Titanic’s Most Infamous Scene Just Got Worse
James Cameron’s Titanic captivated audiences around the world as they watched the tale of characters played by Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet fall in love aboard the doomed vessel. Very controversially, DiCaprio’s character ends up dying after the ship sinks, sacrificing himself so that the love of his life can save herself with a floating door. Fans have spent literally decades arguing that he should have lived because the door was big enough, and that infamous scene just got worse: Titanic actor Winslet recently revealed that they were only waist-deep in this door scene and that DiCaprio was simply kneeling down.
Kate Winslet Bursts The Bubble
The reason that we’re somehow getting new Titanic gossip about the controversial scene with the door is that Winslet has been doing press for her upcoming film, Lee. At a recent Q&A for an advanced screening in New York City, she decided to rip the band-aid off for fans who are still traumatized by the controversial Titanic scene. Describing the water tank they filmed the scene in (and possibly making a watery pun), Winslet said, “to burst the bubble, it was waist height at that time.”
Big Enough For Both?
In case you’ve been living in a cave (or maybe just on an iceberg), here’s the original Titanic controversy: after the titular vessel starts sinking, DiCaprio and Winslet’s character stay afloat in the frigid water on a floating door made out of balsa wood.
His character declares that there isn’t room for both of them on the door and sacrifices himself to the frigid ocean so Winslet’s character can live a long, full life. However, Titanic fans have scrutinized this scene as if it were the Zapruder footage, and many came to the conclusion that, realistically, the door would have been big enough to support both of them.
The Door Has Haunted The Titanic Stars For Years
After fielding questions about this scene from Titanic fans ever since the film came out, Winslet developed a keen sense of humor about the door. For example, she noted how her costar DiCaprio probably “got PTSD” from having to answer so many questions about the scene over the years. She also told an amusing anecdote about how difficult it was to get off the door and exit the tank to pee (“it’s terrible,” she said of the process).
Cats Out Of The Bag
For movie buffs, though, the Titanic star was at her funniest when she joked that the director would be upset about her revealing how shallow the water tank was for this door scene. After saying, “Leo, I’m afraid to say was kneeling down,” she acted like she would get in trouble for spilling secrets: “I shouldn’t be saying anyways,” she said, “Jimmy Cameron’s gonna be ringing me.”
That’s likelier to happen than you might think due to Winslet joining Cameron’s Avatar sequel The Way of Water, a movie that professionally reunited them after nearly 25 years.
The Debate Will Go On And On
While some stars might be a little upset that fans mostly want to talk about their old work, Kate Winslet seems to have made her peace with Titanic, showing grace and humor when answering endless questions about the door scene. Fans get fighting mad debating whether or not both characters could have fit on the door at the same time, and the fact that Leonardo DiCaprio was simply kneeling down in the water will make those arguments that much worse (or that much funnier, at least).
The door may just be one small part of the ship, but director James Cameron has discovered the hard way that as long as movie nerds like to fight online, his (ahem) part will go on and on.
Source: People
