14 DAY TRIAL // “Titanic” will always be James Cameron’s crown jewel, but he gets no passes for the alternate ending he thought would fit his epic tale of how the most unsinkable boat in the world sunk. Today’s suggestion for Viral of the Day is the alternate ending of the 1997 blockbuster.
That’s right, as it happens with most productions no matter their budget, Cameron shot more footage than he ended up using in the final cut of “Titanic.” He even conceived a different ending for the film, one that was so hilariously bad it’s almost hard to believe it’s legit.
Hint: the Titanic still sinks and old Rose still drops the giant diamond necklace, Heart of the Ocean, into the sea. However, on the alternate ending, she’s not alone when she does it because the rest of the crew sees her wandering out at night, and fearing she might do something to harm herself, rush to rescue her.
To their shock, she’s holding the Heart “hostage” and is threatening to throw it if they don’t “stop right there.” What follows next is a scene right out of a Lifetime movie (of the worst kind, mind you), with the sole purpose of educating the young man played by Bill Paxton on what a real “treasure” in life is. That’s a very expensive lesson to teach, if I do say so myself.
But it’s ok because he doesn’t mind. If anything, he seems grateful, which we’re to infer from the fit of maniacal laughter that takes over him, when he finally “gets it.” Everyone else laughs too and they all lived happily ever after. Happily but also diamond-free.
As a bonus, this ending also includes a totally Oscar-worthy line of dialog that goes something like, “well, that sucks, lady!” Here you go, enjoy.
