What 'Titanic' Director James Cameron Has Said About the Ship Wreckage Over the Years

etonline.com:

James Cameron has a great deal of experience with the process and the thrill of such an adventure.The Oscar-winning filmmaker has not yet publicly commented on the OceanGate Expeditions tourist submersible that went missing during a dive down to the Titanic's final resting place over the weekend.However, he's spoken out many times about the majesty of the wreckage, and why someone might risk life and limb for a chance to lay eyes on it themselves.According to Cameron, his iconic film about the sinking of the massive ship came about not necessarily out of a passion to make the movie itself, but more for the opportunity to explore and dive down to the wreckage itself — which he described as «the Mount Everest of shipwrecks» in an interview with in 2009.«I made because I wanted to dive to the shipwreck,» Cameron told the publication, «not because I particularly wanted to make the movie.»«When I learned some other guys had dived to the Titanic to make an IMAX movie, I said, 'I’ll make a Hollywood movie to pay for an expedition and do the same thing,'» Cameron recalled. «I loved that first taste, and I wanted more.»Reflecting on his motivations for deep sea diving — beyond his childhood love for explorers and adventurers such as Jacques Cousteau — Cameron told in 2011, «I can think of no greater fantasy than to be an explorer and see what no human eye has seen before.»Speaking with  in 2018, Cameron explained the desire to explore the majesty of the Titanic and the mysteries of the deep ocean.«I call it bearing witness,» Cameron shared. «I get to bear witness to a miracle that's down there all the time.»«This is not just some, you know rich guy ego thing.