James Cameron reacts to the death of the producer of “Titanic” and “Avatar”

There are few directors in modern Hollywood who have had the success of James Cameron, both in the financial success of many of his films and in the spread of the technology he helped pioneer throughout the film industry. Cameron, like many directors, had a production partner who helped bring his visions to life – a partner to whom Cameron paid tribute after his death.

In memory of Jon Landau

On Friday, it was reported that former film producer and longtime producing partner of James Cameron, Jon Landau, had died of cancer at the age of 63. However, it was not reported how long he had been ill. Cameron wasted no time and issued a statement shortly after the public announcement of Landau’s death, expressing his own sadness at the loss of his longtime partner and friend, according to ABC News.

“The Avatar family mourns the loss of our friend and leader. His legacy is not just the films he produced, but his personal example – indomitable, caring, inclusive, tireless, compassionate and utterly one of a kind,” Cameron said in the public statement. “He produced great films not by exerting power, but by spreading warmth and the joy of filmmaking. He inspired us all to do our best every day. I have lost a dear friend and my closest collaborator for 31 years. A part of me has been ripped away from me.”

A life in Hollywood

Landau spent most of his adult life in Hollywood executive roles, working his way up at 20th Century Fox to become executive vice president of feature film production in 1990 at age 29. He spent the first half of the 1990s at the studio, and it was in this position that he first met James Cameron, when Landau oversaw production of “True Lies” in 1994.

After Cameron left 20th Century Fox in the mid-1990s, he approached Landau with a script for his next film after True Lies. This became Titanic in 1997 and was the first of seven films that Cameron and Landau worked on together, including three of the four highest-grossing films of all time.

Through the partnership, Landau became chief operating officer of Cameron’s production company Lightstorm Entertainment, where he spent the past few years overseeing the expansion of the Avatar brand following the success of the first film in 2009. He has been involved in some way in many of the novels, comics and the 2023 Ubisoft game Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora.

Landau leaves behind his wife Julie and their two children Jamie and Jodie.