With some things I am a perfectionist. There are times when I fiddle and fiddle with a wire to make it sit right for example. There are other times when I'm very generous, at cooking for example. I guess I'm just not a true gourmet.
Anyway, I could never imagine to be anything like this man obviously was. Obsessed with details to the brink of madness. After watching the movie I read up on him a bit more and it made me wonder if you have to be obsessed to be a true perfectionist ...
Howard Hughes: Hello, Mr. Mayer. I don't know if you remember me. My name's Howard Hughes. I was wondering if I could have a moment of your time.
Louis B. Mayer: Oh yeah, Howard Hughes. The airplane picture, right?
Hughes: Exactly.
Mayer: Yeah, I remember.
Hughes: Hell's Angels. You heard of it. Good.
Mayer: Yes.
Hughes: Listen, I was wondering if I could have a moment of your time. I need a few cameras.
Mayer: Yeah?
Hughes: Yeah. Two, to be exact.
Mayer: Uh-huh.
Hughes: I already bought every camera I could find, but we're shooting our big dogfight sequence this week, and I need two more, desperately. Do you think MGM could help me out?
Mayer: With what?
Hughes: Cameras.
Mayer: Oh, with the actual cam... We're not usually in the practice of helping out the competition.
Hughes: Ah.
Guy: So, how many cameras do you have now?
Hughes: 24.
Mayer (coughing, then laughing): Wait a minute. You have 24 cameras?
Hughes: That's right.
Mayer: And you need two more?
Hughes: Yeah.
Mayer: You don't think you got it with 24?
Hughes: No. No, sir.
Mayer: You know, I think ... I think we've got'em all ... Don't we have'em all? All used?
Guy: They're all used.
Mayer: All 26 of them.
Hughes: I only need two, sir.
Mayer: Jesus Christ, sonny
Hughes: Howard.
Mayer: Howard. Let me give you a little advice, huh? Why don't you take your oil money ...
Hughes: Drill bits.
Mayer: Take your drill bit money, and why don't you put it in the bank?
Hughes: Uh-huh.
Mayer: Because if you continue making the movie the way that you are, there isn't gonna be a distributor who'll want to distribute it. You're not gonna find anybody who wants to see the movie, and you're not gonna have any more oil money.
Hughes: Hm.
Mayer: So, welcome to Hollywood.
Hughes: Yeah. Well, I'll be sure to remember that, Mr Mayer.
Mayer: Good luck.
Hughes: Alright.
Mayer: He needs 26 to make it work? He's out of his mind.
Hell's Angels cost about $3.8 million to make which made it the most expensive movie ever made at its time of release.
The Aviator, USA, 2004
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