'Aviator' producer compared to Howard Hughes

LONDON, Dec. 18 (UPI) -- Some in Hollywood have drawn parallels between Graham King, producer of "The Aviator," and Howard Hughes, the billionaire movie producer featured in the film.

"It's very nice of people to say I'm like Hughes, but I don't think of myself that way -- except in rolling the dice," King said in London, where he is attending the movie's premier.

King, who moved from England to Los Angeles when he was 17, has also produced "Gangs of New York," "Traffic" and "Ali."

The Daily Telegraph reported King was initially wary of "The Aviator," fearing it might flop as did "Ali," his other big bio-pic.

"I thought, 'Oh, it will be a cheap movie about a man not shaving, having long fingernails -- germaphobic and xenophobic,' " King said.

"I read the script. I called Leo, got him out of bed and said, 'It's awesome.' "