Director tells of Titanic's intact artefacts

The director of the blockbuster move Titanic tonight spoke of his latest 3D film about the doomed vessel.

At the European premiere of Ghosts of the Abyss, in London, James Cameron told of his fascination with the tragic ship which sank exactly 91 years ago to the day.

Using robots and specially engineered cameras designed to cope with the deep water pressure, the director went inside Titanic, taking pictures of the interior for the first time.

“I wasn’t there to make a film, I was there to do an expedition,” he said.

“This is the closest I can give the audience – the closest thing to actually diving two and a half miles down (to the ship), without getting wet and leaving the cinema seat.”

Cameron said many of the artefacts entombed in the ship were still intact.

He said: “The stuff inside has all its grandness, all its opulence – the furniture, the gold-plated light fixtures, the wash stands ...”

Ghosts of the Abyss was a $5m (€4.6m) project which shows Cameron and close friend Bill Paxton as they explore Titanic together.

The cameras went through many of the cabins, eight decks and scores of corridors.

He said: “I guess it is spooky, I didn’t usually relate to it in that way and I never saw a ghost.”

The 48-year-old director was joined at tonight’s premiere in the IMAX Cinema at the Science Museum by more than 100 invited guests.

Directors Mike Leigh, Stephen Birkoff, singer Bryan Ferry and model Marie Helvin were in the audience.

Speaking outside the screening, Cameron remained tight-lipped about his next film project, apart from confirming it would be a big budget feature, using 3D film.

Following September 11 and the war in Iraq, he said there would be certain films he would not make at the moment.

Referring to his 1994 action movie, he said: “I wouldn’t make True Lies now, but that’s my own personal choice.”