danefergus: James Cameron Settles The Score On 'Titanic' Casting Rumors

Sunday, 15 April 2012

James Cameron Settles The Score On 'Titanic' Casting Rumors

Rumors have been circulating that Matthew McConaughey and Gwyneth Paltrow had been offered the roles of Jack and Rose.
By Fallon Prinzivalli, with reporting by Josh Horowitz

James Cameron
Photo: MTV News

The success of "Titanic" is undeniable. With a worldwide gross of $1.8 billion, the film is the second highest grossing movie in box office history — just behind director James Cameron's other massive project, "Avatar." The historical film was nominated for fourteen Academy Awards and won eleven, including Best Picture, Best Director, Best Cinematography and Best Original Song.

It also launched the careers of two of Hollywood's most well-known actors, Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet.

The 3-D re-release (which raked in an additional $17.3 million during its debut last weekend) brought rumors to the surface that other popular actors had turned down the role.

When MTV News' Josh Horowitz sat down with Cameron, Horowitz asked about the rumored "Titanic" casting circulating the Internet. Supposedly, Matthew McConaughey was in talks for Jack Dawson and Gwyneth Paltrow for Rose DeWitt Bukater. "I will neither confirm nor deny," Cameron said. "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."

We bet those actors came calling back begging for another chance. "They should," the award-winning director said. "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." And even though the role of Rose follows Winslet everywhere, there's no doubt it was the experience of a lifetime. She recently told us that she's glad the film can reach a whole new audience, including her children who will see it for the first time.

But apparently, some audiences didn't know the movie is based on a true story. After seeing the film in 3-D, people have taken to Twitter to admit they didn't realize the tragic incident actually occurred. "That's shocking to me," Cameron commented on the news, "that somebody could actually tweet — because it requires some neuromotor capability — and not know that Titanic was a real event, but apparently there are [those] people."

"It's a sad comment on our society. However, it does put the onus on us to get the history right. Because it might be the only record a thousand years from now," the director laughed, "the one disc might be the only record."

What would you think of "Titanic" starring Matthew McConaughey and Gwyneth Paltrow? Leave your comment below!

Check out everything we've got on "Titanic."

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