Jon Landau Reveals ‘Titanic’ Nearly “Sank” Even Before It Hit Theaters

Jon Landau, the producer behind Titanic, has revealed just how close the record-breaking movie came to falling apart during production.

In his new book The Bigger Picture, published by Hyperion Avenue and out November 4, Landau opens up about the struggles, near-disasters, and moments of chaos that almost sank the film before it ever made it to theaters.

Landau recalls that one of the hardest parts of making Titanic wasn’t filming the love story between Jack and Rose, but figuring out where and how to build the ship itself.

James Cameron wanted it to look and feel completely real, which meant recreating not only the Titanic but also the ocean it would sink into. The production team spent a full year traveling the world searching for the right spot. They even considered a quarry in Poland before eventually landing on a surprising choice: Rosarito, Mexico.

The location didn’t seem right at first, it was sunny and warm, far from the icy waters of the North Atlantic where the real Titanic went down, but Landau could see the potential. “If you used your imagination, you could almost see it — the build that would be the ship and the ice-filled sea,” he writes.

He drew out his vision on a napkin and planned to convince Cameron to come see it.

That turned into a challenge of its own. Cameron refused to visit the site without studio approval, and the studio wouldn’t give approval without a confirmed location.

The production was stuck in a loop. Eventually, Fox agreed, and Landau took Cameron to see the site. But things didn’t go smoothly at first. Cameron immediately criticized the choice, shouting, “Landau! What were you thinking? There are lights over there! There’s a hill over there! How the hell is this going to be the middle of the ocean!”

Landau says he expected that reaction. After a few adjustments, Cameron changed his mind, declaring, “It’s perfect! It’s the only place we can make the movie!”

From there, production exploded in scale. The movie quickly became one of the most expensive ever made, with reports that costs doubled from the original budget. The media jumped on the story, spreading rumors that Titanic was heading toward disaster. Journalists compared it to other box office flops, calling it the next Waterworld or Cleopatra.

Inside the studio, tension was high too. Executives worried the movie was too long and too expensive. Landau and Cameron even ran into Rupert Murdoch, who owned Fox at the time, during postproduction. Landau joked, “I guess we’re two of your least favorite people in the world right now.” Murdoch replied, “I’ll wait until I see the movie, then I’ll let you know.”

The first big test came at an advance screening in Minnesota. The audience didn’t know which movie they were going to see. When Titanic appeared on screen, the room was silent for several minutes, and Landau thought the film had failed. But then, the energy shifted. The audience began reacting emotionally, crying and cheering by the end.

Afterward, they learned the audience had been told they were watching Great Expectations, another Fox film, and thought Titanic was just a trailer. Once they realized it was the full movie, everything clicked.

From there, Titanic went on to become one of the biggest successes in film history, winning 11 Oscars and earning over $2 billion worldwide.