Jon Landau, Oscar-winning ‘Titanic’ and ‘Avatar’ producer, dies at 63

Los Angeles (AP):

Jon Landau, an Oscar-winning producer who worked closely with director James Cameron on three of the biggest blockbusters of all time, Titanic and two Avatar films, has died. He was 63.

Landau’s family announced his death Saturday. No cause of death was given.

Landau’s partnership with Cameron led to three Oscar nominations and a best picture win for 1997’s Titanic. Together the pair account for some of the biggest blockbusters in movie history, including Avatar and its sequel, Avatar: The Way of Water.

Cameron, in a statement, remembered “a dear friend, and my closest collaborator of 31 years”. “A part of myself has been torn away,” said Cameron.

“His zany humour, personal magnetism, great generosity of spirit and fierce will have held the centre of our Avatar universe for almost two decades,” said Cameron. “His legacy is not just the films he produced, but the personal example he set — indomitable, caring, inclusive, tireless, insightful and utterly unique.”

Landau’s career began in the 1980s as a production manager, and he gradually rose through the ranks, serving as a co-producer on Honey I Shrunk the Kids and Dick Tracy.

He took on the producer role on Titanic, Cameron’s expensive epic about the infamous 1912 maritime disaster. The bet paid off; Titanic became the first movie to cross US$1 billion in global box-office earnings and went on to win 11 Oscars, including ‘Best Picture’.

“I can’t act and I can’t compose and I can’t do visual effects, so I guess that’s why I’m producing,” Landau said while accepting the award with Cameron.

Their partnership continued, with Landau becoming a top executive at Cameron’s Lightstorm Entertainment. In 2009 the pair watched as Avatar, a sci-fi epic filmed and shown in theatres with groundbreaking 3D technology, surpassed the box-office success of Titanic. It remains the top-grossing film of all time.

Its sequel, Avatar: The Way of Water, is third on the list.

Landau was named an executive vice president of feature movies at 20th Century Fox when he was 29, which led him to oversee major hits including Home Alone and its sequel, as well as Mrs Doubtfire and True Lies, where he first started working closely with Cameron.

Landau was also influential in bringing the manga adaptation Alita: Battle Angel to the big screen in 2019.

Born in New York on July 23, 1960, Landau was the son of film producers Ely and Edie Landau. He is survived by his wife of nearly 40 years, Julie; their sons, Jamie and Jodie; and two sisters and a brother.