What went into the epic ship sinking scene from 'Titanic' and other tales from producer Jon Landau

Jon Landau was a occupation solver.

When the vessel prop for the “Titanic” wouldn’t descend accelerated enough, the Oscar-winning shaper jumped into action, assembling a squad of workers who cut, welded and removed coagulated floors and replaced them with mesh — each implicit the people of a weekend.

“By the commencement of shooting connected Monday, that sucker sank,” manager and writer James Cameron, Landau’s longtime collaborator, wrote successful the foreword to Landau’s caller book. “Boy, did it sink. It frightened the crap retired of us.”

Solving problems similar a excessively dilatory sinking vessel is each portion of being a producer, Landau wrote successful his posthumously published memoir, “The Bigger Picture: My Blockbuster Life & Lessons Learned Along the Way,” released Tuesday.

Just arsenic important is creating an situation wherever each unit subordinate was seen and heard — a cardinal portion of Landau’s producing philosophy.

He would larn everyone’s name, arsenic good arsenic that of their spouse and whether they had children. He gave retired copies of “The Little Engine That Could” representation publication to promote the “Titanic” section heads to support going, contempt the galore applicable and budgetary stresses they faced. He dressed up arsenic Mr. Potato Head and strolled the decks of the “Titanic” acceptable to marque radical laugh, said Rae Sanchini, enforcement shaper of “Titanic” and president of Lightstorm Entertainment, who was adjacent friends with Landau.

“He loved giving radical a small joyousness successful their day,” Sanchini said, remembering Landau’s irreverent household Christmas cards. “I deliberation it’s portion of the crushed wherefore helium wanted to constitute the book, due to the fact that I deliberation helium wanted to amusement that adjacent erstwhile you’re facing thing similar helium was facing, determination was inactive a crushed to consciousness joyful. It was an important happening for him to permission for his household and for his friends.”

The “Titanic” and “Avatar” shaper died past twelvemonth of esophageal crab astatine the property of 63. Landau writes that helium began his publication task aft helium got his diagnosis arsenic a mode to instrumentality banal of his life, some for himself arsenic good arsenic the adjacent generation.

“If I had the accidental to constitute my ain legacy, I anticipation it would beryllium that I ever gave 110%,” helium writes toward the extremity of the book. “Although not perfect, I anticipation radical tin accidental that I tried to bash close by everybody. What much is there?”

Landau’s sister, Kathy, remembers her member reflecting connected that bequest soon earlier “Titanic” opened successful 1997, a fraught clip for the movie arsenic critics questioned whether it would succeed. (It would spell connected to go 1 of the biggest blockbusters of each time, arsenic would 2 of Landau’s different films with Cameron, 2009’s “Avatar” and 2022’s “Avatar: The Way of Water”)

“He said to me, ‘You know, Kat, I whitethorn not spell down arsenic 1 of the astir palmy producers successful Hollywood, but I’d similar to beryllium remembered arsenic 1 of the nicest,’” Kathy Landau said successful an interview. “And I would conscionable say, arsenic of now, helium got 2 for two.”

Here are 4 takeaways from the memoir.

Lessons from a archetypal set

As the kid of movie producers Ely and Edie Landau, Jon Landau was raised astir the movies.

He enrolled successful USC’s movie program, but ne'er graduated. Instead, to assistance his household aft his begetter had a stroke, helium got a occupation successful Hollywood, moving arsenic a “walkie-talkie guy” connected the acceptable of a TV movie called “Found Money.”

His main occupation was to manus out, cod and recharge the portable radios each time connected set, but implicit the people of filming, helium asked questions astir each aspects of the movie business, from Screen Actors Guild rules to telephone sheets, extras and accumulation reports.

By the clip postproduction rolled around, Landau was asked to compile each the contracts, signifier and record them.

“I work each clause, rider, exemption,” helium wrote. “It was the champion acquisition successful the movie concern a idiosyncratic could get. I learned much astir the behind-the-scenes workings successful those fewer weeks of machine inputting than I person learned anyplace else.”

Meeting James Cameron

Landau archetypal met Cameron successful 1993 erstwhile Cameron was directing the Arnold Schwarzenegger and Jamie Lee Curtis-led “True Lies” and Landau was a workplace enforcement astatine 20th Century Fox.

Cameron needed much wealth for the movie, and Fox, which had the U.S. organisation rights, agreed, but insisted the workplace get much involved. Landau was told to spell retired to the acceptable and “try to negociate James Cameron, arsenic champion arsenic possible,” based connected his erstwhile occurrence moving with Warren Beatty and Michael Mann, helium wrote.

In their archetypal gathering successful a league country astatine Fox, Cameron walked consecutive past workplace executives, stars and his producers and stopped close astatine Landau’s chair.

“Standing implicit maine with his six-foot-three frame, helium said, ‘So, Jon, I recognize we are either going to get to beryllium beauteous bully friends ... oregon bitter enemies,’” Landau wrote. “‘Pretty bully friends, I hope,’ I responded. Thirty-plus years later, I don’t person to archer you which 1 was the case.”

Landau besides credits Sanchini with helping him recognize and “adeptly navigate the satellite of James Cameron,” and for being “instrumental” successful convincing Cameron helium was the close shaper to instrumentality connected “Titanic.”

Making a blockbuster during the pandemic

In March 2020, Landau and the remainder of the “Avatar” squad was acceptable to alert backmost to New Zealand to decorativeness shooting the adjacent 2 “Avatar” movies erstwhile the pandemic hit. Landau called Disney movie main Alan Bergman to archer him that they should hold production, to which the workplace agreed.

Landau began doing municipality hallway meetings implicit Zoom with each of the “Avatar” unit successful groups of 20 astatine a time. He wrote that helium traded successful his signature Hawaiian shirts for “a closet afloat of brainsick T-shirts, each emblazoned with messages that encouraged radical to lavation their hands and disguise up.”

Eventually, the New Zealand authorities gave the accumulation support to bring 33 radical to the state by the extremity of May 2020, making “Avatar” 1 of the archetypal large-scale productions backmost successful enactment since the pandemic had started.

Crew members were quarantined astatine a hotel, confined to their rooms with nutrient transportation with cleanable towels and sheets near extracurricular their doors. The accumulation besides hired much than 100 New Zealand workers for each U.S. unit subordinate they brought in, employing section electricians, operation workers, caterers and carpenters, Landau wrote.

“Long earlier COVID struck, we had made a committedness to beryllium a bully spouse to the Wellington community,” helium wrote. “Even arsenic uncertainty swirled each astir us, that committedness remained cardinal to each we did.”

The value of container office

If forced to take betwixt winning awards oregon having occurrence astatine the container office, Landau said helium would take the container office.

“It means millions of moviegoers are connecting to the work,” helium wrote. “That is the existent prize — reaching radical looking to beryllium transported, to escape, to find anticipation successful the clasp of a darkened theater.”

The container bureau totals for the consequent weekends aft a film’s opening were much important to him than its debut, arsenic it signified moviegoers fundamentally voting for a movie by going backmost again and again.

Of course, Landau did person some kinds of occurrence — “Titanic” raked successful much than $2.2 cardinal successful planetary container bureau gross and won 11 Academy Awards, including champion picture. “Avatar” made much than $2.9 cardinal worldwide and took location 3 Academy Awards, portion its sequel “Avatar: The Way of Water” hauled successful $2.3 cardinal globally and won 1 Academy Award for ocular effects.