The film's long reputation owes a great deal to the bold imagination and openness of its actors to the unexpected.
In a remarkable turn of events, the timeless classic “Titanic” has once again stormed to victory at the box office, taking a tough third position for the weekend of February 10.
Even more than 25 years after its first release in December 1997, the movie still holds viewers’ attention and inspires a deep connection with the historical significance of the luxury liner’s tragic trip in 1912.
Among the numerous unforgettable moments that grace the film, one scene, entirely improvised by Kate Winslet, left actor Billy Zane, who portrays the affluent antagonist Cal Hockley, both shocked and alarmed.
On the “Titanic” set, director James Cameron promoted a culture of artistic freedom and urged actors to break from the script whenever the situation called for it. While many of the movie’s most memorable scenes were the result of director Cameron’s creativity, one particular scene nearly didn’t make it into the final edit because of initial opposition from the movie’s star, Leonardo DiCaprio.
The scene in question, where DiCaprio’s character, Jack Dawson, triumphantly stands on the bow of the Titanic alongside Danny Nucci’s character, Fabrizio, exclaiming, “I’m the king of the world,” was entirely impromptu. Cameron revealed in an interview with BBC Radio’s “The Movies That Made Me” that the team was urgently battling the fading light when the phrase was spontaneously created.
“It was made up on the spot,” he explained. “I was in a crane basket, and we were losing the light. I had tried this, and we had tried that. Tried this line and that line, and it was just coming up snake eyes.”
After attempting many unsuccessful lines, Cameron approached DiCaprio, who first showed doubt upon hearing the now-famous statement. Nevertheless, the director urged him, “Just f****** sell it.” The very next take was then included in the final film.
The rest of the cast, including Winslet and Zane, was given the same instruction by Cameron as DiCaprio to embrace spontaneity. Winslet wanted to express the intense disgust her character, Rose DeWitt Bukater, felt for her fiancé Cal in a way that would be evocative of a last moment in which she and DiCaprio spat down the boat’s railing.
According to reports from Screen Rant, Cameron urged his cast to delve into the reasons for their characters and push limits within reason. Winslet decided to capitalize on a previous improvised scene and heighten Rose’s contempt by spitting straight in Cal’s face during an effort to flee as the ship sank.
Winslet’s bold action utterly took Zane aback since he didn’t anticipate her plans to push the scenario to such extremes. Zane’s expression actually showed genuine astonishment and disdain. Rose was supposed to puncture Cal with a hairpin in the original screenplay so she could free herself, but Winslet’s improvisation had a much bigger impact.
In another memorable moment from “Titanic,” Zane got his revenge. In an interview with Vulture, the actor discussed the challenging table-flipping scene that left Winslet speechless. The incident demonstrated Cal’s strong commitment to marrying Rose. Zane stated this was not the case, despite suspicions that the situation was fully contrived.
He explained, “It wasn’t in the moment. I’m trying to remember how we arrived there. I think it was simply, ‘Why go around it? Go through it.’ That was perhaps my suggestion [about the scene] to James Cameron. As posh and elite and maybe effete as he could be, this he is also potentially dangerous.”
Contrary to popular belief, Zane emphasized that the scene was not improvised haphazardly. He stated, “Oh, I would never have done that randomly. It would have been dangerous and inappropriate. There’s improv, and then there’s chaos.” The table-flipping scenario was painstakingly staged, requiring six takes to get the right result.
The actor added: “Somehow, the thing always flew in the direction of the camera, and she was safe from harm, which is more important. I would never have just done something like that with glassware. It was not improv, per se, but it arrived on the day. It seemed to be an effective choice.”