It is a sad day indeed as Academy Award-nominated director Wolfgang Petersen has passed away. He was 81 years old. The devastating news was further confirmed by The Peterson family spokesperson, Michelle Bega, as it stated that “Petersen died of pancreatic cancer in the arms of his wife of nearly 50 years, Maria-Antoinette, on Friday at his home in Brentwood”.
Petersen started his career as a director during the 1960s but bagged his big breakthrough in 1981 with “Das Boot,” which is a World War II film that went on to become a huge critical success with six Oscar nominations with two specifically to honor Petersen for directing and screenwriting. Several fellow celebs and fans have paid their heartfelt tribute to Wolfgang Petersen.
Wolfgang Petersen Worked With Several Iconic Stars
The director went on to make some noteworthy movies, including “Enemy Mine,” “Shattered,” “Outbreak,” “Poseidon” and “Troy,” and he directed big-name stars such as Clint Eastwood in 1993’s “In the Line of Fire,” Harrison Ford in “Air Force One” (1997) and George Clooney in 2000’s “The Perfect Storm.” Other than these iconic stars, Petersen has worked with stars like Brad Pitt, Rene Russo, Glenn Close, Dustin Hoffman, and Morgan Freeman.
Actress Glenn Close has once recalled how it was being directed by Wolfgang on ‘Air Force One while calling it a special memory as she added while the script was thrilling and incredibly intense, she remembers a lot of laughs, especially in the scenes around the huge table in the War Room.” Close further added that Petersen would set up a remote-controlled camera that could rotate in place, which would enable him to film all the actors and how the late director would provide them cues when they were being filmed.
While the director took a long decade-old hiatus and later returned in 2016 with the German comedy Vier Gegen die Bank. Doctor Sleep and Midnight Mass director Mike Flanagan paid tribute to the late director while stating how he would always have a special place in his heart.
Also read: Florence Pugh and Zach Braff Secretly Parted Way: What We Know
