Dunn felt incredibly awkward. This was a question he really couldn't explain too much.
Kate, on the other hand, was deeply moved. She fought back the tears threatening to spill over, using her top-tier acting skills to force a bright smile.
But as she kept smiling, she realized Dunn had fallen into silence.
So, she stopped smiling too. She glanced at him, bit her lip, and, gathering all her courage, asked, "Dunn, do you have a girlfriend?"
"No."
Kate pursed her lips. "Then… do you like me?"
Dunn's heart skipped a beat, but he played it cool and dodged the question with a joke. "Of course! You work so hard. I don't think there's anyone in the crew who doesn't like you."
"That's not what I mean…" Kate's tone grew urgent. She took a deep breath, deciding to go all in. "I mean, do you love me?"
"Huh?" Dunn's heart pounded wildly as he looked at her in shock.
Kate, however, had stopped smiling. She looked serious. "Dunn, I think I've fallen for you."
Dunn felt completely torn inside.
Kate Winslet had a bold and straightforward personality. She wasn't pretentious or fake—she was brave, independent, and strong-willed. She was a pure and genuine person, someone any man would be lucky to love.
And physically, she was voluptuous and incredibly sexy—Dunn was absolutely mesmerized by her.
But…
Dunn wasn't influenced by American values. He carried a deeply ingrained, traditional, and somewhat chauvinistic mindset. He knew these beliefs were outdated, crude, and even distasteful, but it was who he was.
He had a strong sense of emotional exclusivity. He couldn't accept the idea that his girlfriend had been with another man before. Even more than that, he couldn't handle the thought of her being naked on the big screen for the whole world to see.
He really liked Kate. He wanted to be her best friend, but he couldn't accept her as his most intimate partner.
"Hey, Kate, that's not a funny joke at all. You're testing me, aren't you? Haha! We're friends, the best of friends!"
Kate's body trembled slightly, though the blanket covered it. She understood what Dunn was saying. Forcing a weak smile, she said, "Yeah, we're friends. Hehe, I was just messing with you. You totally took it seriously, didn't you?"
Dunn sighed inwardly but put on a playful, exaggerated scowl. "Oh, so you were messing with me? Well then, I'll have to teach you a lesson!"
"Haha! Ahh! That tickles!"
"Mercy! I was wrong…"
"Dunn, I'm still a patient, you know!"
…
When it came time to shoot the water scenes, Dunn went straight into full-blown "hell mode," driving the entire crew into a frenzy. Kate Winslet ended up bedridden for three days because of it.
But was it a blessing in disguise?
After going through all that suffering, Leonardo and Kate finally immersed themselves completely in their roles as "Jack" and "Rose." Their every expression, every movement—it was as if they had completely shed their real identities and become their characters.
Their peak performance and nuanced acting lifted the entire crew's energy. From that point on, everything flowed naturally, like the calm after a storm.
Even the water scenes didn't seem so difficult anymore.
Everyone started looking at Dunn differently. They had no idea that his success was just dumb luck—they actually thought he had planned all this, that he had intentionally built up the emotions of the two leads before tackling the crucial scenes. This approach had dramatically sped up the filming process.
Even James Cameron was impressed and asked humbly, "Dunn, can you tell me why this worked so well?"
Ever since Leonardo and Kate filmed their heartbreaking farewell scene on the ocean, their acting had skyrocketed. Kate Winslet, in particular, had reached a level of perfection that could only be compared to Audrey Hepburn in *Roman Holiday* or Vivien Leigh in *Gone with the Wind.*
Dunn gave a mysterious smile. "It's simple, James. You have to understand that acting is like the tides—it rises and falls. If you keep it at the same level all the time, it's just a calm sea."
A calm sea has its own vast beauty, but it's nowhere near as thrilling as the crashing waves of a rising tide.
Cameron was a smart guy—he immediately grasped what Dunn was saying. "So… you deliberately held back Leonardo and Kate's performances earlier, just to make sure they reached their peak during these water scenes?"
Dunn laughed. "Of course. No one can maintain peak performance for months on end—it would break them mentally. So, you save the best for when it really matters."
He wasn't just trying to fool Cameron—there was some truth to his words.
In the original *Titanic*, Leonardo and Kate's performances stayed consistently at around 90% of their full potential throughout the entire movie.
But Dunn had taken a different approach. In the beginning, he deliberately let things slide, accepting 80% effort for many scenes. However, when it came to the film's emotional core—the water scenes—he was even stricter than Cameron!
As a result, when the climax of the movie hit, Leonardo and Kate's performances exploded beyond their usual limits. They weren't just hitting 90%—they were reaching 98, 99, or even 100%!
Dunn had every reason to be proud. He had left his mark on this cinematic masterpiece, achieving something even Cameron might not have been able to.
Cameron fell into deep thought. Dunn continued, "James, you have to realize that once this movie is edited, it'll probably be over three hours long. Do you know what that means? No one can stay fully focused for that long. Only the biggest emotional moments can truly recapture the audience's attention."
"So this part of the performance is far more important than the earlier, more artistic scenes," Cameron mused.
"Exactly." Dunn was feeling pretty smug that Cameron was actually learning from him. "You have to know when to let go and when to push hard. Understanding the audience's psychology is a director's greatest skill."
After a moment of silence, Cameron suddenly smiled. "Dunn, I've said it before—you're a genius. Even if your reasoning doesn't fully convince me, I have to admit, your approach has proven successful. Even if I had directed this film myself, I might not have done it better than you."
Dunn burst into laughter. "James, I don't know about that, but I do know that if you were directing, your budget would have been WAY higher than mine!"
Cameron chuckled and shook his head with a smile.
After months of conflicts, arguments, and adjustments, Cameron had long since let go of his frustration about losing the director's seat to Dunn.
At the end of the day, Dunn had the skills to direct *Titanic.*
Finally, filming in Rosarito wrapped up, and the production moved to a studio in New York.
Most of the scenes there relied on green screen, making things much simpler. Since green screen technology was still in its early stages, there weren't many fancy effects—no motion capture, just a lot of model-based shots.
With George Paxton clearing the way, any lingering issues from Jon Landau's interference had been completely dealt with. Filming in New York went smoothly, and thirteen days later, *Titanic* officially wrapped!
"Thank you all for your support, guidance, and hard work over these past three months! I'm a young director, and I know I've made mistakes. But thanks to James and the incredible team he built, we stuck together and overcame every challenge! Now, the movie is finally finished, and no amount of time can erase the effort and passion we've all put into this project. So, I'm proud to announce—*Titanic* is officially wrapped!"
*Pop! Pop! Pop!*
Bottles of champagne, prepared in advance, were popped open, spraying sparkling liquid into the air.
Cheers erupted.
It was December 28, 1996.