Billy Zabe as Cak Hockley in the 1997 movie Titanic is not overjoyed about the ending.
Billy Zabe as Cak Hockley in the 1997 movie Titanic is not overjoyed about the ending.
Billy Zane isn't happy with the way Titanic ended.
The 50-year-old actor, who played Cal Hockley in the 1997 movie, thinks that his character was "misunderstood" and deserved to end up with Rose (Kate Winslet) at the end of the film.
"I wasn't the iceberg," he said in defence of his character on the US Today show, "I did not drown 2000 people".
Billy Zane as Cal Hockley and Kate Winslet as Rose from the 1997 Titanic.
"I think he found redemption by the end and I wish he had found her (Rose) on the Carpathia (the boat which rescued Titanic survivors) and was able to right his wrongs."
Zane, who is currently starring in a TV show called Guilt, said people come up to him and talk about Titanic "every day" with some of the more common comments being: "Where's the diamond? You're a terrible shot. I don't know what she was thinking! How could you?"
Here are some fun facts about Titanic which is the second highest grossing film of all time:
Who turned it down?
Rumour has it that Matthew McConaughey and Gwyneth Paltrow were initially approached to play Jack and Rose but decided to turn it down. When asked about the rumour by MTV, director James Cameron was coy.
"I just don't think that's cool to talk about actors that either chose not to do it, or were unavailable, or stupidly decided that there wasn't enough meat on the bone of the character, or whatever it was."
Ouch, sounds like someone holds a grudge.
"They should've come whimpering back afterwards and said, 'I will never second guess you again as long as I live'. But it's too late. You got one chance, that's it. And you might want to think about this next time when you get called."
Bloody freezing
Kate Winslet admits she was freezing during the Titanic scene when it sunk.
When Rose is seen shivering in the icy water after the Titanic has sunk, that's not great acting by Kate Winslet, it's genuine.
"I am completely freezing," wrote Winslet in a diary she kept while filming.
"My dresser has been bugging me to wear a wetsuit, but I can't. I'd be too aware of it and anyway, my dress is too thin for it.
"Jim (James Cameron) doesn't want see-through and says this isn't a wet T-shirt competition, but he does want the dress to cling to me when I'm wet and we've done all sorts of camera tests for that. It is so cold, but ... it means my reactions are real, I hope!"
There's a rumour that Winslet's decision to ditch the wetsuit resulted in her getting pneumonia.
One of the most memorable scenes in the movie (for teenage boys at least), is when Rose poses nude and Jack sketches her.
If you watched the film and thought to yourself, "Wow, that DiCaprio fella can really draw!" well guess what, it wasn't Leo doing the drawing. It was actually director James Cameron who was the man behind the pencil.
Fun fact: In 2011 the sketch was sold at auction for more than $20,000.
The raft debate
Was there enough room for Jack to fit on the raft with Rose in the Titanic?
Was there enough room for Jack to climb aboard the raft with Rose and save himself from the deadly water? It's been a topic of debate for years on the internet, but according to director James Cameron, sufficient room was never the issue.
"It's a question of buoyancy," he said to IGN.
"Jack puts Rose on the raft, then he gets on the raft - He's not an idiot; he doesn't want to die - and then the raft sinks. So it's clear that there's really only enough buoyancy available for one person.
"If he got on with her they'd both be half in and half out of the water, and they would have both died. So, he makes a decision to let her be that person."
Poisoned chowder
During filming, 80 crew members were violently ill and many were rushed to hospital when someone spiked a pot of lobster chowder with an illicit hallucinogen drug called Angel Dust. Leo, Kate and that grandma (Gloria Stuart) didn't eat any of the chowder.
James Cameron wanted the film's 150 main extras to behave exactly like people did back in 1912 so he hired an etiquette specialist to coach them all. A short film called A Time Traveller's Guide was made which taught the extras how to walk and eat properly. It was played on loop in the wardrobe room.
