Fellowes Says Cameron’s “Titanic” Is Unfair
When James Cameron’s 1997 blockbuster film starring Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet is re-released in cinemas in 3D next month, it will face direct competition with Julian Fellowes’ new period drama “Titanic,” which airs on ITV in Britain from 25 March and in the U.S. shortly thereafter. The film received a lambasting from writer Fellowes (who also created “Downton Abbey”), who called it factually inaccurate in a Radio Times interview.
Fellowes’ attack centers around the depiction of the Titanic’s first officer, William Murdoch, who is painted as a cowardly figure in Cameron’s film.
“He wasn’t cowardly. He fired the pistol to just stop a potential riot. It was suddenly getting out of hand, and he fired it in the air. That’s not being cowardly.”
The writer is hoping that his drama will ‘set the record straight’ when it comes to Murdoch, who, according to Fellowes, fired the pistol in the air ‘to stop a potential riot’. Murdoch was unfairly “villainised” in Cameron’s film, according to Fellowes.
