Leo DiCaprio On 'The Aviator'

Leonardo DiCaprio tried to bring Howard Hughes to life on the big screen for a decade. His dream paid off in a big way with "The Aviator," earning over $200 million worldwide and winning more Oscars than any other movie in 2004.

"The film truly went even beyond my expectations," DiCaprio tells The Early Show contributor Laurie Hibberd. "It's one of those films that are a throwback to great cinema of the '30s and '40s. It's a grand, sweeping epic, but with a really complicated, multidimensional character at the forefront of it. And, they just don't make movies like this anymore."

The film follows the early years of billionaire Howard Hughes, who is a legendary film producer and ladies man, but thought of himself first and foremost as an aviator.

DiCaprio explains, "He was a pioneer in the world of aviation and he was really representative of our country in a lot of ways. You know what I mean? The dreams and aspirations of our country, and after the Industrial Revolution what our country became. He was right in the middle of some of the most exciting elements of it."

But that success came with a price. "The Aviator" also tracks Hughes' decline into mental illness. DiCaprio says, "I certainly think that there needs to be some element of madness to create that kind of genius."

"The Aviator" was nominated for 10 Academy Awards, winning five, including best supporting actress for Cate Blanchett.

DiCaprio notes, "Maybe the only person in the world that could fill the shoes of Katherine Hepburn, who was really probably the most iconic female voice in the last century. I can't think of a more recognizable voice than Katherine Hepburn, but she's phenomenal.

In the film, Katherine Hepburn warns Hughes about the pitfalls of fame, but DiCaprio says that things are worse today than in Hollywood's golden age.

"The media has been a lot more intense on everyone," says DiCaprio, "Not just entertainers, politicians, as we know of, with one of our ex- presidents. It's one of those things where people in the public eye are put a lot more under a microscope.

And it's a tradeoff he's willing to make.

He says, "It's one of those situations where you just accept it as a part of business. And I love doing what I'm doing and I'd get out of it if I hated it that much. I've said it many times before: There are much worse problems in the world, people dealing with things that are phenomenally more complicated than that."

The two-disc DVD includes director Martin Scorsese's commentary, a deleted scene and 12 behind the scenes featurettes, including, the history channel's documentary on Howard Hughes. The suggested retail price is $29.95.

Also on Tuesday, you can get the final episode of "Everybody Loves Raymond" for the suggested retail price of $9.97. The DVD also includes the pilot episode of the series.

Over the past eight seasons, "Everybody Loves Raymond" has garnered 12 Emmy Awards, three American Comedy Awards, two People's Choice Awards and two TV Guide Awards, as well as awards from the Television Critics Association, the Writers Guild of America, the Screen Actors Guild, the Golden Satellites, the Humanitas Prize and others.