At one point or another, anyone who’s watched the Titanic has asked themselves the all-important question: did Jack have to die, or could Rose have scooted up on that door?
It’s a debate that’s caused many a deep conspiracy theory dive since its release in 1997. Countless ‘detectives’ have set out to prove that ‘Jack didn’t have to die’ over the years, while cynics and romantics have concluded that the beauty of the Titanic was in the tragic narrative.
Even Kate Winslett—who played the leading character Rose—weighed in, noting that she felt her character could’ve moved over slightly to give Jack space on the door, before adding that it wouldn’t have been likely that the lovers would’ve stayed afloat.
James Cameron, who famously dismissed the debate surrounding his film in a BBC 1 interview, finally got fed up with the decades-long question.
Eager to jump the debate’s ship once and for all, Cameron hired a hypothermia expert and got two stunt people to recreate the scene— a pair that were chosen with the same body types and masses as the leading stars (Leonardo DiCaprio and Winslet).
Speaking to The Toronto Sun, Cameron shared that:
“We have done a scientific study to put this whole thing to rest and drive a stake through its heart once and for all.”
Ice water. The recreated ‘raft’. Stunt doubles trying a ‘variety’ of survival methods. The conclusion?
“Only one could survive,” Cameron shared, undoubtedly a little chuffed that the famed ‘loophole’ had finally been closed.
Cameron has previously shared that Jack and Rose follow a similar fate to Romeo and Juliet. The point of the story was never a happy ending, but rather a gut-wrenching act of love.
However, in true Cameron fashion, the experiment will also fall part of a National Geographic special to celebrate the film on its quarter-century anniversary.
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Feature Image: Paramount Pictures 20th Century Fox
