James Cameron Blasts ‘Offensive Rumors’ That He’s in Talks to Direct Titanic Submersible Disaster Film

variety.com:

J. Kim Murphy James Cameron has visited the wreckage of the Titanic more than 30 times and directed an Oscar-winning romance about the doomed vessel — but he’s not planning on exploring the latest disaster connected to the ship that couldn’t sink.

The director has denied rumors that he is in talks to helm a feature about the OceanGate submarine that is believed to have imploded on a deep sea voyage to explore the Titanic wreck, killing its five passengers. “I don’t respond to offensive rumors in the media usually, but I need to now,” James Cameron wrote in a blunt post on Twitter Saturday morning. “I’m NOT in talks about an OceanGate film, nor will I ever.” I don’t respond to offensive rumors in the media usually, but I need to now.

I’m NOT in talks about an OceanGate film, nor will I ever be. It’s not necessarily surprising that some would believe that Cameron would become attached to an OceanGate film.

The 68-year-old filmmaker has become a public expert on all things Titanic since he was in production on his 1997 epic. After authorities discovered “likely human remains” from the Titan submersible, Cameron appeared for an interview on ABC News to criticize OceanGate and offer his thoughts on the disaster. “A number of the top players in the deep submergence engineering community even wrote letters to the company, saying that what they were doing was too experimental to carry passengers and that it needed to be certified,” Cameron said. “I’m struck by the similarity of the Titanic disaster itself, where the captain was repeatedly warned about ice ahead of his ship, and yet he steamed at full speed into an ice field on a moonless night and many people died as a result.