‘No way we’re changing the title’: ‘Trainwreck: Poop Cruise’ director on creating Netflix smash hit and why a sequel is ‘screaming to be made’

Trainwreck: Poop Cruise is still No. 1 at Netflix after two weeks, and director James Ross isn't surprised. "We knew that we had something quite special with this film," he tells Gold Derby. "I mean, even the title Poop Cruise does jump out from maybe your usual fare. So, I kind of had a sneaking suspicion that this could catch. I'm very happy that it has, and it seems to be doing well." He adds, "It stands out from your normal collection of documentaries that might be out there."

In 2013, the world was enraptured by the story of the Carnival Triumph luxury cruise ship, which stranded 4,000 people without power and plumbing in the Gulf of Mexico after an engine fire. Guests were initially instructed to "go No. 1" in the showers and "go No. 2" in red biohazard bags, but after four days, the raw sewage had become so backed up that it spawned a social media hashtag that stuck: "Poop Cruise."

Ross says there was some initial discussion about whether to go with the name. "There was one moment when we said, 'Are we all definitely going to call it Poop Cruise?'" he recalls, noting the immediate response: "Absolutely. There is no way that we're changing the title. It has to be Poop Cruise. It was Poop Cruise from the start, and if the suit fits, wear it.

"It was the name that was given by the media to this event. It's not our invention. It became known as 'Poop Cruise.' And once it enters the culture like that, you can't mess with that."

The graphics used throughout the film are inspired by a "cruise safety card," because he wanted the viewers to feel like they were embarking on a "fun" experience. The Netflix marketing team ran with that idea and created promotional material that included brown water underneath the white ship. "As a subject, it's not hard to create potent images to trail that," he says. "They did a great job!"

There were about 3,000 passengers and 1,000 crew members who survived the harrowing ordeal, so how did Ross choose whom to feature in the documentary? "We wanted to identify passengers who had something more at stake in this journey," he notes. "Devin is there trying to impress his father-in-law, so it's got to go well for him. For Larry and Rebecca, he's a divorced dad who's trying to reconnect after time apart with his 12-year-old daughter. For bachelorettes Kalin, Ashley, and Jayme, this is their last weekend of freedom before marriage and they want to go out on a high."

"We spoke to a lot of people and those were the guys that stood out," he says. "They also remembered in detail how it went down, what happened, where they were. They all had interesting stories, but I think what made them all special was that they had something extra invested in the success of this journey. So, when it went wrong, it meant all the more to them. There were 3,000 passengers, so I'm sure there are many more stories that could have been told."

With so many unrealized narratives out there, would Ross ever consider making a Poop Cruise sequel that focuses on other survivors? He could even call it — drumroll, please — Poop Cruise No. 2. "I mean, that sequel writes itself!" he chuckles. "It's like Naked Gun, that kind of thinking. 'No. 2' does feel like it's screaming to be made, right?"

Seriously, though, the director says, "Telling the story of that ship once, we really tried to do it justice and cover it from every angle: the passengers, the crew, the shoreside corporation, and the media. I feel like we really 360'ed that story. There are other stories of what happened on board the boat, but I'm not sure about viewers watching it for the second time around. But then again, you never know. Maybe people want more, so if they do, yeah, why not?"

Former CNN anchor Brooke Baldwin was "fantastic" to work with, Ross admits. "She really understood quite quickly why this was a story worth telling. A lot of anchors have reported on huge, globally crucial news stories, and yet, here's some company asking you to talk about the 'Poop Cruise,' which happened 13 years ago. She understood very quickly that this was a significant moment in American culture. This was a kind of tipping point [pun intended] of when news media and entertainment media started to overlap."

Ross reiterates that the survivors only received $500 for their troubles and were offered a free cruise, which only "some accepted." "What it did do was raise awareness that there were issues within the industry that needed to be addressed. The fine print of the contracts was changed subsequently, and there was a lot of scrutiny over the industry and how the boats operated, and improvements were made. So, good things came of that, as well as bad things."

What would Ross have done if he were aboard a stranded cruise ship without plumbing? "It is a great question. I'd like to think that I am a responsible, sensible person who would realize that the greater good of the boat is more important than my immediate personal needs, and that I'd go in the red bag," he suggests. "Maybe I would hold it as well, but I'd like to think I would use the red bag. I've started to realize the world is maybe divided into two groups: those who would use the red bag, and those who wouldn't, and there's a kind of watershed of society there."

The concept of winning an Emmy next year for Trainwreck: Poop Cruise would be "absolutely insane, completely bonkers, and beyond my imagination," he says. Asked if he were to win the award, would he store it in a red biohazard bag, Ross responds, "It's gotta be done. You're right. You gotta red-bag that trophy."