Movies

‘Titanic’ Director James Cameron Says ‘New Inquiry’ Will ‘Settle’ Jack and Rose ‘Door’ Debate

January 17, 2023

Since 1997, fans have had a thing or two to say when it comes to the door that ultimately caused Jack’s death in “Titanic.”

The film’s director, James Cameron, addresses the controversial theory that Leonardo DiCaprio’s character, Jack, could have survived by climbing on Rose’s Gate in the middle of freezing waters.

In National Geographic’s upcoming documentary, ‘Titanic: 25 Years Later,’ Cameron says Jack and Rose (played by Kate Winslet) weren’t hanging on a door in the first place.

“A new investigation that we just conducted will settle this fan question about Jack and Rose and a piece of floating debris, which everyone calls a door,” Cameron revealed during a Television Critics Association panel on Friday, according to USA Today.

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James Cameron comments on the fan theory that Leonardo DiCaprio’s character, Jack, in ‘Titanic’ could have survived by clinging to the door that Kate Winslet’s character, Rose, was on.
(Getty Pictures)

“It’s, technically, not a door,” he explained, before adding, “it’s a piece of paneling from the First Class cabin.”

The director said he will give the much-discussed fan theory “a forensic investigation” in the upcoming documentary, which will be released on February 5.

The show will scientifically recreate exactly what Jack and Rose endured when the Titanic sank in the cold waters of the Atlantic. The stunt doubles were chosen based on similarities in body types with DiCaprio and Winslet.

According to a teaser for the documentary shared on Twitter, the stunt doubles were in 56-degree water instead of 28 degrees, so they “doubled the time for each step” of the playtime, according to Cameron.

Leonardo DiCaprio as Jack and Kate Winslet as Rose in “Titanic”.
(Getty Pictures)

“It actually translates quite accurately, according to the algorithms,” Cameron said of testing the theory with this approach. “We weren’t trying to prove or disprove anything, we were just trying to say, ‘If you do this, does it make things better?'”

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He added, without revealing the results: “In four tests we came to some pretty hard and fast conclusions.”

“Titanic” will return to theaters for a remastered re-release from Cameron in time for Valentine’s Day.

James Cameron said Jack and Rose never clung to a door.
(Gareth Cattermole/Getty Images for Disney)

In December, Winslet discussed the gate debacle and revealed whether she believed Jack might have survived.

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“I don’t know,” Winslet joked while appearing on the “Happy Sad Confused” podcast. “That’s the answer is that I don’t know.”

Winslet was shown a clip of an interview the “Titanic” co-star DiCaprio did earlier while he was also on the podcast where he was asked the same question.

Kate Winslet and Leonardo DiCaprio in a photo from "Titanic," 1997.

Kate Winslet and Leonardo DiCaprio in a snapshot from “Titanic”, 1997.
(AP, File)

“I have no comment,” DiCaprio joked as actress Margot Robbie argued that the gate debacle is, in fact, “the biggest controversy.”

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“Actually, I don’t believe we would have survived if we had both walked through that door,” Winslet said after considering the answer. “I think he could have gone in, but it would have flipped, and it wouldn’t have been a sustainable idea.”

Janelle Ash is an entertainment writer for Fox News Digital.