Titanic's Steamy Handprint From Jack and Rose is Still There After Over 20 Years

Canadian director James Cameron is known for creating some of the biggest blockbusters in Hollywood history. And not surprisingly, he has amassed a remarkable collection of props over the course of his illustrious career that he keeps in his own personal museum.

Among this collection is an antique car from one of his biggest hits, Titanic (1997,) which was the centerpiece in an iconic sex scene between the film's star-crossed lovers, Jack (Leonardo DiCaprio) and Rose (Kate Winslet.)

On Monday, Cameron tweeted a photo of the vehicle, revealing that the steamy handprint supposedly left on the rear window by Winslet's character is still just about visible more than two decades after the movie was made.

Over 20 years later, the infamous @TitanicMovie handprint is still there – look closely. pic.twitter.com/xN19iHw5cI

— James Cameron (@JimCameron) February 25, 2019

"Over 20 years later, the infamous @TitanicMovie handprint is still there—look closely," Cameron tweeted.

What many people might not know, is that the handprint was actually left by the director himself, and was preserved using a special spray, according to The Hollywood Reporter.

"The second the steam evaporated, we needed to match continuity," he said. "So, we just took some spray [to help it stick]—that's why it's still here."

Titanic was a blockbuster in every sense of the word: its production budget of $200 million made it the most expensive film ever made at the time. However, it easily made this back, earning over $1.84 billion at the box office globally—making it the highest-grossing film of all time, until being surpassed by another Cameron smash-hit, Avatar, in 2010.

After the release of a 3D version of Titanic 2012 to mark the 100th anniversary of the actual ship's sinking, the film's total worldwide earnings rose to a staggering $2.18 billion—making it only the second film to pass the $2 billion mark after Avatar.

Titanic was also a huge critical success and was nominated for 14 Oscars, taking home 11 of them, including the coveted Best Picture award. This puts the film on level-footing with Ben-Hur (1959) for the most Oscar wins by a single film.

As well as a model of the Titanic vessel, eagle-eyed viewers and movie buffs may be able to identify another famous prop in the photo of the car.

If you look through the rear window of the car, it is possible to make out what appears to be a prop from Cameron's Terminator series. According to comicbook.com, it's a T-800 endoskeleton—a genocidal killing machine produced by the Skynet artificial neural network, which serves as the main antagonist in the franchise.

Cameron is currently working on a new film in the Terminator series which will see Arnold Schwarzenegger return to his iconic role as a T-800 "Model 101." A release date has been penciled in for November this year.

Titanic, handprint
A still of the iconic handprint from Titanic. Titanic/Paramount Pictures

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Aristos is a Newsweek science reporter with the London, U.K., bureau. He reports on science and health topics, including; animal, ... Read more

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