December 2, 2004. Copyright 2004, Graphic News. All rights reserved Aviator reaches for the skies By Lis Ribbans LONDON, December 2, Graphic News: Titanic star Leonardo DiCaprio moves from sea to sky to play the title role in this much-anticipated Martin Scorsese biopic about the early life and loves of Howard Hughes -- pioneering pilot, philanthropist, movie producer, playboy and one of AmericaÕs most iconic billionaires. Touching on HughesÕ sometimes dark and often idiosyncratic nature, but stopping short of his ultimate decline into neurotic reclusiveness when he wore Kleenex boxes for shoes, the action takes place between the 1920s-40s, during which time the glamorous Hughes romanced hundreds of beautiful actresses including fabled film goddesses such as Katharine Hepburn (played by Cate Blanchett, Australian star of Lord of the Rings, Elizabeth and Veronica Guerin), Ava Gardner (Kate Beckinsale, British actress best known for Much Ado About Nothing, Last Days of Disco and Van Helsing) and Jean Harlow (played by No Doubt frontwoman Gwen Stefani in her first big-screen role). It was also the era when Hughes set a host of transcontinental and transglobal aviation speed records, and even found time to make a few films, including the Oscar-winning HellÕs Angels, a 1930 movie about first world war aviators on which he spent the then stratospheric sum of $3.8 million. But as the filmÕs tagline suggests -- ÒSome men dream the future. He built itÓ -- Hughes was more than a high-living, high-spending, high-flying Hollywood hedonist. The Texan who inherited his fatherÕs $900,000 engineering firm while still a teenager is regarded as one of the worldÕs most important aviation innovators -- Spruce Goose, the largest plane ever to fly, being among his creations. The 30-year-old DiCaprio, who reportedly took flying lessons to prepare for the role, last teamed up with Martin Scorsese (Taxi Driver, Goodfellas, The Age of Innocence) for Gangs of New York, a movie that received 10 Oscar nominations but failed to win Scorsese the Best Director prize. Perhaps The Aviator -- filmed from an original screenplay by John Logan (Gladiator) -- will earn him the wings that many admirers thought he long ago deserved. And perhaps it will give DiCaprio the re-confirmation of his A-list status that some critics think he now needs. Alec Baldwin, Ian Holm and Alan Alda also star. /ENDS RELEASE DATES Dec 17: United States, Canada Dec 26: UK (London), Iceland Dec 31: South Korea Jan 06: Russia Jan 13: Thailand Jan 14: Spain, UK (general) Jan 20: Austria, Germany, Netherlands Jan 21: Sweden Jan 26: Belgium, France Jan 28: Denmark, Finland, Italy, Norway Feb 03: Portugal Feb 10: Australia Feb 11: Turkey Feb 17: Argentina Feb 24: Hungary Mar 24: Czech Republic