days 82-85
March 26-29
Monday
Uneventful.
Tuesday
The movie that changed everything.
Titanic set the standard for all other films. When James Cameron pitched the idea to 20th Century Fox, he brought a photo of the Titanic, put it on the desk in front of him and said, “Romeo and Juliet. On this ship.” The rest is history. Highest grossing film of all time until Avatar came along. And, in many’s eyes, the most respected. Nobody ever points out flaws in Titanic…it’s politically incorrect. If they even do exist, we have successfully brainwashed ourselves to not notice them. Kate Winslet & Leonardo DiCaprio’s careers were both jumpstarted by this film. Why? Because it’s a believable love story. It’s invigorating. It’s sexy. Everyone wants what Rose & Jack have.
Also, it’s the first boobies I ever saw. It’s the first boobies most of my friends have seen. Kate Winslet is what we all want in a woman, and I was lucky enough to be in her presence tonight.
I was able to get off work an hour early to head over to the Titanic 3D world premiere at the Royal Albert Hall. I had no idea if I would be able to get in the spectator section of the red carpet, but I had to try. I kept thinking, “If I’m able to just see Kate Winslet. Once. I will never be able to watch Titanic the same way again.” My hopes were high. I was determined. And I got in. There was a side entrance into one of the spectator sections open so I walked in and got in the crowd. Done. I did it! The setup was stunning – long red carpet going from Knightsbridge Road up the stairs to the Hall. Surrounding the entrance was a gigantic poster for the film that I couldn’t help but look back and stare at throughout the night. The first picture here is the only one I took:
After all the hype was over, I decided to stick around and try to sweet talk one of the crew members into letting me into the premiere. After being let into the This Means War premiere back in January, I figured they had extra tickets to this since it was in the huge Royal Albert Hall. I’m not a very good sweet talker, but I am polite. I was turned down by 3 or 4 people and then they started clearing out the spectator section. I waited just a bit longer, now the last one there, and I notice one of the same crew members walking back toward me. She has a ticket for me! Into the Hall I go…
Yes, unfortunately, I was alone. Only one other GLS person was able to get off work early, but she arrived 20 minutes too late and couldn’t get into the spectator section. They gave away quite a few last minute tickets though and other fans starting piling in around me. We were seated in the very back of the Hall, two levels up in individual boxes. When we got in, James Horner, the Oscar-winning composer of the Titanic soundtrack, was conducting an orchestra playing a couple of the movie’s themes. Then the CEO of 20th Century Fox spoke, introduced the main cast and crew onto the stage, James Cameron said a few words, and the movie began.
This will definitely go down as one of my favorite London memories. It was the perfect setting for the perfect film and I was smiling like a little boy with cotton candy the whole time.
From left: 20th Century Fox bigwig, 20th Century Fox bigwig, James Cameron (writer/director), Jon Landau (producer), Kate Winslet (Rose), Bill Paxton (Brock Lovett), Billy Zane (Cal Hockley), Frances Fisher (Rose's mother)
Wednesday
Uneventful.
Thursday
Uneventful.
Minding the Gap 