Stockton Rush’s Pearl Jam Pitch Highlights OceanGate’s Celebrity Obsession Before Titan’s Fatal Dive

In the Netflix documentary Titan: The OceanGate Disaster, a surprising revelation emerges: OceanGate CEO Stockton Rush once expressed a desire to bring the rock band Pearl Jam aboard the ill-fated Titan submersible. According to the film, Rush believed that involving high-profile celebrities like Eddie Vedder’s band would help draw public attention to OceanGate’s deep-sea missions.

The idea was floated as part of a broader marketing push to raise the company’s profile and legitimacy in the world of deep-sea exploration.

Publicity Dreams and Wild Ideas End in Deep-Sea Tragedy Near Titanic Wreck

Joseph Assi, a videographer recruited by Rush to document the Titan mission, elaborates on the publicity-driven motives behind the expedition. In an interview featured in the documentary, Assi explains that OceanGate’s submersible was quite rudimentary, prompting the need for compelling visuals and big-name endorsements to generate interest.

He recalls Rush’s ambitions not only to involve Pearl Jam but also to develop fantastical concepts like a floating city that could submerge—ideas that underscore Rush’s penchant for bold and unconventional thinking.

These grand plans came to a tragic halt when the Titan submersible imploded during a dive to the Titanic wreck on June 18, 2023. The craft was descending to a depth of 12,500 feet when it lost contact at around 10,825 feet. Onboard were Rush himself, veteran French explorer Paul-Henri Nargeolet, billionaire Hamish Harding, and father-son duo Shahzada and Suleman Dawood.

Four days after losing communication, search teams located the wreckage on the ocean floor, confirming that all five passengers had died instantly due to the catastrophic pressure at such depths.

Mounting Warnings Ignored as Titan Faced Pressure Issues on Earlier Titanic Missions

While the Titan had completed 13 successful dives to the Titanic previously, safety concerns were mounting. According to the documentary, passengers on earlier trips reported hearing “banging noises” against the hull—an ominous indicator of structural stress. A similar noise was reported just before the fatal dive lost contact. These accounts add to growing criticism that OceanGate overlooked engineering warnings and put ambition ahead of passenger safety.

Despite the grim subject matter, Titan: The OceanGate Disaster has been met with generally favorable reviews. It holds a 6.7/10 rating on IMDb and a 69% score on Rotten Tomatoes. Meanwhile, Pearl Jam, unwittingly mentioned in Rush’s promotional dreams, continues with their musical journey. They released their album Dark Matter in April 2024 and are scheduled to perform at the Ohana Festival in California on September 26—far from the deep-sea tragedy they were once, however loosely, associated with.