The James Cameron romantic tragedy, Titanic, helmed by Kate Winslet and Leonardo DiCaprio is inarguably one of the best films ever made for the big screen. The sheer volume and intensity of its plots, storyline, character arcs, and climax was, at the time, an ambitious one and still remains to this day effective in its magnitude of distressed emotions. And the fate that drives the two fated and star-crossed lovers to fall in love in the days leading up to one of their imminent and inadvertent death is a tear-jerking epic that has never diminished in the 25+ years since its premiere.
Kate Winslet Couldn’t Be Bothered With Leonardo DiCaprio
As romantic as the story of Titanic may seem in its Shakespearean tragedy, the filming process was very far removed from it. The shooting schedule involved several epic moments that have not only become crucial turning points in the plot but memorable and iconic throughout the years for the audience. And filming such iconic scenes hardly ever get done in one cool and satisfactory take.
Much to the irritation and annoyance of Kate Winslet, the director’s multiple takes of one particular scene seemed to get on her nerves more than usual.
“It did really take a lot to get it absolutely right. And so take after take after take after take, in the end, we just got to like, ‘Ugh, We can’t kiss each other anymore.’ It just got so boring. And I had his makeup on me and he had my makeup on him. And then you see the final thing and it really just sort of takes your breath away.”
The memory of the incident becomes even more distressing after the actress fondly remembered fearing having a crush on Leonardo DiCaprio, simply because she couldn’t stop thinking how gorgeous he was ever since meeting him for the first time. Adding on to that horror was the fact that the very first scene the pair shot was that of Kate Winslet posing nude for a portrait.
Suffice it to say, the friendship that superseded any romantic subtext made the duo hold out till the end and Winslet and DiCaprio have outshined any other celebrity co-stars as one of the best Hollywood friendships of modern times.
James Cameron’s Titanic Celebrates Its 25th Anniversary
Since the premiere of Titanic, there has been a fandom that has been unique to the tragic romance that awaited the ill-fated Rose DeWitt Bukater and Jack Dawson aboard the passenger ship. Even despite the undying intrigue surrounding the 1912 sinking of the Titanic, the hundreds of documentaries detailing the event, and the dozens of research submarines that have made a trip to and fro from the ocean bed where the Titanic now rests in permanence, the film touched a nerve that cracked open the hearts of the century-old injury by making the horrors of that night coming alive in front of the world through the eyes of two young lovers.
As 2023 rolls around, the film celebrates its 25th anniversary since its premiere in the December of 1997. Titanic is available for streaming on Paramount+.
Source: YouTube
