Congratulations George! Congratulations Jim! Congratulations Steven!

In 1998, Titanic topped Star Wars as the #1 box office movie of all time. In congratulations, George Lucas bought this full-page ad inVariety, in which the Star Wars crew jumps out of the sinking ship and into the ocean of second place.

Apparently, it is a Hollywood tradition for directors who have their #1 records smashed to take out full page ads congratulating the new record-holders. When Star Wars broke Jaws‘ record, Steven Spielberg congratulated George Lucas by taking out a full-page ad with a picture of R2-D2 snagging Jaws on a fishing line.

Thereafter, E.T. beat Star Wars and held the record for a while. This was the message to Steven Spielberg from George Lucas in 1983 congratulating Spielberg for E.T passing Star Wars in the movie rental takings…

But Star Wars Special Edition reclaimed #1 in 1997. The result? Another full-page ad in which E.T. puts a crown on R2′s head…

Steven Spielberg, director of E.T., honored his friend Lucas with an advertisement in Daily Variety, the entertainment industry magazine, with a picture of E.T., the alien from the movie, putting a crown on top of R2-D2, the small robot from Star Wars.

“Dear George,” the ad read, “Congratulations for renewing the most enduring motion picture in cinema history. Your pal, Steven.”