I will tell you one hundred percent, we're not thinking about what other franchises are doing. It doesn't matter to us, we have to be true to ourselves. As filmmakers, we have to be true to Avatar.
Jon Landau was a American producer of Avatar, Avatar: The Way of Water and Avatar: Fire and Ash.
Biography[]
Landau was born on July 23, 1960 in New York City, New York. He was the son of Edie, a producer, and Ely A. Landau - a studio executive and producer. His two parents making "artsy fartsy" (in his words) films got him into film making. Despite his parents not wanting him to become a film producer, he did so anyway.
He had a half-brother named Les, two sisters named Tina and Kathy, two children named Jamie and Jodie, and a wife named Julie.
He was one of the "famous faces" due to being a regular player on the online poker website Hollywood Poker which is run in conjunction with Ongame Network.
Work on films[]
Landau was best known for producing Titanic with James Cameron, a film which won him an Academy Award. Throughout the early '90s, Landau was Executive Vice President of Feature Film Production at 20th Century Fox.
Landau with Sam Worthington and Zoe Saldaña.
In 2009, Landau and James Cameron produced the motion picture blockbuster Avatar. Landau was present at the groundbreaking ceremony for Pandora: The World of Avatar, a new themepark within Disney's Animal Kingdom. [1] He also portrayed the character Marshall Lamm in promotional media around the launch of the park.
Other films that Jon Landau has produced or co-produced include: Solaris, Titanic, Alita: Battle Angel, Dick Tracy, and Honey, I Shrunk The Kids.
Landau was excited to work on the Avatar sequels, with the goal of creating some of the greenest, most eco-friendly film productions. He also worked on the Avatar Plant Based Cookbook.
Death[]
Around early 2023, Landau was diagnosed with cancer and began fighting for his life. In a podcast, James Cameron also attributed COVID to Landau's rapid health decline.[2]
James Cameron implored Landau not to work on the Avatar franchise if it would degrade his health. To assist with Fire and Ash production, Cameron rehired Rae Sanchini, who was once the president of Lightstorm Entertainment. Landau's son Jamie Landau also stepped up to co-producer role, as well as Maria Battle-Campbell.[2]
He passed away on July 5, 2024 from the illness.
Trivia[]
- Landau's son Jamie worked on the song Bless the Plague that appeared in the first film.
- During the end credits of Avatar: Fire and Ash, the screen fades to black and a photo of Jon Landau appears with the caption "In loving memory of Jon Landau".
Gallery[]
References[]
- ↑ http://disneyparks.disney.go.com/blog/2014/01/construction-begins-for-avatar-inspired-land-at-disneys-animal-kingdom/
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Podcast "Crew Call with Anthony D'Alessandro" - James Cameron on September 30, 2025 (starting at 13:00)