News
From Skynet
I only started the news on January 14 but I will attempt to get as much past
relevant news that I can. If you work or have worked with James Cameron or have
found any juicy morsels in which you feel should be here, e-mail me
and I will post everything you send within a day or two. If you want credit for
it let me know and I will gladly oblige. If you want a code name so you don't get
in trouble let me know and I will do that too. I'm pretty good about finding
up to date info but even I can miss a news bit or two. Help is obliged. You
can find very relevant old news about James Cameron's future projects can be found in the link below.
All news on those projects coming in after 1/14/98 will be posted here. The future
projects section news was retrieved at Corona's Coming Attractions which can be found
in the links section below.
(February 10,1998-Late)
Updating Some Little Tidbits
I need to post a few small info pieces sent in by some of my loyal
visitors (Chris and Sherry). First of all, there is a new book out there about
James Cameron called "Dreaming Aloud". It's a Canadian book that is supposed
to be a rare find which chronicles his works from the very start all the way
to Titanic (and beyond). Sherry first broke this news to me but Chris on the
other hand is reading it as you read this and I will convince him to write a
review of it for the Directory. Stay tuned on that one. Chris also broke some
news to me that James Cameron had an uncredited role in rewriting Alien Nation.
I had never heard this before but if it is true then it's no wonder that I
loved it so much. Thanks for that one Chris. Chris also had the priviledge (sp?)
of having a question he posted answered by James Cameron himself on a recent
online interview. Go here
to read the entire transcript of that Q & A. I will post the entire transcript
here in another week or so. I also have some extra news on the Oscar nominations
announced today. First, Titanic tied the record for 14 nominations - Only one
other movie has done that in the history of the Oscars. I'll award a free
video to the first person who can email me and tell me the other movie that
recieved as many with the year it made the record. Second, Gloria Stuart is
the oldest person ever to be nominated for an Oscar. I personally don't think
she will win but I really hope she does. Third, This is Kate Winslet's second
Oscar nomination (she was also nominated for Sense and Sensibility). And finally,
James Cameron recieved the news of the Oscars via Fax on the way back from Russia!!
He was giving a speech to the scientists who helped him when he first began
filming Titanic. They were the ones with the submersibles. Titanic also
opened in Russia around the same time and I've seen footage of him at the
premeire there. For some reason (and I don't know why) he seems alot more
chipper these days. And I'll save the unconfirmed big rumor(hence the word rumor)
for last. Word has it that Harrison Ford is interested in working on the
Planet of the Apes movie that James Cameron is executive producing next. Word
also has it that if Mr. Ford (who I can't stand) signs on then James will
switch to directing the movie. This sounds great but I'd settle for him
executive producing just to keep Arnold on the project. Harrison Ford has
a way of trying to change a movie around to suit his demands and James Cameron
just will not and should not do that. Oh yeah, Sherry reminded me to tell
everyone that this Friday on Fox there is an hour long special on Titanic
which is supposed to have.....EXTRA FOOTAGE!!!!! Everyone set your recorders
and enjoy. Sorry this posting is so long but I don't ever sound off in here
like I should. For those of you who have worthy news (like Chris and Sherry)
you should email it to me (try to sound professional and unbiased) and I will
post it word for word here giving you all the credit. This site is for and "BY"
the fans so you have to chip in too. For now, Later.
(February 10,1998)
Titanic Gets 14 Oscar Nominations
This morning Titanic tied the record for most Oscar nominations
with 14 total. Here is a list of the categories it is nominated in:
Best actress in a leading role - Kate Winslet
Best actress in a supporting role - Gloria Stuart
Best art direction
Best cinematography
Best costume design
Best director
Best film editing
Best makeup
Best original dramatic score
Best original song
Best picture
Best sound
Best sound effects editing
Best visual effects
The only thing that disappoints me is the fact that it did not get a best
actor nod for Leo or the best screenplay written for the screen. Just one
of these would have pushed it over the top. I guess they just won't let
him break all the records (jealous anyone). I will post my predictions for
the ones Titanic will win later on this week as well as a few more relevant
news articles I need to put up. Later.
(February 8,1998)
Titanic Still Strong At Week 8
THIS WEEKEND Once again the great ship Titanic blows past the
rest of the competition, picking up another $23.2M this weekend, bringing its total to over $337M, making it
now the fourth highest grossing film in domestic box office history. Titanic joins Fatal Attraction, Crocodile
Dundee, and Back to the Future, with 8 straight weeks at number 1. With Oscar nominations due out on
Tuesday, February 10th, Titanic should be able to pass Jurassic Park ($357M) for third place all time by
next weekend. Go Jim Go!
******Updates From 02/02/98-02/07/98******
(February 2,1998)
'Titanic' Sails To $300 Million
By Andrew Hindes
HOLLYWOOD (Variety) - And the No. 1 film in the country is -- you guessed it, Titanic.
For the seventh consecutive weekend, it was steady-as-she-goes for writer/director James
Cameron's disaster picture, which grossed a studio-estimated $26 million, up 3% from the previous
weekend.
The Leonardo DiCaprio-Kate Winslet starrer sailed past the $300 million mark Saturday, its 44th
day of release. That demolished the previous record of 68 days (including previews), set by
Universal's "Jurassic Park" in 1993.
"Titanic" now ranks seventh among the top domestic grossers of all time, just behind 1983's "Return
of the Jedi," which has a lifetime take of $309.1 million, including its re-release last March.
And it's not just North Americans who are mad for "Titanic." The picture has topped $300 million
internationally as well, bringing its worldwide total to over $600 million.
"Titanic's" domestic weekend haul was just 9% below its $28.6 million opening on Dec. 19. That
lack of a downward trajectory, unprecedented at these levels, makes predicting the film's final
outcome all but impossible. However, it now seems feasible that "Titanic" could become the first $1
billion worldwide grosser. "Jurassic Park" holds the global record at $913 million.
Reuters/Variety
(February 3,1998)
Unsinkable 'Titanic' Steams Ahead In Music Charts
By Paul Majendie
LONDON (Reuters) - The music from the epic disaster movie "Titanic" has steamed to the top of
the charts around the world and appears set to become the biggest-selling soundtrack of all time.
The international box office success of the most expensive film ever made has been matched by
James Horner's score, now regarded as a leading favorite for an Academy Award nomination.
"The record really is steaming out of the stores," said Chris Black at Sony Music Tuesday. "Every
day it is going platinum somewhere in the world from Singapore to Taiwan to New Zealand to
France."
The soundtrack sold 100,000 copies in just six days in Britain. It has gone straight to the top of the
classic music charts and ranks No. 5 in the British pop music charts.
In the United States, the mostly instrumental "Titanic" score has ranked No. 1 on the pop album
charts for three straight weeks, totaling sales of more than 1.6 million copies for the week ended Jan.
25.
Record executives confidently expect the soundtrack single "My Heart Will Go On," by Canadian
vocalist Celine Dion, will be a global No. 1 hit.
Even before the haunting ballad's U.S. release on Tuesday, the single had shattered the all-time
record for largest radio audience in the United States, Billboard magazine reported.
The film itself, directed by James Cameron and starring Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet, has
topped the American box office for seven weeks in a row and ranks as the seventh-highest grossing
movie of all time.
The movie has grossed more than $300 million in the United States to date, and it reined supreme at
the box office in at least 20 other countries last weekend.
The album, released in November, consists largely of instrumental music by Horner, who has earned
five Oscar nominations for his musical contributions on such films as "Braveheart" and "Apollo 13."
The "Titanic" soundtrack already has won the Golden Globe Award for best original score, while the
Dion single was voted best original song. The Golden Globes are invariably a pointer to Oscar
success.
"It's that haunting theme from beginning to end that lingers so much. People come out the cinema and
say that is a must-have," Black said.
Rock compilations from films such as "Trainspotting" and "William Shakespeare's Romeo & Juliet"
have been chart successes in the past.
"This is very different from those compilation albums. The Celtic sound introduced by Horner flows
all the way through," Black said of the score.
The film tells the story of the "unsinkable ship of dreams" that struck an iceberg on its maiden voyage
and sank in the North Atlantic in April 1912. More than 1,500 people died.
Reuters/Variety
(February 3,1998)
'Titanic' Monstrous At Overseas Box Office
By Don Groves
SYDNEY (Variety) - Another record went overboard last weekend as the rampaging "Titanic"
earned an unprecedented $50 million outside North America for the second consecutive weekend.
James Cameron's epic is set to blast through $300 million Tuesday -- ranking as the 11th
blockbuster to cross that milestone abroad. The juggernaut amassed $50 million from 5,660 screens
in 34 territories -- remarkably, it was No. 1 in 21 -- and the total surged to $291.2 million. The
previous weekend, it earned $50.7 million.
In its second weekend in the U.K., the romantic drama hauled in $8 million for a heady $21.4 million
in 10 days. In Italy, where foreign fare has performed poorly of late, it has grossed $22.6 million in
17 days.
Other dizzying totals include Japan's $45.7 million, France's $39.9 million, Germany's $39.8 million
and Spain's $16.2 million.
Reuters/Variety
(February 4,1998)
'Titanic' Sinks Jan. Box Office Record
By Leonard Klady
HOLLYWOOD (Variety) - January was "Titanic." Led by the disaster epic, the first 31 days of
1998 steamed to a North American box office record of $674.2 million, shattering the prior record
set last year by 30%.
Paramount's blockbuster was definitely the story of the month. Its gross tripled the closest
competition, led its distributor to a more than 30% market share and showed little sign of fatigue
seven weeks into its run.
With Oscar nominations a week away and the prospects for statuettes looking water-tight, "Titanic"
is certain to become the top grosser in initial release and a $400 million domestic box office champ.
It's a unique phenomenon that has the industry delighted and befuddled.
Despite a three-hour-plus running time, the picture propelled January admissions to a staggering
141.6 million tickets. That busted the 1996 record by 24%.
The remaining story for the month was dominated by other late-year releases also vying for awards.
While several sea lengths behind the James Cameron production, "As Good as It Gets" and "Good
Will Hunting" showed real stamina against a string of early 1998 programmers.
With few hot prospects scheduled for spring release, the quarter is likely to stand or fall on a handful
of December openers.
Still, the month of January was clearly anchored with "Titanic."
The viewing public appeared to be making all decisions on the basis of "Titanic" or "what else."
That's proved particularly detrimental for action fare, though the ocean liner's broad demographic
appeal has had a significant effect on all films save for the few that appeal specifically to young
children.
Following Titanic,the month's top performers (in descending order) were: Sony's "As Good as It
Gets," Miramax's "Good Will Hunting," MGM's "Tomorrow Never Dies," New Line's "Wag the
Dog," DreamWorks' "Mouse Hunt," Miramax's "Jackie Brown," Warner Bros.' "Fallen," Miramax's
"Scream 2," DreamWorks' "Amistad" and Sony's "Spice World."
Reuters/Variety
(February 6, 1998)
Fox's Ship Comes In
By Martin Peers
NEW YORK (Variety) - News Corp. chairman Rupert Murdoch estimates the company will earn a
profit of at least $100 million on "Titanic" once all revenue from the picture is accounted for.
In unusually candid comments at an analyst briefing on the company's quarterly earnings Wednesday
night, Murdoch said "it's very risky to forecast," but the picture's worldwide box office gross seems
headed toward $950 million to $1 billion. "Titanic" so far has grossed about $600 million worldwide.
Murdoch said that News Corp.'s 20th Century Fox and its partner in the film, Viacom Inc.'s
Paramount Pictures, would receive about 48-49% of the box office gross from movie theater
owners. Typically, the studios' share of box office grosses declines from a high of about 80% in the
opening weeks to 50% and below the longer a picture runs.
According to analysts who were on the call, Murdoch estimated that gross revenues back to the
studios would be $750 million, including film rentals, video, broadcast and pay-cable revenues. On
that basis, "we are comfortable" assuming a profit of at least $100 million, most of which would be
earned in the next 12 months. News Corp. declined comment Thursday.
Murdoch's estimate of the profit could have a big impact on News Corp.'s bottom line, as it is very
close to the entire profit made by 20th Century Fox in each of the past two fiscal years: $104 million
in fiscal 1997 and $109 million in fiscal 1996.
It is unclear how much money Paramount, which is distributing the picture domestically, will earn.
Paramount put up just $65 million of the picture's negative cost, estimated to be $260 million to
$280 million, while Fox put up the rest.
But Murdoch noted that Fox gets 60% of the revenues after recoupment of all costs, while
Paramount gets 40%. Viacom declined comment.
Murdoch's comments helped boost News Corp.'s stock price Thursday, when it closed up $1.12 to
$25.37.
News Corp.'s exposure to "Titanic" has gone from being a "big concern to one more plus" in the
story the company can now present to investors, Lehman Bros. analyst Larry Petrella said.
"It turned out to be a decent return," said Cowen & Co. analyst Harold Vogel, although he noted
that given the risks involved, the return wasn't that great.
Reuters/Variety
(February 1, 1998)
'Titanic' Surges Past $300 Million At Box Office
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - "Titanic" stayed afloat atop the North American box office charts for
the seventh consecutive weekend, and earned more than the three wide release newcomers
combined, according to studio estimates issued Sunday.
The sinking ship saga earned about $26 million for the Friday-to-Sunday period, which propelled its
45-day total to $308.2 million. The movie now stands as the seventh-highest grossing of all time.
The record is held by "Star Wars," with a lifetime total of about $461 million.
"Titanic" once again claimed the best per-screen average in the top-10, with $9,113 from each of its
2,853 screens. Its total for the weekend was actually a three percent improvement over last
weekend.
Reuters/Variety ^REUTERS@
*John's note* Titanic also broke a new record this weekend by passing the 300
million dollar mark faster than any other movie. Titanic reached that goal in
45 days, totally stomping the record Jurassic Park set at 71 days to reach the same
amount. Go Jim!!!!
(January 28,1998)
James Cameron Might Be Getting Paid
John here. I have personally read two seperate reports that point to the fact
the James Cameron might be getting his percentage profits back from the studios
now that Titanic has passed the 400 million mark worldwide. I will keep you
posted on anything that becomes 100% official. I'm looking forward to him getting
his fair share. We all know he deserves it.
(January 28,1998)
TITANIC PROPS SELL OUT
Catalog entrepreneur John Peterman's offering of props from Titanic, including life jackets, china,
and costumes worn by the stars, has become a near-sell-out hit, USA Today reported today
(Wednesday). Arnie Cohen, president and COO of Peterman's company, told the newspaper, "The
response has been tremendous." Still unsold: four of the $25,000 lifeboats used in the movie.
(January 25,1998)
UPDATE: Box Office Champ 'Titanic' Crushes More
Records
By Dean Goodman
LOS ANGELES, (Reuters) - "Titanic" was the most popular movie in North America for the sixth
consecutive weekend, as ticket sales propelled it past "Jaws" to become the 10th biggest film in
history, according to studio estimates issued Sunday.
"Titanic" earned about $25.1 million for the Friday-to-Sunday period, bringing its cumulative gross
to $274.3 million, said a spokesman at Paramount Pictures, which released the film domestically. In
each of its weekends, the film has shown unprecedented staying power by never dropping below
$25 million. The total for "Jaws"is $260 million.
Additionally, "Titanic" passed the $250 million mark Friday, its 36th day of release, beating the
record of 37 days set by "Jurassic Park".
(January 21,1998)
TITANIC IS BOX-OFFICE KING ON KING DAY
The timing of the Golden Globe Awards -- on the eve of the Martin Luther King holiday --
appeared to benefit the Awards' biggest winner, Titanic, as the movie took in $36 million for the
four-day weekend, smashing previous records for the MLK holiday. (The results brought Titanic's
total haul to date to $243 million; after 5 weeks it is already the 13th highest-grossing film ever in the
U.S..) Miramax's Good Will Hunting was in second place with $13.7 million, followed by Warner's
debuting Fallen with $10.2 million. Sony's As Good as It Gets was fourth with $10 million, while
Paramount's Hard Rain opened with $8 million.
(January 20,1998)
Bond, Boat Buoy Foreign Box Office
By Don Groves
SYDNEY (Variety) - Titanic's huge launch in Italy and a fresh round of whirlwind bows by
"Tomorrow Never Dies" kept foreign cinemas simmering last weekend.
Further stoking the fires, "Scream 2" had a feisty foreign premiere in Australia, "The Peacemaker"
looked fairly sharp in Japan, and "Devil's Advocate" had robust debuts in the U.K. and France.
A mixed response greeted the first international engagements for "Boogie Nights." U.K. audiences
were enticed by the porn industry saga, while folks in Spain were not aroused.
"Titanic" grossed $5 million in three days in Italy, the second-highest entry ever for a U.S. title there
(behind "Independence Day," which went out on more prints and played more sessions).
Results elsewhere for "Titanic" and some other studio releases were not available due to the Monday
holiday in the U.S. "An American Werewolf in Paris" had the misfortune of colliding with "Titanic" in
Italy, resulting in a watery $88,000.
(January 19,1998)
The Golden Globes have been handed out and here is how Titanic did:
Best Motion Picture (Drama): Titanic
Best Director (Motion Picture): James Cameron
Best Original Score: James Horner for Titanic
Best Original Song: James Horner/Will Jennings "My Heart Will Go On" for Titanic
Break out the bubbly!!!!
Three cheers for Titanic and hopes that it will ride this momentum all the way to the Oscars.
(January 18,1998)
UPDATE: Box Office Champ 'Titanic' Refuses To Sink
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - "Titanic" raised $29.2 million at the weekend box office as it entered
its second month at the top of the rankings, according to studio estimates issued Sunday.
Since its Dec. 19 release, the romance-disaster epic has earned about $235.9 million in North
America, said a spokesman for distributor Paramount Pictures.
"Titanic" has earned more than $25 million in each of its five weekends at the top, which has never
been done before. Industry observers said "Titanic" was likely to win next weekend's race, when the
only major new entry will be "Spice World."
"Titanic's" total for the current weekend is actually three percent higher than last weekend's, thanks
in part to the addition of 21 screens, which brings the film's count to 2,767. Its per-screen average
of $10,661 was easily the highest in the top 10.
Paramount Vice-Chairman Rob Friedman said in an interview it was possible "Titanic" would end up
with about $350 million in North America. The film topped $100 million at the foreign box office on
Jan. 15.
(January 14,1998)
'Titanic' leads box office for 4th weekend
"Titanic" retained its lead as the most popular movie in North America for the
fourth consecutive weekend, taking in a staggering $29.2 million, according to
studio estimates released Sunday. The unstoppable romantic epic earned
more than the next three movies combined and was poised to break the $200
million mark on Monday. As of Sunday, it has sold $198.4 million in tickets
since its Dec. 19 release, said a spokesman for Paramount Pictures, which
released the film domestically. No other film in history has grossed more than
$20 million for four weekends in a row.
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