PCP poisoning and Kate Winslet almost DYING: How 'Titanic' nearly sank in tragedy
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA: 'Titanic' won 11 Academy Awards including Best Picture and became the third highest-grossing film of all time earning a whopping $1.2 billion at the worldwide box office. However, before its release, everybody thought the movie about the doomed ocean liner was going to be a major flop.
The timeless drama -- which hits theaters once again on Friday, February 10, for celebrating its 25th anniversary -- was reportedly the subject of widespread gossip and doubt in the days leading up to its original release. The budget had soared off the charts, the stars were no-name newbies, several injuries were reported on set, and the crew had been mysteriously poisoned on the job in 1996. What's more? The Washington Post even ran a story about the production's struggles in a May 1997 piece titled 'Going Down With The Ship?'
ALSO READ
James Cameron promises introduction of new elements and cultures with two new tribes in 'Avatar 3'
While it's hard to fathom now, the doubts cast on the movie's success were warranted, the New York Post's Johnny Oleksinski noted. Controversial Director James Cameron had almost doubled his $110 million budget to over $200 million. Furthermore, the lead roles were played by then-little-known Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet. The drama, however, wasn't limited to checkbooks -- the set itself was said to be nothing short of a nightmare. The mild-mannered then-21-year-old Winslet told the LA Times in 1997 of "an ordeal" as she put it. The British actress, who played Rose, reportedly suffered from hypothermia and flu besides sustaining numerous injuries in the six months of filming on a $20 million soundstage in Mexico.
“I chipped a small bone in my elbow,” Winslet recalled, showing the interviewer some purple patches on her skin. “And at one point I had deep bruises all over my arms. I looked like a battered wife," she added, What's more? The actress nearly drowned while filming the sinking finale when her coat got entangled to a gate in the water. “I had to sort of shimmy out of the coat to get free,” she said at the time. Winslet added, “I had no breath left. I thought I’d burst. And Jim just said, ‘OK, let’s go again.’ That was his attitude. I didn’t want to be a wimp so I didn’t complain.” Finally, the most bizarre incident of all occurred when DiCaprio and Winslet were finished filming. A sizeable portion of the remaining cast and crew was mysteriously poisoned while working in Halifax, Nova Scotia.
Dozens of people, including Cameron and Bill Paxton, were reportedly served clam chowder that had been laced with the drug PCP, also known as angel dust, for lunch. Some of the cast and crew members finished three or four bowls of the contaminated food. Shortly after, the director began to feel sick. “We saw James Cameron run by the door and this extra running behind him. He said, ‘There’s something in me! Get it out!’” crewman Jason Clarke told Vulture. To this day, however, no one knows who spiked the soup.
Nonetheless, after months of media attacks and filming turmoil, 'Titanic' finally hit the theaters on December 19, 1997. The film stayed at No. 1 at the box office for a record 15 straight weeks and as mentioned, became the highest-grossing movie of all time until it was passed by 'Avatar' in 2010 -- another epic science fiction film directed by James Cameron, the NY Post reported.