Titanic director visits birthplace of vessel (From Daily Echo)

Titanic director James Cameron visits Belfast

8:56am Friday 7th September 2012 in News

Titanic film director James Cameron is to visit the birthplace of the doomed liner for the first time today.

His film won 11 Oscars after its original release in 1997 and a 3D version was produced to coincide with the centenary of the vessel's sinking earlier this year.

Cameron and producer Jon Landau will open the first exhibit dedicated to the film at the world's largest Titanic museum - Titanic Belfast. The display will feature props and costumes highlighted in some of the most memorable scenes from the film.

The newly opened museum is 100 yards from where Titanic's hull was launched and beside it is the drawing office where she was designed. She set sail from the city's River Lagan.

There will be a 3D screening of the film inside the Andrews Gallery in the museum.

Shortly before midnight on April 14, 1912, the passenger liner struck an iceberg on its way from Southampton to New York. It sank less than three hours later, killing 1,517 people.

Oscar-winner Kate Winslet shot to worldwide fame after starring in the 1997 film alongside Leonardo DiCaprio.

Titanic, which took two years to film, saw Winslet play upper class socialite Rose DeWitt Bukater opposite DiCaprio's third class passenger Jack Dawson.

Until the release of Avatar in 2009 - also directed by Cameron - Titanic was the most successful movie ever, with global takings of $1.843bn (£1.14bn).

• To discover how the Titanic disaster affected her home port of Southampton, visit our special Titanic site - titanic-southampton.co.uk