100 yrs after: ‘Titanic’ ship to sail again in new movie

SYDNEY (AFP) – Australian mining tycoon,
dinosaur park enthusiast and political force
Clive Palmer Monday pegged out a new role for
himself — a deckchair cameo in a movie he
plans about the Titanic.
Palmer has made waves with his bid to build
Titanic II — a replica of the doomed luxury liner
which sank more than a century ago — which is
scheduled to make its first Atlantic crossing in
2016.
“Due to worldwide interest in @titanic_ii I’ve
registered ‘Palmer Pictures’. Will look at making
a movie about its maiden voyage #titanic,” he
tweeted.
“@titanic_ii The ship where dreams come true,”
he added later.
Palmer, who has won a seat in the Australian
parliament pending an ongoing recount after
the success of his Palmer United Party in
September elections, told the AAP news agency
that the movie would be filmed aboard his liner.
“It will be a love story,” he said.
“We have a lot of actors from Hollywood, China
and Europe who want to star in roles.”
Palmer said his version of the Titanic would be
“a lot better” than James Cameron’s 1997
global hit starring Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate
Winslet.
“I could be in a deckchair having a drink,” he
added of his dream to make a cameo
appearance.
Global interest in Titanic II has prompted
Palmer’s latest film move, he said.
“My father George had Palmer Pictures
originally back in the 1920s and he made two
silent films in Australia,” he said in a statement,
adding that there were also plans for a
documentary on the ship’s maiden voyage.
“The script is still being worked on and of
course we would be seeking major Hollywood
stars and production people to be involved in
the movie project,” he said.
Palmer’s Titanic II will feature modern
modifications but try to remain as true as
possible to the original, which went down after
hitting an iceberg in 1912. He has said
construction will begin next March in China.
The original Titanic, which was built in Belfast,
sank on its first trip from Southampton in
England to New York, killing more than 1,500
passengers and crew.
Palmer, a larger-than-life character who made
a fortune in mining, is also a real estate
developer and tourism resort operator who is
planning to build “the world’s biggest” park of
giant robotic dinosaurs at his Coolum Resort on
Australia’s Sunshine Coast.