James Cameron will forever be associated with the wreck of the Titanic, but he doesn’t want anything to do with a potential movie about the OceanGate disaster.
Last month another tragic wreck was added to the site of the existing one when the OceanGate submarine “Titan” imploded en route to the site of the Titanic, killing all on board. The fact that the fate of the sub was uncertain at first led to several days’ worth of press coverage of the incident, and Cameron—seeing as he’s not only the director of the movie Titanic but a Titanic explorer himself—was called upon to comment. He’s actually made 33 dives to the Titanic altogether, so he knows what he’s talking about, and he was quick to condemn the culture of corner-cutting that led to the five deaths. He told CBS on June 23,
“OceanGate were warned. It’s not lost on me as somebody who studied the meaning of Titanic … it’s about warnings that were ignored. That ship is lying at the bottom of the ocean, not because of the nature of its steel or the nature of its compartments, but just because of bad seamanship. The captain was warned, there were icebergs ahead, it was a moonless night and he plowed ahead.”
The disaster was a sobering reminder that money is far too often prioritized above safety and that the ocean remains as unfathomably dangerous now as it did the night the Titanic sank. But the content-hungry sharks have begun circling and asking, wouldn’t the fate of those five people make for a fantastic movie? And Cameron isn’t having it.
James Cameron’s Twitter statement
Cameron, who isn’t terminally online like the rest of us and doesn’t actually use Twitter all that much, posted a pointed message on July 15. He tweeted, “I don’t respond to offensive rumors in the media usually, but I need to now. I’m NOT in talks about an OceanGate film, nor will I ever be.”
In case you’re wondering what exactly prompted the statement, it seems likely that it was a “report” by British tabloid barely-a-newspaper The Sun. The outlet dropped an article on July 13 with the headline, “Titanic director James Cameron in talks with major streaming network to create drama series on doomed Titan sub,” suggested that Matt Damon and Kumail Nanjiani were “on the wish list” for actors, and quoted an anonymous source as saying:
“The Titan disaster is already being looked at as a major series for one of the world’s biggest streamers—and James is first choice for director. It is a subject close to his heart. He told the story of the Titanic so compassionately it feels like a natural step for him to take this on. Retracing the steps of those on board the Titan is a massive undertaking but there would be a lot of time, money and resources dedicated to it.”
So based on The Sun’s track record of reporting the news we can safely assume: There will absolutely never be a James Cameron movie or series about the OceanGate submarine starring Matt Damon and Kumail Nanjiani. Never, ever, ever.
(featured image: Masterclass)
