Now, director James Cameron is about to take his own voyage to the bottom of the sea in a submerseable he helped design.

Here’s an excerpt from the LA Times article:

In the coming weeks, the director of “Titanic” and “Avatar” will climb inside the Deepsea Challenger, a single-pilot submersible vehicle he helped design, and dive to the Challenger Deep, the lowest point in the Mariana Trench in the Pacific Ocean 200 miles southwest of Guam. Once he’s there he plans to spend six hours on the ocean floor collecting scientific samples and filming for a 3-D theatrical feature documentary that will also be broadcast on the National Geographic Channel.

“The deep trenches are the last unexplored frontier on our planet, with scientific riches enough to fill a hundred years of exploration,” Cameron said in a statement.

Cameron’s undertaking is not without risk to the filmmaker. The only other humans to venture this deep under the ocean were a U.S. Navy lieutenant and a Swiss oceanographer in 1960. Their trip to the bottom in the bathyscaphe Trieste took four hours and 48 minutes and they spent just 20 minutes on the ocean bottom. One of the outer windows of the vessel cracked under the enormous sea pressure during the descent.

The modern submersible is considerably more high-tech, fitted with an ocean-depth rated stereoscopic camera (also partially designed by Cameron) designed to capture the sea life that exists only at that extreme depth.

Sounds like a scary proposition but how cool is it that a modern-day Irwin Allen is the one taking the plunge!

The book is part of a mystery series written in the 90′s by Joan Hess.

In this particular volume, a movie company comes to the small town of Maggody, Arkansas just as a fire bug starts burning down every abandoned building outside of town.

What do you get when you combine movie talk with fires? A reference to Towering Inferno, of course.

Here’s the section:

“Seems I heard about that old shack burning down two nights ago,” she said with a small frown. “But nobody’s lived there for years and years. I am talking about the movie.”

I didn’t think she was referring to The Towering Inferno, so I arranged my features for maximum fascination and said, “What movie?”

Oh Irwin, he pops up everywhere.

Here’s a clip from the episode.

HOLLYWOOD TREASURE — “Lost In Space Suit” — Pictured: Joe Maddalena — Photo by: Evans Vestal Ward/Syfy

 

Read the full story here.

Visit the National Doodle Day Gallery to see all of the doodles, then set your calendar for May 12. That’s when the auction begins. Let’s make sure the Cartwright ladies get a bundle for their works.

There are plenty of other “Irwin” guest stars on The FBI including Peter Mark Richmond, Robert Duvall, Don Gordon, Linden Chiles, Alfred Rider, Paul Fix and Barbara Luna. Oh, and some guy named David Hedison, but he doesn’t show up until the later seasons.

You can pre-order the series now by clicking here and searching for The FBI. Warner Archives is doing these as a burn on demand so you won’t find this DVD anywhere else except on eBay where they’ll charge you twice as much. Don’t let that happen. Buy from Warner Archives, they’re great.

One is a matte painting from City Beneath the Sea. It’s an excellent collector’s piece because of what it is, I only wish it was more interesting as a painting. Sadly, it’s not much to look at. Estimated value is between $200 and $300.

Also on the block is a set of water-proof Poseidon plans from Poseidon Adventure. They say they are from the original and that they were used on set, thus why they are waterproof.

Graphically, this piece would look great on your wall. It’s expected to go for between $300 to $400.

The auction will be held at their headquarters in El Segundo, CA (128 Sierra Street, El Segundo, CA 90245).  Each morning there will be a preview from 9-11am PT with the live auction beginning at 11am PT.

In addition fans will also be able to bid on rare and iconic Hollywood memorabilia including:

• “Titanic” – Iconic Original Drawing of Rose (Kate Winslet) by James Cameron
• “Batman Returns”– Full signature costume on Michael Keaton Life Size Figure
• “Batman Forever” – The Riddler’s (Jim Carrey) Hat and Cane
• “Apocalypse Now” – Guitar Played by Robert Duvall
• “T3” – Arnold Schwarzenegger full leather signature Costume
• “Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade” – Grail Knight sword from finale of film
• “Logan’s Run” – Farrah Fawcett’s green futuristic dress
• “Camelot”- Excalibur Sword used by Richard Harris
• “I Dream of Jeannie” – Iconic original bottle signed by Barbara Eden
• “Betrayed” – Clark Gable’s hat
• Max Factor’s Beauty Calibration Machine
• Britney Spears’ bustier/bodysuit from the video for Circus, which was also worn for the CD cover and her Rolling Stone magazine shoot.

In total there will be over 1,000 items going up for auction and proceeds from some of the pieces will be designated for specific charities.

Fans can starting bidding now, placing bids online at http://www.icollector.com/ and http://www.liveauctioneers.com or calling to set up phone bidding with a Premiere Props representative. Collectors can place proxy bids until the April Auction goes LIVE at 11am PT.  For more information, please visit http://www.premiereprops.com or http://www.hollywoodliveauctions.com or call (310) 322-PROP / (888) 761-PROP.

Let’s begin with Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea, then on to one of my favorite movies, Big Circus!

Now here’s the lovely Kathryn Grant with Gilbert Roland from Big Circus.

Thanks to Warner Archive you can now buy Big Circus at a reasonable price. If you’ve never seen it, then it’s a must!

Big Circus (DVD)  Legendary producer/writer Irwin Allen (“The Poseidon Adventure,” “The Towering Inferno”) expertly captures the spectacle of the big top, with help from an all-star cast including screen legend Vincent Price as the ringmaster and Peter Lorre  as a circus clown. A circus owner (Victor Mature ) is on the verge of bankruptcy when his corrupt ex-partners attempt to drive him out of business. When an accountant (Oscar-winner Red Buttons is sent to examine the workings of the circus before a loan can be given, accidents and saboteurs plague the circus.