The Aviator

Year:

2004

Duration:

170 min

Genres:

Biography | Drama

IMDB rate:

7.5

Director:

Martin Scorsese

Awards:

Won 5 Oscars. Another 73 wins & 85 nominations

Details

Country: USA

Release Date: 2004-12-25

Filming Locations: Los Angeles, California, USA

Earnings

Budget: $110,000,000

Opening Weekend: $858,021 (USA) (19 December 2004)

Gross: $102,593,534 (USA) (22 May 2005)

Cast

Actor

Character

Josie Maran

Leonardo DiCaprio

Howard Hughes

Cate Blanchett

Katharine Hepburn

Kate Beckinsale

Ava Gardner

John C. Reilly

Noah Dietrich

Alec Baldwin

Juan Trippe

Alan Alda

Senator Ralph Owen Brewster

Ian Holm

Professor Fitz

Danny Huston

Jack Frye

Gwen Stefani

Jean Harlow

Jude Law

Errol Flynn

Adam Scott

Johnny Meyer

Matt Ross

Glenn Odekirk

Kelli Garner

Faith Domergue

Frances Conroy

Mrs. Hepburn

Brent Spiner

Robert Gross

Stanley DeSantis

Louis B. Mayer

Edward Herrmann

Joseph Breen

Willem Dafoe

Roland Sweet

Kenneth Welsh

Dr. Hepburn

J.C. MacKenzie

Ludlow

Jacob Davich

Howard Hughes - 9 Years Old

Amy Sloan

Howard Hughes's Mother

Sam Hennings

Frank

Joe Chrest

Hell's Angels Director of Photography

Rufus Wainwright

Cocoanut Grove Vocalist #1

Harry Standjofski

Crony of Louis B. Mayer

Vince Giordano

Cocoanut Grove Band Member (as Vince J. Giordano)

Justin Shilton

Hell's Angels Pilot

Arthur Holden

Radio Announcer

Raymond Ducasse

Roscoe Turner

Joseph P. Reidy

Aide to Howard (as Joseph Reidy)

Stéphane Demers

Maitre d'

Yves Jacques

Waiter

Loudon Wainwright III

Cocoanut Grove Vocalist #2 (as Loudon Wainwright)

Jason Cavalier

Cocoanut Grove Patron

Chris Ufland

Engineer

Al Dubois

Pan Am Executive #1

Alan Toy

Man on Crutches

Sebastian Tillinger

Timer

Francesca Scorsese

Little Girl

Charlotte Scott

Little Girl

James Bradford

Uncle Willy

Joe Cobden

Another Guest #1

Linda Smith

Another Guest #2

Alan Fawcett

Chairman MPA

Jordan St. James

Hughes' Aide at Censor Hearing

David Purdham

Emcee

Kevin O'Rourke

Spencer Tracy

Lisa Bronwyn Moore

Noah's Wife

Emma Campbell

Helen - Jack Frye's wife

Martha Wainwright

Cocoanut Grove Vocalist #3

Vincent Laresca

Jorge

Matt Holland

Hughes' Staff Person

Dennis St John

Nick the Custodian

Keith Campbell

Marine

Al Vandecruys

Doctor

James Rae

FBI Agent

Kathleen McAuliffe

Brewster's Maid

Nellie Sciutto

Secretary

Terry Haig

Another Senator

James McNamara

Himself (archive footage) (voice)

John Koensgen

Pan Am Executive #2

Vladimir Kuznetsov Smith

Caretaker

Mark Akeson

Caretaker

Jason Pollard

Caretaker

Pascal Anctil

Reporter (uncredited)

Matthew I. Baker

Photographer at 'Hell's Angels' Wrap Party (uncredited)

Gavin Black

Hell's Angels Crewman (uncredited)

David Block

Film Technican (uncredited)

John David Braddock

Photographer (uncredited)

John Brody

Policeman (uncredited)

Benjamin Centoducati

Film Worker (uncredited)

Isabelle Champeau

Editor (uncredited)

Al Coronel

Bi-Plane Mechanic #1 (uncredited)

Matthew Corbett Davis

Howard Hughes Aide (uncredited)

Elizabeth DeCicco

Starlet (uncredited)

Elisa Dyann

Coat Check Girl (uncredited)

Antonella Elia

Secretary (uncredited)

Meghan Elizabeth

Starlet (uncredited)

Brian Fortuna

Dancer (uncredited)

Danielle Franke

Esquire Starlet (uncredited)

Jess Graham

Plane Engineer (uncredited)

Ian Halperin

Hospital Room Visitor (uncredited)

Trevor Hayes

Chef (uncredited)

Harrison Held

Louis B. Mayer Crony (uncredited)

David Hillberg

Stage Hand (uncredited)

Chase Hoyt

Usher (uncredited)

Larry Kagele

Pilot (uncredited)

Jason Klamm

Man in Tux at 'Hell's Angels' Premiere (uncredited)

Lauren LeMay

Starlet (uncredited)

Brian T. Lynch

Ground Crewman (uncredited)

Lon Moriarty

Hell's Angels Airline Mechanic (uncredited)

Eddie Napolillo

Burly Man at 'Hell's Angels' Wrap Party (uncredited)

Matthew Reidy

Photographer (uncredited)

Scott Sahadi

Photographer (uncredited)

Heather Sconyers

Bathing beauty (uncredited)

Martin Scorsese

Hell's Angels Projectionist / Man on Red Carpet (voice) (uncredited)

Nathaniël Siri

Dancer at the Grove (uncredited)

Frank Sivero

Photographer (uncredited)

R. Bruce Steinheimer

Plane Engineer / Field Tech (uncredited)

Cathy Symonds

Cocoanut Grove Patron (uncredited)

Michael-John Wolfe

Cary Grant

Deliene Wyatt

Make-up Girl to Katharine Hepburn (uncredited)

Jeremy Zafran

TWA Executive (uncredited)

Did you know?

Trivia

Michael Mann was originally going to direct the film, but having directed back-to-back biopics The Insider (1999) and Ali (2001), he decided to produce instead, and offered the script to Martin Scorsese.

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Cate Blanchett felt that accurately reproducing Katharine Hepburn's distinctive upper class New Englander accent was crucial to her portrayal of this Hollywood icon. She did daily voice exercises with the film's voice coach Tim Monich (with whom Blanchett had worked previously on The Talented Mr. Ripley (1999)), and also studied Hepburn's early films and documentaries about her to learn her mannerisms.

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Alan Alda avoided watching newsreel footage of the real Senator Owen Brewster. Alda felt that public figures did not speak or behave naturally in front of the newsreel cameras and he wanted his performance to be more natural. However, Alda did make use of photographs of the real-life Senator and used Brewster's legendarily ugly appearance in crafting the role; because it wouldn't work to make Alda look that disgusting, Alda instead used Brewster's looks as an example of how his inner ugliness emerged, and made that the key to his interactions with Howard Hughes.

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Goofs

At least one of the Fokker biplanes shown rolling for takeoff in the Hell's Angels scenes had a modern opposed cylinder engine.

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The overhead shot of the H-1 just before Howard Hughes takes it off for its test flight show the airplane with its short wings (used for setting pure speed records), whereas the in-flight shots portray the airplane with its long wings (used for cross-country races and setting cross-country records).

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Several changes were made in the movie to the relationship between Katharine Hepburn and Howard Hughes. Hepburn did not in fact leave Howard for Spencer Tracy. The two broke up long before she had met Spencer Tracy. And lastly, Katharine Hepburn's brother committed suicide when she was little, not during her years as a star.

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Quotes

Professor Fitz: Well, the cumulonimbus formations about which you speak that look like...

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Katharine Hepburn: [flying Howard's plane] Howard, there's a rather alarming mountain heading our way.

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Spencer Tracy: Trouble with Mr. Hughes?

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Faq

Q

Is "The Aviator" based on a true story?

A

Yes, the movie is based on the life of the eccentric and extremely wealthy Howard Hughes (played by Leonardo DiCaprio), whose roles as an aviator and film maker are spotlighted.

Q

How much sex, violence, and profanity are in this movie?

A

For detailed information about the amounts and types of (a) sex and nudity, (b) violence and gore, (c) profanity, (d) alcohol, drugs, and smoking, and (e) frightening and intense scenes in this movie, consult the IMDb Parents Guide for this movie. The Parents Guide for The Aviator can be found here.

Q

A Note Regarding Spoilers

A

The following FAQ entries may contain spoilers. Only the biggest ones (if any) will be covered with spoiler tags. Spoiler tags have been used sparingly in order to make the page more readable.

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