Click on pictures for larger size!
Titanic Premiere - Tokyo Film Festival
CNN: 20th Century Fox plans Titanic debut in Tokyo
October 31, 1997
TOKYO (Reuters) -- Film studio Twentieth Century Fox is planning a "Titanic" world debut for the latest film chronicling the ill-fated maiden voyage of the supposedly unsinkable passenger ship.
The film has achieved a number of firsts even before it sets sail.
It carries the dubious honor of being the most expensive movie ever produced, at a rumored $200 million, and is one of the first Hollywood epics to have its debut in Japan, seldom considered a center of western film culture.
Fox officials say the decision to debut the movie here demonstrates the importance of the Japanese market.
Industry cynics suggest it will help avoid early critical attacks, since Japanese reviewers are usually somewhat discreet in their comments, and therefore keep the film from suffering the same fate as the 1912 liner.
With the conclusion of the story known to everyone, the main cliffhanger was whether the film would be ready for its scheduled release.
Sources close to the studio said the print had to be hand-delivered on Friday due to last-minute editing.
The film has already faced long delays. It was originally due to be released in the summer in the United States but has been put off until December.
With the delays have come ballooning costs.
Earlier this month, senior executives at Fox's parent company News Corp. admitted that the film was over budget.
"It is a movie which was extremely expensive going into, and in which we have reasonably significant budget overruns," News Corp. President Peter Chernin told the annual meeting in Australia.
The world premiere on Saturday, as part of the Tokyo Film Festival, fits the usual bill for a gala opening.
In addition to star Leonardo DiCaprio, director James Cameron, producer Jon Landau and executive producer Rae Sanchini were all due in Tokyo for the event.
Seats for the public at the 3,000-seat theater sold out within an hour and organizers said show business professionals from around the world were madly trying to get tickets to the first showing.
With so much at stake there have been varying rumors about whether the film is any good. The producers are certainly hoping that it avoids the sinking feeling brought on by such infamous box-office flops as "Heaven's Gate" and "Last Action Hero."