Titanic was and is among the highest-grossing films of all time. A tribute to the ship’s tragic voyage, the film is now known as Kate Winslet’s most eminent movie. From the harrowing storyline to the tragic love story, the movie still remains as iconic as ever.
It was no surprise that Titanic became as big as it is today, given the painstaking efforts it took from the cast and crew. The shoots involved many cast and crew putting their lives at risk, literally, for the perfect shot. The movie’s lead actress Kate Winslet had to shoot multiple perilous underwater scenes that she can’t believe she agreed to shoot.
Kate Winslet Regrets Shooting Life-Threatening Scenes For Titanic
A truly cinematic legend of a film, Titanic has touched upon many a fan’s hearts with its epic scenes and realistic effects. Along with the authentic footage of the ship, shot by the Director himself, the film went on to win 11 Academy Awards with 14 nominations. However, retrospecting the leading lady of the film regrets she put her life at risk for James Cameron’s Titanic.
“For my close-up shots, I was actually weighted down 12 feet underwater. So I’d stay in a fixed position. Looking back, I can’t believe I allowed that……After three takes, I simply said I couldn’t do anymore.”
Kate Winslet revealed in an interview how she feared for her safety during an underwater shoot with her co-star Leonardo DiCaprio. Along with facing trouble using the air regulator, she even swallowed some water. The actor went on to remark how nobody once asked her if she could actually swim, given the movie required multiple distressing underwater shoots.
Kate Winslet Wasn’t The Only One To Face Trouble During The Shoot
The 20-hour shoot often went on from 5 AM to 1 AM and was greatly disorienting and disturbing for a lot of the cast and crew. Kate Winslet nearly drowned during the shoot when her clothes were caught by a gate, which let her be diagnosed with pneumonia.
The dirty water being pumped around directly from the ocean only made matters worse when multiple crew and actors were hospitalized with kidney infections. The freezing water and sinking scenes further left many injured with fractures, ruptured organs, and pneumonia.
Things only took a turn for worse at the pre-shoot wrap-up party, when James Cameron and other cast and crew members were hospitalized when their lobster chowder was spiked with PCP.
Reading about the experiences the cast and crew went through during the shoot of Titanic, it is true when they say the film industry can be a dangerous profession.
