A movie about OceanGate’s Titan submersible tragedy is copping backlash after it was announced to be in the works just four months after it tragically imploded.
In June, OceanGate Expeditions founder Stockton Rush and four passengers set out on a voyage to view the wreck of the Titanic in a submersible called the Titan. Approximately an hour and 45 minutes after the group descended into the Atlantic Ocean, the Titan lost contact with the above world, prompting a frantic search and rescue effort.
A few days later, the US Coast Guard confirmed debris from the submersible was found in the vicinity of the Titanic wreck, and the five crew members onboard the vessel were assumed to have been killed instantly in a “catastrophic implosion”.
Now, Deadline has reported that a film detailing the events that occurred before, during and after the incident is currently in production from MindRiot Entertainment.
MindRiot’s Justin MacGregor and Jonathan Keasey are attached as co-writers, while E. Brian Dobbins (known for Black-ish and The Sea of Trees) will co-produce.
No specific plot points or cast details are known at the time of writing. However, the project is being filmed under the working title Salvage, which feels far too on the nose IMO.
“The Titan Tragedy is yet another example of a misinformed and quick-to-pounce system, in this case, our non-stop, 24-7 media cycle that convicts and ruins the lives of so many people without any due process,” Keasey told Deadline.
“Our film will not only honour all those involved in the submersible tragedy, and their families, but the feature will serve as a vessel that also addresses a more macro concern about the nature of media today.”
The lawyer-turned-filmmaker added that “truth is all that matters” and that he believes “the world has a right to know the truth”.
“Not the salacious bait crammed down our throats by those seeking their five minutes of fame,” Keasey continued.
“Life is not black and white. It’s complicated. There’s nuance. Always nuance.”
Despite promising a truthful representation, X (formerly known as Twitter) users have called out the filmmakers for capitalising on the Titan tragedy.
“Seems so soon,” one user wrote, while another slammed the production company for being “sick”.
“Hasn’t even been a year [since the incident].”
A third wrote: “You shouldn’t mock the dead, it’s disrespectful. More disrespectful than dramatising, recreating and then profiting off those dead.”
Another Xer held out hope that it would be “a documentary rather than a live-action [movie]”.
“And even a documentary seems kinda too soon.”
News of MindRiot’s Salvage comes after Titanic filmmaker James Cameron categorically denied “offensive rumours” that he was set to direct a movie in the same vein via X.
“I’m NOT in talks about an OceanGate film, nor will I ever.”
Big yikes.
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