Titanic and the Making of James Cameron

by Paula Parisi

Overview

“A lively, true-life adventure saga…The incredible story of how James Cameron willed Titanic into existence.”
—Newark Sunday Star Ledger

“Like the movie, this book’s a winner [and] the final word on the Hollywood come-from-behind story of the decade.”
—Parade

14 Academy Award nominations, 11 Oscars including Best Picture and Best Director, a $1 billion dollar worldwide box office, James Cameron’s Titanic was, and remains, a monumental achievement in film. Titanic and the Making of James Cameron by former Hollywood Reporter journalist Paula Parisi recounts the making of this modern classic motion picture from conception to completion, offering a fascinating, detailed, behind-the-scenes look at its stars, including Kate Winslet and Leonardo DiCaprio, its crew, and its genius director. Republished in time to commemorate the centennial anniversary of the catastrophic sinking of the gargantuan ocean liner, Titanic and the Making of James Cameron is a must-read for Titanic fans and for true movie buffs everywhere.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781557043658
Publisher:	HarperCollins
Publication date:	04/10/2012
Series:	Insider Filmbooks Series
Pages:	240
Sales rank:	862,752
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x 0.60(d)

About the Author

Paula Parisi, a specialist in film technology reporting, covered James Cameron's work for the Hollywood Reporter beginning with The Abyss. Starting during preproduction for Titanic, she conducted more than one hundred hours of interviews with the director, his associates, his friends, and dozens of top Hollywood executives, agents, and producers. She made many visits to the principal movie set in Mexico. Wired magazine featured excerpts from her book as a cover story when it was first published, and it's since been hailed as a "must-have book" for any Titanic or James Cameron fan or film enthusiast.

Editorial Reviews

In the wake of James Cameron's Titanic (14 Academy nominations, 11 Oscars, a billion-dollar worldwide box office), Parisi traces the development of project "Big Boat" from inception to conclusion in a tribute to "the man who did more than any other to revolutionize the look of film as we enter the new millennium." Written in a breezy, reportorial style, the book details the execution of Cameron's vision of Titanic "as a kind of living history." Cameron's notorious perfectionism prompted the building of a 750-foot replica of the Titanic and the building of Cameron's own film studio in Mexico. Called the 100 Day Studio, it was the first built by one of the Hollywood majors since the 1930s. Taking responsibility for his excesses, Cameron (in an unprecedented move) reassigned his profit-sharing back to Twentieth Century-Fox. Surpassing Waterworld's gigantic budget, Titanic became the most expensive movie ever made. Staffers wore T-shirts proclaiming: "You Can't Scare Me I Work for James Cameron." But Mr. Action King pulled it off. At the cost of $1 million per minute, Titanic became the highest-grossing film ever in the U.S., exceeding Star Wars. There is an old-fashioned feel to the story of the making of Titanic, and Parisi's lively portrayal recalls the egomaniacal geniuses of yore, particularly D.W. Griffith, whose daring innovations founded the movies as an art form by 1912. Is Cameron the D.W. Griffith of the 21st century? Time, the greatest Titan of all, will tell. 16-page color photo insert not seen by PW. (June)

Publishers Weekly - Publisher's Weekly

Parisi, a reporter and editor for the creates a fast-paced, behind the scenes narrative of director James Cameron's struggle and triumph in making the film . Annotation c. by Book News, Inc., Portland, Or.

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