Australian billionaire Clive Palmer to build Titanic II

Clive Palmer, one of Australia’s richest men, has commissioned a Chinese state-owned company to build a 21st Century version of the Titanic.

The mining billionaire told Australian media that construction would start at the end of next year.

It would be ready to set sail in 2016.

The plan, he added, was for the vessel to be as similar as possible to the original Titanic in design and specifications, but with modern technology.

Mr Palmer told Australian media that he had signed a memorandum of understanding with CSC Jinling Shipyard to construct the ship.

“It will be every bit as luxurious as the original Titanic but of course it will have state-of-the-art 21st Century technology and the latest navigation and safety systems,” he said in a statement.

The announcement comes just weeks after the centenary of the sinking of the ill-fated Titanic.

The vessel, the largest luxury ship in its time, struck an iceberg on its maiden voyage from Southampton to New York. It went down on 15 April 1912, leaving more than 1,500 people dead.

“Of course it will sink if you put a hole in it,” Mr Palmer said in response to questions from reporters on whether the Titanic replica would sink.

A number of events were held to mark the 100th anniversary of the Titanic’s sinking

The new vessel is scheduled to sail from London to New York in late 2016, if all goes as planned.

“It is going to be designed so it won’t sink,” he added. ”But, of course, if you are superstitious like you are, you never know what could happen.”

The cost of the construction is not known, a spokesman for Mr Palmer told Australian media.

The mining magnate from Queensland, who has strong business relations with China, has expanded into tourism. He owns a luxury resort on the Sunshine Coast and has plans to build a fleet of luxury liners.

His plan to build the Titanic replica was announced on the same day that he revealed plans, in a separate news conference, to contest the next federal election in Queensland.

He told reporters that he has expressed interest in standing for Queensland’s Liberal National Party (LNP), part of the conservative opposition at federal level, in the Brisbane seat of Lilley – currently held by Deputy Prime Minister and Treasurer Wayne Swan.

Raaz 3: Horror gone bad

MUMBAI: An ageing actress, her almost obsessive desire to stay at the top and destroy her rivals – all of this sounds like fodder for a good drama, and it is a theme that has been explored several times. Trust Vikram Bhatt to add ghosts, flying cockroaches and strange graveyard rituals to that concoction to give you the horror that is “Raaz 3”. Bipasha Basu plays Shanaya Shekhar, a top actress who is so obsessed with her success she will do whatever it takes to hold on to it. When a younger actress begins to upstage her, she gets desperate. And by desperate, So much so, that she agrees to enlist the help of a spirit, who promises to torture Sanjana (Esha Gupta). Of course, in order to this, someone needs to keep spiking Sanjana’s drinking water with a few drops of cursed liquid. Enter Aditya Arora (Emraan Hashmi), Shanaya’s seemingly meek boyfriend who is apparently so indebted to her for giving him a break as director that he willingly agrees to poison Sanjana. Of course, any sane person would have told Shanaya to seek professional help, but not our man. Aditya proceeds to do as told and Sanjana’s nightmares start. Hands shoot out at her throat from television screens, people die, there are mysterious sounds and doors creaking and even a lengthy scene that involves thousands of flying cockroaches, all of which is in 3D. At some point, Aditya realises that what he is doing is beyond crazy and tells Shanaya he cannot go on. But Shanaya is past listening, almost bordering on the insane. Bhatt employs all the clichés of a horror film — dead bodies, graveyards in the middle of the night, black magic, maggot-infested ghosts and much more. Unfortunately, not much of it is scary and apart from making you jump out of your seat a couple of times, “Raaz 3” won’t provide any more thrills or chills. The 3D is completely ineffective and why it was employed is a mystery. Bhatt, of course, uses some skin show, an Emraan Hashmi kissing scene and plenty of song-and-dance to distract the viewer from the horror element, but it is all for nothing. Bipasha Basu tries a bit too hard to act crazy, but it’s nonetheless effective. Emraan Hashmi pretty much sleepwalks through his role. Esha Gupta has one standard, scared-out-of-my-wits expression throughout the film. ““Raaz 3″ is neither scary nor thrilling. This is a nothing film — one that will leave you cold afterwards and one that you will forget before you even get home. – AGENCIES

Rajinikanth vs Chuck Norris

Rajinikanth vs Chuck Norris

Meena Iyer, TNN Oct 11, 2011, 12.00AM IST

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(Rajinikanth More Pics)

 

Life in the movies would never be what it is without certain gems. Tales of their ‘superstardom’ and their wacky sense of humour precede or follow them.

For Hollywoodians, tales of he-man Chuck Norris(The Octagon and Good Guys Wear Black) still make them chuckle. But, of course, the biggest legend of them all… the man who can beat everyone hollow is Tamil superstar Rajinikanth. ‘Rajinikanthism’ is a religion and even
as his fan club is set to swell further from the 63,000-mark, we compile a few famous lines attributed to these great men.