Jon Landau Obituary

Jon Landau was an American film producer renowned for his work on some of the highest-grossing films in cinematic history. Winning an Academy Award for Best Picture for producing James Cameron’s disaster epic Titanic (1997), Landau also earned nominations for producing Cameron’s science fiction blockbusters Avatar (2009) and Avatar: The Way of Water (2022). As of 2024, these films remain three of the four highest-grossing movies of all time.

Early Life

Born to Edie and Ely A. Landau, both prominent figures in the entertainment industry, Jon Landau was surrounded by a family deeply embedded in film production. His father, Ely A. Landau, was a studio executive and producer, while his mother, Edie, also worked as a producer. Jon had two half-brothers, Neil Landau and Les Landau, and two sisters, Tina Landau and Kathy Landau. Raised in a Jewish household, he pursued his passion for cinema by attending the USC School of Cinematic Arts, one of the most prestigious film schools in the United States.

Career

In the early 1990s, Landau served as the executive vice president of feature film production at Twentieth Century Fox, where he honed his skills in the film industry. His career took a monumental turn when he teamed up with director James Cameron to produce Titanic (1997). The film not only earned Landau an Academy Award but also shattered box office records, becoming the first movie to gross over $1 billion. Titanic eventually reached $1.84 billion, more than doubling the previous record held by Jurassic Park (1993). A re-release in 2012 pushed its total earnings to $2.18 billion, making it the second film to ever cross the $2 billion mark.

Landau’s collaboration with Cameron continued with the production of Avatar (2009), a groundbreaking science fiction film that utilized revolutionary visual effects technology. Avatar surpassed Titanic to become the highest-grossing film of all time, with a staggering $2.92 billion in worldwide gross. This achievement earned Landau his second Academy Award nomination. The sequel, Avatar: The Way of Water (2022), further cemented their legacy, continuing the story of Pandora and adding to Landau’s impressive list of accolades.