James Cameron Kept 1 Souvenir From ‘Titanic’ Because He Knew What It’s Like Working on a Sinking Ship
Movie maker James Cameron’s interest in the Titanic ship led to him making one of the highest-grossing films ever. After filming wrapped, the director took a little souvenir with him from set as a symbol for his hard work.
Why James Cameron kept this 1 ‘Titanic’ symbol
Many were once skeptical about Titanic‘s success. There were some who even expected and braced for the movie to flop. Cameron’s own confidence in his film began to waver as Titanic was close to completion.
“When I was in the last six months of finishing the film, I knew my career was over, I knew we weren’t going to make a dime, I knew that we had put a gigantic dent in 20th Century Fox’s treasury, and that I would never be forgiven for the rest of my life,” Cameron once said according to Total Film.
The reported behind-the scenes issues the movie faced perhaps didn’t help inspire Cameron’s faith in the movie, either. According to the Washington Post, the film was pushed back several times before landing its release date.
There were also some alleged controversies regarding the cast and crew being intentionally food poisoned while making the film. Rumors would soon emerge about problems like unsafe working conditions.
Despite certain signs pointing towards Titanic being a disaster, the movie went on to exceed expectations. Still, Cameron took home the ship wheel from Titanic’s set. It served as a reminder for the sometimes grueling process of filmmaking.
“I keep this in my office because I know what it feels like to be at the helm of a sinking ship. Which is what it feels like on every movie that I make,” Cameron said in a CBS News interview.
James Cameron mistakenly believed that ‘Titanic’ would be like his other movies
Titanic wasn’t the only blockbuster Cameron made. Before the romance drama, he’d been responsible for other hits like the Terminator films that also proved solid hits. But he felt Titanic’s success and pop-culture influence was even more special compared to his other projects, which the filmmaker didn’t expect.
“I think I thought it was going to be just like any other film that I’d made. Like Aliens or Terminator or True Lies, I thought it would have its season in my life, and then it would fade away and wind up on a shelf. But, Titanic tends not to do that,” Cameron once told Collider.
Cameron believed that Titanic being tied so closely to the real-life 1912 tragedy helped sustain its legacy beyond prior films. Especially considering there were still new discoveries being made about the tragedy, which constantly renewed interests.
“Titanic is not only endlessly fascinating, but it tends to suck you back in because there are so many unanswered questions,” Cameron said. “You feel like, ‘If we could have just done a little more on that expedition. If we could have just had one more dive. If our vehicle wouldn’t have failed at a critical moment, we would have gotten into that last corner, or down into the boiler room.’ There’s always more to learn at the wreck site, even now, even after we’ve surveyed about 60% of the interior of the ship with our robotics and learned a tremendous amount.”
What James Cameron would fix if he re-made ‘Titanic’
Cameron was adamant that he had no intention of remaking Titanic. But in an interview with Yahoo, he admitted there were a few errors he’d like to fix in the film if he did.
“We’d have to change a couple of effects shots for the final sinking sequence, but really only two or three shots. As I was researching at the time of making the film, there really wasn’t much known about how the ship broke up, so there was a lot of conjecture on my part talking to Titanic experts and collating that with the eyewitness reports,” he said.
He also felt that, since his Titanic wasn’t the first movie made about the tragedy, it wouldn’t be the last. So, he gave solid advice to whatever filmmaker would attempt to follow up his feature in the future.
“Be prepared to go down the rabbit hole and never come back,” Cameron said. “I’m sure the story’s not going to go away, nor should it.”
