CBS and Big Ticket claim an agent was paid $17 million ‘for doing nothing’

SUNDAY, APRIL 17, 2016 36

Models wait at the paddock during qualifying for the Formula One Chinese Grand Prix in Shanghai yesterday. — AFP anniversary: How the tragedy hit Hollywood and Broadway pril 15 marks the anniversary of the sinking of the contributed to the emotional power of the film. and restaurants in the past week; the audiences who opted line that the Titanic was being towed into Halifax.” During Titanic, which ended its maiden voyage disastrously Like most of the other film and TV depictions, to attend the theater were glum, while various musical and the show, one of the men in her theater party stepped out Ain 1912. There have been many depictions of the Cameron’s film concentrated on the events from the comedy shows “had an air of funeral services.” for a drink and then “With almost unpardonable stupidity, sinking, including the 1953 Fox film “Titanic” and the 1958 onboard perspective. Few people write about the effect on The ship hit an iceberg at 11:40 p.m. on April 14; three brought the young woman information about the proba- “A Night to Remember.” For many, the definitive version the rest of the population. And Variety Archives show that hours later, it split in half and sank; of the 2,224 passengers, ble fate of her brother. ... She promptly dropped into a was James Cameron’s 1997 “Titanic,” the 11-time Oscar win- it had a profound effect on people, similar to such events 1,500 were killed. News traveled more slowly in those days, dead faint, almost precipitating a panic in the music hall.” ner with Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet. as 9/11 or the Paris terrorist attacks last November. After and on the evening of April 15, people in New York pro- At the Cohan Theatre that evening, some audience Among the many dramatizations was a 1943 German the sinking, the sent out a report saying the ceeded as usual. members stepped outside during intermission of “The Wall propaganda film (sometimes referred to as “Nazi Titanic”), ship had survived the iceberg and that everyone was fine. Street Girl” and saw news bulletins posted outside the which combined fictional characters with the real-life When the public learned the truth, they were shaken and Related Film Review: Titanic (1997) Times building. They returned and spread the word to the events. That set the pattern for most subsequent depic- depressed. Variety reported that the unnamed sister of Benjamin rest of the audience, “with an almost dead silence fastening tions, including the 1953 edition (directed by Jean On April 20, 1912, a Variety story was headlined Guggenheim went to the Winter Garden that evening: “She itself upon the remainder of the performance.” Negulesco, and starring Clifton Webb and Barbara “Paralyzing Titanic Terror Casts Pall Over Theatres.” The arti- had been assured in the afternoon that everything was all Otherwise, humans did the same things that they Stanwyck). When the British 1958 “Night to Remember” cle said that attendance had dropped steeply at theaters right, following the false report sent out by the White Star always do in the wake of a calamity: Some panicked, some opened, it was an eye-opener, since the filmmakers tried to help and some tried to make a fast buck. Variety emphasized realism, aiming for a documentary feel and reported that within the first two weeks after the sinking, basing much of the action on facts they learned from actu- nearly 50 American vaudeville acts cancelled their engage- al survivors. ments in Britain, declining to cross the Atlantic. Tourists That film, directed by Roy Ward Baker and starring were also spooked: “Cancellations commenced to flood the as Second Officer Charles Lightoller, still steamship agencies. It is expected that ocean travel will be remains the favorite of many Titaniacs. While its realism very light this season.” was impressive, the film missed out on one detail: The boat Meanwhile, plucky people worked to make things bet- was shown sinking in one piece. There had been conflict- ter. The Women’s Titanic Memorial Society raised $10,000 ing reports from traumatized eyewitnesses, so generally for the survivors; in Boston, The Actors’ Fund Benefit prom- filmmakers stuck with the theory that the Titanic ended ised that 25% of proceeds from all shows on May 4 would intact. However, when the remains of the ship were discov- be given to the Titanic Fund, which resulted in across-the- ered in 1985, divers found that the ship had indeed split in board sellout business. half, a detail that was crucial to Cameron’s version. And of course scam artists tried to make money. In When his film was in production in Mexico, the media Philadelphia, the Police Department warned all theater reported breathlessly on every new detail of its budget managers they would be breaking the law if they showed increases and its delays in completion. Variety had a reels of fake footage pretending to depict the sinking of “Titanic Watch” logo on its stories, a clear indication that the Titanic, the rescue of survivors “and other scenes these reports were going to be an ongoing feature for attending the recent calamity.” Law enforcement in other many months. Finally the film opened on Dec. 19, 1997, cities similarly tried to squash this deception. and while critical reaction was mixed, every reviewer made And while the public went into mourning in April, they mention of the budget, which was estimated at a record- recovered quickly. On May 25, A British producer breaking $200 million. announced that a staging of the Titanic disaster, “with all Nobody predicted that the film would break records in realistic details,” would debut in a Gloucester vaudeville every other area. It was the first film to pass $1 billion at show. And in Chicago, a spectacle called “The Sinking of the box office. It tied the Oscar record with 14 nominations the Titanic” opened at White City Park, replacing a re - and 11 wins. The soundtrack and theme song (“My Heart enactment of the Battle of Manila. — Reuters Will Go On”) were mega-hits. It was the first DVD to sell 1 million copies. Though there is no data to prove it, the film probably increased the sale of Kleenex as well. People responded to the central love story, but the re- creation of the Titanic-and the breakthrough visual effects- The real Titanic beginning its failed journey in April 15, 1912.