Tom Grane, Founder of Mob Scene, one of Hollywood’s leading entertainment marketing agencies for major motion picture studios, television networks, and production companies, directed the documentary Titanic: 20 Years Later with James Cameron. From Executive Producer and National Geographic Explorer-in-Residence James Cameron, Titanic: 20 Years Later with James Cameron that premiered globally on Sunday, Nov. 26 at 9 PM ET/8PM CT in 171 countries in 45 languages.
The one-hour documentary event special commemorated the 20th anniversary of the blockbuster film Titanic, the highest-grossing movie in history until Cameron’s Avatar, and a turning point for researchers of the Titanic, inspiring dives to the wreck, a host of books, and countless documentaries. Thirty-two years after the discovery, and 20 years after the movie, the Titanic story is still evolving in unexpected ways.
About THE MAKING OF THE SPECIAL
In early 2017, from a conversation with National Geographic, James Cameron, and Maria Wilhelm evolved the idea of revisiting the feature film to examine what Cameron got right from a historic and scientific perspective and what he got wrong. Tom Grane and his team at Mob Scene were engaged early in the process to help give shape to what would become Titanic: 20 Years Later with James Cameron.
In July, Grane shot the first-ever, joint, on-camera interview with Cameron and Dr. Robert Ballard at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in Simi Valley, CA. During the interview, Cameron says that Ballard’s 1985 discovery of Titanic inspired his own personal interest in the famed ship, and the two men compare their experiences of exploring the wreck. Grane and his team returned to the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in August to film documentary elements against the backdrop of the Library's well received Titanic exhibit. Says Grane: “It was the ideal setting for this project – almost as though the exhibit itself had been arranged just for the production of our show. It was a perfect happenstance.”
Several of the original props and sets from the Titanic film were used within the Library’s exhibit space to recreate memorable scenes from the movie, including Rose and Cal’s sitting room, and the wireless communications office. At the Library, Grane also arranged for Cameron to interview descendants of real life Titanic passengers John Jacob Astor, Molly Brown, and Isidor and Ida Straus – each with a moving and powerful story to tell.
Additionally, Grane and his team filmed Cameron’s “Titanic sinking” experiment in which a six-foot model of the Titanic was placed within a 200,000-gallon water tank. The experiment tested to see if, given the information known today, the ship would have sunk as was depicted in the movie. Another question posed in the special is, “would more lifeboats on board Titanic have saved more lives?” Grane and the production crew took a replica lifeboat from the movie, tied it to period-accurate davits (crane-like devices) on a 12-foot high shipping container and, with Cameron leading the charge, timed the crew to see how long it would have taken to release the vessel into the sea.
Regarding the special, Grane said, "Having worked at 20th Century Fox in the late ‘90s, and having also produced the Titanic Blu-ray, I’ve been around Cameron’s passion for all things Titanic since the film first came out. It’s an honor for me to be able to assist him in continuing to tell this compelling story.”
Mob Scene also has a longstanding working relationship with Cameron’s feature film group, Lightstorm, developing companion content for the upcoming Avatar sequels, as well as for Alita: Battle Angel, which Cameron wrote and is producing with Jon Landau, with Robert Rodriguez directing.
Titanic: 20 Years Later with James Cameron is executive produced by James Cameron and Maria Wilhelm and directed by Tom Grane of Los Angeles-based Mob Scene. Richard Brehm from Mob Scene wrote the special and serves as co-executive producer along with Grane. For National Geographic Channel, executive producer is Betsy Forhan; vice president, production is Kevin Tao Mohs; and president of original programming and production is Tim Pastore.
About MOB SCENE
Mob Scene, the winner of eight 2017 Clio “Key Art Awards” for Excellence in Entertainment Marketing, is more than just a full-service Hollywood agency. The company, founded by Tom Grane in 2006, is a creative destination with a passionate and collaborative environment that inspires imagination, cultivates top talent, and delivers premium service. “Mobsters” go beyond the expected to create bold and innovative advertising and marketing content that connects emotionally with today’s consumers across all mediums.
With over 150 of the most talented professionals in the entertainment industry, Mob Scene has diverse experience that spans advertising, branded integration, traditional film and television production, and post-production. The agency’s creative capabilities run the gamut: from short Instagram videos to 90-minute live broadcasts to complete 360-degree campaigns, as well as trailers, promos, documentaries, and unique, behind-the-scenes added value content. The agency’s newly acquired Gin + Tonic Labs division provides its clients – entertainment properties, performing artists and emerging brands – with the ecosystem necessary for reaching today's global online marketplace via social influencers, social media and new media.
In addition, Mob Scene has also produced three television shows (two currently in production), and has been working with its studio partners on several, upcoming VR (virtual reality) projects.
Recent Mob Scene projects have included work promoting such hit films as Wonder Woman, The Fate of the Furious, Blade Runner 2049, Fantastic Beasts, Arrival, La La Land, Avatar, Logan, Deadpool, Gravity, X-Men: Apocalypse, The Secret Life of Pets, Despicable Me 3, and American Sniper, to name a few. Among the agency’s television projects have been campaigns promoting Orange is the New Black, Stranger Things, The Walking Dead, and dozens more.
Mob Scene is located at 5750 Wilshire Blvd., Suite # 530, Los Angeles, CA, 90036. Phone is 323/648-7200. Please see: www.mobscene.com
