--- description: "It's sad and shocking, and it's such a waste" title: James Cameron Remembers Friend, Collaborator James Horner image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt71dba46b31cc5fde/69885812428a9efad7ccddd2/94670458.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [Entertainment](/section/entertainment/) ## Entertainment Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [movies](/tag/movies/) ## movies Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # James Cameron Pays Tribute to Friend, Collaborator James Horner by [Joanna Plucinska](/author/joanna-plucinska/) ## Joanna Plucinska Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Jun 24, 2015 3:15 AM CUT  Director James Cameron, singer Leona Lewis and composer James Horner arrive at the premiere of 20th Century Fox's "Avatar" at the Grauman's Chinese Theatre on December 16, 2009 in Hollywood, California Director James Cameron, singer Leona Lewis and composer James Horner arrive at the premiere of 20th Century Fox's "Avatar" at the Grauman's Chinese Theatre on December 16, 2009 in Hollywood, CaliforniaKevin Winter—Getty Images by [Joanna Plucinska](/author/joanna-plucinska/) ## Joanna Plucinska Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Jun 24, 2015 3:15 AM CUT In the wake of composer James Horner’s death, his old friend and partner-in-film James Cameron spoke fondly of their work together in an exclusive interview with [_People_](http://www.people.com/article/james-cameron-pays-tribute-james-horner "undefined")_._ “It’s sad and shocking, and it’s such a waste in a way,” Oscar-winning director Cameron told the magazine. “We were looking forward to our next gig together.” Horner had already committed to compose the scores for Cameron’s next three Avatar films. _Avatar 2_ is listed as his final credit. According to _People_, the pair, who both won Academy Awards for their work on _Titanic,_ first collaborated in 1980 on a small sci-film called _Battle Beyond the Stars._ Horner died Monday in a plane crash north of Santa Barbara, Calif. [Read the full story from PEOPLE.com](http://www.people.com/article/james-cameron-pays-tribute-james-horner "undefined") ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3933276/james-cameron-horner-plane-crash-death/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3933276/james-cameron-horner-plane-crash-death/"},"headline":"James Cameron Pays Tribute to Friend, Collaborator James Horner","datePublished":"2015-06-24T03:15:56.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-22T08:28:20.045Z","description":"\"It's sad and shocking, and it's such a waste\"","url":"https://time.com/3933276/james-cameron-horner-plane-crash-death/","keywords":["movies","film","Avatar"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt71dba46b31cc5fde/69885812428a9efad7ccddd2/94670458.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Joanna Plucinska","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/joanna-plucinska/"}],"articleSection":"Entertainment","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt71dba46b31cc5fde/69885812428a9efad7ccddd2/94670458.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Premiere Of 20th Century Fox's \"Avatar\" - Arrivals","caption":"Premiere Of 20th Century Fox's \"Avatar\" - Arrivals","creditText":"Kevin Winter—Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/entertainment/","name":"Entertainment"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/movies/","name":"movies"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/3933276/james-cameron-horner-plane-crash-death/","name":"James Cameron Pays Tribute to Friend, Collaborator James Horner"}}]},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"100 Years of Blockbusters in 5 Minutes","description":"Time has taken the highest grossing film each year for the past century and crammed them into 5 and a half minutes. 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