Jon Landau, an Oscar-winning producer and longtime collaborator with director James Cameron who helped bring to life three of the highest-grossing films of all time, “Titanic” and the two “Avatar” films, has died. He was 63.
Mr. Landau died Friday in Los Angeles, according to a statement from his family provided by Disney. No cause of death was given.
Mr. Landau and Mr. Cameron’s decades-long partnership made box office history. The first film they made together, “Titanic,” became the first film to gross more than $1 billion worldwide after its release in 1997. The total grossing record, $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 Best Picture, a prize shared by Cameron and Landau.
“I can’t act, I can’t compose and I can’t do visual effects, so I guess that’s why I produce,” Mr. Landau said in his acceptance speech.
Jon Landau was born on July 23, 1960, in New York City, according to a statement from his family. His first exposure to filmmaking came through his parents, Ely and Edie Landau, who together produced ambitious independent films for mass audiences, including adaptations of plays by Eugene O’Neill, Edward Albee and Bertolt Brecht.
Many of these adaptations were released through a subscription service the Landauers founded, the American Film Theater, which provided audiences with regular access to film versions of plays.
Mr. Landau attended the University of Southern California School of Cinematic Arts in Los Angeles and later worked as a production manager on such films as “Honey, I Shrunk the Kids” (1989) and “Dick Tracy” (1990).
He became executive vice president of feature film production at 20th Century Fox, where he oversaw such films as “Home Alone” (1990), “Mrs. Doubtfire” (1993) and “Speed” (1994).
It was during this time that he met Mr. Cameron, who was directing “True Lies” (1994), an action comedy distributed by 20th Century Fox, according to the statement. When Mr. Landau decided to leave the company, Mr. Cameron asked him to read the script for a project code-named “Planet Ice.” That project would become “Titanic” and mark the beginning of a partnership that would last for decades.
“Titanic” was not expected to be a box office success. The film runs more than three hours, and before its release there was widespread critical news about production delays, which cost $200 million, far exceeding the film’s $110 million budget.
After the huge 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 constituents, 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 going over budget by tens of millions of dollars, Mr. Landau said it was “easy to fight for the things we asked for because we believed they were necessary to create the original vision of the film.”
Mr. Cameron told The Los Angeles Times that “most producers produce a budget, not a movie,” but not Mr. Landau.
“The hardest part is balancing the extra costs against the aesthetic gain of the film — you have to get into the director’s mind a little bit,” Cameron said. “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, winning for best art direction, best cinematography and best visual effects. A sequel, “Avatar: The Way of Water,” is scheduled for release in 2022.
Mr. Landau also served as chief operating officer of Mr. Cameron’s production studio, Lightstorm Entertainment, and was the driving force behind a Walt Disney World attraction based on the “Avatar” films.
The family’s statement said Mr. Landau is survived by his wife, Julie Landau; their two sons, Jamie Landau and Jodie Landau; his two sisters, Tina Landau and Kathy Landau; his brother Les Landau; and other relatives.
Shortly before the release of “Avatar” in December 2009, Mr. Landau told the digital magazine Salon how he justified making such expensive films by saying it gives investors a return on their capital, creates jobs and gives audiences “something they can’t get anywhere else.”
“If they go see our movie, and we may have spent more money than everybody else, you know what? The audience gets more bang for their buck,” Mr. Landau said. “They don’t pay more money to see our movie than they pay to see ‘Paranormal Activity.'”
He also said he made films for the audience, not for critics or award voters.
“We want to entertain people, and that’s the most important thing,” Mr. Landau said. “If there’s something else that comes along, that’s great. But we want people to enjoy the movies, not just viscerally but emotionally.”