'Titanic' hits Baltic port
Thankful Cameron returns oceanic exploration crew's favor
Instead, "Titanic" opened Saturday in a special showing in the Baltic port city of Kaliningrad, complete with three tons of sound equipment brought in, at Cameron's expense, especially for installation at the city's Zarya screen.
Cameron's gesture was one of thanks to staffers at the city's oceanology institute, who had worked with him filming the Titanic wreck on the sea bed.
"I first came to Kaliningrad five years ago, at the start of a long journey, which is ending only now," he told an audience of colleagues and local notables, including the region's governor. He added that he was also paying tribute to Russia's film heritage.
The Kaliningrad institute has two of only five ocean exploration vessels in the world, though it's been badly underfunded following breakup of the Soviet Union.
Institute leader Anatoly Sagalevich confirmed that they haven t been used since "Titanic" filming stopped.
Cameron presented the pic to a glittering Moscow audience two days later at the capital's premier Kodak Kinomir screen, where it will open officially on Feb. 19. In Russia today, people mainly watch video.
Local distributor Gemini Films' expectation for pic are high -- even though pirated copies are already available on the Moscow streets.
