Titanic: The Artifact Exhibition commemorated the Centennial of RMS Titanic’s launch and eventual sinking Tuesday, April 10 with a special candlelit vigil at Luxor Hotel and Casino. A Titanic descendant and 185 Griffith Elementary School students took part in the ceremony dedicated to remembering those who lost their lives on RMS Titanic.

Recently studying the Ship of Dreams and its ill-fated voyage across the Atlantic, the students explored the Exhibition, reliving the story of Titanic through more than 300 authentic artifacts. The students also wrote an essay to explain why the story continues to resonate with people around the world today based on Irish philosopher Jack Foster’s quote, “We are all passengers on Titanic.” One student was selected to share her essay during the ceremony.

Following the reading, students heard the tale of Titanic retold by Tom Goldsmith, descendant of survivorFrank John William Goldsmith. Tom spoke about his grandfather’s journey and experience aboard Titanic.

“RMS Titanic and Premier Exhibitions have provided the world with a window into the past. They have paid the utmost attention to detail both in the recovery of items and their preservation and display. As a descendent of a survivor, I enjoy visiting as many of them as I can because I feel closer to my grandfather and the stories he told me,” says Goldsmith.

In addition, Alexandra Klingelhofer, Vice President of Collections for Premier Exhibitions and RMS Titanic, Inc., spoke about the conservation and preservation efforts of Titanic so that people can see and experience the majesty and tragedy 100 years after its sinking and beyond. The ceremony ended with a candlelit vigil and a shared moment of silence to honor those who suffered or were lost aboard Titanic.

“The centennial of Titanic’s sinking is a chance for people all over the world to come together and remember those who were lost on April 15, 1912,” states Klingelhofer. “It’s important for Titanic’s legacy to live on throughout generations, which is why we are excited to have Griffith Elementary School join us for the candlelit vigil.”

Image Courtesy of   Titanic The Artifact Exhibition

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The hotly-anticipated miniseries from the mind of Julian Fellowes (‘Downton Abbey’) was expected to be one of the highlights of the centennial anniversary of the RMS Titanic’s sinking, however, a bloated cast, flawed set-up and overload of social commentary amounted to one massive disappointment.

‘Titanic’ is a 4-part miniseries which will document the experiences of various passengers aboard the infamous ship which sank on its maiden voyage on April 12 1912. The ship’s sinking has been depicted onscreen many times before, most successfully with the eponymous 1997 theatrical release grossing almost $2 billion, and soon to be re-released into cinemas in 3D. But this miniseries, penned by the same man who turned ‘Downton Abbey’ into a worldwide hit, does not seem likely to follow in the footsteps of Fellowes’ award-winning series.

For starters, there are too many characters. Plain and simple. Featuring 89 main characters in total, each episode will focus on a select group before ending with their efforts to escape from the sinking ship. Episode 4 will presumably tie all of the storylines together and then show which of the characters managed to survive.

Unfortunately, Fellowes has tried to do too much with too many characters, barely giving the audience a chance to learn their names or backstories before one is suddenly thrust onto the deck where hundreds of inter-changeable characters are running around, spewing out stock dialogue of  a dozen other disaster dramas.

Clearly trying to emulate the appeal of ‘Downton Abbey’, Fellowes depicts the servants and the first-class passengers, and every other group in between. However, unlike ‘Downton Abbey’, Fellowes does not have 7 episodes to tease out the nuances of their relationships, nor is there the opportunity to create compelling or surprising encounters between characters of different social status. Certainly, a variety of characters do interact in this first episode, but it is to no dramatic pay-off.

The most glaring and irritating aspect of the first episode is undoubtedly the inclusion of a social issue in every other line of dialogue. The very first scene, which lasted no more than 60 seconds, referenced: the judicial system, political protests, women’s right to vote, class bias, and even an allusion to homosexuality.

Moving beyond that, not an act break could go by without one nationality criticising another, with one American character awkwardly commenting, “I can’t see the English wanting to drop the class system anytime soon. It’s woven into their heritage.” Excuse me, but what was this character’s name? Who was he addressing?

Why should the audience care? The most laughable, and again awkward, piece of dialogue had to be when an upper-class American character told a man from an opposing political party that he could sit next to him – all while outside on the deck hundreds of passengers were clamouring onto lifeboats. It was ridiculous, and simply ineffective on any thematic level.

All in all, Fellowes is clearly eager to explore class, sex, politics, nationality, and countless other hot-topic issues. And who could blame him? The RMS Titanic was a melting pot of different cultures and classes, with the accounts of survivors offering up various threads for a story-teller to pursue in this type of series.

It must have been incredibly tempting to produce a big-budget series, guaranteed to be given a massive promotional push, scheduled in the exact same time-slot as ‘Downton Abbey’, and sure to attract interest from the U.S. and beyond. But all those lavish production values amount to nothing when you have bland characters, forced dialogue, predictable interactions, and an badly-executed premise made all the more frustrating by the possibilities for provocative storylines which it had to offer in the first place.

With three episodes still to go, one can only hope that things improve. If not, Fellowes won’t be worried. After all, ‘Downton Abbey’ isn’t going anywhere.

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Belfast’s annual St. Patrick’s Day parade drew thousands to City Hall, as organisers incorporated the upcoming Titanic centennial and the success of local golfer Rory McIlroy into the festivities.

This year’s parade kicked off at 12pm and lasted a full half hour, during which the thousands of spectators were treated to sights including: aerial acrobatics from two machine-operated figures; a float bearing the likeness of current World Number One golfer Rory McIlroy, who hails from Northern Ireland; a special Titanic display to commemorate the upcoming centennial anniversary of the ship’s infamous sinking, as well as to publicise the launch of the new Titanic quarter opening in Belfast; and a 20-ft high float depicting an Olympic athlete carrying the Olympic torch, in honour of this summer’s Games which will take place in London and hopefully by extension attract tourists to Northern Ireland.

The parade was, and has always been, a family-friendly event, with attendees ranging in age from 6 to 60, and almost everybody wearing some sort of themed-clothing. The most popular piece of apparel was undoubtedly the shamrock, which could be seen on lapels, hats, t-shirts and even sunglasses. By the time that the parade had ended, shamrock flags littered Donegall Square.

In other parts of the city, people were treated to a free open-air concert at Custom House Square headlined by Scottish bagpiping act ‘Red Hot Chili Pipers’ and 2011 X Factor contestant Sophia Habibis. Habibis made it to the live finals of the popular British talent show, but was controversially eliminated in the fourth week of the competition. Also at the concert, which maintained the family-friendly feel by being an all-ages affair, were folk band Ashelin and The Royal Tara School of Irish Dance.

It was a day of full-on promotional moves by the city’s most popular bars, with Black Box in particular offering free entry and pints of Guinness for just £2.50, in the hopes of attracting some of the tourists who travel to Belfast and Dublin every year to soak up the ‘Irishnesss’ of the day.

But without question, the place to be was in Fibber Magees Pub in the heart of the city. From 2pm to 2am, local musicians performed Irish music and entertained the packed house, with the establishment’s proximity to Belfast’s popular Europa Hotel making it the number one stop for any and all tourists making their way into Belfast for St. Patrick’s Day celebrations.

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Moviegoers across the U.S. and Canada will be among the first audiences anywhere to experience TITANIC in 3D at the exclusive “sneak preview” fan screening events, set for Monday, April 2nd in Canada and Tuesday, April 3rd in the U.S. Presented exclusively in RealD, these one-night only special advance screenings will take place at 6:30pm at select 3D movie theaters across N. America.

Each TITANIC in 3D Sneak Preview Pack includes:

• One ticket to the movie sneak preview
• A collectors edition pair of TITANIC RealD 3D glasses
• A limited-edition TITANIC movie art lithograph

(While supplies last)

Tickets for these April “sneak preview” events are on sale now both on-line, and at participating theatres. For event locations around the country, to purchase tickets, or to learn more about this exclusive event, please go to: WWW.TITANI

CMOVIE.COM/FANSNEAKPREVIEW

James Cameron, who also directed the breakthrough 3D epic AVATAR, will bring TITANIC to life as audiences have never seen it before, digitally re-mastered and harnessing the innovative technology of StereoD. The re-release of TITANIC also coincides with the 100th anniversary of the Titanic setting sail on April 10, 1912.

Written, directed and produced by James Cameron, TITANIC is the second highest grossing movie of all time. It is one of only three films to have received a record 11 Academy Awards including Best Picture and Best Director; and launched the careers of stars Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet.

Called “A spectacular demonstration of what modern technology can contribute to dramatic storytelling” by Variety upon it’s release in 1997, the long in the works 3D conversion was overseen by Cameron and his Lightstorm producing partner Jon Landau who produced the hit movie.

Released by Paramount Pictures and Twentieth Century Fox, TITANIC returns to theaters for a limited engagement beginningApril 4th in 2D, RealD 3D and IMAX 3D. Learn more about TITANIC in 3D at HTTP://WWW.TITANICMOVIE.COM/

Image Courtesy of   https://www.facebook.com/TitanicMovie

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