Some people collect shells. Others collect antiques. But there’s one man in Florida who is collecting his favorite movie on VHS.
“You know, Titanic is best on VHS,” said JD. “'September 1, 1998, take the voyage home,' that’s what they were saying. That’s what I was playing on the VCR, I was watching this thing over and over and over again.”
JD is taking his love of the movie “Titanic” to new depths, with an ambitious goal of gathering 1 million copies of the movie on VHS. The more people learn about JD’s collection, the more tapes he receives, coming in by mail from all over the world.
“I check that P.O. Box. I mean, I got to fill the car up because there is so much 'Titanic,' baby,” said JD. ‘’I’m trying to get to 1 million. We have 2,467 right now, so we are so close to that one million.”
Don’t forget, "Titanic" includes two VHS tapes, which means it takes up double the space in JD’s house. He said eventually, he’s going to have to rent out storage.
He even built a Titanic out of his copies of "Titanic," one of the many fun videos you’ll find on his YouTube Channel, Titanic 97.
“I go to sleep thinking about 'Titanic,' and I wake up thinking about 'Titanic,'” said JD.
JD travels all over the country, searching thrift stores, flea markets and garage sales for copies of the movie.
“You can’t escape this movie. Everyone had it, your grandma had it, your mom, your dad, whoever, someone in your family had this movie,” said JD.
He’s already spent thousands of dollars on the hobby.
“I will go into debt for this gladly because it is well worth it,” said JD.
The majority of his collection consists of standard and widescreen editions, but he does have an ultra-rare screener version.
“It took me about a year to find this one. It’s in great condition, just love this thing,” said JD while kissing the copy of the film, which took home 11 Academy Awards.
It’s only fitting that JD shares the same initials as the movie’s lead character.
“My sunshine, my cream to my coffee, that’s just the man, the legend, you know him, he’s Jack Dawson,” said JD.
Among the shelves of tapes, you’ll also find Jack Dawsons of all sizes and shapes.
“We do have Jack to the Future. He is a more futuristic Jack Dawson,” said JD.
With all the talk about JD, you can’t forget about CD, as in Celine Dion.
“We also have the world’s largest collection of 'Titanic' the soundtrack on CD,” said JD. “'Ripley’s Believe It or Not' took me in, and I will be in the next book."
However, all the newfound fame is really just the tip of the iceberg.
If you want to help JD reach his goal, send your VHS copies of "Titanic" to P.O. Box 5355 Largo, FL 33779.
He did not tell Scripps News Tampa whether or not he believes both Jack and Rose could have fit on the floating door.
This story was originally published by Robert Boyd at Scripps News Tampa.
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