everybody away. It's really a special performance."

Link: http://www.bbc.co.uk/films/2004/01/16/high_noon_jan_16_2004_news_article.shtml

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VH1/MTV - 17.02.04

Gwen Stefani Feeling Hella Good About Role In Scorsese Flick

No Doubt singer thrilled by small yet significant part in Howard Hughes biopic.

Gwen Stefani may have good reason to attend next year's Academy Awards � her first film, the Howard Hughes biopic "The Aviator," just might be up for a few trophies. And while the No Doubt singer and imminent solo artist doesn't have many line in her role as Jean Harlow, she's excited just to have been cast in the film.

" I've been trying out for movies for years," she said. "Because it all comes from the same place, all the creative things inside you, and I've wanted to do it for a long time. But when you're touring and writing and busy, you can't compete with some of these actresses that are like, that's what they do every day. But that's one of the reasons we took a year off. I wanted to do a film."

Stefani said a picture that late celebrity photographer Herb Ritts took of her for the cover of Teen Vogue helped her land the role. She didn't realize at the time that Ritts was ill (see "Photographer/ Video Director Herb Ritts Dies At Age 50") and had a playful shoot with him based loosely on iconic photographs of Marilyn Monroe at the beach.

"It was like a dream come true," Stefani said. "He is so elaborate, I felt like I was doing a movie. My girlfriend Sophie Muller, who does a lot of our videos, happened to be with me and documented the whole thing."

Stefani was saddened when Ritts passed away, having believed he was "potentially going to be one of my best friends, because he's so great." But the classic Marilyn-like image Ritts captured of her soon caught the eye of Martin Scorsese, who decided she'd make an even better Jean Harlow (see "Gwen Stefani To Play The Original Platinum Blonde In Martin Scorsese Flick").

"Martin Scorsese's driving in New York City and he sees my Teen Vogue cover on the side of a bus stop shelter," Stefani said. "And he's like, 'Who's that girl? Let's get her!' I had Leonardo DiCaprio [who's playing Hughes] tell me the whole story in Martin Scorsese's voice, so it was pretty bizarre."

Stefani had known about "The Aviator" but didn't think she had a shot at it. Her agent told her they were only going to use big names. (Cate Blanchett, Kate Beckinsale, John C. Reilly, Alec Baldwin and Jude Law are also in the film.) "That stuff always changes," she laughed. Excited at her change in fortune, she tore through the script.

"And it's like, 'Where's the part?' It was like one line or something," she said. "But it didn't matter because it's, like, all the greatest people."

A studio representative said that while Stefani's part essentially amounts to a cameo, it's an "important part" and "she's definitely a presence." Coincidentally, Hughes produced a then-18-year-old Harlow in her first major role, the 1930 film "Hell's Angels."

Stefani, who filmed scenes in Montreal in August and in Los Angeles in September, was so inspired, she portrayed herself as a 1930s Harlow once again for No Doubt's "It's My Life" video, shot in October (see "Gwen Stefani Bumps Off Bandmates In 'It's My Life' ").

"The Aviator" lands in November.