James Cameron Gets Scientific To Prove That Jack Really Had No Chance On That Door
James Cameron is one of the best directors of all time, but he's also a man of science. Since the beginning of his career, his films have tackled complex ideas pertaining to nature and technology, albeit with frightening outcomes. From "The Terminator" to "Avatar: The Way of Water," Jim's films are rooted in real-world concerns to some degree, and that's what makes them more thought-provoking than your average blockbuster.
"Titanic," meanwhile, is arguably Cameron's most realistic movie. It was inspired by the real-life Titanic disaster of 1912, which did indeed involve a ship crashing into an iceberg and sinking to the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean. However, the film's central lovers, Jack Dawson (Leonardo DiCaprio) and Rose DeWitt Bukater (Kate Winslet), aren't based on real people, so we can all relax knowing that the heartache that befell them never actually happened.
Of course, the closing scenes of "Titanic" are still tragic. They see the ice-struck lovers forced to wait it out in the ocean as they wait for help to arrive. Luckily for Rose, she found a floating door to sit on — but why didn't she share it with Jack and ensure his survival, too? Let's find out.
Jack could have survived
"Avatar: The Way of Water" has been breaking box office records recently, but everyone is still talking about "Titanic." More specifically, some people are still talking about the film's tragic climax and debating whether Jack could have survived. Spoiler alert: He might have.
In an interview with "Good Morning America" (via Twitter), James Cameron settled the debate that's divided the "Titanic" fandom for over 25 years. As part of National Geographic's upcoming "Titanic: 25 Years Later with James Cameron" special, which will air on February 5, some stunt performers re-enacted the film's doomy final moments and analyzed them from different perspectives. In doing so, they discovered some interesting evidence that could have changed Jack's fate.
According to Cameron, the violent shaking Jack displayed in "Titanic" could have helped him in real life. "Out of the Water, the violent shaking was helping him, and projecting it out, he could have made it pretty long — like hours," he said.
Of course, Jack wasn't helped by his exhaustion in "Titanic" either, so the stunt performers were put through the wringer to determine if Rose's man could have survived. Cameron and his team learned that Rose offering Jack the life jacket could have stabilized him and possibly saved both of them, but it wouldn't be guaranteed. Cameron concluded, "Jack could have lived, but there are a lot of variables." However, Jack didn't want to jeopardize his soulmate's safety and would never have tried to survive in the first place. Fortunately, the heart always goes on.