Chapter 117: Titanic
"Titanic?"
Hearing the name Colin mentioned, Howard Hughes's fingers, holding a cigar, couldn't help but pause.
He was only seven years old when the ocean liner sank.
However, he was deeply impressed by the Titanic incident. At the time, the sinking of the ocean liner sent shockwaves throughout America, and major newspapers ran stories about it for a whole month. Even now, he could still recall the look of shock on his father, Old Hughes's, face when he saw the news of the Titanic's sinking.
"So, what you're saying is?"
Seeing the change in Hughes's expression, Colin knew he had achieved his goal.
He smiled slightly and, under Hughes's watchful gaze, continued, "Don't you find it all incredibly dramatic? An ocean liner hailed as unsinkable meeting its doom on its maiden voyage. The sinking of the Titanic is certainly tragic, but isn't it also a source of inspiration..."
"If this ocean liner's story could be brought to the big screen, what kind of attention and discussion would it generate?"
As a wealthy man, Howard Hughes didn't have a particularly deep desire for money, so Colin deliberately steered him toward the prospect of gaining attention.
"The sunken ocean liner?"
Clearly, Colin's tactic had worked.
Hughes fiddled with the cigar in his hand, murmuring Colin's description of the Titanic.
"In fact, as far as I know, back in 1898, a British author named Morgan Robertson wrote a novel called *Futility*..."
"The novel describes a luxurious ocean liner, hailed as unsinkable, named the Titan. It was on its maiden voyage from Britain to America across the ocean. It was the largest and most luxurious passenger liner in human naval history, equipped with every lavish facility available at the time, and filled with wealthy passengers who were thoroughly enjoying themselves aboard the great ship."
"However, on its maiden voyage, the ocean liner struck an iceberg and sank tragically, with many passengers perishing in the depths of the sea. Everything was a true reflection of the Titanic's sinking..."
The source of Morgan Robertson's inspiration for *Futility* could no longer be verified.
This was because the author committed suicide in a guest room at the Alamac Hotel in Atlantic City, New Jersey, in 1915, three years after the Titanic sank.
And the only reason Colin mentioned him was to add a touch of legend to the story of the great ship.
"So, why me?"
Without a doubt, Hughes had been convinced by the story of the Titanic that Colin told. He looked at the man before him and couldn't help but ask.
"As far as I'm concerned, in all of Hollywood, you, Mr. Hughes, are the only director who could possibly film the Titanic. There's no one else."
Colin wasn't lying about this.
A director who could spend four million dollars to shoot a film was an absolutely unique existence in the Hollywood of this era.
These words from Colin were clearly very gratifying to Hughes.
"Besides, in *Hell's Angels*, you conquered the sky, Mr. Hughes. Why can't you conquer the sea in Titanic?"
"Conquer the sea?!"
For an idealist like Howard Hughes, what could be more thrilling than Colin's words about conquering the sea?
"Then let's conquer the sea!"
Turning to glance at the aircraft hangar under construction in the distance, Hughes agreed to Colin's film invitation without a moment's hesitation, even though he had never once seen the screenplay for the Titanic that Colin mentioned.
"As I understand it, many of the family members of the ocean liner's sinking are still alive. If we just go ahead and film a story about the Titanic, it might draw their protests."
Just then, Roy, who was standing to the side, offered a reminder.
Roy was worried that filming a movie about the Titanic would cause controversy, but Hughes himself was unconcerned.
"If they want to protest, I'd be happy to send them movie tickets when the film is released so they can witness the sinking of the ocean liner on screen with their own eyes. Then, I'll tell them if they're angry, they should go protest the shipyard that built the Titanic and the cruise line company, if those companies still exist."
Howard Hughes was not a man who feared trouble. On the contrary, he had an unusually fervent passion for film.
He dared to personally pilot an airplane in *Hell's Angels*, and in the film *Scarface*, he dared to base a character on the real-life gangster Al Capone and shoot scenes of realistic violence.
This was also why he had uncharacteristically agreed to Colin's movie idea for the Titanic after hearing it.
Because he sensed a great challenge in it, and that was precisely what he pursued.
"Regarding that point, I mentioned it earlier. Morgan Robertson's *Futility* describes a story that is extremely similar to reality, and I just so happen to have the copyright to that novel."
Francis was an employee Colin had recruited for the Messenger Newspaper.
Before his unemployment, he had worked at a publishing house, specializing in collecting and organizing European publications for distribution in the country. He had extensive experience in handling the copyright of these foreign works.
Through his arrangements, Colin had easily found Morgan Robertson's widow and purchased the copyright for *Futility*.
In any case, in this era.
The copyright for a novel wasn't expensive, especially for a less-famous author like Morgan Robertson. If it weren't for the sinking of the Titanic, perhaps not many people would have ever noticed this book.
From Colin's description, Roy understood his purpose. From the very beginning, he had been aiming to make a film about the Titanic.
But, why?
If he had wanted Howard Hughes to make a film related to Superman, Roy wouldn't have been surprised at all.
That would have boosted the popularity of the *Superman* he held in his hands, allowing him to earn more profit.
But the Titanic... Roy simply couldn't connect it to Superman. He couldn't possibly insert a Superman plot into the Titanic, could he?
Just as he couldn't connect Howard with the aircraft hangar.
Standing on the dusty construction site, Roy watched Colin and Hughes talking animatedly, and a sense of being out of place washed over him.
But for some strange reason, he had a premonition.
Hollywood, perhaps because of the presence of these two, was about to undergo an earth-shattering change.
And the source of that change might just begin right here, at this inconspicuous construction site in Burbank.
(end of chapter)