Kate Winslet, James Cameron Share Opinions On Infamous ‘Titanic’ Door Debate

Kate Winslet has weighed in on the famous “Titanic” door controversy in light of the film’s 25th anniversary.

In the movie, the character Rose (Winslet) survives after the boat sinks after finding a floating door to use as a raft. Meanwhile, her love interest Jack (Leonardo DiCaprio) freezes to death in the icy sea. Fans have speculated for decades whether Jack could have fit on the door with Rose and potentially have survived the disaster. 

The 47-year-old actress said that the matter came down to the door’s buoyancy, not its size.

“I don’t f***ing know. That’s the answer. I don’t f***ing know,” Winslet said during a recent Happy Sad Confused podcast episode. “Look, all I can tell you is, I do have a decent understanding of water and how it behaves.”

“If you put two adults on a stand-up paddleboard, it becomes immediately, extremely unstable. That is for sure,” she continued.

Finally, she revealed her personal opinion on the controversy.

“I have to be honest: I actually don’t believe that we would have survived if we had both gotten on that door,” Winslet declared. “I think he would have fit, but it would have tipped and it would not have been a sustainable idea.”

“So, you heard it here for the first time,” she concluded. “Yes, he could have fit on that door, but it would not have stayed afloat. It wouldn’t.”

Movie director James Cameron had similar thoughts when previously asked about the controversy. He told The Toronto Sun that the idea of both Jack and Rose fitting on the raft had already been tested.

“We have done a scientific study to put this whole thing to rest and drive a stake through its heart once and for all,” Cameron told the publication. 

“We have since done a thorough forensic analysis with a hypothermia expert who reproduced the raft from the movie,” he continued. “We took two stunt people who were the same body mass of Kate and Leo and we put sensors all over them and inside them and we put them in ice water. We tested to see whether they could have survived through a variety of methods and the answer was, there was no way they both could have survived. Only one could survive.”

Cameron also said he has no regrets about Jack dying. “No, he needed to die,” the filmmaker confirmed. “It’s like Romeo and Juliet. It’s a movie about love and sacrifice and mortality. The love is measured by the sacrifice,” he said.

He hopes fans will be able to move past the door controversy now. “Maybe … maybe … after 25 years, I won’t have to deal with this anymore,” Cameron told the publication while laughing.

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