15 Little-Known Facts About the Movie “Titanic” That Even big Fans Might Have Missed

The movie Titanic is deservedly called a legend. It occupies the third place in the list of the highest- grossing films, and the famous My Heart Will Go On brings back memories of the story of Jack and Rose. But the movie still has many mysteries, curious facts and Easter eggs that even big fans might have missed.

At CHEERY, we admire James Cameron’s work, so we decided to tell our readers about what took place offscreen and what curious facts you might have missed, even after watching the movie for the tenth time.

Lindsay Lohan could have played Cora, Jack’s “best girl.”

Lindsay Lohan, who was 8 at the time, almost landed the role of the girl Cora, with whom Jack was dancing on the lower deck. She auditioned, but James Cameron chose another candidate because of Lindsay’s hair color — the director was afraid that viewers would associate Cora with Rose and Ruth, who also had red hair.

The couch became a bed because of DiCaprio’s mistake.

When Jack is preparing to draw Rose, he says to her, “Over on the bed... the couch.” In reality Leonardo DiCaprio made a mistake, the real line was “Lie on that couch,” but James Cameron liked it so much he decided to keep it.

The red luxurious car was really on board the Titanic.

At the beginning of the movie, you can see a red car being loaded onto the ship, in which Jack and Rose will later consummate their relationship. It’s interesting that this was a replica of the real car which was on board the Titanic.

A brand new red Renault Type CB Coupé de Ville belonged to William Carter from Pennsylvania, a wealthy heir to a coal and iron fortune. Initially, he and his family were supposed to travel to the United States aboard another ship, the Olympic, but they decided to stay in England for another week and bought tickets aboard the Titanic.

Jack mentions a non-existent lake and roller coaster.

When trying to dissuade Rose from jumping into the cold water, Jack mentions ice fishing on Lake Wissota. But this lake was manmade only in 1917, while the Titanic sank in 1912. The same applies to the roller coaster in Santa Monica where Jack promises to take Rose, although it was built only in 1916.

The sketches were drawn by the movie director.

Rose’s legendary portrait was actually drawn by James Cameron himself. The director also drew all the sketches of the French girls that Jack carried in his binder.

As for the filming of the iconic portrait scene, the hands that the viewer can see on screen also belong to Cameron. But the image was reversed in post-production because DiCaprio is right handed while Cameron is left handed.

There were no bathroom breaks during the filming.

James Cameron was very meticulous about the filming schedule, so while working on the scenes with lifeboats, he threatened to fire any actor who would go to the bathroom in the process. The stars and extras had no choice but to pee right in the water tank where the shooting took place. Even Kate Winslet had to do it.

The actors ate real delicacies.

In the First Class dining scenes, the actors were served real Beluga caviar, which price ranges from $3,200 to $4,500 per pound. But even expensive delicacies didn’t help Leonardo DiCaprio feel less tired because he had to work 14 hours a day.

Gloria Stuart, who played elderly Rose, had to be made up to look older.

Even though it seems that Hollywood legend Gloria Stuart looks natural in the movie, in reality makeup artists had to work hard on her looks. When the movie was filmed, the actress was 87 years old, while according to the script, Rose was a little over 100. Therefore, Stuart’s hair was made completely gray, and her face was aged with makeup.

Matthew McConaughey could have played Jack.

Leonardo DiCaprio’s role could have been played by another Hollywood actor — Matthew McConaughey. Kate Winslet spoke about it on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert. “I auditioned with Matthew, isn’t that weird? Never said that in public before. I auditioned with Matthew, which was completely fantastic. It just wouldn’t have been the whole, Jack and Rose, Kate and Leo thing,” she said.

J. Dawson was really on board the Titanic.

Even though all the main characters were fictional in James Cameron’s movie, it’s interesting that there was a real passenger named J. Dawson on board the Titanic. Moreover, the movie director found out about this only after the movie was released.

When the movie fans became aware of this fact, Dawson’s grave in Fairview Lawn Cemetery in Halifax (Nova Scotia, Canada) became a tourist attraction.

The movie production budget was higher than the cost of the ship.

The film studio spent $200 million on the production of the movie, while the cost of the Titanic at the time of its launch was $7.5 million. Even if this amount is adjusted for inflation, it still will be smaller than the cost of the movie production, namely $198 million.

Rose made Jack’s dreams about their future come true.

When Jack and Rose are talking about their future together on deck, Jack tells her, “We’ll ride horses on the beach, in the surf. But you have to do it like a real cowboy. No sidesaddle stuff.” Later we can see a photo in Rose’s house where she confidently sits on horseback with a beach in the background.

Fabrizio finds use for the knife he’s won with his ticket.

At the beginning of the movie, Jack and Fabrizio win a pocket watch and a penknife along with the Titanic ticket. Later, Fabrizio cuts the ropes with this knife to launch a lifeboat.

Rose’s dog has a deep connection with the true story.

Elderly Rose holds a Pomeranian in her arms. The choice of the dog wasn’t accidental, James Cameron paid tribute to the dogs that survived the sinking of the ship this way. 2 of the 3 surviving dogs were Pomeranians. When the real ship was sinking, the passengers released their dogs. Cameron filmed these scenes, but they were not included in the final cut.

The clock shows this time for a reason.

In the final scene of the movie, where Rose returns to the Titanic in her thoughts and sees Jack, you can notice that the clock on the back board shows 2:20. This is the exact time the ship sank.

Do you know any other curious facts about this iconic movie?