(USNewsBreak.com) – Movie producers work behind the scenes, juggling multiple elements to create a good film. Some land roles on box office smashes, cementing their status in the industry. One such producer recently passed away.
On Saturday, July 6, Disney Entertainment co-chairman Alan Bergman announced that Jon Landau had passed away. He provided no cause of death. Landau was 63.
Landau was an Oscar-winning producer whose career began in the 1980s. His parents, Edie and Ely Landau, who produced independent films they released through their subscription service, American Film Theater, had inspired him to pursue a career in the industry.
Jon Landau, the Oscar-winning producer who helped bring James Cameron's #Titanic and #Avatar to the big screen, has died at 63.
Read more about his legacy: https://t.co/SUA6RFCKNj pic.twitter.com/J8BPCoV8QV
— The Hollywood Reporter (@THR) July 6, 2024
Landau attended college at the University of Southern California School of Cinematic Arts. From there, he made his foray into Hollywood, where he worked as a production manager. Some of the first notable films Landau worked on included “Dick Tracy” and “Honey I Shrunk the Kids.”
In the 1990s, he rose to feature productions executive vice president at 20th Century Fox and helped produce “Mrs. Doubtfire,” “Speed,” and “Home Alone.” His career took a giant leap when he paired up with notable filmmaker James Cameron. Cameron asked him to read a script for consideration for the movie that became “Titanic.” The rest, as they say, was history.
Landau and Cameron went on to form a years-long partnership, working together on other box office hits like “Avatar,” which grossed $3 billion globally. Landau was the chief operating officer of Lightstorm Entertainment, Cameron’s production studio, and even helped with the “Avatar” movie attraction at Walt Disney World.
Cameron released a statement following his friend’s death. He described Landau as “a great producer and a great human being” who he says “will be remembered as much for his vast generosity of spirit as for the movies themselves.”
Landau’s wife, Julie, their two children, Jodie and Jamie, and his siblings, Kathy, Tina, and Les, survive him.
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