Jon Landau, Oscar-winning producer of ‘Titanic,’ ‘Avatar,’ dead at 63

Jon Landau, an Oscar-winning producer of “Titanic,” “Avatar” and its sequel “The Way of Water,” has died. He was 63 years old. 

Landau’s death was confirmed by Disney Entertainment co-chairman Alan Bergman, who called him a “visionary.”

“Jon was a visionary whose extraordinary talent and passion brought some of the most unforgettable stories to life on the big screen,” Bergman said of Landau. 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.” 

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Landau started his career in Hollywood in the 1980s, first working as a production manager, then as a co-producer on classics like 1989’s “Honey I Shrunk the Kids” and 1990’s “Dick Tracy.”

He eventually became a close collaborator with “Titanic” and “Avatar” director James Cameron, joining his Lightstorm Entertainment production company as an executive. 

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Producer Jon Landau has died at 63.  (AP Photo/Chris Pizzello, File)

“I can’t act and I can’t compose and I can’t do visual effects, so I guess that’s why I’m producing,” Landau joked alongside Cameron during their acceptance speech when “Titanic” won best picture in 1998. 

During “The Way of Water”‘s post-production in 2022, Landau told The Associated Press that despite the ways in which people consume movies changing, the reason we watch is the same. 

Landau won an Oscar in 1998 for “Titanic.”  (CBS via Getty Images)

“One of the things that has not changed is: Why do people turn to entertainment today? Just like they did when the first ‘Avatar’ was released, they do it to escape, to escape the world in which we live,” he said. 

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Landau also oversaw 1990s hits like “Home Alone,” “Home Alone 2: Lost in New York,” “Mrs. Doubtfire” and Cameron’s “True Lies,” after he was named an executive vice president of feature movies at 20th Century Fox when he was just 29 years old. 

Landau was born in July 1960 and graduated from the University of Southern California’s film school. He is survived by his wife of nearly 40 years, Julie; their sons, Jamie and Jodie; and two sisters and a brother.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.