1997’s Titanic was a record-breaker when it was released – and it continues to delight audiences to this day.
The big-budget retelling of the 1912 tragedy took viewers by storm – not least because of the iconic performances by Kate and Leo.
It’s truly the movie that keeps on giving.
But this ongoing fascination has led to tragedy.
As a submarine filled with fans looking to explore the wreckage has now gone missing.
Debuting in 1997, Titanic is still one of the biggest movies of all time.
It won a whopping eleven Academy Awards (including the coveted Best Picture) and is still way up there in terms of the highest-grossing movies ever.
Kate Winslet and Leonardo DiCaprio were perfectly cast as young lovers.
Rose DeWitt Bukater and Jack Dawson, who came from different worlds but were perfect together.
The CGI is impressive.
Especially when you consider the fact that the movie came out in 1997; the way that the filmmakers brought the sinking of the Titanic to life was truly spectacular.
But did you know there was on major critic of the movie?
Neil DeGrasse Tyson. In the original cut of the movie, Kate Winslet lies back on her floating door and gazes at the stars – which are Tyson’s specialist subject, after all.
But there was one major problem!
The stars that she sees would not be visible based on where the Titanic sank. Tyson wrote to Cameron to let him know – and it bothered him so much that he actually changed the sky in the 2012 3D release.
Plus, did you know …
In the movie, one truly heartbreaking scene shows two older passengers settling down into bed, resigned to their fate as their room fills up with water.
These two characters were actually based on real people!
Isidor Straus (plus wife Ida) co-owned famous department store, Macy’s. The pair both really died on the RMS Titanic, too.
We all remember the iconic drawing, by Leo’s character Jack.
But in real life? It was actually drawn by director, James Cameron. It’s now one of the most coveted props in film history, with a value of $16,000 when it was last sold.
The movie was respected for its attention to detail.
And it was recently revealed that there was a very good reason for this. James Cameron was so particular about capturing the right feel that he actually descended to the wreckage multiple times.
He was there a lot.
And we mean a lot. It was actually revealed that Cameron spent more time on the wreckage than any passenger did on the actual ship.
We all know that Titanic was a pricey movie to make.
But have you ever considered exactly how much the movie cost? Because one fan did the math.
Titanic famously cost over $200 million.
The final cut stands at just over three hours – 195 minutes, to be exact. That works out at over a million dollars per minute of screen time. Wowza.
Researchers from the White Star Company were on hand to offer particular insight into the interior design of the famous ship.
Right down to details such as the wallpaper, chandeliers, and even smaller ornaments used as props, everything is historically accurate.
Cameron was truly dedicated, ensuring that the actors were served real Beluga caviar during the dining-room scenes.
This caviar costs between a whopping $3,200 to $4,500 per pound. Now we’re starting to understand that crazy budget.
This was a white with the actors!
Jonathan Hyde, who played J Bruce Ismay, the managing director of the ship, claimed that he tasted the caviar and “made an acting decision on the spot that Ismay was a big eater.”
Leonardo di Caprio was shot to fame by the movie.
But, according to one of his body doubles on the set, he categorically did not covet the attention.
He mostly kept to himself!
He would apparently bring his pet lizard (ingeniously named Blizzard) to set most days, and spent hours playing with the creature.
Oh, and speaking of DiCaprio…
The happy-go-lucky, rough-around-the-edges personality of Jack Dawson sparked the romantic awakening of many girls (and boys) around the world.
He was made for the role!
The iconic “king of the world” line that Jack shrieks upon boarding the boat? It was actually straight off the top of DiCaprio’s head!
With a budget as big as the Titanic’s, you’d expect the catering to be pretty incredible.
But on one of the final days of shooting, crew members took things to the next level.
On set in Nova-Scotia, the cast and crew were served clam chowder – with an extra special ingredient.
According to Vice, a batch of the soup was reportedly spiked with hallucinogenic drug, PCP.
After ingesting the narcotic, around eighty people fell ill and reported hallucinations.
Cameron wasn’t just a stickler for set details.
He was also a stickler when it came to the characters in the movie – even the ones that you never heard of or even noticed.
The extras all had names and backstories and were there for the majority of filming.
These actors were even trained in 1912 mannerisms and customs for maximum authenticity.
And did you know, Jack Dawson was actually based (loosely) on a real person?
Jack London was an American novelist, known for his works, The Call of the Wild, and White Fang. He also had a similarly varied life to Dawson, taking part in the Klondike Gold Rush.
But the love for this movie has now sparked another tragedy, as a submersible operated by OceanGate Expeditions exploring the wreckage has now gone missing.
The search area is concentrated approximately 900 miles off the coast of Cape Cod, at a depth of approximately 13,000 feet, according to Coast Guard officials.
Alistair Greig, a professor of marine engineering at University College London, explained that the options become extremely limited if the submersible has settled on the seabed and cannot resurface under its own power.
To aid in the rescue efforts, authorities are working on deploying a remotely operated vehicle capable of diving up to 20,000 feet to the location of the missing submersible, as shared by David Concannon, an advisor to OceanGate.
But it has been announced that the Coast Guard teams have a limited window of 70 to 96 hours to locate the missing submersible operated by OceanGate Expeditions and save the five individuals on board.
The submersible involved in this rescue operation was launched from the Canadian research ship Polar Prince on Sunday morning. Its objective was to explore the renowned ocean liner Titanic, which sank in 1912 after colliding with an iceberg.
However, communication with the submersible was lost approximately one hour and 45 minutes after it submerged, leading to its reported disappearance.
Greig explained that submersibles typically carry a drop weight, a mass that can be released in emergencies to initiate buoyancy and bring the vessel to the surface. If the missing sub deployed its drop weight, it would remain at the ocean’s surface, awaiting discovery.
Since 2019, the company has offered adventurous tourists the opportunity to explore the Titanic’s wreckage over two miles below the ocean’s surface, off the coast of Canada, at a cost of $250,000 per ticket.
This particular voyage marked OceanGate’s third annual expedition to the Titanic wreckage site, aiming to assess its condition and deterioration over the years.