(SPOT.ph) The life raft that saved Rose from Titanic can only fit one person and it's backed by science so fans should stop blaming her for the death of her boyfriend, Jack, director James Cameron said in a postscript 25 years after the release of one of this generation's most memorable films.
Jack, played by Leonardo DiCaprio, died due to hypothermia after holding on to the edge of the raft where Kate Winslet's Rose kept herself afloat. Heartbroken fans and science enthusiasts have debated the topic for years, with MythBusters testing the scenario in real-life conditions to say that yes, there are certain conditions allowing both of them to ride the raft and live happily ever after.
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For triple Oscar winner Cameron, the two couldn't survive atop the raft. A scientific study, which includes a hypothermia expert, was commissioned to "put this whole thing to rest and drive a stake through its heart once and for all." There's going to be a documentary about it come Valentine's Day 2023.
"We took two stunt people that were the exact body mass of Kate and Leo and we put sensors all over them and inside them and we put them in ice water and we tested to see whether they could have survived by this method or by that method and the answer was, there was no way they could both survive. Only one could survive," he told Toronto Sun during an interview to promote the film Avatar: The Way of Water.
Titanic's Jack needed to die, James Cameron says
Sorry to fans who wanted to save their beloved Jack, Cameron said it was his choice for the happy-go-lucky Jack to die in the film.
“No, he needed to die. It’s like Romeo and Juliet. It’s a movie about love and sacrifice and mortality. The love is measured by the sacrifice. Maybe I didn’t do it in a way that everyone agrees with, but Jack had to die. It’s that simple," he said.
"If I had to make the raft a little bit smaller, I'll make it smaller.”
The study will be release on Valentine's Day 2023 on National Geographic, just in time for the re-release of Titanic.
"Maybe after 25 years, I don't have to deal with this anymore."