That’s what studio executives said, anyway!
What does the 1998 blockbuster movie Titanic have to do with manufacturing?
Of course, very few. This movie? The film depicts the infamous 1912 disaster when a supposedly unsinkable liner struck an iceberg in the North Atlantic on its maiden voyage and quickly sank, drowning an estimated 1,500 people in a massive human tragedy. However, although director James Cameron’s film takes considerable artistic liberties in recreating the drama, none of the factories sank with the ship.
But the film was a massive ordeal to make. It took 160 days to shoot and cost more than double the original $100 million budget. Cameron was reportedly a total nightmare on set. Crew Dinner with PCPLeonardo DiCaprio is “I’m a Celebrity” Cards To avoid having to pay for the bar.
And the most interesting thing is that the majority of the movie was shot on a beachside set at a studio in Baja, Mexico – a 90% scale replica ship built in a 17 million gallon tank. Specially constructed 20th Century Fox produced the film.
Of course, this isn’t the first time Mexico has attracted Hollywood filmmakers, but it is one of the most often cited, perhaps because the reasons were overtly economic: Fox’s studios on the Baja coast were built shortly after NAFTA came into effect, greatly reducing the costs of transporting filmmakers across the border; the agreement made it easier to send equipment and film stock south. No customs duties“This is the reality of NAFTA!” Fox’s Tom Sherak I said at the time.
The move also reportedly helped Fox avoid a dispute with the Teamsters labor union.
Since then, several major Hollywood productions have been shot in Mexico, including Steven Soderbergh’s “Traffic” (2000) and Mel Gibson’s Mayan epic. “Apocalypto” (2006). Baja Studios was notably used for the filming of the movie, which featured many underwater scenes. “Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World” (2003) and Deep Blue (1999) are, I have to say, the greatest movies of all time just for this scene (major spoiler, but watch it anyway).
Speaking at the awards ceremony for the record-breaking box office hit, Cameron thanked the film’s crew and the hundreds of locals who appeared as extras, saying, “Titanic is as much a Mexican film as it is a Hollywood production.” He said he Became a member He was presented with Mexico’s Order of the Aztec Eagle by President Ernesto Zedillo. “And with the film having won 11 Oscars, more than any other film in the history of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, we can say we’ve made history together.”
However, NAFTA was not good for legal filmmaking in Mexico. In the late 90s, there was very little filmmaking in Mexico. Between 1995 and 2000, 17 films were produced per year.That said, Mexico’s film industry did not disappear. In the 2000s, the Mexican government approved a film production incentive called EFICINE, which significantly increased private investment in film production. “This and other measures stimulated film production,” one article states. Mexico Outlet Aceprensa“In 2019, 216 films were made, and in 2020, a particularly tough year for the industry due to the pandemic, 111 were made.”
Titanic was a truly international production. Financed in Hollywood, shot in Mexico, and with post-production in Europe, the film was praised at the time of its release by Fox president Rupert Murdoch, who said: “This cross-border cultural cooperation is the result of market forces, not regulation.” He said“The free movement of capital, technology and talent around the world creates added value, revitalizes declining markets and creates new ones.”
Fox once hosted tours of its Baja Studios, where visitors could check out the giant aquarium and see a Titanic-themed exhibit. Since the change of ownershiptours are no longer available. Today, Mexico has a thriving film industry, producing many top directors and is also a center for the production of American films and television shows.
It is located nearby and has a well-trained workforce with sufficient know-how. Very low union densityThis is especially true in comparison to the heavily unionized film and television industries in the United States. A trade agreement between the U.S., Canada and Mexico created the conditions for film production to move to Mexico, regardless of whether “Titanic” was filmed there. That said, the story behind the making of this film is fascinating.
