Near, far, wherever a “Titanic” VHS tape is … one super fan in Florida is going to save it.
JD, also known as @titanicfan97 on TikTok, has made it his mission to collect at least 1,997 “Titanic” VHS cassettes in honor of the blockbuster’s 1997 debut.
“They made 25 million of them,” he told Variety in an interview published Wednesday, adding that one day he may be able to recover 1 million copies.
The Oscar-winning film, starring Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet, was inspired by the 1912 wreck that killed 1,500 people aboard the ship’s maiden voyage from England to New York City.
JD, a video editor, boasts 1,560 VHS tapes, with about 300 purchased at thrift stores and yard sales. He claims the remaining cassettes were sent to him by his 108,400 TikTok followers watching his journey online.
He lists a post office box address for Largo, Florida, in his biography.
His content, narrated with a whimsical voiceover, ranges from unboxing videos, attending conventions and exploring with Jack Dawson — a giant dummy of DiCaprio’s character — to reenacting the movie.
The Floridian’s obsession with James Cameron’s cinematic masterpiece started when he saw the movie in a theater at age 6.
“It was Jack Dawson mania,” he explained to Variety. “You already know what’s going down. You couldn’t escape it back in the day. And my family loved ‘Titanic,’ so I just blended myself in with all the ‘Titanic’ going around at the time.”
And just this year, JD filmed himself calling Cameron in a viral TikTok.
“Hello, is this James Cameron?” JD asked.
“It is. Who is this?” a man purporting to be the famed director replied.
“Oh I’m a big fan. I love ‘Titanic’ on VHS cassette No. 1 and cassette No. 2. How did you do it?” JD gushed.
The call ended shortly thereafter.
The Post contacted Cameron’s reps.
JD’s collection began in 2012 when he came across a shop with a top-shelf display of the tapes.
“It looked glorious. And I’m like, ‘I know no one’s ever going to buy these.’ They’re super cheap, so we got a box and filled it with all the ‘Titanic’s, and we slowly started collecting it for a few years,” he revealed.
“We had about 100 before I started making the TikTok, so it really was last year when we went from 100 to 1,560 or so. It kind of exploded on its own. I have no control at this point.”
JD said he has received memorabilia and art pieces from fans, such as a Japanese copy of the film on VHS and an authenticated piece of a deck chair from the ship, according to Variety.
The massive stockpile has taken over his home office, prompting him to consider moving the shrine into his bedroom or another larger area.
In a TikTok posted last month, JD estimated the entire lot is worth nearly $55,000, which shocked many viewers.
“Imagine he dies, and his kid’s inheritance is just a ton of Titanic on VHS copies,” one person commented.
Another viewer pointed out: “That’s almost enough for a down payment on a house in 2023.”
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