On the Titanic scenes in TitanicThe production house built a life-size exterior set of the RMS Titanic in an expansive tank that cost $40 million. The production team also constructed some sections of the ship, such as windows, at a smaller scale and replicated them via CGI to reduce expenses.
The ocean liner's actual wreck is shown in the film
Incredibly, some of the images shown on screen come from the real wreck, which James Cameron explored many times in preparation for the film. These shots of the Titanic were filmed with a special camera that could withstand the pressure down at the ocean floor.
Due to constraints about the type of camera they could get down there, none of the footage they shot during the dives appeared in the movie. "We recreated what we saw," Cameron said. "So what you'll see in the movie is a recreation of what we saw on video, but based on the actual look of the wreckage."
In addition to the scenes shot in Mexico, other scenes were filmed on location in Halifax, Nova Scotia (where many Titanic victims are buried) and at the actual wreck site in the North Atlantic Ocean.
In under three hours the ship had sunk, taking more than 1,500 passengers and crew to their deaths. The wreck now lies nearly 3.8km (12,500ft) beneath the waves at a site nearly 400 miles (640km) southeast of the Newfoundland coast.
The Heart of the Ocean in the Titanic film is not a real piece of jewellery, but is hugely popular nonetheless. The jewellery is, however, based on a real diamond, the 45.52-carat Hope Diamond. The Hope Diamond is one of the world's most valuable diamonds; its worth is estimated at around 350 million dollars.
The wreck of the Titanic lies at a depth of about 12,500 feet (3,800 metres; 2,100 fathoms), about 370 nautical miles (690 kilometres) south-southeast off the coast of Newfoundland. It lies in two main pieces about 2,000 feet (600 m) apart.
Characters like Rose were inspired by real-life figures, like Beatrice Wood, who shaped the film's narrative. Despite some creative liberties, Titanic stayed true to the real sinking, portraying key events like the band playing and the rescue efforts.
Second-class tickets were 12 pounds, or $60. First-class berths started at 30 pounds, or $150. Those who purchased a first-class suite paid 105,000 pounds, or over $130,000. By today's prices, first-class berths would cost $4,591, second-class tickets would be $1,834, and third-class tickets would be $1,071.
Nope, it was James Cameron, the writer and director of the film, who actually sketched that drawing. What happened to Rose Dawson after Titanic? We learn that she became an actress in the 20's (it's not specified if it was on the stage or the movies), but we don't know what she did between 1912 and 1920.
The real Rose from Titanic, Beatrice Wood, led a fascinating life that features more than a few similarities to Rose. Like Rose, Beatrice was born into a privileged family which she rejected as a young adult, leaving her home and pursuing a more independent life.
When the Titanic hit the iceberg and consequently sank, the Atlantic Ocean was around 28°F (-2°C), which is below freezing. The wreck caused roughly 1,500 out of 2,224 passengers and crew onboard to perish. In total, RMS Titanic was equipped with 20 lifeboats that were able to accommodate roughly 1,178 people.
A few shots of the real shipwreck do appear at the beginning and end of the movie, but bringing in giant replicas — not to mention hundreds of extras — to the middle of the ocean was too ambitious of an idea even for the perfectionist director.
Rose changed her last name to "Dawson" to honor Jack's memory after the sinking of the Titanic. Rose completely started over and never contacted her mother and Cal again after the sinking. Rose became a successful actress in the 1920s and eventually married a man named Calvert.
As of today, there are no living Titanic survivors left. Though the last living Titanic survivor passed away in 2009, there have been extensive efforts to gather all the details and first-person accounts of the tragedy (and the subsequent rescue) for the past few decades.
Perhaps the most valuable item lost during the sinking of the Titanic, Merry-Joseph Blondel's painting, La Circassienne au bain, would be worth around R55 million if it wasn't at the bottom of the ocean.
Did Rose really throw the diamond in the ocean in real life?
Unfortunately, much like Jack and Rose's timeless romance, the Heart of the Ocean necklace is fictional. However, that doesn't mean there aren't any blue diamonds out there, and one diamond in particular — The Hope Diamond — is thought to have directly inspired Rose's necklace in Titanic.
The sunken liner was about 400 miles east of Newfoundland in the North Atlantic, some 13,000 feet below the surface. Efforts to locate and salvage the Titanic began almost immediately after it sank. But technical limitations—as well as the sheer vastness of the North Atlantic search area—made it extremely difficult.
One of these is a species of bacteria -- named Halomonas titanicae after the great ship -- that lives inside icicle-like growths of rust, called "rusticles." These bacteria eat iron in the ship's hull and they will eventually consume the entire ship, recycling the nutrients into the ocean ecosystem.
