"Now I'm glad Jack is feeling so sunny about this, but I've seen the books. Now, I'm not just crying wolf this time; we're in serious trouble! You've gotta make a choice. You want to be bankrupted by the big plane or by the big airline?"

"Now, it's been a great ride. We've had a hell of a lot of fun. But you're losing $25,000 a day doing this. Every day."

"There's too much Howard Hughes in Howard Hughes. That's the trouble."

"Can't you eat ice cream out of a bowl like everyone else in the world?!"

"Ha! Men can't be friends with women. They must possess them or leave them be. It's a primitive urge from caveman days. It's all in Darwin: Hunt the flesh, kill the flesh, eat the flesh. That's the male sex all over."

"You see, Howard, we're not like everyone else. Too many acute angles. Too many... eccentricities. We have to be very careful not to let people in or they'll make us into freaks."

"Do your worst, Mr. Hughes!"

"The way of the future. The way of the future. The way of the future. The way of the future. The way of the future."

"[to Katharine Hepburn] You come out of the blue and tell me you’re leavin' me and have you have the nerve to expect graciousness?!"

"I am supposed to be many things that are not complimentary. I am supposed to be capricious, I have been called a playboy, I have even been called an eccentric. But I do not believe I have the reputation of being a liar. Now, needless to say, the Hercules was a monumental undertaking; it is the largest plane ever built. It is over five stories tall with a wingspan longer than a football field, that is more than a city block! Now I put the sweat of my life into this thing, I got my reputation all rolled up in it, and I have stated several times that if the Hercules fails to fly, I will leave this country and never come back... and I mean it! Now, Senator Brewster, you can subpoena me, you can arrest me, you can even claim that I have folded and taken a run-out powder, but, well, I have had just about enough of this nonsense! Good day!"

"I'm afraid you don't know how the aviation business works, Senator. See, wining and dining Air Force dignitaries is common in our business. It's because we all want the big contracts. All the major aircraft companies do it. I don't know whether it's a good system, I just know it is not illegal. You, Senator, you are the lawmaker. If you pass a law that states no one can entertain Air Force officers, well, hell! I'd be happy to abide by it!"

"I sleep...in this room...in the dark. I have a place I can sleep. I have a chair. That's just beautiful. Oh, yeah. I like the desert. It's hot there in the desert, but it's clean. It's clean. I need to sleep. I should drink something first. I should have some... some milk. Wait a minute... what if that milk is sour? That milk is bad I shouldn't pick up the bottle with my right hand. And I shouldn't take the top off with my left...put it in my pocket. My left pocket."

"Tell Juan Trippe something for me. Tell him thanks for the flowers. And he can kiss... both sides... of my ass."

"Orange juice has... nutritional value. There's some... flies... outside the window. Little Howard likes... citrus. Don't he just."

"Sh- Show me all the blueprints, Odie. Show me all the blueprints... (Lower) Show me all the blueprints. I'm serious now- show me all the blueprints... ... ... Show me all the bl- Show me all the blueprints. Show me all the blueprints. Show me all the blueprints show me all the blueprints. Show me all the blueprints. (clears throat) I wanna get it done right so show me all the blueprints. Show me all the blueprints. Show me all the blueprints show me all the blueprints."

"Quarantine. Q-u-a-r-a-n-t-i-n-e. Quarantine."

"(In front of the Motion Picture Censorship Board) Good to see you, Mr. Breen. Gentlemen, it's good to see you- I haven't seen you all since that issue with all the violence in Scarface. The problem here seems to revolve around Ms. Russell's mammaries, is that correct? Mr. Breen feels that they are too prominant, yes? More prominant than other mammaries have been up on the screen? Well... we hope to dispel that notion. Jean Harlow. Ann Sheridan. Irene Dunne. Claudette Colbert, Rita Hayworth, Bettie Grable... and the lovely Ms. Jane Russell. Now all of these photos- save for Ms. Russell's- have been enlarged from pictures that received Mr. Breen's seal of approval... and as you can see they all contain mammaries. At this point I'd like to introduce my assisstant, Dr. Ludlow Branson. Dr. Branson is a mathematician of some note...yes. And he will prove that, in fact, Ms. Russell's mammaries are no more prominant than any of these other fine ladies. Doctor? Doctor... you forgot your calipers."

"I'm Howard Hughes, the aviator."

"The XF-11! She's a spy-plane really. Designed every inch of her myself. She's got a top speed of 350 which means she can outrun anything they throw against her. Yeah, after the Japs stole my H-1 design for their goddamn Zeroes I figure I'd better do 'em one better. Yeah, she's my Buck Rogers ship."

"She'll go faster."

"Tell Jimmy I want ten chocolate chip cookies, medium chips, none too close to the outside."

"Boy, you are just hittin' on all six cylinders aren't'cha? My God. Would you do me a favor and just...? Would you just smile for me one time, just once? Yeah, yeah, see you got a short upper lip...makes for a much nicer smile. See I wonder what gives a beautiful woman like you pleasure. I mean say you're just standing there, right and I- I just touch you. Just like this... see my fingertips. I mean, do you like that? Do you? See, I wanna learn what pleases you. I wanna learn everything about you. Would you let me do that? Would you give me that job?"

"Did you manage to manufacture some of the Z's?"

"I am unequivocally tall. I do not know any women who are taller than me. Women who are taller than me are lesbians, for whom 1969 was a very momentous year."

"Boris Leskin — Grandfather"

"Elijah Wood — Jonathan Safran Foer"

"Eugene Hutz — Alex"

"No, it does not exist for you. You exist for it. You have come because it exists."

"Well, I read in my guidebook that you can't find Marlboro cigarettes here so you should take them everywhere as tips."

"(to Jonathan) Make sure to secure the door when I am gone. I do not want to make you petrified person but there are many dangerous people who want to take things from Americans... and also kidnap them. Okay? Goodnight!"

"I am especially beloved of American movies, muscular cars, and hip-hop music. I also dig negroes, most of all Michael Jackson, because he is such a first-rate dancer, like me. Many girls want to be carnal with me, because I am such a premium dancer."

"I have reflected many times upon our rigid search. It has shown me that everything is illuminated in the light of the past. It is always along the side of us, on the inside, looking out. Like you say, inside out. Jonathan, in this way, I will always be along the side of your life. And you will always be along the side of mine."

"Okay, so she is deranged, but so so playful."

"[Referring to the dog] This is Sammy Davis Jr. Jr... She is Grandfather's Seeing Eye bitch. Father purchased her for him not because he believes Grandfather is blind, but because a Seeing Eye bitch is also a good thing for people who pine for the opposite of loneliness. In truth, Father did not purchase her at all, but merely retrieved her from the home for forgetful dogs. Because of this, she is not a real Seeing Eye bitch, and is also mentally deranged."

"My grandfather informs me that this is not possible."

"Please do not be distressed. This is only the driver's seeing-eye bitch."

"Forgive my speaking of English, Jonfen, as I'm not so premium with it."