Behind-the-Scenes: Production Design and the Grand Staircase in Titanic

The Grand Staircase, as portrayed in James Cameron's Titanic.

After doing a director profile on James Cameron, I feel it’s appropriate to include at least one behind-the-scenes blog post on his most well-known film: Titanic. It’s an undeniable fact that the 1997, 11 Oscar-winner is an incredible technical achievement. Supported by a $200,000 budget (the largest film budget in the 20th century--co-financed and distributed by Twentieth Century Fox and Paramount),  James Cameron’s Titanic sported a spectacular set, almost rebuilding the infamous ship to full length, and employed impressive special effects. One of the most impressive interior sets was the recreation of the famed Grand Staircase--- the most famous room Titanic contained. Indeed, the Staircase, as mentioned by one of the film crew personnel, ended up acting almost as a character in the film, due to it being the location of several pivotal scenes, including the ending scene. Interestingly, the staircase presented in the film is slightly larger than the one on the real ship. The reason for this was because people in 1912 were shorter than they are today. As a result, the staircase was scaled up to make the actors look smaller (IMDB).

Ultimately, in constructing the Grand Staircase, the film crew didn’t see it as a set at all. The staircase was built out of solid oak in Mexico City. As a result, it looked and in actuality was a legitimate room. Art Director Martin Laing quotes, “We’re actually building this as they built it on the Titanic. We’re not building it as a film set; we’re building it as a real staircase that can actually take quite a bit of damage with water and things like that” (Making of Titanic).

Construction of the Grand Staircase for Titanic.

Finally, the time came for the destruction of the beautiful set. For the exterior shots of the ship sinking, the almost full-scale ship was placed in a 3 foot deep, 17 million gallon tank and tilted using a crane. For the interior shots of the sinking ship, the sets were enclosed in a 5 million gallon tank and again tilted in the water using a crane. This was the method used for the Grand Staircase. However, to make the destruction of the Grand Staircase more dramatic, Cameron and his team dropped 90,000 gallons of water onto it. Because the Staircase would be destroyed, there would be only one attempt to get it right. Unexpectedly, the massive volume of water ripped the Staircase from its steel-reinforced foundations, collapsing certain sections of it. Thankfully, no one was hurt in the take (IMDB).

In the end, I think it’s incredible how much work went into the production design of Titanic. Most of the interiors of the ship were constructed to the exact measurements and looks of the rooms in the real ship. Millions upon millions of gallons of water were used. It’s no wonder the film ended up needing a $200 million budget. But ultimately, this massive budget allowed James Cameron to fully fulfill his vision of the beautiful, ill-fated luxury liner. 


Written by Anthony Watkins

Above is a brief behind-the-scenes clip of the "Staircase Implosion" scene from Titanic.

The Grand Staircase Implosion as presented in the film. The Grand Staircase destruction is at 1:12.

WORKS CITED
IMDB. 2014. 29 March 2014. <http://www.imdb.com>.

Titanic. Screenplay by James Cameron. Dir. James Cameron. Prod. James Cameron. 1997. Special Edition Blu-Ray. Twentieth Century Fox and Paramount Pictures. 2013.