We’ve all seen the movie ‘Titanic’ and even the most cynical among us will admit to having a tear in our eye by the end. James Cameron wrote, co-produced, co-edited and directed the movie. As he accepted one of the 11 Oscars the movie won, he asked for a moments silence for the poor people who perished on the ship. The movie meant so much to Cameron that it was a real labor of love! Take a look at these 14 Titanic facts you may not already know and marvel at the commitment to making the movie from all the people involved!
Although Jack Dawson and Rose DeWitt Bukater were written as fictitious characters it was discovered that there was actually a real ‘J. Dawson’ from Dublin, who perished on the Titanic and was buried alongside other passengers at ‘Fairview Lawn Cemetery’, in Nova Scotia.
Leonardo DiCaprio’s famous line ‘I’m the king of the world!’ wasn’t in the script! The actor made the line up on the spot and now it’s in the ‘American Film Institute’s’ list of the top 100 movie quotes of all time.
Kate Winslet knew she’d have to appear naked in front of DiCaprio during filming so broke the ice by flashing the actor during their first meeting!
This elderly couple in the movie are based on Ida and Isidor Straus. The selfless couple were each offered a seat on the lifeboats, however, they refused them so younger people had a chance at having their lives saved!
There were 150 extras that were all allocated the names and personal histories of real Titanic passengers. Those same extras also had to undergo a course to acquaint themselves with the behavior of people in 1912.
DiCaprio’s pet lizard was run over by a truck during filming, however, the actor managed to nurse it back to health.
Gloria Stuart who played the 101-year-old Rose was actually alive when the Titanic sank! She was 87 at the time of filming.
Titanic costume designer, Deborah Lynn Scott had 24 of the same dress made for Kate Winslet so she looked good at all times whether in the water or not!
Screenings of the movie were so incredibly popular that ‘Paramount’ had to send theaters out replacement film reels when the originals wore out!
Real quotes from the sinking of the Titanic were used in the script. When Jack tells Rose that falling into freezing water was similar to ‘being stabbed with a thousand knives all over your body’ those words were originally spoken by a Titanic survivor!
In the movie, there are 2 hours and 40 minutes of scenes set in 1912. This is the exact amount of time the actual ship took to sink in real life. The movie also leaves 37 seconds between the iceberg warning and the collision, which is true to real-life events too!
During the wrap party for the movie, someone spiked the clam chowder with a hallucinogenic drug which resulted in more than 50 people being hospitalized. Cleverly, James Cameron made himself vomit when he realized what had happened. The person who spiked the food was never caught.
Kate Winslet didn’t wear a wetsuit during filming and almost quit when she got pneumonia!
The filmmakers only had one take to get this scene right as the entire set was to be destroyed in the shot!
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