Titanic Director James Cameron Had This Staggeringly Strict Requirement For Extras In The Film
The special effects on the blockbuster Titanic were truly game-changing at the time – even if, looking back, not all of the sequences have aged all that well.
However, during an interview with the Los Angeles Times, filmmaker James Cameron admitted that not all of his visual tricks required CGI.
Apparently, he had a strict rule about who was allowed on set that added to the film’s atmosphere.
“We only cast short extras so it made our set look bigger,” the Oscar winner claimed.
“Anybody above 5’8”, we didn’t cast them. It’s like we got an extra million dollars of value out of casting.”
James added: “The scale of everything was beyond anything we could imagine in terms of our prior experience. At the time we thought, ‘wow, there’s no way this movie could ever make its money back. It’s just impossible’. Well, guess what?”
The film, in fact, went on to become the highest-grossing in history – that is, until James broke his own record a decade later with Avatar.
Despite being released more than a quarter of a century ago, Titanic is still often at the forefront of the conversation, including among TikTok users.
Earlier this year, one scene went viral after some film fans admitted that it gave them the ick, while another moment left viewers hysterical after they spotted some of those CGI moments that haven’t quite stood the test of time.
Oh, and if you’re feeling in the mood for some 90s big screen nostalgia, Titanic is available to stream now on Disney+ in the UK.