MovieReal: The Aviator Page #9

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- How bad is your cross control?

- I'm at full left rudder...

...and full left aileron,

but she won't stay level. Goddamn it.

- Give us your position.

- Two thousand feet over...

Oh, Christ, I don't know, Beverly Hills.

Fifteen hundred feet.

We're going down.

I'll try for the Wilshire Country Club.

Ninth hole. You reading me?

Wilshire Country Club, copy that.

Howard, reduce engines to 1000.

I'm going down!

I'm not gonna make it, buddy!

Goddamn it!

Is there anyone else inside?

Is there anyone else?!

No.

I'm Howard Hughes, the aviator.

- Every inch of his

wiring and fluid connection.

He has burns to 78 percent of his body.

Nine ribs are shattered,

not broken, shattered...

...as are his nose, his chin, his cheek,

his left knee, his left elbow.

He has 60 lacerations

on his face, to the bone.

His chest was crushed,

so his left lung collapsed...

...and his heart has shifted

to the right side of his chest cavity.

Jesus, God.

- He's getting blood transfusions now, but...

- Whose blood?

- I'm sorry?

- Whose blood?

From our stock.

- Oh, he's not going to like that.

- Mr. Dietrich, I doubt he's...

...ever gonna like or

dislike anything again.

I'm terribly sorry.

Orange juice.

It's not fresh from the kitchen, so I...

I have them make it here so...

So I can see.

Look at me.

I'm a monster.

Yeah. Orange juice has nutritional value.

There's... There's some flies

outside my window, though.

So...

...little Howard likes...

...citrus.

Don't he just?

Tell me.

An oil seal ripped off

the starboard rear propeller.

When the pressure dropped,

the prop reversed pitch.

Do you understand me?

Howard, I'm sorry to have to tell you

this now, but there's something else.

- You following me?

- Yeah.

The Air Force canceled the contract

on The Hercules.

The war's over now,

and they say they don't need it anymore.

I have to know what you want me to do.

Should I release the staff?

How far...

...from finishing?

- About six months.

- No, in money.

Seven million.

Maybe more.

Build it.

Build it, Odie.

Howard...

...a Constellation crashed

outside Reading, Pennsylvania.

The Civil Aeronautics Board

has grounded the whole fleet.

You know...

...Juan Trippe sent me flowers.

Take a look.

- What did you do with all the others?

- Oh, I had them taken out.

They... They attract aphids.

Aphids are...

They're just awful little creatures.

But...

But these ones...

...I wanted to see these ones every day.

Can white elephants fly?

That's everybody's question.

The hull of the world's mightiest airplane,

a flying boat built by Howard Hughes.

Two hundred and twenty feet long,

it towers higher than a five-story building.

Power lines have to be cut as it starts

the trip from Culver City...

... to the Pacific, 30 miles away.

Moving the 60-ton load

is quite an engineering problem.

But you gotta ask, was anything this big

ever supposed to fly?

There goes one wing section,

160 feet long with four engine housings.

Double that and you've got some idea

of the wingspread.

An airplane that challenges

a mountain for sheer size.

How long can they keep us grounded?

Until they finish investigating

the Reading crash. Could be months.

You're running a $ 14 million deficit. How

will you afford to keep them out of service?

- We go international, we'll make it up.

- Brewster's C.A.B. Bill isn't going away.

That bill passes,

and you bought these for nothing.

- We're fighting the C.A.B. Bill.

- Meanwhile, how do we keep TWA flying?

Don't say, "Just go to Tool Co." We're

pumping every cent into The Hercules...

...which the Air Force

doesn't even want anymore.

I'm glad Jack is feeling sunny about things,

but I've seen the books.

I'm telling it straight. I'm not crying wolf.

We're in serious trouble.

You've gotta make a choice.

You wanna be bankrupted

by the big plane or by the big airline?

Go see Thomas Parkinson

at the Equitable in New York.

Get a loan against

all the TWA equipment and capital.

Use the planes as collateral. Hell, use the

desks, use the pens, use everything we got.

- Try to get me 40 million.

- And if TWA defaults on the loan?

Then Juan Trippe buys us cheap.

Under my bed! You put a goddamn

microphone under my bed!

Listen to me.

I am concerned about you.

- I just wanna make sure you're okay.

- And who is in that car?!

It's been with me 24 hours a day.

That car is for your protection!

The only one I need protection from is you,

you sick bastard!

You don't own me, Howard.

I'm not one of your teenage whores

or some damn airplane.

I'll have them take all the bugs out.

I need to know where you are.

- Why?!

- Because I worry about you, that's why.

Bullshit!

What do you mean, "all the bugs"?

What do you mean, "all the bugs"?

There's more.

How many?

I don't know, 12.

Twelve, maybe, and on the telephones.

Oh, Christ, Howard, on the telephone?

You listen to my phone calls?

No, no, honey, I would never do that.

I'd never do that.

I just read the transcripts, that's all.

What do you wanna know, Howard?

Was I screwing Artie Shaw last night?

Was I screwing Sinatra the night before?

You bet.

Everyone said you were a lunatic,

I didn't listen.

It's no wonder Kate Hepburn

dumped your demented ass!

Shut your goddamn mouth.

Get out, you pathetic freak.

Get out!

Is everything all right, sir?

Take out all the bugs, huh?

Except for the one

on the bedroom phone.

Sir, the FBI are at the house.

This is outrageous! Everything here is the

private property of Hughes Productions.

- My legal counsel is on the way...

- Federal warrant.

Don't interfere with the search, sir.

Dateline:
Los Angeles.

Howard Hughes has a new houseguest.

No, it's not another beautiful starlet.

This time it's the FBI.

Noah, you've got to help. This is

the 10th time they have been here.

Rumor has it that agents

working for Senator Owen Brewster...

... have practically taken up residence

in the aviation mogul's home.

Look, I mean, they are touching things.

- Noah, they are touching things.

- Just keep yourself calm...

... and I'll be down there

as soon as I can, Howard.

Howard?

Howard?

Howard, hello.

- Nice to see you again.

- Good to see you. Come on inside.

- Emma, you can start up lunch now.

- Yes, sir.

Well, really lovely room.

It's nicely decorated.

Thank you. Here, have a seat.

Thanks for coming by.

I thought you and I

should have a chance to talk privately.

You know, outside the office.

Well...

...I appreciate that, Owen.

So you're coming out pretty strong

against the C.A.B. Bill.

- You're coming on pretty strong for it.

- Well, it's my bill, Howard, you know.

Look, I believe sincerely

that America cannot afford...

...to have more than one

international carrier.

I mean, do you think it's fair that one airline

should have a monopoly on international...?

A monopoly? No, no, no. Oh, no.

No, I think one airline could do it better,

see, without competition.

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