James Cameron and MythBusters Will Prove Jack Had to Die in TITANIC

Do you think Leonardo DiCaprio's character Jack needlessly died at the end of Titanic? Apparently there's a lot of people that do. It crossed my mind once, why Jack just didn't crawl up on the floating wood door and float around with Rose until help came. But as I thought about it, I realized that it just wouldn't work, it would be way too unstable. I'm actually kind of surprised this has even become an issue, because it seems like common freakin' sense.

The films' director James Cameron is teaming up with MythBusters to put this argument to rest once and for all. In a recent interview with IGN, Cameron talked about the scene and explains why Jack had to die.

Actually, it's not a question of room, it's a question of buoyancy. When Jack puts Rose on the raft, then he tries to get on the raft. He's not an idiot, he doesn't want to die. And the raft sinks and kind of flips. So it's clear that there's only enough buoyancy available for one person. So he makes a decision to let her be that person instead of taking them both down.

If you know anything about hypothermia, the more you're submerged -- and she's completely out of the water on the raft, and it's only about that far above the surface. If they he had gotten on with her they both would have been half in and half out of the water, even if they could balance on it, and they would have both died. 

I hope the MythBusters test includes throwing in the same couple in the photographs you see below, in the middle of the icy cold atlantic ocean, in the dark, with a door and see if they both survive because they're so damn smart.

Do you think Jack had to die? Or do you think he could have crawled up and floated around with Rose until help arrived?

The exchange begins at 4:20 in the first video below.