Cotton Candy

Special thanks to Internet Movie Database, Discover Kate, DVD Exclusive, IGN and DVD Town.

Welcome to Fan Forum's official appreciation thread for !

******************************************************************************************

The Awards
Titanic received 11 Academy Awards (and 14 nominations) in 1998. Here's your chance to browse through a list of the awards won.

Best Art Direction-Set Decoration
Peter Lamont (art director)
Michael Ford (set decorator)

Best Cinematography
Russell Carpenter

Best Costume Design
Deborah Lynn Scott

Best Director
James Cameron

Best Effects, Sound Effects Editing
Tom Bellfort
Christopher Boyes

Best Effects, Visual Effects
Robert Legato
Mark A. Lasoff
Thomas L. Fisher
Michael Kanfer

Best Film Editing
Conrad Buff IV
James Cameron
Richard A. Harris

Best Music, Original Dramatic Score
James Horner

Best Music, Original Song
James Horner (music)
Will Jennings (lyrics)
For the song "My Heart Will Go On," performed by Celine Dion

Best Sound
Gary Rydstrom
Tom Johnson
Gary Summers
Mark Ulano

Best Picture
James Cameron
Jon Landau

******************************************************************************************

The DVD
The Titanic special edition DVD is slated for release on October 18. Here's a truckload of information concerning this exciting event.



NEW TITANIC SETS TO SAIL OCTOBER
March 15, 2005
Two versions to be released

By Eliza Gallo

LOS ANGELES–Director James Cameron is going back to Titanic again, but this time he’s returning to his blockbuster hit.

The 1997 Titanic movie is being readied for a long-awaited two-disc special edition and a four-disc collector’s edition to be released in October by Paramount Home Entertainment (domestic) and 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment (international). The film’s plain vanilla version, released in 1999, was the first DVD to ship more than a million units.

The time gap between the standard and special editions is remarkable, Cameron said at an announce event at the Regent Beverly Wilshire Hotel here. He attributed it to continued successful sales of the original DVD as well as creative factors.

“The question was, at what point did we have something else to say?” Cameron said.

Roughly two years ago, he and a team that included fellow Titanic producer Jon Landau delved into the vaults and began planning the new releases.

The special editions will offer “a more illuminated Titanic world,” Cameron promised.

Deleted scenes will include romantic moments as well as historical and action sequences. Longtime Cameron technical collaborator Van Ling is authoring the DVD sets, both of which will have a Dolby 6.1 mix and a new transfer.

Ed Marsh, who was on set during the movie’s production shooting footage for electronic press kits and a faux period newsreel sequence featuring Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet, is creating a documentary for the four-disc edition.

“We’ll get a Rashomon type of perspective of what was going on,” Landau said of the documentary. Another extra will be time-lapse photography of the ship being built, originally shot by Marsh.

The two-disc set will have commentary and some features, while the four-disc collector’s edition will carry the discs in the two-disc set plus two more with a full complement of extras.

“I feel very good about the [original] cut of the film,” and thus there won’t be an alternate director’s cut, Cameron said. Instead, 58 minutes of unused footage will be presented in a branching format that lets viewers wander off from the main film.

While Cameron is looking forward to a high-definition DVD version of Titanic coming out in the future, no such plans are part of the current project, he said.

Hopes for the $600.8 million box office film on this new DVD round are running high.

“It’s going to be massive,” said Fox Filmed Entertainment chair Jim Gianopulos.

James Cameron’s Titanic SE Press Conference

Well… I’ve just gotten back from Paramount and 20th Century Fox’s special press event this afternoon in Beverly Hills. Director James Cameron and producer Jon Landau were on hand (as were Paramount CEO Rob Friedman and Fox chairman Jim Gianopulos) to announce the DVD release of the long awaited Titanic: Special Collector’s Edition. As we first reported here at The Bits in February, there will be two versions… a 2-disc release and a 4-disc release, both of which will street on the same day in October. The exact street date and SRP are both still TBA (Paramount will release the discs in the U.S. and Fox will release them internationally on the same day). Just so you all can relax, the 2-disc version will basically be identical to the first two discs of the 4-disc release, so there’s no need to buy both. If you buy the 4-disc release, you’ll get ALL the extras and supplemental content available. Longtime readers of The Bits will be pleased to know that Van Ling, a regular collaborator with Cameron on his past DVD releases, has been tasked with supervising the production of this new edition.

Cameron and Landau revealed some details about the DVDs during the press conference, and I was able to get additional information during the Q&A session that followed their presentation. Both versions will feature the original theatrical cut of the film, which Cameron considers to be his ‘director’s cut’. He’s just supervised and approved a new high-definition transfer of the film, so you can expect it to be presented (at long last) in anamorphic widescreen on the DVDs. Both DVDs will feature Dolby Digital 5.1 EX audio (DTS MAY be included as well, but this has yet to be decided - it’s an issue of how much content needs to be included on the discs, and how much room will be available once all the extras are finalized). As with the recent 4-disc Lord of the Rings DVDs, the film itself will be split over the first two discs to allow for the highest possible video and audio quality. I was also able to learn that the film discs will likely include multiple audio commentary tracks - certainly one with Cameron, but also separate tracks with various crew members and possible a cast commentary as well.

In terms of bonus features, the film discs will offer a special ‘branching’ option (similar to what Fox has used on its complete season sets of The X-Files) that allows you to jump out of the film at various points (when an icon appears on screen) to view footage that was deleted from that particular point in the film. Some 58 minutes of deleted scenes will be available in all. Keep in mind, this will NOT be edited back into the film. The deleted scenes will be offered separately on the discs (in addition to their accessibility via the branching feature while viewing the film). The deleted scenes will reportedly have special video lead-ins and optional Cameron commentary that explains why the footage was cut. The deleted material is reportedly fairly substantial and will include a number of nice character moments with Jack and Rose, as well as additional less important (but historically accurate) footage. Cameron is currently making the creative decisions necessary to ‘finish’ this footage in order to bring it up to release quality (including any visual effects that might need to be completed, as well as supervising sound mixes and scoring the material).

Other extras you can expect on the new DVDs include a wealth of rare behind-the-scenes footage from the Lightstorm vaults - 2 full discs worth. This will include time-lapse footage of the massive set and studio construction, new and vintage cast and crew interviews and other never-before-seen material. Nearly 400 hours of behind-the-scenes footage was shot during the production of Titanic in all. Another long-time Cameron collaborator, Ed Marsh (who shot much of this footage originally), is sorting through it all to produce a definitive, feature-length documentary on the making of the film, taking you from the very beginnings of the idea with Cameron pitching the concept to the studio, through all of the stress, angst and criticism generated by the production, to the film’s eventual release and massive worldwide success. Along the way, you’ll hear from literally everyone involved in the production, including all of the major cast and crew. Both Kate Winslet and Leonardo DiCaprio have agreed to participate in the DVD production, for interviews and possibly commentary if schedules permit. By the way, you should already be familiar with Ed Marsh’s work - he’s the man who created the outstanding Under Pressure: Making The Abyss documentary on Fox’s previous The Abyss: Special Edition (both the laserdisc and later DVD).

After the press conference, I had the chance to speak with Cameron directly for a few minutes. Asked about his take on the looming format war between HD-DVD and Blu-ray Disc, Cameron said that he’d seen demonstrations of both formats, and has looked at each critically with an eye toward spotting artifacts and other quality related issues. He’s impressed with both HD-DVD and Blu-ray, and feels that it’s a bit of a wash in terms of which format has the technical edge. Although Cameron is looking forward to a future high-definition release of Titanic (and the new transfer of the film was done in HD), he’s not planning an HD release anytime soon. This new SCE will be standard DVD only. When asked if he has a preference for either HD-DVD or Blu-ray, he wisely noted that he’s letting the industry and the market decide which format will prevail, although he does hope that a single, unified format will be adopted by the industry sooner rather than later.

Interestingly, Cameron also said that there were two main reasons why it took so long for a special edition DVD of Titanic to happen. The first is that the previous movie-only version is still selling quite well (meaning there was no urgent economic pressure to get a more elaborate version done before this). The other is that the process of making the film was such a grueling experience that most involved needed to leave the project behind for a few years in order to feel the desire to revisit it again for a worthy special edition. That said, Cameron and Landau have been planning this new edition for nearly two years, and have put a great deal of thought into what they want to include for the film’s many fans.

On an interesting side note, Cameron also spoke about his passion for 3-D filmmaking. He and fellow director George Lucas are spearheading an effort to get movie theaters around the world to upgrade not only to digital projection, but also to add the capability to exhibit films in 3-D format. In fact, Cameron and Lucas are hosting a demonstration of the 3-D process for theater owners at the ShoWest convention in Las Vegas this week (in addition to CG-animated 3-D films, Lucas’s people have reportedly developed a way to render 3-D versions of existing 2-D films). Cameron says that this is the main reason he’s waited so long to begin production on his next major theatrical film - a live action version of the Japanese anime Battle Angel Alita. Cameron plans to shoot the film digitally in 3-D format. What’s more, he says that Lucas and other filmmakers (like Robert Zemeckis and possibly Peter Jackson too) are also planning to shoot 3-D films in the future. They expect that the availability of good 3-D feature film content will drive interest in the 3-D experience theatrically, and that in turn could fuel demand for bringing the 3-D process into the home as well. Cameron noted that both HD-DVD and Blu-ray Disc (and current DVD as well) could be adapted to deliver 3-D footage, but that the main obstacle to high-quality 3-D at home is the low refresh rate of current TV monitors. Displays offering much higher rates will be needed in the future to show flicker-free 3-D images in your living rooms.

So there you have it. All the available details regarding the forthcoming Titanic: Special Collector’s Edition and some other interesting stuff too, all straight from The Man himself. I have to tell you, I really enjoyed the opportunity to speak with Cameron in person. He’s clearly very thoughtful, intelligent and savvy in terms of the latest developments in film and video technology, and I found him to be very genuine and personable. I look forward to having the chance to speak with him at greater length in the future. I also chatted with Ed Marsh after the event - you can expect to hear more from him here at The Bits in the months ahead.

Just so you know, there’s no cover art available yet for these forthcoming DVDs, and all of the specific disc specs are still being worked out. You can be sure that we’ll get them to you as soon as they’re finalized by the studio. I’ll try to post a few pictures from today’s event in the next day or two for those of you who might be interested. In the meantime, I hope you’ve all enjoyed my report.

Until tomorrow… stay tuned, DVD faithful!

Bill Hunt, Editor
The Digital Bits

A Titanic Announcement

Cameron goes all out for the special edition DVD announcement.

No one can say James Cameron does things in a small way. In making his epic 1997 film Titanic, he built a near-scale replica of the doomed ship that was only 100 feet shorter than the original.

So naturally he’s not going to just issue a press release to announce a special edition DVD for Titanic, oh no. We had a full press conference with a half-dozen camera crews and dozens of journalists from all over the world in a Beverly Hills hotel, not to mention the heads of the home video divisions of 20th Century Fox and Paramount Pictures, the two studios that hold the rights to the film.

With his long-time producer partner John Landau, Cameron announced an October release for the film in both two-disc and four-disc sets. While that may sound similar to the successful Lord of the Rings sets, there will be some differences.

For starters, there will not be a longer cut like the LotR EE sets. “There will be no director’s cut. The director’s cut came out in 1997,” said Cameron. There will be, however, 58 minutes of footage cut from the movie that will be prepared, so it looks as good as the final product, which will be viewable via an on-screen cue, similar to the White Rabbit in The Burly Man Chronicles in Ultimate Matrix Collection. There will be lead-in and lead-out footage book-ending the deleted scene so viewers don’t lose track of where they are in the movie.

Since the DVD is still in the process of being assembled, Cameron didn’t have all the necessary details for videophiles, like the audio formats. He did say a Dolby Digital 6.1 mix is in the works, but couldn’t commit to a DTS track. The same holds for commentaries; he will be doing one, but there was no word on other commentaries.

The two-disc release will be identical in content to the first two discs in the four-disc set. The film is expected to be split over two discs to allow for maximum video and audio quality. The other two discs will contain the extras, the centerpiece being a documentary by Ed Marsh, Cameron’s long-time documentarian, who made Under Pressure for The Abyss laserdisc and DVD.

“He was there on the set, he was gathering footage for the electronic press kit. So there is nobody better suited to tell this story from behind-the-scenes of how things were done,” Cameron said of Marsh. Among the footage is time-lapse photography of the ship being built over 60 days and some footage from a hand-cranked camera similar to the kind used in 1912 where he photographed Winslet and DiCaprio in between takes.

Marsh said that he has 400 hours of footage from the filming itself in 1996, and that’s on top of new footage being shot. He expects both stars Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet will take part in the making of the DVD, and even hopes to have Gloria Stuart, 95 years young and still working as of last year, take part.

Van Ling, who has worked on other Cameron DVDs, is supervising the creation of these DVDs. Cameron has supervised the creation of a new high-definition transfer for the DVD. However, he refused to pick a side in the Blu-ray/HD-DVD fight and would not comment when asked if he had a preference of format. “I have recused myself from this fight totally, because I have connections at every studio that’s involved in the formats,” he said.

– Andy Patrizio

More news about TITANIC Special Editions

Additional details on the upcoming “Titanic” DVD Special Editions, out in October 2005.

By Yunda Eddie Feng

On Tuesday, March 15, I attended a press conference for 1997’s “Titanic”, where director James Cameron presented details about two new special editions of his Oscar-winning movie.

The box-office records that “Titanic” set ($600-million-plus in the U.S., $1.8-billion-plus worldwide) still stand despite the releases of movie franchises like the “Star Wars” prequels, “Harry Potter”, and “The Lord of the Rings”. The 11-Oscar wins and 14 nominations, though shared with other movies, are also records that still stand.

There will be two special editions of “Titanic” coming out in October 2005. A two-disc set will contain the movie itself spread out over the two discs, and this release will have a special branching version featuring about an hour’s worth of deleted footage. A four-disc set duplicates everything from the two-disc set. Therefore, you won’t have to buy both releases to get all of the extras. The four-disc release will have a comprehensive documentary that features interviews with numerous producion personnel and not just key members of the cast.

There are only a few technical details and bonus-features specifications set in stone at this point in time. A new high-definition video master was created, so the new DVDs will have anamorphic widescreen 2.40:1 video. A new Dolby Digital 5.1 EX mix is being created, too. A DTS 6.1 ES track is under consideration, though its inclusion will be determined by disc space.

Expect at least one audio commentary by James Cameron, and other members of the cast and crew will contribute commentaries as their schedules permit. As “Titanic” was a huge undertaking that required the building of a new studio (later used for “Master and Commander”) on the west coast of Mexico, there will be enough extras to occupy days’ worth of viewing.

James Cameron considers the three-hour theatrical cut to be a “director’s cut” that suited his artistic vision. Therefore, the branching version is simply an alternate edit that resembles the rought cut that Cameron compiled before trimming the movie to its present length. Cameron is now working on upgrading the picture and audio quality of the deleted scenes so that they will be seamless when viewed with the movie.

Fox is releasing the DVDs internationally, and Paramount is releasing the DVDs domestically (the United States and Canada). Our guess is that a deluxe gift set may also hit the market.



******************************************************************************************

The Fanlistings
Join the following fanlistings and prove your love of Titanic to the world.

Go On
Never Let Go (Soundtrack fanlisting)
Never Let Go (Jack/Rose fanlisting)
Tumbleweed
She's A Lady
Lives So Changed
Escort
Open Your Heart To Me

******************************************************************************************



Go nuts!

goodbreakingbad

Yay, new thread!

Cotton Candy

Hey Anji!

Jay

i have to admit those covers look gorgeous.

Cotton Candy

They do, don't they?

Johnnie

Cotton Candy

Thanks for changing the title, Johnnie I know I was nitpicking a little, but I wanted the quote to be exact.

jkupc

Yeaaa! The DVD looks great and only 3 months away. Sweet! I hope to get the 4 disc one.
Anji love the icon. HBP!

Cotton Candy

I'm probably being really dense, but what does HBP stand for?

jkupc

Half-Blood Prince. The new Harry Potter book is what Anji's icon is of. I am so excited.

I am going to watch Titanic now. Three hours and 15 minutes of pure goodness.

Cotton Candy

Oh, okay. Thanks for tuning me in

Enjoy!

goodbreakingbad

Aww, thanks, credit goes to LJ, great icon makers over there!

I do love those covers!

Cotton Candy

There certainly are. I'm actually on my way to LJ right now

goodbreakingbad

Such a great place.

~AnastasiaGrey~

Im confused on the covers of the dvd is which one should i get the 4 disc which the special edition or two disc which is the collectors edition. or do i have to get both