Jon Landau, 63, producer of Avatar and Titanic, passes away.
At the age of sixty-three, Jon Landau, the Oscar-winning producer of some of the highest-grossing films ever made, such as Titanic and Avatar, passed away.
Filmmaker James Cameron’s longtime producing partner Landau allegedly passed away on Friday following a more than year-long battle with cancer.
In a social media post confirming his passing, his sister Tina referred to him as “the best brother a girl could ever dream of”.
“My heart is broken but also bursting with pride & gratitude for his most extraordinary life, and the love and gifts he gave me – and all who knew him or his films,” she said.
The son of Hollywood producers Ely and Edie Landau, Landau worked as an executive at 20th Century Fox for a while, supervising movies such as Die Hard 2 and The Last of the Mohicans.
He co-wrote the screenplay for Cameron’s 1997 smash hit Titanic, the first movie to gross more than $1 billion worldwide.
Subsequent motion pictures, Avatar and its follow-up Avatar: The Way of Water, which came out in 2009 and 2022, respectively, broke Titanic’s record.
In addition, Landau managed Cameron’s production company Lightstorm Entertainment and co-produced several other successful movies, such as Honey, I Shrunk the Kids, and Dick Tracy.
Cameron told The Hollywood Reporter that “a great producer and a great human being has left us” after learning of Landau’s passing.
“Jon Landau had faith in the cinematic dream. He remarked, “I believe that film is the pinnacle of human artistic expression, and that to make films, one must first be human.”
“His immense generosity of spirit will be remembered just as much as the films themselves.”
In a statement, visual effects company Fran Walsh, whose husband is a screenwriter and director Sir Peter Jackson, expressed their grief at Jon Landau’s passing.
“Jon brought unparalleled passion to the projects he worked on and his influence will continue to inspire for years to come.”
On Instagram, Zoe Saldaña, the actor from the Avatar movies, left a tribute to Landau expressing how “hitting hard” his passing was.
“Your wisdom and support shaped so many of us in ways we will always be grateful for.”