Jon Landau, creator of ‘Titanic’ and ‘Avatar’, dies at 63

Jon Landau, a longtime collaborator of Oscar-winning producer and director James Cameron who helped helm three of the highest-grossing films of all time, “Titanic” and the two “Avatar” movies, has died. He was 63 years old. ,

Mr. Landau died in Los Angeles on Friday, according to a statement from his family provided by Disney. The cause of death was not mentioned in this.

Mr. Landau and Mr. Cameron’s decades-long collaboration made box office history. Their first film together, “Titanic”, became the first film to gross over $1 billion globally after its release in 1997. Its record gross, $1.84 billion, was broken by their next film together, the science-fiction epic “Avatar” (2009).

“Titanic” was nominated for 14 Oscars and won 11, including the award shared by Mr. Cameron and Mr. Landau for best picture.

“I can’t act, I can’t compose and I can’t do visual effects, so I guess I’m making it up,” Mr. Landau said in his acceptance speech.

According to his family’s statement, Jon Landau was born on July 23, 1960 in New York City. His first exposure to filmmaking came through his parents, Eli and Eddie Landau, who together produced ambitious independent films for mass audiences, including stage plays by Eugene O’Neill, Edward Albee, and Bertolt Brecht. Conversion was also included.

Many of these adaptations were released through a subscription service that Landaus called American Film Theatre, which gave audiences access to regular screenings of movie 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 films including “Honey, I Shrunk the Kids” (1989) and “Dick Tracy” (1990).

He became executive vice president of feature productions at 20th Century Fox, where he oversaw films including ‘Home Alone’ (1990), ‘Mrs. Doubtfire” (1993) and “Speed” (1994).

According to the statement, it was during this time that he met Mr. Cameron, who was directing “True Lies” (1994), an action comedy distributed by 20th Century Fox. When Mr. Landau decided to leave the company, Mr. Cameron asked if he wanted to read the script for a project called “Planet Ice.” That project would become “Titanic” and the beginning of a partnership that would last for decades.

“Titanic” was not expected to be a box office hit. The film runs for over three hours and received widespread critical news coverage prior to its release detailing production delays that cost $200 million, far in excess of the film’s $110 million budget.

After the runaway success of “Titanic,” Mr. Landau told The Los Angeles Times in 1998 that he felt like “the mayor of the city” during production.

“I had all these components, including heads of different departments like special effects, props, wardrobe, who needed help and support — sometimes moral support, sometimes financial support,” Mr. Landau said.

And when it came to the stress of spending millions of dollars over budget, Mr. Landau said that “the things we were asking for were easier to fight for because we believed they were true to creating the initial vision of the film.” were necessary.”

Mr. Cameron told the Los Angeles Times that “most producers make the budget, not the film,” but not Mr. Landau.

Mr. Cameron said, “The hardest thing is to weigh the extra expenses against the aesthetic benefit of the film – you have to rack the director’s mind a little bit.” “Landau understood what a filmmaker needed.”

Mr. Landau and Mr. Cameron’s second film together, “Avatar,” grossed nearly $3 billion worldwide and was nominated for nine Oscars. It won Best Art Direction, Best Cinematography and Best Visual Effects. A sequel, “Avatar: The Way of Water”, was released in 2022.

Mr. Landau also served as chief operating officer of Mr. Cameron’s production studio, Lightstorm Entertainment, and was the driving force behind Walt Disney World attractions based on the “Avatar” films.

The family statement said Mr. Landau is survived by his wife, Julie Landau; his two sons, Jamie Landau and Jody 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 told the digital magazine Salon how he justified making such expensive films, saying that it gives investors a return on their capital, creates jobs and Audiences “get something they can do and not go anywhere else.”

“When they go see our movie, and we’ve probably spent more money than the next guy, you know what? Audiences are getting more bang for their buck,” Mr. Landau said. “They don’t pay any more money to see our movie than they pay to see ‘Paranormal Activity.’

He also said that he made films for audiences, not for critics or awards show voters.

“We want to entertain people, and that’s first and foremost,” Mr. Landau said. “If anything else comes, that’s great. But we want people to enjoy films, not just physically but also emotionally.”