The film focuses on a specific period in his life, from the late 1920s to the mid-1940s, highlighting his achievements in aviation, filmmaking, and his struggles with mental health and obsessive-compulsive disorder.
While the film takes creative liberties with certain events and relationships, it is largely based on factual accounts of Hughes' life, drawing inspiration from various sources, including:
* "Howard Hughes: His Life and Times" by Noah Dietrich, Hughes' business associate.
* "Howard Hughes: The Untold Story" by Charles Higham and Roy Moseley.
* "The Howard Hughes Experience" by John Dean Potter.
* "Howard Hughes: The Private Diaries, 1955-1958" edited by Peter Harry Brown.
The film also draws from numerous interviews with people who knew Hughes, as well as historical archives and documents.