July 6 (UPI) — Jon Landau, the award-winning producer behind James Cameron’s blockbusters Titanic and Avatar has died. He was 63.
Landau died after a battle with cancer, the Wrap reported.
“Jon was a visionary whose extraordinary talent and passion brought some of the most unforgettable stories to life on the big screen,” Disney Entertainment co-chair Alan Bergman said in a statement.
“His remarkable contributions to the film industry have left an indelible mark, and he will be profoundly missed. He was an iconic and successful producer yet an even better person and a true force of nature who inspired all around him.”
Titanic star Frances Fisher was among the first to memorialize Landau online.
“Had to come to your page to hear your voice,” she said in a post on X. “Fly with the angels dear Jon.”
Born on July 30, 1960, in New York City to a family of producers, Landau attended USC’s School of Cinematic Arts. He was head of production at Twentieth Century Fox before teaming up with Cameron on their illustrious career.
Landau is best known as producer of Cameron’s 1997 hit Titanic, which won an Academy Award for Best Picture and at the time was the highest ever grossing film.
That title would be surpassed by Cameron’s 2009 film Avatar, which Landau also produced.
Landau won two Golden Globes for those movies.
His other credits include Avatar: The Way of Water, Solaris and Alita: Battle Angel. He co-produced Honey, I Shrunk the Kids and Dick Tracy.
Landau in a 2022 interview with The Talks said he measures success in terms of how a movie makes him feel.
“For me personally, I enjoy going to the movies, so a film’s success depends on whether it provides for me that escape — I don’t want to think about Avatar, I don’t want to think about bills that have to be paid, all of these things,” he said. “Do I walk away from the theater having felt something emotionally? That’s how I view a movie that I go to as successful.”
