Back before James Cameron was known as the filmmaker that only makes movies that are the biggest films ever, he was a sci-fi filmmaker attempting to create a big-budget blockbuster about a cruise ship sinking a hundred years ago. At the time, Cameron probably didn’t think he’d be on the precipice of film history, but he was. And a great deal of that success with “Titanic” came down the perfect casting, launching Leonardo DiCaprio into superstar status. And in a new interview, the filmmaker discussed exactly why he chose DiCaprio over some heavy competition.
In a new interview with Jimmy Fallon on “The Tonight Show,” Cameron was asked about the rumor that he auditioned Matthew McConaughey for the role of Jack in “Titanic” but the actor passed on the film. While clearing up that rumor, the filmmaker gave fans the real reason that DiCaprio was chosen for the role.
“I just need everyone to back up for a second and realize not everything you hear on the internet is true,” Cameron said.
He continued, “You know, Matthew read for the part, and then we met Leo. Leo came in for an interview, and I had this weird thing, I looked around the room, and every woman in the building was in the meeting. Normally you meet with an actor and you’re one-on-one in an office. The accountant was there, and the female security guard. Maybe I should cast this guy.”
We all know what happened next. History was made, DiCaprio became the biggest star in the world, and Cameron would go on to even greater success in the future.
Also, we wouldn’t be able to do a story about the filmmaker without at least mentioning Cameron’s latest attempt to get people excited about “Alita: Battle Angel.” Despite analysts predicting a major box office bomb, Cameron is out there fighting the good fight and promoting the hell out of the film, including retweeting reviews. And as seen in a recent tweet, he’s not ashamed to call the film he produced and co-wrote “fucking rad.”
Is ‘Alita’ fucking rad? We’ll find out on February 14.
My daughter Josa sent this to me, and I have to say I agree — “ah, that was so rad” doesn’t have the same ring to it. It is fucking rad. pic.twitter.com/LOPzSerm53
— James Cameron (@JimCameron) February 7, 2019