The Only Shot James Cameron Changed in “Titanic” for the Re-release

Posted on April 3, 2012 at 12:59 pm

Thanks to my pal Brandon Fibbs for sharing the story.  James Cameron decided not to pull a “Han shot first” George Lucas move and make any tweaks to “Titanic” for the 3D re-release.  Except for one change.

There is one shot that I fixed. It’s because Neil deGrasse Tyson, who is one of the U.S.’ leading astronomers, sent me quite a snarky email saying that, at that time of year, in that position in the Atlantic in 1912, when Rose is lying on the piece of driftwood and staring up at the stars, that is not the star field she would have seen, and with my reputation as a perfectionist, I should have known that and I should have put the right star field in. So I said, ‘All right, you son of a b**ch, send me the right stars for the exact time, 4.20am on April 15, 1912, and I’ll put it in the movie.’ So that’s the one shot that has been changed.

 

 

Related Tags:

 

Behind the Scenes

Happy Birthday, Doris Day!

Posted on April 3, 2012 at 11:29 am

Happy, happy birthday to Doris Day.  Born April 3, 1924 as Doris Mary Ann Kappelhoff in Cincinnati, Ohio, she planned to be a ballet dancer until an injury to her leg made her switch to singing.  She began to appear in films as a wise-cracking singer and in the 1960’s made a series of enormously popular comedies as the girl you wished lived next door, three of them with her close friend Rock Hudson.

No one got mad better than Doris Day.

She is often associated with pre-feminist gender stereotypes and films like “The Thrill of it All” have their retro moments, but as critic and film historian Molly Haskell points out, Day most often played highly competent working women.  Here she is a union leader in “The Pajama Game.”

All best birthday wishes to one of Hollywood’s most appealing and enduring stars.

Related Tags:

 

Actors

Two-Night Titanic Event from National Geographic

Posted on April 3, 2012 at 8:00 am

National Geographic is observing the 100th anniversary of the sinking of the Titanic with a two-part event that includes discussions with “Titanic” director and new deep-diving record-breaker James Cameron and diver Robert Ballard, who was the first to locate the sunken ship in 1997.  On Sunday night, Cameron, who has made more than 30 dives to explore the Titanic, brings together a team of engineers, naval architects, artists and historians to solve the lingering mysteries of why and how an “unsinkable” ship sank. With their combined expertise, they’ll examine the feature film and determine what technology has revealed since its release. An investigation of this magnitude has never been attempted before, and some of the revelations may alter the fundamental interpretation of what exactly happened to the Titanic on April 14, 1912.  The next night, Ballard revisits the iconic ship in an entirely different way—from the perspective of those who set sail on it some 100 years ago. Ballard travels to the shipyards of Northern Ireland to retrace the path of the doomed ship from its’ very incarnation. Throughout his journey, Ballard is driven by one personal question—will the Titanic survive another 100 years? As evidence mounts that the ship is under siege by natural forces, careless visitors and even rogue salvage operators, the man who found it teams with the families of victims and survivors to protect the legacy of the “unsinkable” ship.

In addition, the magazine and the kids’ edition have special Titanic cover stories and there are special interactive resources for computers and iPads online that allow you to take a virtual cruise on the Titanic and visit the people who built the great ship.   And you can watch a number of documentaries about the Titanic online, including Rebuilding Titanic, with contemporary engineers re-creating iconic sections of the Titanic using the materials and methods of 1912.

Related Tags:

 

Television

April’s TV Highlights

Posted on April 3, 2012 at 3:00 am

There’s good news for television viewers this month as there are fresh episodes of favorite series, big-time guest stars, and premieres of high-profile new shows.  I’m especially looking forward to:

Scandal This show, inspired by a real-life (and very low-profile) White House aide turned “crisis management” consultant, stars the brilliant and beautiful Kerry Washington.  You know her from supporting roles in films like Ray and “Fantastic Four,” but a better opportunity to see what she can do is in the outstanding independent film, “Lift.”

Magic City The look of this series about cut-throat 1959 Miami mob battles is stunning and it stars Jeffrey Dean Morgan (“Watchmen,” Denny on “Grey’s Anatomy”) and Danny Houston. It looks like “Mad Men” crossed with “The Godfather.

Revenge Emily Thorne and those rich meanies return April 18, which gives you just enough time to catch up with the deliciously twisty plot so far.

Saturday Night Live “Modern Family’s” Sofia Vergara hosts on April 7.

Veep The hilarious Julia Louis-Dreyfus (“Seinfeld,” “The New Adventures of Old Christine”) plays the Vice President of the United States in a new HBO series from the people behind the sharp and wildly funny political satire, “In the Loop.”

The Big Bang Theory Fanboy heaven.  Last week Leonard Nimoy provided the voice for an action figure from “Star Trek.”  Next week, the man even Sheldon Cooper must admit is the greatest living physicist, Stephen Hawking, will make a guest appearance.

 

P.S. Thanks to jestrfyl for correcting my mistake about sweeps months!

Related Tags:

 

Television
THE MOVIE MOM® is a registered trademark of Nell Minow. Use of the mark without express consent from Nell Minow constitutes trademark infringement and unfair competition in violation of federal and state laws. All material © Nell Minow 1995-2024, all rights reserved, and no use or republication is permitted without explicit permission. This site hosts Nell Minow’s Movie Mom® archive, with material that originally appeared on Yahoo! Movies, Beliefnet, and other sources. Much of her new material can be found at Rogerebert.com, Huffington Post, and WheretoWatch. Her books include The Movie Mom’s Guide to Family Movies and 101 Must-See Movie Moments, and she can be heard each week on radio stations across the country.

Website Designed by Max LaZebnik