James Cameron denies ‘offensive’ rumors he’s working on Titan sub disaster film
Titanic director James Cameron says he has no intention of working on a disaster film about the OceanGate submersible’s deadly implosion on its way to the infamous shipwreck site.
The iconic director — who only uses his Twitter account to promote his work — hopped onto the social media site Saturday to dispel talk that he’s looking to capitalize on the Titan sub tragedy that gripped the nation last month.
“I don’t respond to offensive rumors in the media usually, but I need to now. I’m NOT in talks about an OceanGate film, nor will I ever be,” Cameron, 68, wrote.
The denial came after reports claimed Cameron was allegedly talking with a major streaming network about helming a project given his expertise on deep sea diving to the Titanic wreckage.
Cameron was in the public spotlight when the Titan submersible disappeared June 18 — speaking to reporters as an expert who made 33 trips of his own to the 111-year-old shipwreck.
The director was among the many who had predicted the submersible suffered a catastrophic implosion early in its trip, killing all five passengers aboard.
He also slammed the days-long search for the vessel as a “nightmarish charade,” saying it was unrealistic and “cruel” to push a narrative that the victims could still be alive days after the sub disappeared.
“For me, there was no doubt. I knew that sub was sitting exactly underneath its last known depth and position. That’s exactly where they found it,” he told the BBC.
The director noted the submersible’s fate was personal given his decades-long friendship with famed French Titanic expert Paul-Henri Nargeolet, 77, one of the five aboard the doomed Titan.
Cameron’s sharpest criticism was saved for OceanGate and its founder Stockton Rush — also among the five who died aboard the Titan — saying the company skirted routine safety protocols and engineering standards to conduct Titanic tourist trips.
“One of the saddest aspects of this is how preventable it really was,” Cameron told the British outlet.
He likened the company’s arrogance in ignoring experts about the dangers of the submersible to that of the Titanic’s own story — hailed as unsinkable before it struck an iceberg on its maiden voyage from England to New York in 1912.
Despite the global submersible industry’s clean, professional record, Cameron said he fears the OceanGate disaster will mar his beloved deep submergence community for years to come.
