Buffalo’s Big Role in ‘Titanic’ Movie
It's one of the most watched and beloved films of the last 25 years, and without Buffalo -- it may never have been made.
The film 'Titanic' was originally released in 1997, but the inspiration for the movie came from director James Cameron's early scuba diving experiences in Buffalo.
The Buffalo News recalls the story of how Cameron learned to scuba dive, as a teenager, at the YMCA on Delaware Avenue in Buffalo.
Cameron grew up in Chippawa, a village of Niagara Falls, Ontario. His interest in Jacques Cousteau inspired his desire to explore deep underwater spaces.
He then asked his dad to take him to scuba diving lessons.
“And the only problem with that was that I lived in a little village in Canada, 600 miles from the nearest ocean. But I didn’t let that daunt me. I pestered my father until he finally found a scuba class in Buffalo, New York, right across the border from where we lived. And I actually got certified in a pool at a YMCA in the dead of winter.”
According to the Buffalo News, Cameron has kept up with his underwater adventures since filming 'Titanic.' He became the first solo visitor to the planet's lowest point, Challenger Deep -- in the Pacific Ocean Mariana Trench -- in 2012.
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