Titanic is arguably one of the most iconic movies of our time and shot its leads, Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet, to superstardom.
If you have been hiding under a rock and don't know, the movie, directed by acclaimed visionary James Cameron, follows the journey of seventeen-year-old bride-to-be Rose, who hails from an aristocratic family, who falls in love with artist Jack during the ill-fated maiden voyage of the R.M.S. Titanic. Based on the real-life sinking, the Titanic was the most luxurious ship of the White Star Line, which tragically sunk in the icy waters of the North Atlantic in the early hours of 15 April 1912.
The movie shone a light on the horrors faced on board the last few hours of the ship while also encompassing masterful directing from James, breathtaking cinematography, a magnificent script, a hauntingly beautiful soundtrack, and some fantastic acting that brought to the forefront the passionately innocent romance between the character Rose and Jack. It's hard to believe that 25 years have passed since the film's release, which will once again be released in the cinemas to celebrate the monumental milestone.
In honour of the 25th anniversary, here are our favourite 25 facts that you may and may not know about the legendary movie Titanic:
1. We can't imagine a better-suited Jack than Leonardo DiCaprio. But he wasn't the go-to, no questions-asked choice from the beginning because a slew of other actors was first considered before Leo signed on the dotted line. Apparently, studios wanted Matthew McConaughey for the leading man role, and they also heavily considered Tom Cruise and Brad Pitt. Clueless actor Jeremy Sisto even got as far as doing a screen test with Kate Winslet. Speaking about losing out on the role, Jeremy admitted that he was "a little heartbroken when the role didn't come his way" in an interview with The Hollywood Reporter. Given that it was what launched Leo into mega-stardom, he would be heartbroken, too!
2. Kate Winslet also had to fight off other actresses vying for her role, including pop icon Madonna. Other actresses in the running included established actresses such as Nicole Kidman, Jodie Foster, Cameron Diaz, Sharon Stone, and Gwyneth Paltrow. Luckily, little-known Kate's persistence paid off, and she won the role (after telling James that he was "mad" if he didn't cast, as per her interview with Rolling Stone).
3. This is an odd one, and yes, it really did happen. On the final night of filming, someone mixed PCP (angel dust) into the clam chowder that was served to the cast and crew on the set. Eighty people were sent to the hospital with hallucinations. Thankfully, Leo and Kate were nowhere near the scene of the crime. The perpetrator has not been found to this very day.
4. Kate was one of the few actors to decline the offer of a wetsuit while filming water scenes, and unfortunately, as a result, she came down with pneumonia.
5. It makes sense that the name of the movie is Titanic, with the ship at the centre of the plot. Straightforward, simple and classic. But during production, that wasn't the case, as James Cameron originally planned to name the movie, wait for it... Planet Ice. But if that thought makes your blood boil, don't worry. Apparently, it was just a code name to prevent the press from knowing what James was working on. Clever.
6. Leo spent his free time on set hanging out with his pet lizard, Blizzard. Unfortunately, one day the lizard was run over by a truck, but the actor nursed him back to health.
7. Can you imagine Titanic without Celine Dion's My Heart Will Go On? No, we can't either. But apparently, Cameron only wanted instrumental music on the soundtrack, prompting composer James Horner to record the demo with Celine in secret. He explained to Billboard that the icon sang like her "life depended on it," and her voice left everyone in the room "emotionally shook up". It took another month and a half to convince Cameron to use the song in the song. And all we can say to that is, thank goodness!
8. Kate had a very awkward first interaction with Leo on set, with her accidentally flashing the Romeo + Juliet actor. Kate recalled the meeting, telling PEOPLE in 1998: "I was having my makeup put on – with nothing on – and there was Leo. He saw me and went, 'Whooa!' and I said, 'We're going to spend the whole day like this; we might as well get over it now.' That broke the ice."
9. Remember sweet little Cora? Aka, "Jack's best girl"? Well, Lindsay Lohan first auditioned for the role and was pretty much a shoo-in before James decided that her fiery red locks were too similar to Kate's. He went on to choose brunette actress, Alexandrea Owens
10. There was only one opportunity to shoot the scene in which a wave of water came crashing into the opulent grand staircase room because the entire set and furnishings would be destroyed in the shot. Luckily, the shot was nailed.
11. The role of Captain Smith initially went to Robert De Niro, who was forced to turn it down due to a gastrointestinal infection at the time. British actor Bernard Hill took over.
12. Fun fact: actress Gloria Stuart, who played the older version of Kate's character Rose, was the only person who worked on the film alive when Titanic sank in 1912. She was only two at the time. Furthermore, at age 87, she became the oldest person ever to be nominated for a Best Supporting Actress Oscar nomination. Well deserved.
13. The coat worn by Rose in the ship sinking scenes was a US Size 8, while the rest of her gowns were a US Size 4. The outerwear was made larger to make her character look more vulnerable and bogged down as the ship met its fate.
14. Rose was supposed to jab Cal with a hairpin, but Kate decided last minute that it looked better to spit in the fact of her character's fiancé, and James agreed.
15. Remember that boiling hot engine room scene full of workers? Well, all the stuntmen hired for that scene were roughly 5 feet tall to make the room look larger.
16. With the long, arduous days on set, Kate and Leo used the scenes with the massive water tanks to use the bathroom. Gross, yes, and Kate explained that she preferred to have peed in a regular toilet rather than in the water. Speaking on The Rosie O'Donnell Show, Kate said: “You know, when you gotta go, you gotta go. It was so awful because Leo would sometimes say to me, 'Sweetie I gotta pee'… It was terrible. It was awful. And you always felt awful doing it. It took too long getting out, with the wet clothes. I confess. It happened. It happened.”
17. Gloria, who played old Rose, has her Pomeranian on set on purpose, as it was Cameron's way to pay tribute to the three canine survivors of the RMS Titanic. He also filmed scenes portraying other animals perishing in the tragedy, but the footage ended up on the cutting room floor.
18. The film Titanic cost an eye-watering $200 million to make. In contrast, the cost to construct the ship between 1910-1912 was about $7.5 million, which averaged between $120 to $150 million in 1997.
19. The underwater footage of the Titanic is from the actual wreckage, which James dived in to see for himself twelve times when the film's production began in 1912.
20. As well as being a skilled director, James is also a great sketch artist. James did the drawings of Rose in Jack's sketchbook.
21. Quotes from the real people who survived the disaster were used in the script. One example is the scene where Jack attempts to stop Rose from jumping off the ship and tells her that falling in the freezing water would feel like "being stabbed with a thousand knives all over your body". This was actually said by Second Officer Charles Herber Lightoller, who described his experience as: “Striking the water was like a thousand knives being driven into one's body, and, for a few moments, I completely lost grip of myself.”
22. It's probably the most famous piece of wooden panelling. Still, the artefact that doubles as the door Rose floated on while Jack didn't make it was a genuine piece from the original ship and is currently on display at the Maritime Museum of the Atlantic in Halifax, Nova Scotia.
23. The starry night sky Rose looks up at once floating in the water on the door was historically inaccurate, as it wasn't the same sky that people in 1912 would have said. Cameron made the change when American astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson sent him an accurate constellation map, with the amendments showing up in the 2012 re-release.
24. The real Titanic officially sank at 2:20 am. In comparison, in the movie, a clock showing the time 2.15 in the morning was shown while the ship was still sinking.
25. And finally, spitting out the last fact, the scene in which Jack teaches Rose how to spit was completely improvised after James encouraged the cast to add their own touches to the script. Because of that freedom, Jack taught Rose how to spit "like a man".
Titanic's 25th anniversary re-release will be available to watch in theatres on 10, February 2023.
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