Where did they film the present-day scenes in “Titanic”?
You may remember that part of the movie includes a team of explorers searching for a legendary diamond at the wreck of the infamous ship.
According to IMDB, they filmed these scenes at the real-life location of the wreck in the Atlantic Ocean. The time spent filming at the Titanic Canyon in the North Atlantic inspired director James Cameron to return again in 2003 to further explore and document the wreckage. This return to the ship with one of the stars of the film, the late Bill Paxton, is called “Ghosts of the Abyss” and is a must-watch for any “Titanic” completionist.
Where did they construct the “Titanic” set?
As you might expect, much of the movie takes place during the ocean liner’s ill-fated journey. We see almost every aspect of the boat from bow to stern, and everything looks as authentic as possible. It’s difficult to see this marvel of filmmaking without asking the question: where was “Titanic” filmed?
They built the nearly life-sized recreation of the set at Baja Studios in Baja, California. According to Studio Binder, they built the set in about 100 days in a water tank that cost 40 million dollars itself! Since the production of “Titanic,” several other seafaring movies have been produced at the studio, such as “Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World,” “Deep Blue Sea,” and “All Is Lost.”
One of the aspects of the ship they couldn’t quite accurately recreate was the engine room. In typical James Cameron fashion, the director felt the need to make the movie as historically accurate as possible. According to Heavy, this meant that the production used the engine room of the S.S. Jeremiah O’Brien, which at the time was the last unaltered Liberty ship.
The ship is a National Historic Landmark. So if you want to see it yourself, you can find it at Pier 45 of Fisherman’s Wharf in San Francisco.
Where did they film the sinking of the “Titanic”?
The final act of the movie involves the tragic sinking of the ship and all of the ensuing chaos. Watching the ship crack in half before sinking to the bottom of the Atlantic is a sight to behold. It is hard to watch these scenes without asking yourself: where was “Titanic” filmed?
They filmed some of the scenes at the water tank we mentioned earlier at Baja Studios, according to Studio Binder. The rumor that persisted after the movie that the water was freezing cold is just that. The water was a comfortable 80 degrees, and they added the cold breath in post-production.
Movie-Locations.com reports that they filmed these scenes in Los Angeles, in the Belmont Plaza Olympic Pool in Long Beach. The massive Olympic-sized swimming pool was the perfect location for the scenes that required many actors and extras in the water. The Belmont Plaza has since been demolished after being deemed seismically unstable. Apparently, nobody wanted to see the building crack in half like the “Titanic!”
Additional scenes depicting the aftermath of the sinking were shot at S.S. Lane Victory, located in the San Pedro suburb of Los Angeles. The Cinemaholic reports that the old World War II cargo ship is now a fully functional museum! Along with the S.S. Jeremiah O’Brien, these two museums are a must-visit for anyone wanting to get a better idea of what the interiors of these old ships looked like.
For anybody looking for a museum that is more focused on the “Titanic,” the Maritime Museum of the Atlantic in Nova Scotia has a permanent exhibition that includes genuine artifacts from the wreckage.
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