The late Jon Landau is sharing a behind the scenes look at making the 1997 James Cameron film, “Titanic.”
In a new posthumous memoir, “The Bigger Picture,” which hits shelves on November 4th, an excerpt shared with The Hollywood Reporter on Tuesday sheds light into the “challenging” process.
While production was happening, there were rumblings of issues happening on set.
“We spent many months in postproduction. Entire plot devices, scenes we took great care to shoot, fell away as we pieced together the film,” Landau wrote, per THR. “All the while, the press continued to hound. Reporters would infiltrate and ingratiate in search of scoops. Rumors spiraled. Articles reported we’d spent $200 million. Others speculated we’d spent even more.”
The producer also reflected on what the critics wrote about in the tabloids at the time.
“They compared ‘Titanic,’ still months away from release, to ‘Ishtar,’ ‘Waterworld,’ and ‘Cleopatra,’ the most notorious flops in Hollywood history. Whenever you try for something great, you risk everything. Your reputation, your career, your livelihood — important things are on the line.”
Landau added, “The buzz inside the studio was just as bad. It, too, was all rumors. They said the movie was too long. They said the effects didn’t work. They said the acting was weak. None of it was true, but gossip takes on its own life. Perception becomes reality. You end up chasing phantoms, which can be deadly.”
However, an advanced screening of the movie helped alleviate any bad press. The attendees weren’t aware of what project they were going to see, and the audience loved it.
The blockbuster hit follows a poor artist named Jack Dawson (Leonardo DiCaprio), who falls in love with Kate Winslet’s Rose, a rich debutante, while the pair are aboard the “unsinkable” RMS Titanic in 1912.
In August, another excerpt from Landau’s book revealed that Matthew McConaughey almost landed the role of Jack.
According to a snippet obtained by Matthew Belloni’s What I’m Hearing newsletter, Winslet, 50, who was already cast as Rose, “was taken with Matthew, his presence and charm.”
Cameron, 71, however, didn’t agree.
The filmmaker told McConaughey, 55, per Landau’s book, “That’s great, now let’s try it a different way.”
McConaughey, who was born and raised in Texas, allegedly quipped back, “No. That was pretty good. Thanks.”
“Let’s just say, that was it for McConaughey,” penned Landau.
Landau passed away at age 63 in 2024 after a battle with cancer.
Meanwhile, the “Dazed and Confused” alum got candid on his audition in 2021 while on the “Literally! with Rob Lowe” podcast.
“So I went and read with Kate Winslet, and it was not one of the auditions,” he recounted. “They filmed it so it was like into screen test time.”
“After we left, you know, it was one of those ones where they, like, followed me, and when we got outside, they were like, ‘That went great.’ I mean, kind of, like, hugs. I really thought it was going to happen. It did not.”
McConaughey also set the record straight on rumors that he was offered the role.
“I asked Cameron about this, because the gossip over the years that I heard and would see written about me was that I had the role in ‘Titanic’ and turned it down,” he detailed. “Not factual. I did not get offered that role.”
The movie took home 11 Oscars, including an Academy Award for Best Picture.
In March, Billy Zane, 59, who played Rose’s fiancé Caledon Hockley, revealed that he doesn’t rewatch the film.
“No, but I get sent photos. When it’s on, my phone blows up because everyone’s [sending]. I have more photos of flat screen TVs in nondescript rooms. It’s like, ‘Hey you’re on!’” Zane told The Post at the red carpet premiere for his new Western “Day of Reckoning.”
He does, meanwhile, keep in touch with some of the star-studded cast.
“Frances and Leo,” Zane stated. “Kate not as much because she lives in England, I see her occasionally.”
