Titanic AnecdotesWritten by Stephen Schochet
Studio executives in High Concept Hollywood have very short attention spans. When pitching a film idea, many believe if you can't do it in one sentence it is an unmarketable product. For example Planet Of Apes (1968) starring Charlton Heston was pitched by producer Arthur Jacobs as "Moses Talks To Monkeys". Passenger 57( 1992) with Wesley Snipes was known as "Diehard On a Plane." Director James Cameron, despite a strong track record with films like Aliens (1986) and True Lies (1994) knew he would have a tough selling job after he went deep sea diving with Dr. Robert Ballard to glimpse remains of RMS Titanic. He became so emotionally involved by experience that sinking of famous luxury liner in 1912 had to be subject of his next picture. His pitch to nervous executives at Twentieth Century Fox was," Romeo and Juliet on a doomed ship." There was a tense pause and Cameron said," Also fellas it's a period piece, it's going to cost $150,000,000 and there's not going to be a sequel." Fox, a studio which had known great success with both The Love Boat (1977-1986) TV show and The Poseidon Adventure (1972) was dubious about idea's commercial prospects. But wanting a long term relationship with Cameron they gave him a green light. Previous movie versions of Titanic had focused on historical aspects of ship hitting iceberg, so Cameron decided to play up fictional love story. After Gywneth Paltrow turned down female lead, Kate Winslet campaigned for it heavily by sending Cameron daily notes from England stating, "I'm your Rose." Her persistence led Cameron to invite her to Hollywood for auditions. One of her screen test partners Leonardo DiCaprio, impressed her so much she whispered to Cameron," He's great. Even if you don't pick me, pick him." Cameron picked them both, but Leonardo was harder to convince. Playing a romantic lead in a blockbuster just didn't seem cool. Cameron told him," I know what you want. You want to play him with a deformity or a limp. Well, it's lot harder playing a nice guy like Jimmy Stewart then one of those freaky, weirdo characters." Freaks and weird character portrayals often take home Oscars, but DiCaprio agreed to play part. For a major Hollywood production star salaries were relatively low, DiCaprio made most at $2,500,000. The biggest expense of film was building ship, it required construction of a entirely new studio in Rosarito Beach. Cameron's attention to historical detail was evident down to carpets, grand staircase, Picasso paintings and 1911 touring car that Jack and Rose made love in. But other aspects of film were less accurate. There was no evidence that on real life Titanic people in third class were blocked from reaching upper decks and lifeboats, emphasis was on rescuing women and children, richest man on board ship actually died. In film, First Officer William Murdoch was portrayed as a coward who shot passengers, in real life he was a hero which caused James Cameron to apologize to his surviving relatives. And Leonardo's character Jack was based on an unattractive coal miner, who never left bottom decks, let alone met someone like Rose.
| | Market Your Book on Manhattan's Museum MileWritten by Francine Silverman
We tend to think of books in museum shops as only art books and monographs. A visit to Manhattan’s Miracle Mile on Fifth Avenue between 82nd and 105th Streets proves otherwise. www.ny.com/museums/mile.html.The charming museum shop at el Museo del Barrio, 1230 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10029 at 104th Street carries fiction and non-fiction by and about Latinos. The adult books are in English or Spanish and many of children’s books are bi-lingual. Approximately 30% of merchandise is books under headings such as Latino Interest, Puerto Rico, Women’s Studies, Spirituality, Cookbooks, and Music. Museum shop manager Ilana Stollman accepts books from all publishers. She has little experience with self-published books but is not averse to stocking them. Send her review copy or book catalogue. 212-831-7272, x130. www.elmuseo.org. The Museum of City of New York, 1220 Fifth Ave, New York, NY 10029 (212-534-1672) is between 103rd and 104th Streets, three blocks north of Mt. Sinai Hospital. The museum shop is about 98% books, covering five boroughs, although children’s books include more general topics. A lot of books are oversized and there are no guidebooks. www.mcny.org. The Cooper Shop at Jewish Museum, 1 East 92nd Street, (212-423-3211) has a host of books on Judaism. You must send your books to Israel Jaronoski, book buyer, for him to make a decision. I hope you have better luck reaching him than I did (212-423-3312). www.thejewishmuseum.org. The Smithsonian Cooper-Hewitt, National Design Museum, 2 East 91 Street, and National Academy of Design, 1083 Fifth Avenue, (212-369-4880) are often confused in people’s minds because of similarity of names. But, according to John M. Ravet, manager/book buyer at National Academy of Design, two are “radically different.” “I answer this question several times a day,” he says. The Cooper-Hewitt is applied design, he explains, while National Academy, which was founded in 1825, follows a “traditional definition” – drawings, paintings, sculpture, etchings, architecture. The Academy also focuses on its 2100-member artists and architects - past and present. Small press, self-publishers and overseas press are welcome to submit books. “We tend to focus on books that are not found elsewhere. That’s why we have small publishers.” John adds that while monographs are plentiful, biographies of members are especially needed. You’ll find a list of them at www.nationalacademy.org.
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