In an infinite loop, JD's seven televisions play Titanic seven times a day.
In a room dedicated to that film, the monitors and their video recorders coexist with hundreds of VHS that double as wallpaper and with a mannequin that looks like Leonardo DiCaprio.
“We watch Titanic every day,” JD admits to Clarín.
Every time I watch it, it feels like it's the first time: “I'm as excited to see the movie now as I was in 1997. It never gets old and I always find new things I love.”
The collector lives with his partner in Largo, Florida.
He is 32 years old and is the number 1 fan of James Cameron's classic.
Today, 2,860 VHS copies of the 1997 film make up the largest collection of Titanic video cassettes on the planet.
“I can't imagine anyone having more,” JD tells Clarín.
What is your Titanic room like?
It's full of Titanic on VHS.
We actually ran out of space!
Right now we have a larger space prepared in a commercial location and it will be open to the public.
It should be a lot of fun to sort through.
The televisions in the Titanic room.
Photo: JD
JD fell in love with Titanic when he was six years old and his parents took him to the movies.
He acquired his first copy in 1998, and without knowing it he sealed his destiny as a collector: he realized that being able to see the film again whenever he wanted was going to change his life.
Do you think your fanaticism has to do with nostalgia?
Of course.
I saw the movie in theaters back in 1997 and couldn't escape it.
It was everywhere.
I was caught up in the story and the movie immediately.
JD and his DiCaprio mannequin.
Photo: JD
Thanks to social networks, where he has thousands of followers, JD receives VHS copies of Titanic from all countries.
Other boxes, as well as different collectibles from the film, can usually be found at second-hand stores.
What is the best copy you have?
My favorite copy is the screening of the film from 1997. It came out a year before the actual release on VHS.
It is super rare and difficult to find.
It is also the most expensive: $50 USD.
Their goal is to get one million copies.
Photo: JD
His dream is to build a Titanic VHS Titanic.
No joke: “That's my ultimate goal.
I would love to recreate my own Dream Boat and display it in an art exhibition.
It will be a while before we can get 1 million.”
Do you think Jack would be saved if he got on the board?
Jack Dawson swam to America to live in my Titanic Kingdom.
I currently have a life-sized Jack Dawson that I take on my adventures to find more Titanic on VHS.
JD doesn't just have VHS.
Photo: JD
JD has copies from all continents, but none from Argentina.
“We accept international copies from all over the world, so it's just a matter of time,” he said of the possibility of getting one.
Will it be given?