James ‘Titanic’ Cameron shuts the door: ‘Jack had to die’

The submarine Titan experience proved it tragically last week: Exactly 111 years after the Titanic sank, this luxury ship continues to capture the imagination. James Cameron’s 1997 blockbuster film of the same name still stirs emotions a quarter of a century later. Wasn’t the door that saved Rose (Kate Winslet) from drowning at the end of the movie also a place for Jack (Leonardo DiCaprio)?

This question gives rise to particularly heated discussions. For the 25th anniversary of ‘Titanic,’ the director himself has decided to close the debate once and for all: In a new documentary, to be seen next week on National Geographic, he and experts investigate whether poor Jack’s fate Could have been different.

James Cameron “Specially for ‘Titanic: 25 Years Later,’ we built a replica of the infamous door and floated it in a pool where we could recreate the conditions of the wreck. with two people of roughly the same height cat And Leonardo We tested four different scenarios and checked whether the two characters could have survived the disaster. I’m not going to reveal the results here, but I have to admit: I learned some interesting things.”

– Since the release of ‘Titanic’, The Door has been mentioned in almost all of your interviews. Do you hope that this will end forever?

cameroon “Oh, that’s not necessarily the case. It’s really a compliment that that one scene still intrigues so many people. It proves that I’ve managed to make people love Jack so much that they want to see him.” Don’t want to see you die What more could you ask for as a director?

“At the same time, I’ve always found the whole discussion a bit silly. I mean Romeo in the famous tragedy was Shakespeare Can’t even take poison? Couldn’t he drop the dagger with which Julia was going to stab herself? Sure – but that’s not the story, is it? ‘Titanic’ is a film about death, about two lovers who break up. If they both survived the disaster, the ending wouldn’t be as impressive.

“And that ending suits Jack, too. The moment he picks Rose up at the door, he tries to get on it himself – he doesn’t really have any death wishes – but when he realizes it’s too dangerous, he decides to sacrifice himself. decides. He feels a deep, all-encompassing love for the rose. A love that transcends his own life, and that inspires that grand gesture.

» So when asked why there was no room for Jack at the door, the only correct answer remains: because on page 147 of the script it is written: ‘Jack dies.’ (laughs)»

– I’m amazed!

Titanic: 25 Years Later with James Cameron
National Geographic Wednesday, July 5 at 9:30 PM