Jon Landau, the Oscar-winning producer known for his collaborations with James Cameron on films like “Titanic” and the “Avatar” series, has died at 63 after battling cancer, a family source confirmed.
Landau, who was part of the team behind three of the highest-grossing movies ever, emphasized in a 2022 interview that he judged a film’s success by its emotional impact on him.
He mentioned enjoying movies that allowed him to escape reality and praised “Black Panther” and “Top Gun: Maverick” for their emotional resonance.
As the executive vice president of feature film production at Twentieth Century Fox in the 1990s, Landau was best known for producing the 1997 blockbuster “Titanic,” which earned him an Academy Award and became the first film to gross over $1 billion.
He noted that the success of “Titanic” motivated him to strive for greater cinematic achievements, highlighting the film’s historical accuracy compared to the world-building in “Avatar: The Way of Water.”
Landau also supervised films like “Die Hard 2,” “True Lies,” “Power Rangers,” and “The Last of the Mohicans” during his time at Twentieth Century Fox.
Frances Fisher, a star of “Titanic,” was among the first to pay tribute to Landau online, expressing her sorrow and respect.
Born on July 30, 1960, in New York City to producers Ely and Edie Landau, Jon Landau attended USC’s School of Cinematic Arts.
