Titanic gave a boost to the careers of its lead actors, and it could have featured a young Lindsay Lohan as well, but James Cameron decided against it – here’s what happened. James Cameron has become one of the biggest and most respected filmmakers in the industry, and he’s now often associated with big-budget projects, mostly from the sci-fi genre. However, one of his most successful movies isn’t from that genre, instead being a disaster drama movie: Titanic, which tells the true and tragic story of the sinking of the title ship.

Based on the accounts of the sinking of the RMS Titanic in 1912, Titanic tells the story of Rose DeWitt Bukater (Kate Winslet) and Jack Dawson (Leonardo DiCaprio), two passengers from different social classes who fall in love aboard the ship during its ill-fated maiden voyage. Over the course of four days, Jack and Rose developed a deep connection that put them at risk, but their relationship wasn’t meant to be, and while Rose was eventually rescued, Jack became one of the many victims of the sinking. Through both, viewers also got to meet different characters from their respective social classes, and among those was Jack’s “best girl”, Cora.

Throughout Titanic, viewers got a glimpse at the very different worlds of Rose and Jack, and there was a somewhat prominent minor character in Jack’s world named Cora, a little girl traveling in third class with her father. Cora is seen at different points in Titanic, such as before boarding (as she’s stunned by how big the ship is), waving goodbye as the ship sailed, and of course, dancing with Jack at a third-class party. Jack famously told her she was “still his best girl” before he started dancing with Rose, and unfortunately, Cora and her father didn’t make it out of the ship on time. Cora was played by Alexandrea Owens-Sarno, but it was almost played by none other than Lindsay Lohan.

According to different reports, Lindsay Lohan auditioned for the role of Cora and became the first choice for the role, but there was one minor detail that for James Cameron was very important, and it ultimately led to her being turned down: her red hair. Cameron reportedly thought Lohan’s natural red hair was too similar to Rose and her mother’s, so they went with another actress with different hair color. At the time Titanic entered production, Lindsay Lohan’s career was only getting started, as she was playing Alli Fowler in the soap opera Another World. Lohan made her big-screen debut the year after Titanic was released in Disney’s The Parent Trap, where she famously played twins Hallie and Annie. After that, Lindsay Lohan became one of the most sought out teen actresses, starring in movies like Freaky Friday, Confessions of a Teenage Drama Queen, and Mean Girls.

As for Alexandrea Owens-Sarno, Titanic was her acting debut and her only known role. She took a break from acting after being constantly recognized on the street but enrolled in acting classes when she moved to Los Angeles after college, and she now works in improv and sketch comedy. Lindsay Lohan’s career might have been very different had she been cast as Cora in Titanic, and while her hair color isn’t really a valid excuse to not cast her, it’s important to point out that James Cameron is known for being a perfectionist, and clearly, her red hair was a big deal for him.

Paris Hilton had nothing but good things to say regarding Lindsay Lohan’s engagement. The pair, two of the biggest icons of the early 2000s, had one of the most emblematic relationships of the era, known for their dramatic ups and downs. 

On the podcast This Is Paris, Paris Hilton spoke about Lindsay Lohan’s engagement to Bader Shammas. While she acknowledged their differences, she focused on the good. “I also just saw that Lindsay got engaged,” she said. “And I know we‘ve had our differences in the past, but I just wanted to say congratulations to her and that I am genuinely very happy for her.” She then talked a bit about her relationship with Lohan and Britney Spears, the “holy trinity” of the era, particularly of the party scene.

“It just makes me so happy to see, you know, 15 years later, and just so much has happened in the past two weeks. I got married, Britney got her freedom back and engaged, and then Lindsay just got engaged. So I love just seeing how different our lives are now and just how much we‘ve all grown up and just having love in our lives,” she said.

Paris has been open about her relationship with Lindsay in her podcast, calling it “complicated” and “on and off.” “But when I think about it now, we were just so young, immature. It was like high school drama, especially in the L.A. scene, and to live it out in public with the media constantly trying to stir things up and make things worse than they were. Back then, the media really enjoyed having girls feud with each other,” she said. 

The media coverage was particularly grueling when it came to the topic of Britney, Paris, and Lindsay during the era, using all occasions to pit them against each other or to further the idea that the two were crazy party girls with no other interests. It’s been refreshing to see these personalities get a kinder reevaluation by the world, acknowledging the media’s role in shaping their lives and careers.

All I want for Christmas is Lindsay Lohan copping mass praise for her almighty comeback in the Netflix Chrissy film.

In the forthcoming flick, which is set to be Lindsay’s big return to our screens after way too long away, the actress will play a “newly engaged, spoiled hotel heiress” (per the film’s logline), who cops amnesia after a skiing accident and “finds herself in the care of a handsome, blue-collar lodge owner and his precocious daughter in the days leading up to Christmas.

She’s back! 

Here is your first look at Lindsay Lohan in her upcoming holiday rom-com, co-starring Chord Overstreet. pic.twitter.com/eycI907iBm

— Netflix (@netflix) November 12, 2021

Industry peeps have been saying that this is LiLo’s attempt at a comeback after fading into obscurity for some time (and good lord, have we missed her dearly!).

But the big question is, when the buzz of Chrissy has worn off and the flick is shelved until next year’s festive season, what’s next for Lindsay?

Well, over the last 24 hours, there have been not one, but TWO blind items from separate sources on goss guru Insta Deuxmoi that have suggested Lindsay is being eyed by Ryan Murphy to appear in an upcoming season of American Horror Story.

In the first blind item, the anonymous user writes:

“The fact one of Ryan Murphy’s favourite actresses left a reply on Lindsay Lohan’s post about getting back to work might appear like a simple nice gesture, but they’re actually in talks to co-star in the next season of a certain series.”

After spotting this, I instantly scanned LiLo’s latest post for comments by stars and found this one by Sarah Paulson (who is in almost every single Ryan Murphy series) with praise hands. I didn’t see anything about getting back to work, but perhaps it was deleted after buzz got around? Either way, I’m betting dollars to donuts that it’s either American Horror Story, or possibly even American Crime Story.

And that’s not all, folks!

In a subsequent blind item, with the subject line: “I HAVE TEA – LINDSAY LOHAN AND RYAN MURPHY”, another insider writes:

“I have sources that also can confirm that Ryan Murphy is very interested in La Lohan.

“He has been a real advocator to her comeback and I heard the project is very tongue-in-cheek.”

The thing that I find most amusing about this is the fact that the character Madison Montgomery (played by Emma Roberts in Coven and Apocalypse) is based on LiLo. How very meta!

Imagine if Lindsay is cast in the forthcoming season where the witches return? What if she plays a witch and fights alongside Madison? AHHHHHHH!

Not only that, but apparently “an edgy fashion magazine wants to land her for a cover.”

Calling it now, folks: 2022 will be the year of Lindsay Lohan. That is SO fetch!

Lindsay Lohan will not be joining the cast of the upcoming “Real Housewives of Dubai” … even though she’s already living in the country, and would provide instant star power and drama.

Sources with direct knowledge tell TMZ … Lindsay is NOT part of the newly announced season, and she was never even approached about the upcoming project.

Bravo announced Monday the network is taking ‘The Real Housewives’ franchise to Dubai, the first season in an international location, leading to wild speculation Lindsay would be on the cast because she’s already on the ground in the United Arab Emirates.

We’re told the cast — although, not announced yet — has been selected, and LL ain’t on it. Yeah, we know … she’s not actually a housewife, but many of the other “Housewives” lineups are filled with unmarried women.

The real issue, most likely, is keeping the budget low for a new spinoff … ’cause Lindsay would certainly demand a bigger payday than an unknown. The project will air on Bravo next year, and the network says it will highlight a group of women navigating relationships, careers and the lavish and uber-wealthy lifestyles in the UAE.

Dubai’s known as a billionaire’s playground with plenty of opulence, modern architecture and a crazy nightlife scene, which all seem to jibe with LiLo … but this is one guest list she won’t be on.

Stay tuned for new faces!

Update: TMZ caught ‘Housewives’ honcho Andy Cohen out in NYC, who makes it VERY clear, he’d be all for Lindsay joining.

A costar connection! After working together in 2003, Jamie Lee Curtis and Lindsay Lohan have continued to stay in touch — in code.

While filming Freaky Friday, which follows a mother and daughter who get trapped in each other’s bodies through a magical fortune cookie, Curtis, 62, and Lohan, 35, found themselves listening to Justin Timberlake‘s “Like I Love You” quite often.

“Lindsay and I were doing a scene in a car and there was a lot of time in between takes,” the Halloween Kills star detailed to Yahoo Entertainment on October 15. “And there’s a rap in the middle of that song by Clipse. She and I were trying to learn the words.”

The Scream Queens alum recalled them “sitting there with a pad” trying to learn all the words to the song.

“We were writing them down, and then we would do the scene, and then we’d play the song and try to lip-synch the few words that we knew,” Curtis shared. “I’m telling you, we laughed. And that is my secret code with her. ‘What was the song we were lip-synching to in the car?’”

After Curtis realized that she gave away the details to their code, she added that she would now have to find “another” way to verify Lohan’s identity over text.

The Golden Globe winner has previously revealed that she wasn’t initially cast to play Tess in Freaky Friday. After Annette Bening dropped out four days before filming began, Curtis found herself “with absolutely zero prep on any level,” which she didn’t mind.

“Because I had no time, I had the complete freedom to just go, ‘OK, whatever. Whatever is going to happen is going to happen,’” Curtis explained to Vanity Fair in November 2019.

Although the Knives Out star was excited to get started, she revealed that there was an adjustment period. While filming her second scene for the movie, Curtis had a suggestion for the moment when Anna is inside Tess’s body ahead of an interview.

“I just remember asking the grips if they could put some baby powder so that my feet would slide,” Curtis told Vanity Fair. “Then I remember the director [Mark Waters] the next day coming to me and saying, ‘You know, the editor is wondering if we should bring you down. He was thinking it’s a little too big.’

Curtis didn’t back down when it came to her performance.

“I remember saying to him, ‘Look, Mark. This is your movie not mine. I only heard about six days ago. This is what I’m naturally going to do for you,’” she recalled at the time. “‘It’s the only way I’m going to do it. If I’m thinking about this for one day, it’s over, it’ll be horrible. So either find somebody else and just let me go home, or I’m going to do what I do.’”

The California native admitted that she remembers that experience fondly now.

“It turned out to be this amazing, amazing, amazing experience for me creatively. It was the freest I’ve ever been [as an actor],” she added.

Lindsay Lohan will get behind the mic to host her first podcast, in a deal with digital content studio Studio71.

On the yet-untitled interview podcast, the actor-singer-entrepreneur will share “her authentic voice and a never-before-seen side,” Studio71 teased. There’s no release date for the show, which is tentatively set to premiere in late 2021 or early 2022, according to the company.

“I’m excited to partner with Studio71 in the development and production of my podcast,” Lohan said in a statement. “I’m looking forward to connecting with more of my fans and having intimate conversations with friends and thought leaders across all industries.”

Lohan, whose credits include “Mean Girls” and “The Parent Trap,” is set to star in a forthcoming Netflix holiday rom-com movie. Lohan’s podcast will join Studio71’s slate women-hosted shows, which include “Worst Firsts with Brittany Furlan,” “Unsolicited Advice” with comedians Ashley Nichole and Taryne Renee, “Ratchet & Respectable” with Demetria L. Lucas, and “Listen Hunnay with Jeannie Mai.”

According to Studio71, 75% of listeners to shows in its podcast network are between the ages of 18 and 34 and 55% are female. All Studio71 podcasts are available for free (with ads) on platforms including Apple Podcasts and Spotify.

“We are thrilled to welcome Lindsay to Studio71’s podcast network and can’t wait for her to take listeners behind the scenes of her life and work,” said Moorea Smith, senior talent relations manager for podcasts at Studio71. “With her unparalleled experiences as an entertainer and entrepreneur, we are so excited for her to take the mic and share her thoughts and opinions with the world.”

Lohan is represented by APA. Studio71’s Smith and Matt Barker, senior director of talent relations, led the company’s negotiations for Lohan’s podcast.

Studio71 manages over 1,800 partnered creator channels, which it says generates over 13 billion monthly views across YouTube, connected TVs and social media. The company is a division of Red Arrow Studios, which is part of Germany’s ProSiebenSat.1 Media.