Chapter 116: Howard Hughes
2023-05-02 Author: Yue Shang Xintou
Los Angeles, Burbank.
Early the next morning, Roy led Colin to a dusty construction site.
"Hughes!"
At Roy's shout, a man standing by the construction site, holding a cigar and gesturing over some blueprints, stopped what he was doing.
Handing the blueprints to an engineer beside him, the man took a drag from his cigar and strode over to them. "I thought you'd be a little later."
As he spoke, the man's gaze swept past Roy and landed on Colin, and he raised an eyebrow.
"Colin, this is the Hughes I had you contact—Howard Hughes, the renowned Hollywood director and producer. Hughes, this is the man I mentioned to you before, the owner of the Messenger Newspaper and the creator of *Superman*, Mr. Collin Roper."
Under Hughes's scrutiny, Roy took the initiative to make the introductions.
"A pleasure to meet you."
Howard Hughes took a puff of his cigar and said with a laugh amidst a cloud of smoke, "I really like your idea for *Superman*, especially the part about flight."
It was a well-known fact throughout Hollywood that Hughes had an extraordinary obsession with flight.
Back when he was shooting the film *Hell's Angels*, he used a total of 187 pilots, 87 airplanes, and 35 cameramen to achieve the desired effect. To authentically recreate an aerial bombing, he had someone purchase a real Zeppelin airship and then had it bombed.
When filming a scene of a plane crash, he demanded the pilot dive from a height of 30 meters and crash into the ground, exploding in flames. Faced with Hughes's insane request, no one on set dared to risk their own lives.
So, he stepped up to be the stunt pilot himself, which led to the first major plane crash of his life on set. When the airplane landed, his face and forehead slammed heavily into the instrument panel, causing a severe concussion. Yet, even an accident this severe couldn't diminish his yearning for the sky.
"I also greatly enjoyed *Hell's Angels*, which you directed. Especially the aerial combat scenes. The realism surpassed the scope of a mere film."
Hearing Colin's praise, the mustache on Hughes's upper lip unconsciously twitched upward.
He lowered the hand holding the cigar and finally took a good look at Colin. The subtle confidence emanating from the man was something Hughes greatly admired, for he, too, was someone who was extremely self-confident, almost to the point of paranoia.
It was precisely this paranoia that led him to scrap the original version of *Hell's Angels* and reshoot it as a sound film when the technology emerged during production.
This move caused the film's budget to skyrocket to four million dollars, but Hughes went all in. The final box office of eight million dollars proved his success.
...
"Are you planning to build a new sound stage?"
After a few simple pleasantries, Roy's gaze fell on the distant construction site.
Watching the busy construction workers, he couldn't help but ask.
Although Hollywood's prosperity was not what it used to be, with every film studio laying off employees, Roy didn't think this was a good time to expand.
But if it was Howard Hughes, he wasn't surprised.
After all, he was a maverick, a madman willing to spend four million dollars to shoot a film. Roy wouldn't be too surprised by anything he did.
"Sound stage?"
Hearing Roy's question, Hughes turned his head to glance at the chaotic construction site. "No, I have no interest in building something so boring. An aircraft hangar—that's my goal."
An aircraft hangar?!
To be honest, an aircraft hangar made even less sense to Roy than a sound stage.
It had absolutely nothing to do with Hollywood.
"What gave you the impression that everything I do is for films? Shooting a film is a hobby for me, and I've already done my best at it. So, it's time to focus on other things."
Noticing the change in Roy's expression, Hughes spread his hands and spoke casually.
As he spoke, Hughes shifted his gaze to Colin. "So, Mr. Collin Roper, what is your purpose in seeking me out this time?"
Hearing this, Colin met Hughes's eyes.
During this period, Howard Hughes was in high spirits. His frequent successes in Hollywood had boosted his confidence to an all-time high, which was precisely why he had the idea of switching careers to build airplanes.
The magnificent chapter of his life in Hollywood might be the climax for some, but for Howard Hughes, it was just a small part of his existence. In fact, the greater part of his life was always connected to the sky, right up until his death.
"So, you're no longer shooting films, Mr. Hughes?"
Instead of answering Hughes's question directly, Colin posed one of his own.
Faced with Colin's question, Hughes subconsciously frowned. He looked down and took a drag from his cigar before replying, "I've already made the film I wanted to make. I might get involved in film production again in the future, but that will have to wait until I'm sufficiently interested. Right now, my interest lies more in building airplanes."
In fact, it was just as Hughes said.
From 1932 onwards, he focused on building faster airplanes and didn't participate in or produce a new film until a decade later.
"So, if you've come to me to make a film, I'm afraid you're going to be disappointed."
Hughes wasn't short on money, so he made films purely to fulfill his own dreams, much like his reason for building airplanes.
"Perhaps, Mr. Hughes, you could hear my idea for the screenplay first. It won't be too late to decide then."
"I admit, Mr. Collin Roper, that you're a man with ideas. Otherwise, you wouldn't have created a work like *Superman*. But, as I've said, I'm not currently interested in making a new film, so..."
Frowning, Hughes's face showed a hint of annoyance.
Seeing this, Roy shot Colin a subtle look, signaling that he should probably drop the topic.
Although Colin noticed Roy's signal, he decisively ignored his well-meaning gesture.
Under Hughes's impatient gaze, he began to speak slowly.
"The Titanic. I wonder, Mr. Hughes, what are your thoughts on that unsinkable ocean liner?"
(end of chapter)