THE ART OF ORIGINAL FILMMAKING

Titanic 3D

Writer-director
James Cameron was born in Kapuskasing, Ontario, Canada, and grew up in Niagara Falls. 
In 1971, he moved to Brea, California, where he studied physics at Fullerton College while working as a machinist and, later, a truck driver.  In 1978, setting his sights on a career in film, Cameron raised money from a consortium of dentists to produce a short film in 35mm.  He served as producer, director, co-writer, editor, miniature builder, cinematographer and special effects supervisor. 
In 1980, his work on the short film led to a position at Roger Corman's New World Pictures on Battle Beyond the Stars.  In the frenzied world of low-budget guerrilla filmmaking, Cameron found a home on the production where he could again wear many hats:  miniature builder, model unit DP and matte painter among them. Most importantly, he became the art director of the picture's main unit and found the energy of the set exhilarating.
Determined to direct, Cameron parlayed his production designer job on a subsequent Corman film, Galaxy of Terror, into a stint as second unit director.  When the production fell behind schedule, Corman asked him to shoot some dialogue scenes with principal cast.  Finding the work with actors exciting, Cameron began preparing a script for himself to direct.
Cameron wrote The Terminator in 1982, hoping to couple his effects and design experience with a low-budget high-impact vehicle that could find independent financing.  After two lean years, Cameron finally brought the film before cameras as a Hemdale/HBO co-production released by Orion.  Though costing only $6 million, the film received international acclaim, appeared on numerous 10 best lists (including Time magazine) and made over $80 million worldwide.
While waiting for financing for The Terminator, Cameron wrote two scripts to keep busy.  In a three-month period he wrote (with Sylvester Stallone) Rambo: First Blood Part II and Aliens, the sequel to the 1979 science fiction classic Alien.  Rambo II later became an international mega-hit grossing over $250 million globally. 
After the success of The Terminator, Cameron agreed to direct Aliens and plunged into production in 1985.  Shot in England and released in the summer of 1986, Aliens received seven Academy Award nominations and won Oscars for Best Visual Effects and Best Sound Effects.  Aliens became one of the most successful R-rated films of all time, grossing over $180 million worldwide. 
In 1988-89, Cameron wrote and directed his next project, the underwater epic The Abyss, which required 18 months to complete.  It received four Academy Award nominations.  The Abyss blazed a new trail for visual effects with the creation of photo-realistic computer animation.  It won the Oscar for Best Visual Effects and grossed $110 million worldwide. 
Cameron next co-wrote Point Break with Kathryn Bigelow, who directed.  He was executive producer of the film which made over $100 worldwide and topped video rental charts for five weeks.
As writer, producer and director of 1991's Terminator 2:  Judgment Day, Cameron achieved a new high-water mark for action and visual effects.  Building on techniques pioneered in The Abyss, he worked with ILM to create computer animated images for this visual tour de force which came to be known globally as T2 and earned over $500 million in worldwide grosses, close to $1 billion with worldwide ancillary revenues.
In addition to box office success, T2 received six Academy Award nominations of which it won four: Best Makeup, Sound, Visual Effects and Sound Effects Editing.  It also received the Ray Bradbury Award for Dramatic Screenwriting, five Saturn Awards from the Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy and Horror and six MTV Movie Awards.  T2 also won the People's Choice Award and took honors at the Video Software Dealers Awards and the first annual Laser Disc Awards.
In 1994, Cameron wrote, produced and directed the action-comedy True Lies. The flagship film for Cameron's Lightstorm Entertainment and the first feature with special effects by his own effects studio,  Digital Domain, True Lies grossed over $365 million in worldwide box office.  The following year, Lightstorm presented Strange Days, directed by Kathryn Bigelow from a screenplay by Cameron and Jay Cocks.  Cameron produced with Steven Charles Jaffe.
Also in 1995, the National Association of Theatre Owners, the same organization which awarded James Cameron the Director of the Year Award earlier in his career, presented him with the Producer of the Year Award.  In addition, the Laser Disc Association presented him with the Laser Beam Award for selling 500,000 units of his critically-acclaimed laser discs.
Cameron expressed interest in the famous sinking of the ship RMS Titanic and decided to script and film his next project based on this event. Before production began, he took dives to the bottom of the Atlantic and shot actual footage of the ship underwater, which he inserted into the final film. Much of the film's dialogue was also written during these dives.
Cameron's budget for the film reached about $200 million, making it the most expensive movie ever made at the time. Before its release, the film was widely ridiculed for its expense and protracted production schedule.
Released to theaters on December 19, 1997, Titanic grossed less in its first weekend ($28.6 million) than in its second, ($35.4 million), an increase of 23.8%. This is unheard of for a widely released film, which is a testament to the movie's appeal. This was especially noteworthy, considering that the film's running time of more than three hours limited the number of showings each theater could schedule. It held the No. 1 spot on the box-office charts for months, eventually grossing a total of over $600 million in the United States and Canada and more than $1.8 billion worldwide.
Titanic became the highest-grossing film ever made, until Cameron's 2009 film Avatar.
Titanic received a record-tying 14 Oscar nominations and won 11 Oscars, including Best Picture, Best Film Editing, Best Sound, Best Sound Effects Editing, Best Visual Effects, Best Original Song, Best Original Dramatic Score, and the Best Director award for Cameron.Upon receiving the award, Cameron exclaimed, "I'm king of the world!", in reference to one of the main characters' lines from the film.
In March 2010, Cameron revealed that Titanic will be re-released in 3D in April 2012, in order to coincide with the 100th anniversary of the sinking of the actual ship.
Avatar also became the first movie to ever earn more than $2 billion worldwide. It was nominated for nine Academy Awards, and won three for Best Cinematography, Best Visual Effects and Best Art Direction. Cameron was declared as the highest earner in Hollywood for 2010 earning $257 million for his blockbuster hit, in a survey listing the top 40 earners by Vanity Fair
In October 2010, Cameron signed an agreement with Fox to direct two sequels to Avatar, which are scheduled to be released in December 2014 and December 2015.
Another project Cameron has announced is a personal commitment to shoot a film on the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki as told through the story of Tsutomu Yamaguchi, a man who survived both attacks.
Cameron met with Yamaguchi just days before he died in 2010.
On March 7, 2012, Cameron took the Deepsea Challenger submersible to the bottom of the New Britain Trench in a five-mile-deep solo dive. More recently, on March 26, Cameron reached the Challenger Deep, the deepest part of the Mariana Trench. He spent more than three hours exploring the ocean floor before returning to the surface.[Cameron is the first person to accomplish the trip solo.

Point of view
James Cameron has done it again! The force behind Terminator, Titanic and Avatar, writer-director and producer James Cameron has achieved an impossible dream: perfecting the art of 3D conversion in bringing Titanic to the big screen in all its glory, and like anything you have ever seen before.
What's truly remarkable about this 'new' Titanic, is that the visceral impact of this immortal and super spectacular romance, and ultimate human drama has not diminished since first experiencing it 15 years ago in a cinema and subsequently on DVD.
I clearly remember a tearful and emotional viewing then, and will not forget an even more emotional experiences now.
In fact, what seemed like an extravagant and unforgettable viewing then, now passes by at such an explosive pace, that you're watching the end credits and wiping tears away without noticing that you have been immersed in this gripping tale for 3 hours.
A major reason for its overwhelming success worldwide and 11 Oscars (amongst its many awards and accolades), is that Cameron knows how to tell a great story well. He is a consummate storyteller and obsessive filmmaker, whose vision stretches far beyond his time.
In Titanic, he perfectly balances the intimate passion of a 101-year-old sweetheart's fervent love affair on the doomed Ship of Dreams, with high impact action sequences, and hard-hitting human drama.
We now, as always, fully believe that a "woman's heart is a deep ocean of secrets" and that true love is everlasting.
The 3D release of Titanic confirms its status as one of the greatest films ever made and is a true testament to the art of filmmaking and the craft of storytelling at its most exciting.
Besides its epic grandeur and overwhelming spectacle, it is the meticulous detail in Titanic that leaves one breathless; the intricate production and visual design, visual artistry and sound design culminate in a seamless masterwork that mesmerizes - the thoughtful scenes during the climactic resolution perfectly captures the intimacy and intricate fear of the tragedy, and perfectly celebrates a film that stands the test of time.
If there's one aspect that can never be duplicated on DVD, it's the tremendous digital soundtrack featuring James Horner's beautiful haunting score that underscores the action and emotional journey, as well as its impeccable and finely tuned sound design (when the ship is immersed in water, and withstanding the pressure of the ocean, you can feel the audience holding its breath as claustrophobia sets in).
Everything in Titanic is flawless and gorgeous; Jack declaring that he is King of The World with a school of Dolphin's leading the ship on its fateful journey; Jack and Rose playfully and childishly running through the heat and steam of the engine room; and the remains and passengers of Titanic gracefully sinking into a watery grave - these are some treasured moments relive joyfully.
Add to this first rate performances from the entire cast, particularly Leonardo DiCapprio and Kate Winslet as the radiant Romeo and Juliet; Billy Zane as Rose's egotistical fiancé, Frances Fisher as Rose's overbearing mother, and Gloria Stuart as Old Rose, and you are in for first rate entertainment that should not be missed under any circumstances.
You might have been on this journey before, and perhaps recaptured the experience on DVD, but nothing can prepare you for its rejuvenation, allowing a new generation to share wholeheartedly in the laughter, the adventure and the tears.
Titanic rules, now and forever. 
Reviewed by Daniel Dercksen. Rating 5/5

The Story
James Cameron's "Titanic" is an epic, action-packed romance set against the ill-fated maiden voyage of the R.M.S. Titanic, the pride and joy of the White Star Line and, at the time, the largest moving object ever built.  She was the most luxurious liner of her era -- the "ship of dreams" -- which ultimately carried over 1,500 people to their death in the ice cold waters of the North Atlantic in the early hours of April 15, 1912.
The journey of "Titanic" begins in the present, at the site of the ship's watery grave, two-and-a-half miles under the ocean surface.  An ambitious fortune hunter (Bill Paxton) is determined to plumb the treasures of this once-stately ship, only to bring to the surface a story left untold.  The tragic ruins melt away to reveal the glittering palace that was Titanic as it prepares to launch on its maiden voyage from England.  Amidst the thousands of well-wishers bidding a fond bon voyage, destiny has called two young souls, daring them to nurture a passion that would change their lives forever.
Rose DeWitt Bukater (Kate Winslet) is a 17-year-old, upper-class American suffocating under the rigid confines and expectations of Edwardian society who falls for a free-spirited young steerage passenger named Jack Dawson (Leonardo DiCaprio).  Once he opens her eyes to the world that lies outside her gilded cage, Rose and Jack's forbidden love begins a powerful mystery that ultimately echoes across the years into the present.  Nothing on earth is going to come between them -- not even something as unimaginable as the sinking of Titanic.

Ship of Dreams: The Making of "Titanic"
"It's been 85 years...and I can still smell the fresh paint.  The china had never been used.  The sheets had never been slept in. Titanic was called the Ship of Dreams. And it was.  It really was..."

In every age, a seminal and dramatic moment will arrive that is a catalyst for great change, sending a powerful ripple of emotion throughout the world. At the start of the 20^th century, the allure of a wondrous seaworthy creation called Titanic brought together a wide spectrum of humanity, all of whom had their own reasons to be a part of her historic maiden voyage. From captains of industry to hopeful emigrants looking to make their fortunes in a new world, Titanic was a towering symbol of man's progress toward a modern age. 
Declared "unsinkable," her precious cargo of more than 2,200 men, women and children began their journey from Southampton, England to New York City with a sense of anticipation, awe and optimism.  Yet this "ship of dreams" ultimately carried over 1,500 people to their death in the ice-cold waters of the North Atlantic in the early hours of April 15, 1912.
In the years following, a powerful mythology would grow around Titanic.  Tales of  bravery and cowardice would be spun through countless historic accounts, poems, music, films and novels. Varying theories on the accident itself were debated and continue to divide many scholars. After decades of searching, the wreck of Titanic was found by an expedition team led by Dr. Robert Ballard in 1985 lying in two massive pieces 12,378 feet under the ocean surface.  The discovery answered many questions about the great ship's demise, at the same time feeding the controversy and fascination that has for decades surrounded this tragic event. 
Drawing inspiration from this hulking specter below the sea, James Cameron envisioned a love story intertwined with the fascinating details about the ship and her maiden -- and only -- voyage to further humanize its legendary symbolism.  Utilizing advanced filmmaking technology, audiences will also set sail on Titanic.  However, despite its state-of-the-art pedigree, the film is - and remains - a powerfully human tale.  It is here that the heart of "Titanic" beats.
"The tragedy of Titanic has assumed an almost mythic quality in our collective imagination," Cameron says.  "But the passage of time has robbed it of its human face and vitality.  I hope that Rose and Jack's relationship will be a kind of emotional lightning rod, if you will, allowing viewers to invest their minds and their hearts to make history come alive again."
Traveling on a ship physically designed to prevent them from ever meeting, third-class passenger Jack Dawson and first-class passenger, Rose DeWitt Bukater, have taken the ultimate risk -- to defy the oppressive social conventions of their time and fall in love.
"Their connection on an emotional level is what transforms Rose from this sort of Edwardian first-class geisha who is dying on the inside into this spirited young woman on the cusp of a new life," Cameron says about the young lovers.  "Jack possesses this natural energy and purity of spirit which makes that transformation possible."
While the epic journey chronicled by "Titanic" begins in the present, the story flashes back to the past, allowing a new generation to witness this series of powerful events with the added benefit of an historic perspective.  In the process, Cameron explores the social and cultural layers that were exposed as a result of the accident.
"There's a startling fact that emerges from an analysis of who lived and died on Titanic," Cameron says.  "If you were a male in steerage class, you stood about a one in 10 chance of surviving.  If you were a first-class male, you stood about a 50/50 chance of surviving.  If you were a first-class female, you stood virtually a 100% chance, and if you were a third-class female, you're chances were about 25%.  In short survival was largely a function of gender and class.  Titanic represented the first time class was translated into body count, and published for all the world to see.
In further examining the historic significance and societal impact of Titanic, the film offers a respectful homage to the historical passengers on the famed ship. Yet, the emotional anchor remains with the relationship between Jack and Rose.
"We wanted to tell a fictional story within absolutely rigorous, historically accurate terms," Cameron says.  "If something is known to have taken place, we do not violate it.  Likewise, there's nothing that we show that could not have happened.  Our fictitious characters are woven through the pylons of history in such a way that they could have been there.  All the accuracy and all the special visual effects are intended for one purpose:  to put the viewer on Titanic. It's a very you-are-there kind of experience."


History of Titanic
Through the combined efforts of Cameron's filmmaking team and consultants Don Lynch and Ken Marschall, Titanic was willed into reality, captivating us for a second time this century.  As for its first incarnation in 1912,  the ship was constructed in Belfast during a pressured two-year period, taking yet a third year to outfit. Motivated by White Star Line's competitive campaign and thanks to the new achievements in communication, Titanic was launched with an unprecedented wave of worldwide publicity.
Titanic left Southampton dock midday on Wednesday, April 10, 1912, stopping at Cherbourg, France, where the "unsinkable" Molly Brown and John Jacob Astor, the wealthiest of Titanic's prestigious passengers, boarded and, finally, made her last stop at Queenstown on the south coast of Ireland.  From Queenstown, with some 2,223 people aboard, she steamed at top speed for New York City. 
Yet, despite repeated warnings of ice along its route, the ship fatally struck an iceberg at 11:40pm on April 14, less than five days into its maiden voyage. By 2:30am on April 15^th, she lay torn in half at the bottom of the North Atlantic. 
"Titanic didn't just 'sink,'" explains executive producer Rae Sanchini, commenting on the ship's final hours.  "She literally ripped in two at the surface, with over 250 feet of stern lifting out of water and, at one point, stood nearly vertical to the ocean's surface.  Her dramatic death throes lived up to her pretentious name.  The maiden voyage of the 'ship of dreams' ended in a nightmare truly beyond comprehension."
"In addition to being the greatest disaster story ever told, the brief life and stunning death of Titanic is a landmark historic event.  In a sense, it signaled the end of the age of innocence, shattered confidence in progress and technology, and challenged passive acceptance of class as a definition of birthright.  Survival on Titanic," Sanchini points out, "was a direct function of class and gender."
A fateful combination of events transpired during Titanic's brief journey, each placing the floating city on a collision course with infamy.  Erroneous decisions in navigation, communication gaps, the absence of emergency procedures, the lack of adequate lifeboats, the ingrained privilege of upper-class, the fierce cold, the moonless dark, the sheer physics of what happened to the Titanic, disbelief and denial, all contributed to the deaths of 1,500 men, women and children in a lethally cold sea.  Even if they were able to have survived the sinking, they soon succumbed to hypothermia in water four degrees below freezing.
The final hours of Titanic continue to be analyzed today, with experts, scientists and laymen tirelessly perusing the well-known and conflicting information about the event.  Ironically, the social consequences of this event seem to remain in the distance.
Cameron observes, "Titanic was the first big wake-up call of the twentieth century.  Technology had been delivering a steady diet of miracles for the better part of two decades -- the automobile, sound recording, radio communication, the airplane, motion pictures.  Everything was just exploding with possibilities;  it was all going to be great and wonderful in the never-ending upward spiral of progress.  And then, boom -- 15 hundred people die in what had been advertised as the best, safest, most luxurious ship ever built.  Our so-called mastery over nature was completely refuted and forever destroyed."

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Director's Note
April 10, 1912.  Technology had been delivering a steady stream of miracles for the better part of two decades and people were beginning to take this never-ending spiral of progress for granted.  What better demonstration of humanity's mastery over nature than the launch of Titanic, the largest and most luxurious moving object ever built by the hand of man?  But four-and-a-half days later, the world had changed.  The maiden voyage of the "ship of dreams" ended in a nightmare beyond comprehension and mankind's faith in its  own indomitable power was forever destroyed by uniquely human shortcomings: arrogance, complacency and greed.
My goal in making this film was to show not only the dramatic death of this infamous ship, but her brief and glorious life as well.  To capture the beauty, exuberance, optimism and hope of Titanic, her passengers and crew and, in the process of baring the dark side of humanity underlying this tragedy, celebrate the limitless potential of the human spirit.  For Titanic is not just a cautionary tale - a myth, a parable, a metaphor for the ills of mankind.  It is also a story of faith, courage, sacrifice and, above all else, love.

Writer/director James Cameron, 1997

Facts About the R.M.S. Titanic:
R.M.S. stands for Royal Mail Steamer.
Titanic was the second of three superliners of similar size that were constructed by the White Star Line to compete for the Atlantic passenger trade.
The Titanic measured 882 feet in length, longer than the tallest skyscraper in New York at the time.
The rudder alone, weighing in excess of 101 tons, was heavier than Christopher Columbus's entire ship, the Santa Maria.
There were approximately 100,000 pounds of meat on board Titanic.
There were enough lifeboats to accommodate only half of Titanic's passengers.
On her maiden voyage, Titanic carried a total of 2,223 people.
The top speed of Titanic was 23 knots.
Titanic's top first-class ticket price was $3,100 or the equivalent of approximately $124,000 today, while the cost of a third-class ticket was $32 in 1912 or approximately $1,300 today.
Titanic cost approximately $7.5 million in 1912.
Shortly after she sailed on April 10, 1912, Titanic nearly collided with the liner New York while departing the docks, sparking concern among the passengers of the safety and maneuverability of this new breed of colossal ocean liners and perhaps portending her ill-fated end.
The first-class lounge was designed after the palace at Versailles.
Titanic actually received numerous messages from other ships regarding icebergs in the vicinity.
Titanic had 16 watertight compartments to reduce its risk of sinking.  The iceberg ruptured 5 of the 16, enough to pull the liner into the freezing waters.
Women and children in first-class and second-class were given priority in loading the lifeboats.
The first lifeboat to be lowered had a capacity of 65 yet carried only 28.
As Titanic sank, the band played on deck in an effort to calm passengers awaiting rescue.
Crewmen were blocking the exits from the third-class area to prevent men from gaining access to the deck.
Of the lifeboats that were lowered before Titanic sank, only one returned to pick up more passengers even though most of the lifeboats were filled well below capacity.
Titanic broke in two shortly before completely sinking into the Atlantic.
Even as the boat was sinking, many passengers still refused to believe that the superliner would actually go under.
After Titanic hit the iceberg, people were out on the decks playing with chunks of ice.
Initially most of the first-class passengers did not want to go outside in the cold and felt inconvenienced by the evacuation.
A mysterious ship was reportedly spotted not far from Titanic which never responded to her distress signals and steamed off into the night as the superliner was sinking into the icy Atlantic.
The ocean liner Carpathia, responding to Titanic's distress calls, arrived nearly two hours after Titanic had sunk.
Sixty percent, or 199, of the first-class passengers were saved while only 25%, or 174, of the third-class passengers survived.  Only 32% of the total passengers and crew on Titanic survived.