Sinking of the RMS Titanic cultural phenomenon, commemorated by artists, film-makers, writers, composers, musicians and dancers from the time immediately after the sinking to the present day. On 1 September 1985, a joint US-French expedition led by Robert Ballard found the wreck of "Titanic", and the ship's rediscovery led to an explosion of interest in "Titanic"s story. Numerous expeditions have been launched to film the wreck and, controversially, to salvage objects from the debris field. The first major exhibition of recovered artefacts was held at London's National Maritime Museum in 1994–95. In 1997, James Cameron's eponymous film became the first movie ever to take $1
Wreck of the RMS Titanic critic John Corry called the event "a combination of the sacred and profane and sometimes the downright silly". Paul Heyer comments that it was "presented as a kind of deep sea striptease" and that Savalas "seemed haggard, missed several cues and at one point almost tripped over a chair". Controversy persisted after the broadcast when claims were made that the safe had been opened beforehand and that the show had been a fraud. Marex-Titanic Inc. was formed in 1992 to launch an expedition to the "Titanic". Marex-Titanic's CEO was James Kollar. The company was a subsidiary of Marex International, an