Jon Landau, the long-time producing partner of James Cameron and the COO of Lightstorm Entertainment, has died at only 63 years old. According to The Wrap, the producer had been fighting cancer for some time. Landau, of course, has always been regarded as one of the most cutting-edge producers in town, with him having won an Oscar for producing James Cameron’s Titanic. Through his work with the director, he also produced Avatar and its sequel, Avatar: The Way of Water, as well as Alita Battle Angel. He’s always been known as a tireless steward of the Avatar series, with him having been on board to produce the third, fourth and fifth films, which are now in production.
Before joining Cameron to produce Titanic, Landau worked for 20th Century Fox, where he was a VP of production, with movies produced during his tenure including Die Hard 2, The Last of the Mohicans, and True Lies. His work on that film led to a long, enduring partnership with Cameron. Folks may not realize it now, but every time Cameron made a massively budgeted big swing, critics assumed he’d fall on his face, with everyone expecting Titanic, Avatar, and Avatar: The Way of Water to flop. Landau remained a stalwart advocate for films, and the result was that each subsequent movie broke the one before its box office records, making Landau, effectively, one of the highest-grossing producers in film history.
Here at JoBlo, we were lucky enough to interview Landau many times, and his infectious enthusiasm for all of his projects was always a joy to behold. Certainly, he was a true giant in the industry, but his legacy will live on with all of his films rightly regarded as classics, while the Avatar franchise will go on for decades to come, too.
