Titanic Trivia!
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The studios wanted Matthew McConaughey, but Cameron insisted on Leonardo DiCaprio.
Before announcing development of this film, director James Cameron shot footage of icebergs off Nova Scotia under the pretence of making a film called "Planet Ice."
When James Cameron decided to include real footage of the Titanic's remains on the seabed, he did not want to simply shoot from inside a submersible as had been done for the IMAX documentary Titanica (1995). To allow filming from outside the sub, Cameron's brother Mike Cameron and Panavision developed a deep-sea camera system capable of withstanding the 400 atmospheres of pressure at that depth.
The deep-sea camera held only 12 minutes' worth of film, but each dive took many hours. To make the best use of his resources, James Cameron had a 1/33 scale model of the wreck constructed and used it to rehearse each dive. The Russian sub operators would walk around the model ship holding model subs in their hands as Cameron explained the shots he wanted.
12 dives were necessary. On the last two dives, shots were taken by sending a remotely operated vehicle into the wreck; James Cameron had intended using this device only as a prop.
For some wreck interior shots, a set was constructed and submerged.
James Cameron went on the dives to the real Titanic himself, and found it an overwhelming emotional experience to actually see it. He ended up spending more time with the ship than its living passengers did.
Most of the decor on the ship - from the carpet to the chandeliers - was reconstructed by, or under the supervision of, the original companies which furnished the Titanic.
When Jack (Leonardo DiCaprio) is preparing to draw Rose (Kate Winslet), he tells her to "Lie on that bed, uh I mean couch." The line was scripted "Lie on that couch", but DiCaprio made an honest mistake and James Cameron liked it so much he kept it in.
The engine master says, "All ahead full," and we hear someone yell, "All ahead full!" in the background. That is actually director Cameron's voice.
The line "I'm the king of the world!" was voted 100 in AFI's 100 Years 100 Quotes from the Movies.
The movie's line "I'm the king of the world" was voted as the #100 movie quote by the American Film Institute (out of 100).
The scenes during which Thomas Andrews chastises Second Office Charles Lightoller for sending the boats away without filling them to capacity is the only scene in the entire film in which the actors' breath was not digitally added in later.
Was the highest grossing film in Japan until Hayao Miyazaki's Spirted Away (2001) opened
The most expensive movie to be filmed in the 20th Century.
Rose says "Jack" 80 times, not counting when she calls him "Mr. Dawson", but counting both Winslet and Stuart. Jack says "Rose" 50 times.
Cameron drew all the pictures in Jack's sketchbook. In fact, the hands seen sketching Rose wearing the necklace are not Jack's, but director James Cameron's. Since he is left-handed and Jack right-handed, the shots were mirror-imaged in post-production (see also the goofs entry).
The engine room scenes were partially filmed aboard the WWII ship SS Jeremiah O'Brien. Smaller railings and catwalks were installed to make the engines appear bigger.
In real life there was concern that the davits might not be strong enough to lower the boats fully loaded, although they had in fact been tested under such a weight. The davits in the film, which can be seen flexing under the weight, were made by the same company as the real-life ones.
The scene in which Rose meets Jack to thank him for saving her life was improvised by the two actors at James Cameron's request, and the spitting scene was almost all ad-lib. Cameron also credits Kate Winslet with writing the heart-wrenching "This is where we first met" line during the final sinking, as well as suggesting Rose spit in Cal's face rather than (as scripted) jab him with a hairpin.
120 tons of water was release for the final sinking scene.
120 tons of water (triple what had been initially planned) were released for Eric Braeden's final scene. He said that he has never been more terrified in his life than when he was in preparing for it, as there was obviously no possible physical rehearsal.
At the departure scene the extras were filmed on a green screen in a parking lot.
A model was used for the ship in the background during the poker scene so the onlookers are missing
Most of the ocean which extras were jumping into was 3 feet deep.
Kate Winslet improvised with the line "Jack this is where we first met."
When the scene where a wall of water bursts through a doorway was first shot, James Cameron said that the 40,000 gallons of water dumped into the corridor set were not enough, and asked for triple that amount. The set had to be rebuilt to stand up under the additional weight of water.
James Cameron was adamant about not including any song in the movie, even over the closing credits. Composer James Horner secretly arranged with lyricist Will Jennings and singer Céline Dion to write "My Heart Will Go On" and record a demo tape, which he then presented to Cameron. The song won an Oscar.
After a sizable publicity campaign was prepared, release was delayed from summer to Christmas 1997 while postproduction (especially special effects) took longer than anticipated.
James Cameron originally wanted Enya to compose the score for the film and even went so far as to assemble a rough edit using her music. When Enya declined, Cameron hired James Horner to write the score (who had composed the music for Cameron's previous film Aliens (1986)). Horner stated that the tensions with Cameron were so high during post-production of Aliens (1986) that he assumed they would never work together again. However, Cameron was so impressed with Horner's score from Braveheart (1995) he was willing to overlook the past experience. According to some accounts, Horner independently decided the film's score should be done in Enya's style. As a result, several pieces of the score sound very similar to some well-known Enya songs, in particular her theme song for Far and Away (1992) (Book of Days).
Production began on September 1st, 1995.
The "full-size" ship exterior set was constructed in a tank on a beach south of Rosarito, Baja California, Mexico. Construction started on the 85th anniversary of the real Titanic's launch - May 31, 1996 (see also A Night to Remember (1958)). To reduce costs, the number of instances of some repeated components (such as windows) was reduced, and other parts (such as the funnels and lifeboats) were built at 90% scale to produce the correct visual appearance. The set was oriented to face into the prevailing wind so that the smoke from the funnels would blow the right way.
All the scenes where there is an exterior sunset shot were filmed at the set in the Baja California, Mexico set.
In the scene where the water comes crashing into the Grand Staircase room, the film makers only had one shot at it because the entire set and furnishings were going to be destroyed in the shot.
In the scene in the beginning where the captain orders full-speed ahead and the shot moves down into the boiler room, the set was really just about three boilers but the film makers had huge mirrors installed to visualize a great big long room. (In this scene you can see workers shoving in coal, and about 20 feet down the room you can see the mirror image of the workers).
In the scene of Rose looking through the corridors for Jack, the water used was actually from the Pacific Ocean at the Baja California, Mexico set. The water was so cold that when Rose gasps when she first dives into the water, it was actually Kate Winslet's genuine reaction to the frigid ocean.
The only real decks were the boat deck and A deck, with a facade of plating and lighted portholes completed only on the starboard side. So many lights were required that cinematographer Russell Carpenter commented: "And you walk inside, and 70 miles of one kind of cable and 70 miles of another kind all add up to this Terry Gilliam vision of the telephone company of the 1950s."
Only the starboard side of the exterior set was completed. In the scenes portraying the ship at the Southampton dock, all shots were reversed to give the appearance of the port side of the ship, as it was actually docked in 1912. This required the painstaking construction of reversed costumes and signage to complete the illusion, which was achieved by reversing the image in post-production. One cast member joked, "I wasn't dyslexic before starting this show. I am now."
The entire set was mounted on hydraulic jacks and could be tilted up to 6° intact within the depth of the tank.
To achieve tilt angles beyond 6°, the "underwater" parts of the facade were simply detached from the set and the support structure adjusted accordingly.
After the ship breaks in half, the bow section sinks rapidly. To film this, the full-size set was in fact divided into sections. But the bow section would not sink fast enough, due to its own buoyancy and the narrow clearance between it and the tank. James Cameron observed that once "God's 10,000,000 kW light" had risen they would have to wait until the next night, and suggested sinking the set, letting the air space between the two decks fill with water, then raising the set again and quickly sinking it before the water ran out. This worked.
The detached stern section of the full-size set was moved onto a separate tilting platform which would allow it to be rapidly turned vertical for the final phase of sinking. There were 10 takes, each requiring 100 stunt players to fall from or along the set while 1,000 extras were attached to the railings by safety harnesses.
In some shots the apparent tilt angle was steepened using various tricks such as tilting the camera and horizon.
A 162-foot crane originally intended for construction and lighting was mounted on railway tracks and used for most high-level exterior shots, rather than use expensive helicopters. The camera platform was big enough for a gyro-stabilized Wescam, a Steadicam and a hand-held camera. James Cameron directed atop it to fully be able to see the entire set.
Interior shots also involved hydraulically tilted sets in tanks (in various studio soundstages).
Long shots showing the whole ship's exterior were produced by Digital Domain. A 1/20 scale model was filmed and computer-generated images of people, ocean, and smoke were added. For one scene, Cameron instructed them to "Imagine we're making a commercial for White Star Lines and we need beautiful shots sweeping around the ship from a helicopter."
A 1/8 scale model of the ship's stern was also used.
Gloria Stuart, being only 86, was aged by makeup to play Rose at age 101. She did not find this a pleasant experience.
In preference to hiring new extras all the time and repeatedly having to fit them for clothes and coach them in proper 1912 mannerisms, a group of 150 "core extras" was hired who would stay with the picture through the entire production. They and other performers learned proper 1912 behavior in a 3-hour course from Lynne Hockney, who was also the film's choreographer. Hockney also produced a video "Titanic Etiquette: A Time Traveler's Guide", which was then left playing continuously in the wardrobe department.
Many of the "core extras" used for the movie took on characteristics of actual survivors -one scene where two little girls are loaded onto a lifeboat and he says "its only for a little while" is based on survivor testimony of one of the girls who survived.
On the final night of shooting in Nova Scotia, one or more pranksters mixed PCP (angel dust) into the clam chowder served to the cast and crew. 80 people were taken ill, many hospitalized with hallucinations. Bill Paxton felt listless for two weeks after the incident.
The last lines spoken by Old Rose, "He exists now only in my memory," are also the last lines in the film Mad Max 2 (1981).
The name of the character Caledon Hockley derives from two small towns (Caledon and Hockley) near Orangeville, Ontario, Canada, where James Cameron's aunt and uncle live.
In the scene where Jack and Rose are walking the deck and talking, Rose calls herself a "poor little rich girl". Gloria Stuart, who plays old Rose, was actually IN the film Poor Little Rich Girl (1936).
Kate Winslet tells Billy Zane, "I'd rather be his whore than your wife." This line was delivered earlier by Peggy Lipton to Chris Mulkey in "Twin Peaks" (1990) - in which Zane co-starred.
When Jack sneaks onto the first class deck in search of Rose, we see a young boy playing with a top as his father looks on. This is based on a famous photograph taken aboard Titanic soon after her launch. (The photographer left the ship when it docked briefly in Ireland.) The boy and his father survived the sinking, but the boy died some years later in an auto accident.
The bedtime story the Irish mother tells her children is the story of "The Children of Lir," an old Irish folktale about children turned into swans. That is, unless it's actually the story of "Tir na nOg, Land of eternal youth and beauty", an Irish folktale where no one ages.
At $250 million, the movie cost more than the Titanic itself. The cost to construct the ship in 1910-1912 was £1.5 million, equivalent to $7.5 million at the time and about $120 to $150 million in 1997 dollars.
After filming, the remains of the full-size set were sold as scrap metal.
After sampling the caviar provided for the first-class dinner scene, Jonathan Hyde said he "made an acting decision on the spot that Ismay was a big eater".
Mark Lindsay Chapman was fired and rehired twice, and survived an accident where he was struck by a boat and had to be pulled from the water.
The rooms that Caledon Hockley, Rose DeWitt Bukater, and Ruth DeWitt Bukater occupied (B52, B54, and B56) were actual rooms on the real Titanic. They were originally booked by J.P. Morgan, but he cancelled before the ship sailed. Morgan had a controlling interest in International Mercantile Marine, a conglomerate which owned the White Star Line. Bruce Ismay booked the rooms following Morgan's cancellation. (See Goofs.)
Rose, in her old age, owns a Pomeranian. A Pomeranian was one of only three dogs known to have survived the disaster. As the real ship sank, a passenger freed dogs from their kennels, and a survivor later recalled a French bulldog swimming in the ocean. Cameron filmed scenes portraying the doomed animals but cut them.
On the set of Titanic, Leonardo DiCaprio's pet lizard was run over by a truck, but with some TLC, Leo nursed him to health.
The completed film ignores the freighter Californian, which had stopped for the night due to the ice hazard and was within sight of the Titanic throughout the sinking. (The Californian's warning had been received and sent to the bridge but was not placed in the chartroom.) An early version of the script included a scene on the Californian, but Cameron cut out the subplot after filming it to shorten running time. The two actors in the scene on the Californian were Adam Barker as radio operator Cyril Evans and Peter John White as Third Officer Groves.
The most expensive first-class suite on the Titanic cost $4,350, the equivalent of about $75,000 today.
James Cameron forfeited his $8 million director's salary and his percentage of the gross when the studio became concerned at how much over budget the movie was running.
When Rose is afloat on the wood looking up at the stars, there is a vague image of the necklace. It is outlined by brighter stars shaping the heart loosely, and a few bright stars shaping the chain.
When James Cameron was writing the movie, he intended for the main characters Rose DeWitt Bukater and Jack Dawson to be entirely fictitious. It was only after the script was finished that he discovered that there had been a real "J. Dawson" who died aboard the Titanic. This "J. Dawson" was trimmer Joseph Dawson, who had been born September 1888 in Dublin, Ireland. His body was salvaged and buried at Fairview Lawn cemetery in Nova Scotia with many other Titanic victims. Today, his grave stone (#227) is the most widely visited in the cemetery.
As is the case with many 20th Century Fox films, the film cans for the advance screening prints and show prints had a code name. Titanic was "Baby's Day Out 2."
When Jack is telling Rose about the lady he drew that sat at the bar wearing every piece of jewelry she owned, Jack said that they nicknamed her Madame Bijoux. Bijoux is French for jewels.
In 1998 it became the first film since 1966 to win the Oscar for Best Picture but not be nominated for its screenplay (the previous film to hold this "honor" was The Sound of Music (1965).
Most Oscar-nominated film (14) not to win in any acting categories
Gloria Stuart was the only person on the set of this biopic who was living at the time of the actual disaster
This was the first movie to best the Oscar and MTV Movie Award for best picture.
This was the first time that the Best Song Oscar (for My Heart Will Go On) was won by a non-musical Best Picture winner. Best Song Oscar had been won by Best Picture winner only twice before (1944: Going My Way and 1958: Gigi - both musicals).
Came eighth in the UK's Ultimate Film, in which films were placed in order of how many seats they sold at cinemas
Early in production, this film's brief "decoy" working title was "Planet Ice".
Cameron regular Michael Biehn was nearly cast as Cal Hockley and attended numerous meetings with director James Cameron to discuss the role, though ultimately the part went to Billy Zane.
Rob Lowe was considered for the role of Cal Hockley.
One of three films to win a total of 11 Academy Awards, the others being Ben-Hur (1959) and The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003).
Fay Wray was originally offered the role of the older Rose but turned it down, saying, "I think to have done 'Titanic' would have been a tortuous experience altogether". Hollywood legend 'Ann Rutherford' also turned it down.
Kate Winslet developed pneumonia while filming the water scenes.
After finding out that she had to be naked in front of DiCaprio, Kate Winslet decided to break the ice, and when they first met, she flashed him.
A number of scenes are arranged and in some cases scripted almost identical to similar sequences in A Night to Remember (1958). This is particularly true of these scenes:
Thomas Andrews telling Capt. Smith the sinking is "a mathematical certainty";
The Titanic's band preparing to depart at the end, only to turn around and regroup as Hartley begins playing 'Nearer My God to Thee' by himself (though a different version of the song is used in the 1958 film).
A shot of Ismay in a lifeboat as the Titanic sinks behind him.
Thomas Andrews looking at a painting as Titanic prepares to sink
Andrews encountering a man by the Grand Staircase and telling him the ship is doomed (in Cameron's film, he tells Rose).
The biggest box-office film in film history, grossing more than 1 billion dollars world-wide.
The highest-grossing film ($600,788,188) in North American box office history. It is also the only film to gross over $500 million in its North American run.
The drawing Jack made entitled "Lady Bijou" wasn't really just any picture. They got the idea from an old 1933 photograph taken by Brassai called "Bijou".
When the hull breaks in half and the stern falls level, look carefully at the close-up of Jack and Rose when the stern starts to raise again - Jack hits Rose in the face.
Has the longest cinematic release, it stayed on US movie charts from December 19, 1997, until September 25, 1998, a duration of 281 days.
The film was initially budgeted at $135,000,000, but going two months over schedule required asking Paramount Pictures to contribute an additional $65,000,000 in exchange for U.S. distribution rights.
Shay Duffin, who played the pubkeeper in England, is related to one of the original Irish workers who built the Titanic.
The original release date was 25 July 1997. When Harrison Ford, whose upcoming film, Air Force One (1997), was scheduled to be released the same day, found out, he demanded that Paramount push the release date to a different time. Paramount, who had distributed many successful films of Ford's agreed, being worried that Ford would never do another film for them again.
After completing Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991), James Cameron got the idea to do the film after watching A Night to Remember (1958). He spent five years doing research on the Titanic and its fate.
Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet committed to the film even before the script was written, on the basis only of a 165-page outline Cameron had written.
British newspapers alleged that Michael Caine refused a role.
Christian Bale auditioned for the role of Jack Dawson, but was turned down because James Cameron didn't want two British actors playing the lead roles of two Americans.
Macaulay Culkin was considered for the role of Jack Dawson.
Reba McEntire was offered and had accepted the role of the unsinkable Molly Brown, but due to later schedule conflicts had to turn it down.
Ranks first in the Academy Award Most Nominated Films List with 14 nominations, tying with the No.1 All About Eve (1950).
Rose only says "I love you" to Jack once while they are both shivering in the water. Jack never says it, although he mentions what he loves about her (see quotes)
Kate Winslet was one of the few actors who didn't want to wear a wetsuit during the water scenes.
Rose laughs during the flying scene when Jack sings "Come Josephine in My Flying Machine" because in a deleted scene they were singing it as they come out of the 3rd class dance.
The "Sinking" coat was a size 8 while the rest of the gowns were a size 4. It was so large to make Rose seem more vulnerable in the sinking scenes.
At the party in steerage, a foreign-speaking man is speaking with Rose and she says "I'm sorry, I can't understand you." The man is Swedish, probably a friend of Sven's, and he's saying to her "Talar fröken svenska?" In English that translates to "Does the miss/lady speak Swedish?" which she obviously doesn't.
When the stern of the ship is vertical, Chief Baker Joughin (Liam Tuohy, in white) is drinking from a flask. Joughin was one of few to survive the freezing water, allegedly due to the alcohol (but this is disputed as unlikely since alcohol is known to accelerate hypothermia, not to help resist cold). The scene was added after Liam showed the flask to James Cameron explaining that it was a family heirloom as old as the Titanic itself.
The Swedish phrases that Sven and his buddy exchange during the card game translate into the following: "I can't believe you bet our tickets!". "Shut up!". When grabbing Jack by the throat: "You damn weasel!". And after punching his buddy in the face: "You damn idiot! What the hell are we gonna do?! I'm gonna kill you!".
One of the Swedes in the beginning of the film is originally Norwegian, and currently works as a doorman at a nightclub in Stavanger, Norway. The other is an actor from Finland.
Was #1 at the U.S. box office for a record fifteen consecutive weeks, from 19 December 1997 to 2 April 1998.
Dolores O'Riordan was asked to both act in and compose music for the movie, but refused both offers due to the birth of her son.
Director Trademark: [James Cameron] [feet] The shoe at the beginning, Rose's feet while climbing the rail, Jack's feet when taking off his shoes, Rose's and Jack's feet while dancing.
Director Trademark: [James Cameron] [nice cut] Several dissolves between the Titanic on the seabed to the Titanic of the past, and the dissolve from the young to the old Rose.
Director Cameo: [James Cameron] Just below Lovejoy during the below decks party, with a gray beard.
Director Cameo: [James Cameron] Standing behind Fabrizio on the deck waiting for a lifeboat when Murdoch starts shooting.
The hands seen sketching Rose are not Leonardo DiCaprio's, but director James Cameron's. In post-production, Cameron, who is left-handed, mirror-imaged the sketching shots so the artist would be appear to be right-handed, like Leonardo DiCaprio.
Was the first film to be filmed at Fox Studios Baja.
The car in which Jack and Rose make love, was a Renault owned by the Carter family.
The first line spoken in Swedish, the card player saying, "I can't believe you bet our tickets," is spoken with a heavy Finnish accent. So heavy in fact that on the Swedish DVD this line is subtitled along with all the English lines.
The character of Rose is partially based on California artist Beatrice Wood, who died in 1998 at the age of 105.
With her nomination for Best Supporting Actress, Gloria Stuart became the oldest person to ever be nominated for an Oscar at age 87.
In the scene where an elderly couple are hugging on the bed while water rushes underneath depicts the founding owners of Macy's department store in New York; Ida and Isidor Strauss. They actually died on the Titanic in real life. Ida was offered a seat on a lifeboat but refused so that she could stay with her husband saying, "As we have lived together, so we shall die together." There was a scene that depicted this moment, it was cut but it can be see on the Special Collecters DVD
In the movie, Jack is a 3rd class passenger on the Titanic who sneaks his way up to first class with the hopes of never getting caught. In the real disaster in 1912, Third Class Passenger Hilda Maria Hellström, really did sneak up to first class out of curiosity and never got caught, however she was in her 3rd class cabin when the Titanic hit an iceberg and ended up surviving the sinking by boarding one of the last lifeboats to leave, Collapsible C.
Gwyneth Paltrow was also up for the role of Rose Dewitt Bukater but lost to Kate Winslet
In the movie, the original script included scenes of the newlywed couple Daniel and Mary Marvin, Daniel being a cameraman and son of Henry Marvin, co-founder of the movie production company, American Mutoscope & Biograph. Daniel Marvin died aboard the Titanic, but not without photographing some of the only existing film of the liner.
The studios wanted Matthew McConaughey, but Cameron insisted on Leonardo DiCaprio.
Before announcing development of this film, director James Cameron shot footage of icebergs off Nova Scotia under the pretence of making a film called "Planet Ice."
When James Cameron decided to include real footage of the Titanic's remains on the seabed, he did not want to simply shoot from inside a submersible as had been done for the IMAX documentary Titanica (1995). To allow filming from outside the sub, Cameron's brother Mike Cameron and Panavision developed a deep-sea camera system capable of withstanding the 400 atmospheres of pressure at that depth.
The deep-sea camera held only 12 minutes' worth of film, but each dive took many hours. To make the best use of his resources, James Cameron had a 1/33 scale model of the wreck constructed and used it to rehearse each dive. The Russian sub operators would walk around the model ship holding model subs in their hands as Cameron explained the shots he wanted.
12 dives were necessary. On the last two dives, shots were taken by sending a remotely operated vehicle into the wreck; James Cameron had intended using this device only as a prop.
For some wreck interior shots, a set was constructed and submerged.
James Cameron went on the dives to the real Titanic himself, and found it an overwhelming emotional experience to actually see it. He ended up spending more time with the ship than its living passengers did.
Most of the decor on the ship - from the carpet to the chandeliers - was reconstructed by, or under the supervision of, the original companies which furnished the Titanic.
When Jack (Leonardo DiCaprio) is preparing to draw Rose (Kate Winslet), he tells her to "Lie on that bed, uh I mean couch." The line was scripted "Lie on that couch", but DiCaprio made an honest mistake and James Cameron liked it so much he kept it in.
The engine master says, "All ahead full," and we hear someone yell, "All ahead full!" in the background. That is actually director Cameron's voice.
The line "I'm the king of the world!" was voted 100 in AFI's 100 Years 100 Quotes from the Movies.
The movie's line "I'm the king of the world" was voted as the #100 movie quote by the American Film Institute (out of 100).
The scenes during which Thomas Andrews chastises Second Office Charles Lightoller for sending the boats away without filling them to capacity is the only scene in the entire film in which the actors' breath was not digitally added in later.
Was the highest grossing film in Japan until Hayao Miyazaki's Spirted Away (2001) opened
The most expensive movie to be filmed in the 20th Century.
Rose says "Jack" 80 times, not counting when she calls him "Mr. Dawson", but counting both Winslet and Stuart. Jack says "Rose" 50 times.
Cameron drew all the pictures in Jack's sketchbook. In fact, the hands seen sketching Rose wearing the necklace are not Jack's, but director James Cameron's. Since he is left-handed and Jack right-handed, the shots were mirror-imaged in post-production (see also the goofs entry).
The engine room scenes were partially filmed aboard the WWII ship SS Jeremiah O'Brien. Smaller railings and catwalks were installed to make the engines appear bigger.
In real life there was concern that the davits might not be strong enough to lower the boats fully loaded, although they had in fact been tested under such a weight. The davits in the film, which can be seen flexing under the weight, were made by the same company as the real-life ones.
The scene in which Rose meets Jack to thank him for saving her life was improvised by the two actors at James Cameron's request, and the spitting scene was almost all ad-lib. Cameron also credits Kate Winslet with writing the heart-wrenching "This is where we first met" line during the final sinking, as well as suggesting Rose spit in Cal's face rather than (as scripted) jab him with a hairpin.
120 tons of water was release for the final sinking scene.
120 tons of water (triple what had been initially planned) were released for Eric Braeden's final scene. He said that he has never been more terrified in his life than when he was in preparing for it, as there was obviously no possible physical rehearsal.
At the departure scene the extras were filmed on a green screen in a parking lot.
A model was used for the ship in the background during the poker scene so the onlookers are missing
Most of the ocean which extras were jumping into was 3 feet deep.
Kate Winslet improvised with the line "Jack this is where we first met."
When the scene where a wall of water bursts through a doorway was first shot, James Cameron said that the 40,000 gallons of water dumped into the corridor set were not enough, and asked for triple that amount. The set had to be rebuilt to stand up under the additional weight of water.
James Cameron was adamant about not including any song in the movie, even over the closing credits. Composer James Horner secretly arranged with lyricist Will Jennings and singer Céline Dion to write "My Heart Will Go On" and record a demo tape, which he then presented to Cameron. The song won an Oscar.
After a sizable publicity campaign was prepared, release was delayed from summer to Christmas 1997 while postproduction (especially special effects) took longer than anticipated.
James Cameron originally wanted Enya to compose the score for the film and even went so far as to assemble a rough edit using her music. When Enya declined, Cameron hired James Horner to write the score (who had composed the music for Cameron's previous film Aliens (1986)). Horner stated that the tensions with Cameron were so high during post-production of Aliens (1986) that he assumed they would never work together again. However, Cameron was so impressed with Horner's score from Braveheart (1995) he was willing to overlook the past experience. According to some accounts, Horner independently decided the film's score should be done in Enya's style. As a result, several pieces of the score sound very similar to some well-known Enya songs, in particular her theme song for Far and Away (1992) (Book of Days).
Production began on September 1st, 1995.
The "full-size" ship exterior set was constructed in a tank on a beach south of Rosarito, Baja California, Mexico. Construction started on the 85th anniversary of the real Titanic's launch - May 31, 1996 (see also A Night to Remember (1958)). To reduce costs, the number of instances of some repeated components (such as windows) was reduced, and other parts (such as the funnels and lifeboats) were built at 90% scale to produce the correct visual appearance. The set was oriented to face into the prevailing wind so that the smoke from the funnels would blow the right way.
All the scenes where there is an exterior sunset shot were filmed at the set in the Baja California, Mexico set.
In the scene where the water comes crashing into the Grand Staircase room, the film makers only had one shot at it because the entire set and furnishings were going to be destroyed in the shot.
In the scene in the beginning where the captain orders full-speed ahead and the shot moves down into the boiler room, the set was really just about three boilers but the film makers had huge mirrors installed to visualize a great big long room. (In this scene you can see workers shoving in coal, and about 20 feet down the room you can see the mirror image of the workers).
In the scene of Rose looking through the corridors for Jack, the water used was actually from the Pacific Ocean at the Baja California, Mexico set. The water was so cold that when Rose gasps when she first dives into the water, it was actually Kate Winslet's genuine reaction to the frigid ocean.
The only real decks were the boat deck and A deck, with a facade of plating and lighted portholes completed only on the starboard side. So many lights were required that cinematographer Russell Carpenter commented: "And you walk inside, and 70 miles of one kind of cable and 70 miles of another kind all add up to this Terry Gilliam vision of the telephone company of the 1950s."
Only the starboard side of the exterior set was completed. In the scenes portraying the ship at the Southampton dock, all shots were reversed to give the appearance of the port side of the ship, as it was actually docked in 1912. This required the painstaking construction of reversed costumes and signage to complete the illusion, which was achieved by reversing the image in post-production. One cast member joked, "I wasn't dyslexic before starting this show. I am now."
The entire set was mounted on hydraulic jacks and could be tilted up to 6° intact within the depth of the tank.
To achieve tilt angles beyond 6°, the "underwater" parts of the facade were simply detached from the set and the support structure adjusted accordingly.
After the ship breaks in half, the bow section sinks rapidly. To film this, the full-size set was in fact divided into sections. But the bow section would not sink fast enough, due to its own buoyancy and the narrow clearance between it and the tank. James Cameron observed that once "God's 10,000,000 kW light" had risen they would have to wait until the next night, and suggested sinking the set, letting the air space between the two decks fill with water, then raising the set again and quickly sinking it before the water ran out. This worked.
The detached stern section of the full-size set was moved onto a separate tilting platform which would allow it to be rapidly turned vertical for the final phase of sinking. There were 10 takes, each requiring 100 stunt players to fall from or along the set while 1,000 extras were attached to the railings by safety harnesses.
In some shots the apparent tilt angle was steepened using various tricks such as tilting the camera and horizon.
A 162-foot crane originally intended for construction and lighting was mounted on railway tracks and used for most high-level exterior shots, rather than use expensive helicopters. The camera platform was big enough for a gyro-stabilized Wescam, a Steadicam and a hand-held camera. James Cameron directed atop it to fully be able to see the entire set.
Interior shots also involved hydraulically tilted sets in tanks (in various studio soundstages).
Long shots showing the whole ship's exterior were produced by Digital Domain. A 1/20 scale model was filmed and computer-generated images of people, ocean, and smoke were added. For one scene, Cameron instructed them to "Imagine we're making a commercial for White Star Lines and we need beautiful shots sweeping around the ship from a helicopter."
A 1/8 scale model of the ship's stern was also used.
Gloria Stuart, being only 86, was aged by makeup to play Rose at age 101. She did not find this a pleasant experience.
In preference to hiring new extras all the time and repeatedly having to fit them for clothes and coach them in proper 1912 mannerisms, a group of 150 "core extras" was hired who would stay with the picture through the entire production. They and other performers learned proper 1912 behavior in a 3-hour course from Lynne Hockney, who was also the film's choreographer. Hockney also produced a video "Titanic Etiquette: A Time Traveler's Guide", which was then left playing continuously in the wardrobe department.
Many of the "core extras" used for the movie took on characteristics of actual survivors -one scene where two little girls are loaded onto a lifeboat and he says "its only for a little while" is based on survivor testimony of one of the girls who survived.
On the final night of shooting in Nova Scotia, one or more pranksters mixed PCP (angel dust) into the clam chowder served to the cast and crew. 80 people were taken ill, many hospitalized with hallucinations. Bill Paxton felt listless for two weeks after the incident.
The last lines spoken by Old Rose, "He exists now only in my memory," are also the last lines in the film Mad Max 2 (1981).
The name of the character Caledon Hockley derives from two small towns (Caledon and Hockley) near Orangeville, Ontario, Canada, where James Cameron's aunt and uncle live.
In the scene where Jack and Rose are walking the deck and talking, Rose calls herself a "poor little rich girl". Gloria Stuart, who plays old Rose, was actually IN the film Poor Little Rich Girl (1936).
Kate Winslet tells Billy Zane, "I'd rather be his whore than your wife." This line was delivered earlier by Peggy Lipton to Chris Mulkey in "Twin Peaks" (1990) - in which Zane co-starred.
When Jack sneaks onto the first class deck in search of Rose, we see a young boy playing with a top as his father looks on. This is based on a famous photograph taken aboard Titanic soon after her launch. (The photographer left the ship when it docked briefly in Ireland.) The boy and his father survived the sinking, but the boy died some years later in an auto accident.
The bedtime story the Irish mother tells her children is the story of "The Children of Lir," an old Irish folktale about children turned into swans. That is, unless it's actually the story of "Tir na nOg, Land of eternal youth and beauty", an Irish folktale where no one ages.
At $250 million, the movie cost more than the Titanic itself. The cost to construct the ship in 1910-1912 was £1.5 million, equivalent to $7.5 million at the time and about $120 to $150 million in 1997 dollars.
After filming, the remains of the full-size set were sold as scrap metal.
After sampling the caviar provided for the first-class dinner scene, Jonathan Hyde said he "made an acting decision on the spot that Ismay was a big eater".
Mark Lindsay Chapman was fired and rehired twice, and survived an accident where he was struck by a boat and had to be pulled from the water.
The rooms that Caledon Hockley, Rose DeWitt Bukater, and Ruth DeWitt Bukater occupied (B52, B54, and B56) were actual rooms on the real Titanic. They were originally booked by J.P. Morgan, but he cancelled before the ship sailed. Morgan had a controlling interest in International Mercantile Marine, a conglomerate which owned the White Star Line. Bruce Ismay booked the rooms following Morgan's cancellation. (See Goofs.)
Rose, in her old age, owns a Pomeranian. A Pomeranian was one of only three dogs known to have survived the disaster. As the real ship sank, a passenger freed dogs from their kennels, and a survivor later recalled a French bulldog swimming in the ocean. Cameron filmed scenes portraying the doomed animals but cut them.
On the set of Titanic, Leonardo DiCaprio's pet lizard was run over by a truck, but with some TLC, Leo nursed him to health.
The completed film ignores the freighter Californian, which had stopped for the night due to the ice hazard and was within sight of the Titanic throughout the sinking. (The Californian's warning had been received and sent to the bridge but was not placed in the chartroom.) An early version of the script included a scene on the Californian, but Cameron cut out the subplot after filming it to shorten running time. The two actors in the scene on the Californian were Adam Barker as radio operator Cyril Evans and Peter John White as Third Officer Groves.
The most expensive first-class suite on the Titanic cost $4,350, the equivalent of about $75,000 today.
James Cameron forfeited his $8 million director's salary and his percentage of the gross when the studio became concerned at how much over budget the movie was running.
When Rose is afloat on the wood looking up at the stars, there is a vague image of the necklace. It is outlined by brighter stars shaping the heart loosely, and a few bright stars shaping the chain.
When James Cameron was writing the movie, he intended for the main characters Rose DeWitt Bukater and Jack Dawson to be entirely fictitious. It was only after the script was finished that he discovered that there had been a real "J. Dawson" who died aboard the Titanic. This "J. Dawson" was trimmer Joseph Dawson, who had been born September 1888 in Dublin, Ireland. His body was salvaged and buried at Fairview Lawn cemetery in Nova Scotia with many other Titanic victims. Today, his grave stone (#227) is the most widely visited in the cemetery.
As is the case with many 20th Century Fox films, the film cans for the advance screening prints and show prints had a code name. Titanic was "Baby's Day Out 2."
When Jack is telling Rose about the lady he drew that sat at the bar wearing every piece of jewelry she owned, Jack said that they nicknamed her Madame Bijoux. Bijoux is French for jewels.
In 1998 it became the first film since 1966 to win the Oscar for Best Picture but not be nominated for its screenplay (the previous film to hold this "honor" was The Sound of Music (1965).
Most Oscar-nominated film (14) not to win in any acting categories
Gloria Stuart was the only person on the set of this biopic who was living at the time of the actual disaster
This was the first movie to best the Oscar and MTV Movie Award for best picture.
This was the first time that the Best Song Oscar (for My Heart Will Go On) was won by a non-musical Best Picture winner. Best Song Oscar had been won by Best Picture winner only twice before (1944: Going My Way and 1958: Gigi - both musicals).
Came eighth in the UK's Ultimate Film, in which films were placed in order of how many seats they sold at cinemas
Early in production, this film's brief "decoy" working title was "Planet Ice".
Cameron regular Michael Biehn was nearly cast as Cal Hockley and attended numerous meetings with director James Cameron to discuss the role, though ultimately the part went to Billy Zane.
Rob Lowe was considered for the role of Cal Hockley.
One of three films to win a total of 11 Academy Awards, the others being Ben-Hur (1959) and The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003).
Fay Wray was originally offered the role of the older Rose but turned it down, saying, "I think to have done 'Titanic' would have been a tortuous experience altogether". Hollywood legend 'Ann Rutherford' also turned it down.
Kate Winslet developed pneumonia while filming the water scenes.
After finding out that she had to be naked in front of DiCaprio, Kate Winslet decided to break the ice, and when they first met, she flashed him.
A number of scenes are arranged and in some cases scripted almost identical to similar sequences in A Night to Remember (1958). This is particularly true of these scenes:
Thomas Andrews telling Capt. Smith the sinking is "a mathematical certainty";
The Titanic's band preparing to depart at the end, only to turn around and regroup as Hartley begins playing 'Nearer My God to Thee' by himself (though a different version of the song is used in the 1958 film).
A shot of Ismay in a lifeboat as the Titanic sinks behind him.
Thomas Andrews looking at a painting as Titanic prepares to sink
Andrews encountering a man by the Grand Staircase and telling him the ship is doomed (in Cameron's film, he tells Rose).
The biggest box-office film in film history, grossing more than 1 billion dollars world-wide.
The highest-grossing film ($600,788,188) in North American box office history. It is also the only film to gross over $500 million in its North American run.
The drawing Jack made entitled "Lady Bijou" wasn't really just any picture. They got the idea from an old 1933 photograph taken by Brassai called "Bijou".
When the hull breaks in half and the stern falls level, look carefully at the close-up of Jack and Rose when the stern starts to raise again - Jack hits Rose in the face.
Has the longest cinematic release, it stayed on US movie charts from December 19, 1997, until September 25, 1998, a duration of 281 days.
The film was initially budgeted at $135,000,000, but going two months over schedule required asking Paramount Pictures to contribute an additional $65,000,000 in exchange for U.S. distribution rights.
Shay Duffin, who played the pubkeeper in England, is related to one of the original Irish workers who built the Titanic.
The original release date was 25 July 1997. When Harrison Ford, whose upcoming film, Air Force One (1997), was scheduled to be released the same day, found out, he demanded that Paramount push the release date to a different time. Paramount, who had distributed many successful films of Ford's agreed, being worried that Ford would never do another film for them again.
After completing Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991), James Cameron got the idea to do the film after watching A Night to Remember (1958). He spent five years doing research on the Titanic and its fate.
Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet committed to the film even before the script was written, on the basis only of a 165-page outline Cameron had written.
British newspapers alleged that Michael Caine refused a role.
Christian Bale auditioned for the role of Jack Dawson, but was turned down because James Cameron didn't want two British actors playing the lead roles of two Americans.
Macaulay Culkin was considered for the role of Jack Dawson.
Reba McEntire was offered and had accepted the role of the unsinkable Molly Brown, but due to later schedule conflicts had to turn it down.
Ranks first in the Academy Award Most Nominated Films List with 14 nominations, tying with the No.1 All About Eve (1950).
Rose only says "I love you" to Jack once while they are both shivering in the water. Jack never says it, although he mentions what he loves about her (see quotes)
Kate Winslet was one of the few actors who didn't want to wear a wetsuit during the water scenes.
Rose laughs during the flying scene when Jack sings "Come Josephine in My Flying Machine" because in a deleted scene they were singing it as they come out of the 3rd class dance.
The "Sinking" coat was a size 8 while the rest of the gowns were a size 4. It was so large to make Rose seem more vulnerable in the sinking scenes.
At the party in steerage, a foreign-speaking man is speaking with Rose and she says "I'm sorry, I can't understand you." The man is Swedish, probably a friend of Sven's, and he's saying to her "Talar fröken svenska?" In English that translates to "Does the miss/lady speak Swedish?" which she obviously doesn't.
When the stern of the ship is vertical, Chief Baker Joughin (Liam Tuohy, in white) is drinking from a flask. Joughin was one of few to survive the freezing water, allegedly due to the alcohol (but this is disputed as unlikely since alcohol is known to accelerate hypothermia, not to help resist cold). The scene was added after Liam showed the flask to James Cameron explaining that it was a family heirloom as old as the Titanic itself.
The Swedish phrases that Sven and his buddy exchange during the card game translate into the following: "I can't believe you bet our tickets!". "Shut up!". When grabbing Jack by the throat: "You damn weasel!". And after punching his buddy in the face: "You damn idiot! What the hell are we gonna do?! I'm gonna kill you!".
One of the Swedes in the beginning of the film is originally Norwegian, and currently works as a doorman at a nightclub in Stavanger, Norway. The other is an actor from Finland.
Was #1 at the U.S. box office for a record fifteen consecutive weeks, from 19 December 1997 to 2 April 1998.
Dolores O'Riordan was asked to both act in and compose music for the movie, but refused both offers due to the birth of her son.
Director Trademark: [James Cameron] [feet] The shoe at the beginning, Rose's feet while climbing the rail, Jack's feet when taking off his shoes, Rose's and Jack's feet while dancing.
Director Trademark: [James Cameron] [nice cut] Several dissolves between the Titanic on the seabed to the Titanic of the past, and the dissolve from the young to the old Rose.
Director Cameo: [James Cameron] Just below Lovejoy during the below decks party, with a gray beard.
Director Cameo: [James Cameron] Standing behind Fabrizio on the deck waiting for a lifeboat when Murdoch starts shooting.
The hands seen sketching Rose are not Leonardo DiCaprio's, but director James Cameron's. In post-production, Cameron, who is left-handed, mirror-imaged the sketching shots so the artist would be appear to be right-handed, like Leonardo DiCaprio.
Was the first film to be filmed at Fox Studios Baja.
The car in which Jack and Rose make love, was a Renault owned by the Carter family.
The first line spoken in Swedish, the card player saying, "I can't believe you bet our tickets," is spoken with a heavy Finnish accent. So heavy in fact that on the Swedish DVD this line is subtitled along with all the English lines.
The character of Rose is partially based on California artist Beatrice Wood, who died in 1998 at the age of 105.
With her nomination for Best Supporting Actress, Gloria Stuart became the oldest person to ever be nominated for an Oscar at age 87.
In the scene where an elderly couple are hugging on the bed while water rushes underneath depicts the founding owners of Macy's department store in New York; Ida and Isidor Strauss. They actually died on the Titanic in real life. Ida was offered a seat on a lifeboat but refused so that she could stay with her husband saying, "As we have lived together, so we shall die together." There was a scene that depicted this moment, it was cut but it can be see on the Special Collecters DVD
In the movie, Jack is a 3rd class passenger on the Titanic who sneaks his way up to first class with the hopes of never getting caught. In the real disaster in 1912, Third Class Passenger Hilda Maria Hellström, really did sneak up to first class out of curiosity and never got caught, however she was in her 3rd class cabin when the Titanic hit an iceberg and ended up surviving the sinking by boarding one of the last lifeboats to leave, Collapsible C.
Gwyneth Paltrow was also up for the role of Rose Dewitt Bukater but lost to Kate Winslet
In the movie, the original script included scenes of the newlywed couple Daniel and Mary Marvin, Daniel being a cameraman and son of Henry Marvin, co-founder of the movie production company, American Mutoscope & Biograph. Daniel Marvin died aboard the Titanic, but not without photographing some of the only existing film of the liner.