‘Titanic’ director denies Jack and Rose could have survived together on life raft

James Cameron admits the raft has room for Jack, but says both characters would die if he used it

Titanic director James Cameron has dismissed an internet rumour claiming that the movie’s doomed lovers Jack and Rose could both have survived after the ship hits the iceberg.

At the climax of Cameron’s 1997 disaster movie, Leonardo DiCaprio‘s Jack saves Kate Winslet’s Rose by placing her on a wooden panel that becomes a makeshift raft, leaving himself to drown in the icy waters. However, a photograph circulating online shows that the room has ample room for both characters – scroll down to see it.

When asked why Jack fails to take up the extra room, Cameron told IGN: “Actually, it’s not a question of room, it’s a question of buoyancy. When Jack puts Rose on the raft, then he tries to get on the raft. He’s not an idiot, he doesn’t want to die. And the raft sinks and kind of flips. So it’s clear that there’s only enough buoyancy available for one person. So he makes a decision to let her be that person instead of taking them both down.”

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Cameron rounded off his rebuttal by insisting that both characters would have contracted fatal hypothermia even if they had managed to balance together on the raft. He explained: “If he had gotten on with her, they both would have been half in and half out of the water, [so] even if they could balance on it, they would have both died.”

The director also revealed that the Titanic “room for two” theory will be addressed on an upcoming episode of MythBusters, a Discovery Channel series that tests the scientific validity of key scenes from films and TV shows. He vowed: “I’m gonna help them do it, actually. We’re gonna put it to rest.”

A 3D version of Titanic was released in cinemas in April (2012) and earned another $343 million (£212 million) at the box office, pushing its total gross to $2.18 billion (£1.35 billion) – a figure beaten only by Avatar, also directed by Cameron. The 3D version of Titanic was released on Blu-Ray this Monday (September 10).

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