Summary
Avatarfilmmaker James Cameron reflects on his longtime collaboration with his producing partner, Jon Landau, in the wake of his passing. Thetwo have worked together since 1994’sTrue Liesand have become close collaborators with 1997’sTitanic, which became one ofthe highest-grossing movies of all timeand won Landau and Cameron the Academy Award for Best Picture the following year. Landau tragically passed away at the age of 64 from cancer, and tributes have been pouring in from some of his closest friends and colleagues since the announcement of his death.
PerThe Hollywood Reporter, Cameron has released a statement following Landau’s death.Reflecting on his partnership of over 31 years, the filmmaker discussed how they became inseparable and worked in total synchronization with each project they would make. Check out his full statement below:
A great producer and a great human being has left us. Jon Landau believed in the dream of cinema. He believed that film is the ultimate human art form, and to make films you have to first be human yourself. He will be remembered as much for his vast generosity of spirit as for the movies themselves. I worked with Jon Landau for 31 years and I never saw him downcast once.
He led with a balance of humor and fierce will, and true joy in the work. When I met him, he was the studio ‘suit’ assigned to overseeTrue Liesin ’93. In the midst of the logistical nightmare of that production we came to respect and enjoy each other. A bond forged in fire. I lured him away from Fox to join my production company, Lightstorm and together we then tackledTitanic, a production as ambitious and seemingly ill-fated as the ship itself. Jon bore the brunt of the studio pressure and gave his all to provide the time and resources for me to make the film I saw in my head. From that we became brothers in arms. We believed we could solve any production problem.
The next mountain we climbed wasAvatar, a production that more resembled the Manhattan Project… making up new physics as we went along. Mastering a brand new methodology to tell stories. Again Jon gave his all, and never lost faith that we were doing something extraordinary and that we would somehow prevail. In the process we not only made a film, we forged a family. Jon was the heart of theAvatarfamily, with his humor, generosity and enormous capacity to make people feel valued and ‘seen.’ He gave everyone a sense of purpose and belonging. And this continued through the making of the sequels. It is impossible to convey how much our tight knit group will miss this man, this force of nature… the center of gravity of our little bubble universe. Jon created a community, a family, onAvatarand at Lightstorm, but not at the expense of his own family, who were always his highest priority.
Jon was my right hand and I was his. In recent years we became a trapeze act… total interdependence, total trust, total synchronization. We became not only the closest of working partners, but the closest of friends. My last message to him was not only that I loved him but that I missed our daily dialogue. We would talk twenty times a day, usually in his office which he placed strategically between mine and the set. Solving every problem that came along. Jon had the strength to tell me when I was wrong, and I learned over the years to trust that he was right. Jon loved his work, and loved the people around him, the amazing team he had built. Every day was joyful battle, against entropy — the chaos that threatens to unravel every human endeavor.
The center always held, under Jon’s watchful eye. We fought through the pandemic together to deliverAvatar: The Way of Water. Together, we thought we could solve anything. But you can’t solve the fragility of life itself. I am grateful for every year, every day, every minute we had together. I am grateful for the belief he had in me and what his partnership allowed us to accomplish together. A part of myself has been torn away. But the amazing team he assembled and led still remains, and we will dedicate ourselves to fulfilling Jon’s legacy. Not just the films yet to come, but the love and connection that binds theAvatarand Lightstorm family together.
Jon Landau & James Cameron’s Partnership Was Integral To The Avatar Franchise’s Success
Both Films Made A Combined $5.2 Billion At The Worldwide Box Office
The stakes to deliver were immensely high, but Landau had always believed the movie would go big, which it did.
After the juggernaut that wasTitanic,Landau and Cameron continued their partnership withAvatar, which the filmmaker had been developing since 1994. However, the technology to capture the movie the way he wanted to was not readily available at the time, and production on the movie only began in 2007.Avatarwas a massive gamble for Fox, with the director offering to cut his fee if the movie would end up a box office bomb and even an executive told the producing duo how bold the project was.
The stakes to deliver were immensely high, but Landau had always believed the movie would go big, which it did. Breaking several records at the time of its release,Avatarbecame the highest-grossing movie of all time until it was dethroned byAvengers: Endgamein 2019, only for it to return to the top spot in 2021 after a re-release in China. The film was nominated for nine Academy Awards the following year,including Best Picture,which ultimately lost to Kathryn Bigelow’sThe Hurt Locker.
Three moreAvatarmovies are in the works, with the third installment slated to release on July 04, 2025.
However,Avatar’s cultural impactexceeded the movie’s critical and commercial success. The film’s revolutionary use of 3D reignited a new craze for the format, with many studios post-converting their movies in 3D to gain more profitability in cinemas and television makers even releasing 3D models. The craze has since diminished, and 3D TVs are no longer sold, but it has lasted much longer than initially thought. This incredible, lasting accomplishment wouldn’t have been possible without Landau’s contributions to theAvatarfranchise and his lasting belief that cinema is the most transcendent art form that exists today.
Avatar
Cast
Avatar is a 2009 science fiction film directed by James Cameron. Set in the 22nd century, it follows a paraplegic Marine sent to the moon Pandora on a mission. He becomes conflicted between his orders and defending the indigenous Na’vi civilization.
