April 6 Release of “Titanic” 3D Stirs Memories In Rosarito Beach of Epic Movie Filming Here ROSARITO BEACH, BAJA CALIFORNIA, MEXICO-
April 6 Release of “Titanic” 3D Stirs Memories
In Rosarito Beach of Epic Movie Filming Here
ROSARITO BEACH, BAJA CALIFORNIA, MEXICO---The scheduled April 6 release of the blockbuster movie “Titanic” in 3D has stirred many memories in this seaside city where the epic was filmed in the mid-1990s.
“When Fox built a major studio here to film the movie, many people knew it was going to be very significant for the city,” said Rosarito Beach Hotel owner Hugo Torres, who also was the city’s mayor at the time of production “But few knew how big it would be.”
Rosarito, 20 miles south of the U.S.-Mexico border and San Diego, had just become a city when Fox announced it would be the site for a new studio with the world’s largest studio water tanks to accommodate the production of the James Cameron epic.
As Rosarito Beach mayor, Torres was one of those who participated in the groundbreaking ceremony for the studio.
Filming began in1996 and the movie was released in 1997. With a huge $200 million budget, the film won 11 Oscars, earned $1.8 billion (the first to top $1 billion) and for 12 years was the largest grossing movie of all time, until overtaken by Cameron’s “Avatar,” which was released in 2010.
The film’s April 3D release coincides with the 100-year anniversary of the launching of the Titanic, which sunk after hitting an iceberg in the north Atlantic on its maiden voyage from England to New York.
The film employed hundreds of Rosarito area residents as craftsmen and movie extras, A replica of the ship loomed large and amazed people driving by the studios on the nearby Scenic Highway, Locals caught glimpses of Cameron, Leonardo DiCaprio, Kate Winslet and other stars.
Many of them visited or stayed at Torres’ legendary Rosarito Beach Hotel, which has been a Baja landmark since 1925. The production created an economic and tourism boom for the resort city, also known for attractions including the Puerto Nuevo Lobster Village.
A Titanic museum was built at the facility as part of a theme park. Movies including Russell Crowe’s “Master & Commander” and portions of “Pearl Harbor” subsequently were filmed there. Now known as Baja Studios, last year it was the locale for the World War II movie “Little Boy.”
Titanic memorobilia still are found throughout the city.
“But even today many people don’t know that our city was location for one of the most successful movies ever made,” said Torres, who served a second term as mayor from 2007 to 2010. “We’re hoping the upcoming release of ‘Titanic 3D’ makes more aware and creates additional interest in filming here.”
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