James Cameron: No, There Was Not Room for Two on the ‘Titanic’ Raft

Aficionados of pop-culture conspiracy theories will be familiar with the Reddit-driven idea that Leonardo DiCaprio didn’t have to die to save Kate Winslett in Titanic. Using a tape outline to approximate the size of the raft that carried Winslett’s Rose to safety, an industrious redditor found that two human beings could easily fit in the space. But, since we all must answer to the Internet in 2012, an IGN interviewer recently asked Titanic director James Cameron to respond to the theory, and he’s just not having it. “It’s not a question of room, it’s a question of buoyancy,” says Cameron, reminding us that the raft flips over when Jack initially attempts to join Rose on it. So, that’s settled. If you’re still not satisfied, though, the filmmaker also mentions that he’s planning to help Mythbusters debunk the rumor in a future episode. Watch the interview after the jump, and skip to 4:20 if you’re only interested in the raft theory.

[via Gawker]

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A) The section of wood is not a doorway--it's an archway for a door. B) The one they used on set was fiberglass and wood combined and actually had some flotation used on the bottom to keep it up. They need to determine the wood that was used on the ship and match it's volume as closely as possible. C) It's arguable that Jack had used more of his caloric energy and was therefore less capable of sustaining warmth. And being so lean even if he had been able to get onto the wood with Rose there's no guarantee he would have survived. The higher fat content of the female body would certainly have helped Rose retain warmth for a bit longer. Not sure what advantage being together might have created. D) Let it go. Cameron will never accept defeat and it cannot be definitively proven anyway. Mythbusters will say that it's possible but to appease the director will ultimately say it was unlikely.

I don't know if the board could have held the weight of both Jack and Rose or not, but it flipping over in the water doesn't really serve as evidence of its inability to do so. Something flipping over in the water really has more to do with weight distribution than straight-up buoyancy. Have you ever fallen out of a boat or off of an inner tube? You can easily flip over something that is perfectly capable of holding you when you put your weight all on one side as Jack does when he tries to get on.