One particular scene in Titanic has ignited debates since the film’s release in 1997, with fans still questioning whether there was room for both Leonardo DiCaprio’s Jack and Kate Winslet’s Rose on the door at the end of the movie. For Titanic director, James Cameron, though, the infamous door scene is a non-issue. It is a completely different moment in Titanic that the director has since admitted is not perfect.
Titanic was one of the most expensive films to be created during its time, with a $200 million budget and a set that included a 775-ft long replica of the actual Titanic ship. It’s clear James was set on creating a masterpiece from the start, but when it comes to making magic, things don’t always go according to plan.
Why James Cameron Has A Problem With Titanic’s Iconic ‘I’m Flying’ Scene
James Cameron is known for being a perfectionist when it comes to his films, so even the smallest error in Titanic has lived with the director for decades. During a featurette titled, Titanic: Stories from the Heart, which is included in the 4K Ultra HD release of Titanic, James confesses that one of Titanic’s most memorable scenes is not perfect.
Titanic’s “I’m Flying” scene is honored as one of the greatest scenes, not only in the 1997 movie, but in film history. However, James has shared that this flawless moment has an error that he was forced to put in the final cut of the film. While a lot of the Titanic production was computer-generated, the scene at the bow of the Titanic where Jack and Rose share the ultimate movie kiss was shot with a real sunset in the background.
Because James chose to use the real golden glow from an actual sunset, the cast and crew had to move quickly before the lighting shifted, or they risked losing the magical shot.
“We shot two takes before we lost the light,” James recalls in the exclusive clip, according to Entertainment Weekly. “The first one — completely out of focus. The second one is out of focus for about four seconds and then it pops in. And that’s the one that’s in the movie.”
While this quick flaw might only be noticed by super observant movie buffs, it’s an error that might still haunt the Titanic director.
What Filming Titanic’s ‘I’m Flying’ Scene Was Difficult For Kate Winslet And Leonardo DiCaprio
James Cameron isn’t the only one who remembers how hard it was to capture Titanic’s “I’m Flying” scene, as Kate Winslet, who played Rose in Titanic, recalled filming the moment to be “a nightmare.” In an interview with Vanity Fair, where Kate rewatched some of her most famous scenes from her career, the actress detailed her experience during Titanic’s “I’m Flying” scene.
From Leonardo DiCaprio breaking character, to makeup troubles and working with James’ perfect sunset lighting, one of Hollywood’s most iconic scenes felt like an absolute disaster for the cast and crew.
“Oh, this was a nightmare, shooting this, because Leo couldn’t stop laughing, and we had to re-shoot this about four times because the light…”
“Jim wanted a very specific light for this, obviously, and the sunsets kept changing.”
According to Kate, the set for this scene was not part of the whole ship set, it was a separate part that required Kate and Leo to climb up a ladder to it.
“We did it with a real sunset,” Kate explained, according to Entertainment Weekly. “Which was hilarious because Jim would be like, ‘Sunset’s amazing — go, go go!’ And we’d be like, ‘What?’ and suddenly, Leo and I are having to basically climb up this forklift, extended, protracted thing and climb up this damn ladder. ‘We’re going to miss it, we’re going to miss it.’ So we’d get up there and suddenly, we’d go, ‘Oh, action.’ And we’d have like two minutes of us just endlessly doing this clinch. God forbid if we started laughing. It was really, honestly hilarious.”
Due to the scene being lifted, the makeup crew couldn’t reach the actors for touch-ups in between takes, so according to Kate, she had to reapply her and Leonardo’s makeup while worrying about making the scene perfect at any given moment.
“Now, what you wouldn’t know, because Leo looks completely natural, but he had to lay on sun beds, there’s a lot of fake tan makeup going on. So I have got hidden in here and here, I’ve got his makeup and brushes and sponge and my makeup and brushes and sponge in the other side, and between takes, I was basically redoing our makeup. It’s quite funny. Giggling, covered in each other’s makeup… It was not all it’s cracked up to be. So we kept doing this kiss and I have a lot of pale makeup on and I would have to like do our makeup checks, me, on both of us, between takes, and I would end up looking as though I had been like sucking a caramel chocolate bar after each take because his makeup would come off on me, and he just looked like there was a bit missing from his face because there was this big pale bit from all my makeup getting onto him. Oh God, it was such a mess.”
