# "Titanic -- By the visionary director of Avatar" **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [March 26, 2012, 9:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/titanic-by-the-visionary-director-of-avatar/616828 "2012-03-26T09:02:33Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Jragon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e19b73/32.png) [@Jragon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jragon)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2012, 9:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/titanic-by-the-visionary-director-of-avatar/616828/1 "2012-03-26T09:02:33Z")
I just got back from seeing The Hunger Games and saw a trailer for the rerelease of Titanic. Their marketing? Advertise Titanic as being from the guy who made Avatar. Brilliant! I know Avatar made a lot of money, but 1. Avatar and Titanic aren’t even similar. Not just story wise, but use of special effects and such too. The entire art and concept direction are practically 100% disparate. 2. It’s **Titanic**. I think you could have shown a shot of the poster for three seconds with “FUCKING TITANIC IN THEATERS AGAIN” written over it for 1.5 seconds and get the same, if not better, viewership. I awaited with bated breath the next of these brilliant marketing tactics: “From the studio that brought you of Song of the South… Snow White and the Seven Dwarves.” “From the maker of War of the Worlds… Close Encounters of the Third Kind” “From the director of Jack… The Godfather” “From the director of Pee-Wee’s Big Adventure… Sweeny Todd” ---
**Author:** ![jjimm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba8739/32.png) [@jjimm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jjimm)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2012, 9:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/titanic-by-the-visionary-director-of-avatar/616828/2 "2012-03-26T09:18:29Z")
I was taking to a 24-year-old girl the other day who a) didn’t know Titanic 3D was a rerelease, and b) didn’t know it was based on a true story. You are not the target of the marketing. ---
**Author:** ![GuanoLad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guanolad/32/42_2.png) [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2012, 9:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/titanic-by-the-visionary-director-of-avatar/616828/3 "2012-03-26T09:30:43Z")
It has been 16 years since the original release of _Titanic_. That’s an entire generation. ---
**Author:** ![AK84](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/85e7bf/32.png) [@AK84](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AK84)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2012, 9:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/titanic-by-the-visionary-director-of-avatar/616828/4 "2012-03-26T09:31:52Z")
> [@jjimm](#): > > I was taking to a 24-year-old girl the other day who a) didn’t know Titanic 3D was a rerelease, and b) didn’t know it was based on a true story. You are not the target of the marketing. She would have been about 11 when the original movie came out. Today DiCaprio is a respected actor, back then he was the fave of 11 year old girls. I refuse to believe she did not see the movie. ---
**Author:** ![Sr\_Siete](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/6de8d8/32.png) [@Sr\_Siete](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sr_Siete)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2012, 9:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/titanic-by-the-visionary-director-of-avatar/616828/5 "2012-03-26T09:34:35Z")
> [@GuanoLad](#): > > It has been 16 years since the original release of _Titanic_. That’s an entire generation. That can’t be true. I mean, if that’s true then I’m insanely old and I’ve wasted my life. ---
**Author:** ![Malden\_Capell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/malden_capell/32/5274_2.png) [@Malden\_Capell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malden_Capell)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2012, 9:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/titanic-by-the-visionary-director-of-avatar/616828/6 "2012-03-26T09:39:03Z")
Original release? I think there were about 7 re-releases in the 20th Century! ---
**Author:** ![GuanoLad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guanolad/32/42_2.png) [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2012, 9:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/titanic-by-the-visionary-director-of-avatar/616828/7 "2012-03-26T09:49:33Z")
> [@Sr\_Siete](#): > > That can’t be true. I mean, if that’s true then I’m insanely old and I’ve wasted my life. 14 years since _The Matrix_, 12 years since _Fellowship of the Ring_. I don’t understand how this happened either. ---
**Author:** ![Jragon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e19b73/32.png) [@Jragon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jragon)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2012, 10:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/titanic-by-the-visionary-director-of-avatar/616828/8 "2012-03-26T10:00:07Z")
> [@jjimm](#): > > I was taking to a 24-year-old girl the other day who a) didn’t know Titanic 3D was a rerelease, and b) didn’t know it was based on a true story. You are not the target of the marketing. I realize I’m not the target of the marketing. However, I, as a 22 year old male, would find it ridiculously odd if someone in my age range had not heard of the Titanic. I’m hardly a film buff, I could probably name more famous arty films than the average person, but I really don’t watch many films, nor consume media related to famous films. I wouldn’t fault someone for not knowing about, say, Casablanca or Citizen Kane. But Titanic is a movie that I would be floored if anybody in my age range hadn’t heard about. Either way, the point was more that I was amused that they were advertising one of the most immensely successful and influential movies of all time, which many consider to have some of the best character writing, in relation to a movie that most people consider at best a really pretty tech demo. I know, logically, what they’re doing. Avatar was a big deal, it didn’t exactly make chump change. I was just being snarky because the implications (for lack of a better word) were kind of funny to me. ---
**Author:** ![Hail\_Ants](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/dc4da7/32.png) [@Hail\_Ants](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hail_Ants)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2012, 10:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/titanic-by-the-visionary-director-of-avatar/616828/9 "2012-03-26T10:04:51Z")
> [@Jragon](#): > > 1. Avatar and Titanic aren’t even similar. Not just story wise, but use of special effects and such too. The entire art and concept direction are practically 100% disparate. Emmm, I’d disagree with you there, I think they’re vary similar: [ul] [li]Both are love stories set against cutting edge technology (one 19[sup]th[/sup] century the other, ah, 22[sup]th[/sup] maybe?)[/li][li]Both cutting edge techs ultimately fail[/li][li]Both deal heavily with class differences[/li][li]Both have little (poor) guy vs big (rich) guy[/li][li]Both were shot in extensive ‘virtual’ worlds (by necessity)[/li][li]Both are essentially mega-tentpole chick flicks![/li][/ul] ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2012, 11:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/titanic-by-the-visionary-director-of-avatar/616828/10 "2012-03-26T11:15:47Z")
Because when you market a film you _always_ connect it to a recent big hit, no matter how tenuous the connection. ---
**Author:** ![Corcaigh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/eb8c5e/32.png) [@Corcaigh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Corcaigh)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2012, 11:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/titanic-by-the-visionary-director-of-avatar/616828/11 "2012-03-26T11:43:17Z")
I remember when the posters used to say “from the director of Aliens and Terminator 2” I used to LOL ---
**Author:** ![shijinn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/cc9497/32.png) [@shijinn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/shijinn)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2012, 11:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/titanic-by-the-visionary-director-of-avatar/616828/12 "2012-03-26T11:44:23Z")
> [@GuanoLad](#): > > It has been 16 years since the original release of _Titanic_. That’s an entire generation. > [@GuanoLad](#): > > 14 years since _The Matrix_, 12 years since _Fellowship of the Ring_. … fuck. ---
**Author:** ![jjimm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba8739/32.png) [@jjimm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jjimm)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2012, 12:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/titanic-by-the-visionary-director-of-avatar/616828/13 "2012-03-26T12:02:28Z")
> [@ak84](#): > > she would have been about 11 when the original movie came out. Today dicaprio is a respected actor, back then he was the fave of 11 year old girls. I refuse to believe she did not see the movie. 24 - 16 = 8. ---
**Author:** ![GuanoLad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guanolad/32/42_2.png) [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2012, 12:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/titanic-by-the-visionary-director-of-avatar/616828/14 "2012-03-26T12:21:01Z")
> [@jjimm](#): > > 24 - 16 = 8. Actually, I got my Maths wrong. For some reason I was thinking this year is 2013. It was December 1997, which is just over 14 years ago. ---
**Author:** ![Gyrate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gyrate/32/3588_2.png) [@Gyrate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gyrate)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2012, 12:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/titanic-by-the-visionary-director-of-avatar/616828/15 "2012-03-26T12:27:36Z")
> [@Hail\_Ants](#): > > Emmm, I’d disagree with you there, I think they’re vary similar: > > [ul] > [li]Both are love stories set against cutting edge technology (one 19[sup]th[/sup] century the other, ah, 22[sup]th[/sup] maybe?)[/li][li]Both cutting edge techs ultimately fail[/li][li]Both deal heavily with class differences[/li][li]Both have little (poor) guy vs big (rich) guy[/li][li]Both were shot in extensive ‘virtual’ worlds (by necessity)[/li][li]Both are essentially mega-tentpole chick flicks![/li][/ul] Both featured a lot of floating blue people. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![bienville](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/4bbf92/32.png) [@bienville](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bienville)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2012, 12:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/titanic-by-the-visionary-director-of-avatar/616828/16 "2012-03-26T12:45:04Z")
Reading the Thread Title, I thought the OP complaint was going to be that _Titanic_ was _not_ made by the director of _Avatar_ (because, when he made _Titanic_ he hadn’t yet made _Avatar_). “By the visionary director of Avatar” as an ad for _Titanic_, seems lame to me not because the movies are so different but because _Titanic_ has very solid standing as a “timeless” movie whereas _Avatar_ seemed to me to have a shelf life of about a month to me. Now, I don’t especially love _Titanic_- I thought it was o.k. but there are better movies I can watch to see Kate Winslet’s breasts. Still, I give the movie credit for being _loved_ by zillions of people and rewatched in theaters and in homes consistently since its first release (I resisted seeing it until finally giving in and watching it in April- four months after its release and it was still in first-run theaters). _Avatar_ was a film that people loved _as they were watching it_, and loved when they talked about it with their co-workers the following Monday- but who the hell ever talks about it anymore? And when people _did_ talk about it, they were mostly just impressed with the 3D. Really, none of us had ever seen movie 3D look that good (and really haven’t since). Still, impressed as we all were with the technological achievment, it didn’t inspired great affection. ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2012, 12:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/titanic-by-the-visionary-director-of-avatar/616828/17 "2012-03-26T12:52:48Z")
> [@Gyrate](#): > > Both featured a lot of floating blue people. > > 😃 Bravo ---
**Author:** ![don\_t\_ask](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e68b1a/32.png) [@don\_t\_ask](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/don_t_ask)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2012, 1:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/titanic-by-the-visionary-director-of-avatar/616828/18 "2012-03-26T13:16:49Z")
> [@GuanoLad](#): > > 14 years since _The Matrix_, 12 years since _Fellowship of the Ring_. > > I don’t understand how this happened either. Obligatory [xkcd reference](http://xkcd.com/891/). ---
**Author:** ![Justin\_Bailey](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/justin_bailey/32/8792_2.png) [@Justin\_Bailey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Justin_Bailey)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2012, 1:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/titanic-by-the-visionary-director-of-avatar/616828/19 "2012-03-26T13:42:28Z")
> [@don\_t\_ask](#): > > Obligatory [xkcd reference](http://xkcd.com/891/). You see that on the board all the time. Search for threads about older horror movies and watch what happens after someone suggests The Exorcist or Halloween. ---
**Author:** ![jjimm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba8739/32.png) [@jjimm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jjimm)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2012, 1:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/titanic-by-the-visionary-director-of-avatar/616828/20 "2012-03-26T13:49:01Z")
> [@don\_t\_ask](#): > > Obligatory [xkcd reference](http://xkcd.com/891/). Did you realize that is already a _year_ old?! [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/titanic-by-the-visionary-director-of-avatar/616828.md?page=2)