As the release of “Avatar: the way of the water” is fast approaching, back on the set of “Titanic” (broadcast this week on TF1) and on a rather traumatic memory for Kate Winslet.
11 Oscars, more than 2 billion dollars in revenue worldwide, and a true monument of cinema for millions of spectators. Titanic is today an essential work in the history of Hollywood.
But before reaching this status, James Cameron and his teams had to overcome many challenges, and the filmmaker sometimes put his actors to the test on the set of the feature film, demanding of them unfailing abnegation.
Thus, Kate Winslet, when she evokes her memories of the production, describes a trying and often painful experience, and says in particular that she regularly suffered from the cold.
But in an interview conducted by the Los Angeles Times in 1997 (recently relayed by Seriously), the actress also recounted the filming of a scene during which she found herself in danger, and even nearly drowned.
20th Century Fox
Set in the latter part of the film, the scene in question followed Rose and Jack running at full speed through the corridors of the liner, pursued by a huge wave of water. At the time of passing through a metal grid, the coat worn by Kate Winslet was then found stuck, and the actress was submerged by the waves.
“I had to somehow squeeze out of the coat to free myself. I was out of air. I thought I was going to explode”she said.
“And [James Cameron] just said, ‘Okay, let’s do it again.’ It was his way. I didn’t want to look like a wimp, so I didn’t complain.”
20th Century Fox
Still according to the Los Angeles Times, the filmmaker explained that he did not immediately perceive the state of distress in which Kate Winslet found herself, also affirming that she had not been in any danger:
“At the time we shot that scene, I knew Kate was quite stoic. She never told me she didn’t want to continue”he said.
“It was only 10 minutes later that I realized she was upset. It wasn’t unusual for her, after a big emotional scene, to cry for an hour, it was part of the process. She was never physically in danger, but she felt like she was.”
(Re)discover the hidden details of the film…