Entertainment

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

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LOS ANGELES – Jon Landau, a Oscar winner producer who worked closely with the director james cameron in three of the biggest box office hits of all time, “Titanic” and two “Avatar” films, died. He was 63 years old.

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

Landau’s partnership with Cameron led to three Oscar nominations and a best picture award for 1997’s “Titanic.” Together, the two are responsible for some of the biggest box office hits in cinema history, including “Avatar.” and its sequel, “Avatar: The Way of Water”.

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

He took on the role of producer of “Titanic,” Cameron’s expensive epic about the infamous 1912 maritime disaster. The gamble paid off: “Titanic” became the first film to surpass $1 billion in global box office sales and won 11 Oscars , including best film.

“I don’t know how to act, I don’t know how to compose, and I don’t know how to do visual effects, so I guess that’s why I’m producing.” Landau said upon receiving the award with Cameron.

The partnership continued, with Landau becoming a top executive at Cameron’s Lightstorm Entertainment. In 2009, the duo watched “Avatar,” a science fiction epic filmed and shown in theaters using innovative 3D technology, which surpassed the box office success of “Titanic.” It remains the highest-grossing film of all time.

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

Landau has been a key player in the “Avatar” franchise, which has seen frequent delays in the release of “The Way of Water.” Landau defended the sequel’s progress and Cameron’s ambitious plans to film multiple sequels at once to keep the franchise going.

“A lot has changed, but a lot hasn’t changed” Landau told the Associated Press in 2022, a few months before the sequel’s release. “One of the things that hasn’t changed is: why do people turn to entertainment today? Just like they did when the first ‘Avatar’ came out, they do this to escape, to escape the world we live in.”

“Jon was a visionary whose extraordinary talent and passion brought some of the most unforgettable stories to life on the big screen. His remarkable contributions to the film industry have left an indelible mark and he will be deeply missed. He was an iconic and successful producer, but an even greater person and a true force of nature who inspired everyone around him,” Alan Bergman, co-president of Disney Entertainment, said in a statement.

Landau was named executive vice president of feature films 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 began working closely with Cameron.

Landau was also influential in bringing the manga adaptation “Alita: Battle Angel” to the big screen in 2019. Cameron supported the project, but his “Avatar” commitments prevented him from directing it. Instead, Landau worked with director Robert Rodriguez to complete the film.

Born in New York on July 23, 1960, Landau was the son of film producers Ely and Edie Landau. The family moved to Los Angeles in the 1970s and Landau graduated from the University of Southern California film school.

Ely Landau died in 1993. Edie Landau, Oscar-nominated producer of films such as “Long Day’s Journey Into Night,” “Hopscotch” and “The Deadly Game,” died in 2022.

Jon Landau is survived by his wife of nearly 40 years, Julie; his children, Jamie and Jodie; and two sisters and a brother.



This story originally appeared on ABCNews.go.com read the full story

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