Last time I told some of the "hard facilities" preparations behind the scenes of "Titanic", this time I want to talk about the casting of the actors.
While the script, the giant wheel model and other preparations are carried out in an orderly manner, Cameron has also been looking for the most suitable male and female protagonists in his mind.
After all, "Titanic" is a love film in his eyes, disasters are auxiliary elements, and the male protagonist Jack and the female protagonist Ruth are very important.
For the role of Jack, the initial casting director recommended several well-known actors to Cameron.
They are Matthew McConaughey, Chris, O'Donnell, Billy Crudup, and Stephen Dorff.
However, Cameron was quick to veto them all.
The reason is simple, Cameron thinks that these actors are too old and mature, Jack is a young man in his 20s, and it is too wrong to let them play.
On the other hand, Atango Tom Cruise was also interested in playing Jack at the time.
However, first of all, he is older (born in 1962) and as a famous Hollywood movie star, his film remuneration is very high, so although Brother Tang is well maintained, his appearance is high and he is well known, he was finally rejected.
Cameron later fell in love with Jared Leto, but Leto simply refused.
After much going, there was only one candidate left, Jeremy Sisto.
At the same time, the casting of the heroine Ruth is also intense.
Several actresses were originally booked, including Little Pepper Gwyneth Paltrow, Depp's girlfriend Winona Red, Claire Dennis, and Reese Witherspoon, among others.
However, these actresses either refused or collapsed in the end.
Speaking of which, there may be children's shoes that do not understand.
Cameron, as a big director who has made "Terminator 2", why does he always hit a wall when he finds someone to make a movie? The actors didn't seem to give him much face.
Actually, it's still the same old question.
At that time, "Titanic", the outside world was not optimistic at all, the circle basically thought that it was an absolute street-beating film, many people were waiting to see the joke, waiting to see the fall of the card god.
Later, the casting director recommended Kate Winslet to Cameron, and FatWin was very interested in the role of Ruth after reading the script, but Cameron did not take her into account at all.
Mainly, Fat Wen has played british aristocrats before, but Cameron feels that the audience will not feel novel at all.
At that time, Fei Wen wrote a cover letter with roses to Cameron every day, but after Cameron continued to be unmoved, she was anxious.
Fei Wen contacted Cameron directly, saying:
"I'm here, I'm Ruth!" Why would you choose someone else! ”
Due to Fat Wen's perseverance, he finally got Cameron's approval, and he invited her to Hollywood to audition with other actresses.
Others played alongside Jack's candidate, Jeremy Sisto. After all, the chemistry between the male and female protagonists is an important part, and Cameron attaches great importance to this.
Interestingly, at this time, the casting director recommended another actor to Cameron.
It's little plums.
When Little Plum came to audition, a very interesting thing happened.
The girls in the whole building were attracted to him and waited outside the office for him to come out.
This directly made Cameron feel that this young man might really be able to play Jack well.
However, at that time, Xiao Lizi did not want to star in this movie.
What the? James Cameron's invitation to a director, a little plum who was not very famous at the time, even refused?
Yes, whether it is Cameron's autobiography books published or foreign media reports, it is said that Little Plum did not want to play Jack at first.
Why?
Xiao Lizi is such a person, he is an actor, whether he wants to take the role or not is always to see if he feels suitable, or whether he likes the script or not.
Instead of thinking about anything, I acted in this movie and I could catch fire and then pick up without saying anything.
This personality, whether it was before he became popular or after the fire, was the same.
At that time, in front of Little Plum, in addition to "Titanic", there was also a movie called "Unruly Night", and Little Plum liked this more.
The turning point is that Little Plum and Fat Wen learn from each other that the other is Jack/Ruth.
Fei Wen was very excited when she learned that Little Plum might play Jack, and she said that Little Plum is really a very good actor.
Even, Fat Wen told Cameron that even if I don't get the role of Ruth in the end, please make sure to let Leonardo play Jack.
On the other hand, Xiao Lizi also appreciates Fat Wen very much, and he thinks that Fat Wen is the kind of actor who looks very decent and capable, and in layman's terms, he looks beautiful and has good acting skills.
Despite this, Little Plum is still hesitant to play the role of Jack.
Fei Wen, who couldn't look at it, later found him directly and told him a lot.
Little Plum went back and read the script of "Titanic" many times, and finally made up his mind to play jack, the male protagonist in this movie.
Later, Fei Wen's opinion of her own move was also very direct, she felt that if she was Ruth, she would definitely hope that Jack was a small plum, so she had to do this, Fei Wen also said very directly:
"I want him."
At this point, the casting of Jack and Ruth was officially determined.
Of course, the relationship between the two outside the play is very good, and the chemical reaction inside the play is also quite good.
The first scene the two shot was the scene where Jack and Ruth painted portraits.
At the beginning, Little Plum was very embarrassed, and at that time, as a "big sister", Fat Wen thought of a way, such as when Little Plum went into his dressing room, he was clean and had nothing, so that Little Plum could get used to it and not be shy.
It can be said very clearly that The little plum and the fat temperature are really very CP and look like a pair, which is also an important reason for the success of "Titanic".
It is also like this, after the release of the movie, many viewers and fans hope that the two of them can come together.
Unfortunately, according to Fei Wen's later account, she said that even when filming Titanic, she and Xiao Lizi did not have that kind of male and female ideas for each other.
They really treat each other as good friends or even family members, and they are the kind of people they admire.
I have to say that this may be a regret in the hearts of many people.
The script, props, facilities, casting, etc. are all in place, so the next step is naturally shooting.
However, behind the scenes of the filming of "Titanic", it is a horror story.
This one, I'll leave it for next time.