An interview the filmmaker did back in 2012 is back in the news after a submersible visiting the Titanic wreckage went AWOL.
On Sunday word broke that a small submersible containing five people had gone missing during a trip to visit the wreckage of the RMS Titanic. As of this writing, the vessel, operated by the company OceanGate, was still AWOL. There’s a good chance this could end in tragedy. The incident has inevitably got people thinking of James Cameron, director of the 1997 blockbuster Titanic and who’s done the same dive, successfully, 33 times. Some even dug up an old interview in which he warned people not to take deep sea trips lightly.
As per Mediaite, Cameron spoke with The New York Times all the way back in 2012, after he descended into the Mariana trench — the deepest part of the planet’s oceans, nearly seven terrifying miles down. Cameron was prepared: He’d teamed with leading scientists, a retired Navy officer, and other experts. He also took up yoga so he could spend some nine hours largely immobile.
His vessel, which descended vertically, was also tricked out with all manner of life-saving backup tools. Before his mission to the deepest oceanic trench on Earth, he took numerous test runs. He was nothing if not safe — while doing something that’s potentially suicidal.
“You’re going into one of the most unforgiving places on earth,” Cameron said. “It’s not like you can call up AAA to come get you.
