As the 25th anniversary film Titanic opens in theaters this Wednesday, February 8, director James Cameron revealed during a virtual press conference whether Rose was dead or alive at the end of the film. .

Brought to life in 1998’s Titanic, Rose and Jack’s tragic love story has melted the hearts of millions. Celebrating its 25th anniversary, the 3:14 film, which has grossed more than $2.2 billion worldwide, hits theaters this Wednesday, February 8th in remastered versions.

During a virtual press conference organized with his stalwart producer Jon Landau on Thursday, director James Cameron returned to various aspects of his cult feature film, specifically answering a question that has long bothered fans: Does Rose end up dying? the film?

As a reminder, in the last minutes of the feature film, the heroine, older and now a hundred years old, in her nightgown, leaves the pontoon of the boat to throw into the water her precious necklace, the famous “Heart of the Ocean”. . We find her then lying on her bed, her eyes closed, thinking of her reunion with her dearest and dearest at the top of the Titanic’s stairs.

“Should I hold my breath?” asked actress Gloria Stuart

After explaining that it was about filming the memory of an old lady of 103 and that this reunion could have a religious or spiritual dimension, the Canadian revealed some clues to the ending of Titanic. “The actress Gloria Stuart (who died in 2010 ed. ed.), who played Old Rose, asked me before the last scene if she should be alive or dead. I started a long monologue, explaining to him that I wanted to play with ambiguity, that I wanted each viewer to have their own vision of the story,” he says.

But Gloria Stuart had nothing to do with James Cameron’s statements and repeated her request. “Gloria cut me off and just said, ‘Do you want me to hold my breath or not?’ After much deliberation, I replied, ‘Hold your breath,'” the filmmaker admits, putting an end to all speculation.