James Cameron Conducted Scientific Study to Prove Jack’s ‘Titanic’ Death: ‘Only One Person Could Survive,’ Says Forensic Analysis

Zack Sharf
·3 min read
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Any fan of James Cameron’s “Titanic” has surely debated many times whether or not Jack (Leonardo DiCaprio) had to die. Many viewers claim there was enough room for both Jack and Rose (Kate Winslet) on the floating door turned makeshift raft, but Cameron himself is here to prove everyone wrong. Speaking to The Toronto Sun to promote “Avatar: The Way of Water,” Cameron revealed he has documented a “scientific study” that proves two people could not have survived on the floating door at the end of “Titanic.”

“We have done a scientific study to put this whole thing to rest and drive a stake through its heart once and for all,” Cameron said. “We have since done a thorough forensic analysis with a hypothermia expert who reproduced the raft from the movie and we’re going to do a little special on it that comes out in February.”

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The special’s February release coincides with a 4K restoration of “Titanic” that is scheduled to open in theaters on Valentine’s Day weekend 2023.

Cameron continued, “We took two stunt people who were the same body mass of Kate and Leo and we put sensors all over them and inside them and we put them in ice water and we tested to see whether they could have survived through a variety of methods and the answer was, there was no way they both could have survived. Only one could survive.”

“[Jack] needed to die,” Cameron added. “It’s like Romeo and Juliet. It’s a movie about love and sacrifice and mortality. The love is measured by the sacrifice…Maybe after 25 years, I won’t have to deal with this anymore.”

Cameron made headlines in 2019 for calling the never-ending debate over Jack’s fate “stupid.” The filmmaker told the BBC, “There’s no debate. But if you really want to unearth all the dumbass arguments associated with it…I mean, let’s go back to, could Romeo have been smart and not taken the poison? Yes. Could he have decided not to bring his little dagger just in case Juliet might stab herself with it? Yes, absolutely. It sort of misses the point.”

Just last month, Cameron revealed that DiCaprio nearly lost out on the role of Jack because he didn’t want to screen test for the part. DiCaprio had already charmed studio executives during his initial meeting for the role, so Cameron set up a second meeting with the actor for a screen test with Kate Winslet.

“He didn’t know he was going to test,” Cameron told GQ magazine. “He thought it was another meeting to meet Kate. So I said, ‘Okay, we’ll just go in the next room, and we’ll run some lines and I’ll video it.’ And he said, ‘You mean, I’m reading?’ I said, ‘Yeah.’ He said, ‘Oh, I don’t read.’ I shook his hand and said, ‘Thanks for coming by.’”

Cameron was ready to turn away DiCaprio right then and there, but the actor came back to him and said, “Wait, wait, wait. If I don’t read, I don’t get the part? Just like that?” Cameron responded, “Oh, yeah. Come on. This is a giant movie that is going to take two years of my life, and you’ll be gone doing five other things while I’m doing post-production. So, I’m not going to fuck it up by making the wrong decision in casting. So, you’re going to read, or you’re not going to get the part.’”

The “Titanic” re-release will start Feb. 10, 2023. Cameron’s latest directorial effort, “Avatar: The Way of Water,” is now playing in theaters nationwide.

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