“Jack could have lived”, how the ending of “Titanic” could have been different / amazing
A classic film released in 1997 Titanic broke several records. He spent years as the biggest box office champion of all time, a title he held until 2010. To capitalize on the 25-year-old film, writer and director James Cameron revisited one of its final scenes. It answered a question that has plagued fans of the plot for years: would Jack (Leonardo DiCaprio) have survived if he had joined Rose (Kate Winslet) on a floating door at sea?
Scientific tests are part of the special National Geographic
Vianney Le Caer/Invision/East News
To make this happen, Cameron hired two stuntmen who were the same height and weight as the actors at the time of filming. He even consulted a hypothermia specialist. After running three different tests, it was concluded that Jack could have survived in a certain scenario.
For the most optimistic result, Cameron had the stuntmen perform the exact same actions before encountering the floating door the characters found. Thus, everything would be as tiring as for the members of the film. Later, the director included something not seen in the movie: Rose gave Jack his own life jacket to keep him warm longer.
“He settled down” admitted Cameron. “He held on in a way that, if we had imagined, he could have resisted until the lifeboat arrived. Jack could have survived, but there are a lot of variables.”
Still, Cameron believes that in the end, nothing would have changed if Jack stayed true to himself. “I think his mindset was, ‘I’m not going to do anything to put him in danger,’ and that’s totally part of the character,” concluded the director.
