"The Aviator" tells the story of aviation pioneer Howard Hughes (Leonardo 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 through 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 Aviator looks at Hughes’ emotional life, and his love affairs with two Hollywood legends: elegant, Yankee-bred screen star Katharine Hepburn (Cate Blanchett) in the 1930s, and the sensual and luminous screen beauty of the 1940s, Ava Gardner (Kate Beckinsale). It also chronicles Hughes’ struggle with his physical disabilities and phobias, and with his increasingly erratic, obsessive-compulsive behaviour that leads him ultimately to isolate himself from his associates and withdraw from the world.

The Cast

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 Stefanii ... 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

The Filmmakers

DIRECTOR
Martin Scorsese

SCREENPLAY BY
John Logan

EXECUTIVE PRODUCERS
Leonardo DiCaprio
Chris Brigham
Rick Yorn
Harvey Weinstein
Bob Weinstein
Rick Schwartz
Colin Cotter

PRODUCERS
Michael Mann
Sandy Climan
Graham King
Charles Evans, Jr.

Awards

ACADEMY AWARDS®

Best Supporting Actress - Cate Blanchett
Best Art Direction - Dante Ferretti (art director), Francesca Lo Schiavo (set decorator)
Best Costume Design - Sandy Powell
Best Cinematography - Robert Richardson
Best Achievement in Editing - Thelma Schoonmaker

Nominations

Best Motion Picture - Michael Mann, Graham King
Best Directing - Martin Scorsese
Best Actor - Leonardo DiCaprio
Best Supporting Actor - Alan Alda
Best Original Screenplay - John Logan
Best Sound Mixing - Tom Fleischman, Petur Hliddal

BAFTAs

Best Film - Michael Mann, Sandy Climan, Graham King, Charles Evans Jr.
Best Supporting Actress - Cate Blanchett
Best Production Design - Dante Ferretti
Best Make Up/Hair - Morag Ross, Kathryn Blondell, Sian Grigg

Nominations

David Lean Award for Direction - Martin Scorsese
Best Actor - Leonardo DiCaprio
Best Supporting Actor - Alan Alda
Best Original Screenplay - John Logan
Best Costume Design - Sandy Powell
Best Cinematography - Robert Richardson
Best Editing - Thelma Schoonmaker
Best Special Visual Effects - Robert Legato, Peter G. Travers, Matthew Gratzner, R. Bruce Steinheimer
Anthony Asquith Award for Film Music - Howard Shore
Best Sound - Philip Stockton, Eugene Gearty, Petur Hliddal, Tom Fleischman

GOLDEN GLOBES®

Best Motion Picture, Drama
Best Actor, Motion Picture Drama - Leonardo DiCaprio
Best Original Score, Motion Picture - Howard Shore

Nominations

Best Supporting Actress, Motion Picture - Cate Blanchett
Best Screenplay, Motion Picture - John Logan
Best Director, Motion Picture - Martin Scorsese

PGA AWARDS

Outstanding Producer of Theatrical Motion Pictures