'Titanic' sets sail again, now in 3-D

The Nutrition Labeling and Education Act, passed in 1990, requires that food products come with detailed information regarding calories and nutrients. That's helpful, given the food industry's often misleading advertising. "Made with whole wheat," for example, is not the same as "100 percent whole wheat."

The movie industry could use similar labeling, especially on 3-D films. Now that James Cameron has announced the 3-D version of his 1997 blockbuster, "Titanic," it will be interesting to see how it advertises itself.

Audiences are beginning to realize that the phrase "in 3-D," so often trumpeted in trailers and on posters, can mean different things. After Cameron's "Avatar" kicked off the current 3-D craze, studios began hastily converting 2-D films, often with unsatisfying results. Warner Bros.' "Clash of the Titans" was singled out as a particularly glitchy example: Backgrounds looked cardboard-flat, while actors' faces floated off their heads.

Studios are now using the phrase "Shot in 3-D" in their advertising to assure viewers that they won't be seeing a converted film. The words show up smack in the middle of a trailer for the upcoming adventure film "The Three Musketeers." Trailers for the Nicolas Cage flick "Drive Angry" built the phrase right into the movie's logo. "Transformers: Dark of the Moon," due in July, was partially filmed in 3-D but partially converted; its trailers do not say "Shot in 3-D."

"Titanic" won't be able to say that, either. Cameron insists the movie has been "painstakingly" converted. Somehow, that phrasing is hard to envision on a poster.