OceanGate CEO Stockton Rush wanted Pearl Jam to be in the submersible that imploded en route to the Titanic, according to a new documentary.
A talking head in Netflix’s Titan: The OceanGate Disaster film, which came out on Wednesday (June 11), says that Rush mentioned getting Eddie Vedder’s grunge icons into the craft in a bid for publicity.
The submersible was ultimately crushed underwater following a technical failure, killing all five people onboard including Rush.
Joseph Assi, a videographer that Rush recruited to film the trip, claims (via Loudwire): “They needed more exposure, that’s why we came along. The sub they were making was very basic, so the idea was – ‘Make us videos so we can catch the attention of people.’”
He adds: “They had wild ideas, like they want to take Pearl Jam in the submarine, or he talked about some floating city that could also submerge.”
The Titan submersible imploded during its 12,500ft (3,810m) descent from the ocean surface to the resting place of the Titanic on June 18, 2023. Joining Rush onboard were French explorer Paul-Henri Nargeolet, British billionaire Hamish Harding, Pakistani-British businessman Shahzada Dawood and his 19-year-old son Suleman.
The craft lost contact with OceanGate crew at around 10,825ft (3,300m), less than two hours into the dive. After four days of searching, its wreckage was found on the bed of the Atlantic Ocean. The documentary reveals that the Titan was quickly crushed by the intense pressure beneath the sea, killing everyone inside instantly.
Though Rush made 13 successful trips to the Titanic in the Titan, there were concerns about its safety. “Banging noises” against the hull were heard by passengers on previous dives. A similar noise was heard by OceanGate’s crew shortly before they lost contact with the craft.
Titan has received broadly positive reviews since coming out, scoring an average of 6.7/10 in reviews on IMDb and a 69 percent approval score on Rotten Tomatoes at time of publication.
Pearl Jam released their latest album, Dark Matter, in April 2024. The band will perform at Ohana Festival in Dana Point, California on September 26.
