Petersen, a German filmmaker, earned the most awards acclaim in his career for his 1981 World War II epic “Das Boot, ” yet his career is definitely populated by a number of films that hold special places within the hearts of cult action film enthusiasts.
After writing plus directing 1984’s kid’s fantasy film “The NeverEnding Story, ” he went on to create a string of actions films with some from the biggest stars of their eras, like “In the Line of Fire” (starring Clint Eastwood and Rene Russo), “Outbreak” (with Dustin Hoffman, Morgan Freeman and Russo) and “Air Force One” (with Harrison Ford plus Glenn Close).
In the aughts, he continuing the trend, helming “The Perfect Storm” with George Clooney and “Troy” with Brad Pitt plus “Poseidon. ”
“Being directed by Wolfgang on ‘Air Force One’ remains a special memory, ” actress Glenn Close mentioned in a statement supplied to CNN. “Even though the script has been thrilling and incredibly intense, I remember a lot of laughs, especially in the scenes across the huge table in the War Room. ”
Petersen, she stated, would set up a remote-controlled camera which could rotate in place, allowing him to movie all the actors plus Petersen wiould provide them cues whenever they were being filmed.
“You knew the camera would temporarily stop on you by his hilarious direction whilst setting up the chance. He would point to us in turn and say, ‘Acting… acting… NO acting… NO performing… ACTING… aaaacting! ‘” she recalled. “He didn’t waste anyone’s time. My memory space is of a man full of joie de vivre who was carrying out what he the majority of loved to do. ”
Petersen is survived by his wife, Nancy Antoinette, son Daniel and two grandchildren, according to his spokesperson.