Jon Landau, the Oscar-winning producer and longtime collaborator of director James Cameron who helped bring to life three of the highest-grossing films of all time, “Titanic” and both “Avatar” movies, has died. He was 63.
Mr. Landau died Friday in Los Angeles, according to a statement from his family provided by Disney. The cause of death was not specified.
Mr. Landau and Mr. Cameron’s decades-long collaboration has made box-office history. Their first film together, “Titanic,” became the first movie to gross more than $1 billion worldwide after its release in 1997. Its record total of $1.84 billion was broken by the next movie they made togetherthe science fiction epic “Avatar” (2009).
“Titanic” was nominated for 14 Oscars and won 11, including best picture, an award shared by Mr. Cameron and Mr. Landau.
“I can’t act, I can’t compose and I can’t do visual effects, so I guess that’s why I produce,” Landau said. said in his acceptance speech.
Jon Landau was born on July 23, 1960, in New York City, according to his family’s statement. He was introduced to film by his parents, Elysium And Edie Landauwho together produced ambitious independent films aimed at a mass audience, including adaptations of plays by Eugene O’Neill, Edward Albee and Bertolt Brecht.
Many of these adaptations were released through a subscription service created by the Landaus, called the American Film Theater, which gave audiences access to regular screenings of film versions of the plays.
Mr. Landau studied at the University of Southern California School of Cinematic Arts in Los Angeles and later worked as a production manager on such films as “Honey, I Shrunk the Kids” (1989) and “Dick Tracy” (1990).
He became executive vice president of feature production at 20th Century Fox, where he oversaw such films as “Home Alone” (1990), “Mrs. Doubtfire” (1993) and “Speed” (1994).
It was around this time that he met Mr. Cameron, who was directing “True Lies” (1994), an action comedy distributed by 20th Century Fox, according to the statement. When Mr. Landau decided to leave the company, Mr. Cameron asked him if he would read the script for a project code-named “Planet Ice.” That project would become “Titanic” and mark the beginning of a partnership that would last for decades.
“Titanic” was not is expected to be a box office success. The film is over three hours long and before its release, there were many reviews critical coverage of current events detailing delays in the production, which cost $200 million, far exceeding the film’s budget Budget of 110 million dollars.
After the runaway success of “Titanic,” Mr. Landau told the Los Angeles Times in 1998 that he felt like “the mayor of the city” while filming.
“I had all these constituencies, including heads of different departments like special effects, props, wardrobe, who needed help and support – sometimes moral support, sometimes financial support,” Landau said.
And when it came to the stress of going tens of millions of dollars over budget, Landau said it was “easy to fight for the things we asked for because we felt they were necessary to create the initial vision of the film.”
Mr. Cameron told the Los Angeles Times that “most producers produce a budget, not a movie,” but not Mr. Landau.
“The hardest part is balancing the extra expense against the aesthetic gains of the film. You have to appeal to the intelligence of the director,” Cameron said. “Landau understood what a filmmaker needs.”
The second film Mr. Landau and Mr. Cameron directed together, “Avatar,” grossed nearly $3 billion worldwide and was nominated for nine Oscars. It won awards for best art direction, best cinematography and best visual effects. A sequel, “Avatar: Waterfall,” was released in 2022.
Mr. Landau also worked as chief operating officer of Mr. Cameron’s production studio, Lightstorm Entertainment, and was the driving force behind a Walt Disney World attraction based on the “Avatar” films.
The family’s statement said Mr. Landau is survived by his wife, Julie Landau; their two sons, Jamie Landau and Jodie Landau; his two sisters, Tina Landau and Kathy Landau; his brother Les Landau; and other relatives.
Just before the release of “Avatar” in December 2009, Mr. Landau explained to the digital magazine Salon how he justified making such expensive films, saying it gave investors a return on their capital, created jobs and gave audiences “something they can’t get anywhere else.”
“When people go to see our movie, and we may have spent more money than anybody else, you know what? People get more bang for their buck,” Landau said. “They’re not paying more to see our movie than they were to see Paranormal Activity.”
He also said he makes films for the public, not for critics or awards show voters.
“We want to entertain people, and that’s our priority,” Landau said. “If we add something else, that’ll be great. But we want people to enjoy the movies, not just viscerally, but emotionally.”
