Happy birthday Kate Winslet! This week the stunning British actress turned 41, so we decided to look back at one of her most popular films Titanic. The film was extremely well received, and today it is still the second highest grossing film of all time. Kate was fantastic in the film, earning her an Oscar nomination for Best Actress In A Leading Role.
The film gave viewers a glimpse into life aboard the Titanic, as well as the tragedy that befell the passengers. Here are 10 things that you probably didn’t know about the movie Titanic.
Things You Didn’t Know About The Movie Titanic
1. It cost more money to make the movie Titanic than it did to build the original ship.
The movie cost around $200 million to make, and the ship only cost around $7.5 million to build (which is around $150 million when adjusted for inflation!)
2. In the famous scene where Jack sketches Rose, it isn’t actually Leonardo DiCaprio’s hands.
It is movie director James Cameron’s! The director is actually left-handed and Leo is right handed, so they mirrored the shot to make it look authentic.
3. After the script was finished, James Cameron found that there was actually a real “J. Dawson” who died aboard the Titanic.
The man was called Joseph Dawson, and his grave is still the most visited in its cemetery.
4. The iconic scene where Rose and Jack spat off the side of the boat was completely improvised.
And so was the scene where Kate Winslet spits in Billy Zane’s face. She was actually supposed to prod him with a hairpin, but she clearly preferred the idea of spitting!
5. Director James Cameron wanted Enya to compose the score for the film.
He even assembled a rough edit using music she had already released. However Enya declined the offer, so Cameron hired James Horner.
6. 20th Century Fox originally considered Tom Cruise, Matthew McConaughey and Brad Pitt for the role of Jack.
However James Cameron insisted on Leo. The studio also considered Gwyneth Paltrow instead of Kate Winslet. We think they ended up making the best choices!
7. Kate Winslet was one of the few actors who chose not to wear a wetsuit during filming the scenes in the water.
She ended up getting pneumonia!
8. The filming crew had to make sure everything was perfect for the scene where water floods the Grand Staircase.
They only had one shot at the scene as the water destroyed all of the furnishings and set when it was released!
9. The elderly couple who lie together in bed as the room floods were a tribute to Ida and Isidor Strauss, the couple who owned Macy’s department store.
The couple died on the Titanic, and Ida was offered a seat on a lifeboat which she chose to turn down, saying; “As we have lived together, so we shall die together.”
10. The film’s composer James Horner said that the first cut of the film that he watched was 36 hours long.
They really managed to cut it down!
