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Oliver Wood (cinematographer)

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Oliver Wood
Born(1942-02-21)21 February 1942
London, England
OccupationCinematographer
Years active1961–2023
Known forMiami Vice
The Bourne Trilogy
Face/Off
Spouse(s)Jane Forth
Sabina Groh

Oliver Wood (21 February 1942 – 13 February 2023) was a British cinematographer,[1][2] best known for his work on blockbuster action and comedy films[2] such as Die Hard 2, Face/Off, Freaky Friday, Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby, and the Bourne franchise.[3] He collaborated with directors like Paul Greengrass, John Woo, Renny Harlin, Ron Underwood, and Adam McKay, and was nominated for a BAFTA Award for Best Cinematography for The Bourne Ultimatum.[4]

Life and career

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Wood was born in London on 21 February 1942.[5] At the age of 19, he moved to New York City. His first break came for director Leonard Kastle on cult crime film The Honeymoon Killers (1969) where he used available light to give the dark comedy a newsreel look.[6] He shot numerous B-movies and independent films throughout the late 1970s and 1980s, frequently collaborating with cinematographers Joseph Mangine and Fred Murphy.[7] He also worked as a camera operator on higher-profile projects including Body Rock (1984) and To Live and Die in L.A. (1985), both of which were shot by Robby Müller.[8] He also became a music video and commercial cinematographer, working for directors like Bob Giraldi and Rupert Wainwright.[9]

His big break came when he was director of photography for 53 episodes of stylish crime drama Miami Vice, serving as the series primary DP between 1987 and 1989. His work on the series caught the attention of producers, enabling him to work on big-budget Hollywood films including Die Hard 2 (1990), Face/Off (1997), U-571 (2000) Fantastic Four (2005), and Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues (2013).[10] He was the original director of photography on the swashbuckling action film Cutthroat Island, but suffered an on-set injury and was replaced by Peter Levy.[11][12][13] He also shot the Bourne Trilogy, where he worked with director Paul Greengrass to produce a spontaneous, naturalistic effect, often using multiple cameras, frequently handheld, citing films such as The Battle of Algiers as an influence.[14][15] He was nominated for a BAFTA for The Bourne Ultimatum (2007).[16]

In 2016, Wood shot the remake of Ben-Hur,[1] directed by Timur Bekmambetov, utilizing GoPro cameras to film the movie's action sequences.[17] His last credit was for Morbius (2022).[5]

Death

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Wood died from cancer at his home in Los Angeles, California on 13 February 2023 at the age of 80.[5] He is survived by his wife, Sabina Groh; his daughters, Katharine Wood and Fiona Wood; and his son, Emerson Forth.[9]

Filmography

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Film

Year Title Director Notes
1967 Popdown Fred Marshall
1969 The White Slave Rene Daalder With Jan De Bont
1970 The Honeymoon Killers Leonard Kastle
1977 Danny Gene Feldman
1978 Feedback Bill Doukas
1980 Don't Go in the House Joseph Ellison
1982 Maya Ágúst Ágústsson
Q - The Winged Serpent Larry Cohen With Fred Murphy[18]
1983 The Returning Josh Bender
The Sex O'Clock News Romano Vanderbes
1984 In Our Words Robert Richter
Stanley Warnow
Documentary
Alphabet City Amos Poe
1986 Joey Joseph Ellison
Quiet Cool Clay Borris With Jacques Haitkin
Neon Maniacs Joseph Mangine With Joseph Mangine
1990 Die Hard 2 Renny Harlin
The Adventures of Ford Fairlane
1991 Mystery Date Jonathan Wacks
Bill & Ted's Bogus Journey Peter Hewitt
1993 For Love or Money Barry Sonnenfeld
Rudy David Anspaugh
Sister Act 2: Back in the Habit Bill Duke
1994 Terminal Velocity Deran Sarafian
1995 Mr. Holland's Opus Stephen Herek
1996 Celtic Pride Tom DeCerchio
2 Days in the Valley John Herzfeld
1997 Face/Off John Woo
Switchback Jeb Stuart
1998 Mighty Joe Young Ron Underwood With Donald Peterman
2000 U-571 Jonathan Mostow
2002 The Adventures of Pluto Nash Ron Underwood
I Spy Betty Thomas
The Bourne Identity Doug Liman
2003 National Security Dennis Dugan
Freaky Friday Mark Waters
2004 Scooby-Doo 2: Monsters Unleashed Raja Gosnell
The Bourne Supremacy Paul Greengrass
2005 Fantastic Four Tim Story
2006 Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby Adam McKay
2007 The Bourne Ultimatum Paul Greengrass Nominated - BAFTA Award for Best Cinematography
2008 Step Brothers Adam McKay
2009 Surrogates Jonathan Mostow
2010 The Other Guys Adam McKay
2012 Safe House Daniel Espinosa
2013 2 Guns Baltasar Kormákur
Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues Adam McKay
2015 Child 44 Daniel Espinosa
2016 Grimsby Louis Leterrier
Ben-Hur Timur Bekmambetov
Jack Reacher: Never Go Back Edward Zwick
2018 The Equalizer 2 Antoine Fuqua
Holmes & Watson Etan Cohen
2022 Morbius Daniel Espinosa

Short film

Year Title Director
1979 Mr. Gimme Peter Mark Schifter
1984 My Hometown Bob Giraldi
1988 One or the Other Nicholas Hondrogen

Television

Year Title Director Notes
1985 City Boy Bob Giraldi TV movie
1987 Nasty Hero Nick Barwood
1987–89 Miami Vice 53 episodes
1991 Angel City Renny Harlin TV movie
2020 Cine Chalom Yossi Benavraham Episode "EXTRAIT DU FILM "VOLTE FACE" DE JOHN WOO... 1997"

References

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  1. ^ a b "OLIVER WOOD". www.cinematographers.nl. Archived from the original on 8 October 2018. Retrieved 4 August 2017.
  2. ^ a b "Oliver Wood | Biography and Filmography". Hollywood.com. 6 February 2015. Archived from the original on 5 August 2017. Retrieved 5 August 2017.
  3. ^ "Oliver Wood – Murtha Skouras Agency". www.murthaskouras.com. Archived from the original on 12 November 2017. Retrieved 12 November 2017.
  4. ^ "Film Awards Winners in 2008". www.bafta.org. Archived from the original on 5 October 2015. Retrieved 4 August 2017.
  5. ^ a b c Gajewski, Ryan (18 February 2023). "Oliver Wood, Cinematographer on 'Bourne' Franchise and 'Face/Off,' Dies at 80". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on 18 February 2023. Retrieved 18 February 2023.
  6. ^ Gary Giddins, The Honeymoon Killers Archived 24 September 2018 at the Wayback Machine, The Criterion Collection
  7. ^ "OLIVER WOOD". www.cinematographers.nl. Archived from the original on 8 October 2018. Retrieved 12 November 2017.
  8. ^ Ryan Gajewski (18 February 2023). "Oliver Wood Dead: Cinematographer on Bourne Identity, Face/Off Was 80 – The Hollywood Reporter". Hollywoodreporter.com. Archived from the original on 18 February 2023. Retrieved 19 February 2023.
  9. ^ a b Jazz Tangcay,J. Kim Murphy (18 February 2023). "Oliver Wood Dead: 'Bourne' Trilogy Cinematographer Was 80". Variety. Archived from the original on 19 February 2023. Retrieved 19 February 2023.
  10. ^ "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 12 November 2017. Retrieved 12 November 2017.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  11. ^ Bernard, Paul (26 March 2013). Adventures in Movies: A Chronicle of 25 Years in Movies from Roger Rabbit to Harry Potter. BookBaby. ISBN 9781626754980.
  12. ^ "Class of 1995: 'Cutthroat Island' | THE FILM YAP". THE FILM YAP. 30 November 2015. Archived from the original on 29 November 2017. Retrieved 12 November 2017.
  13. ^ Sterngold, James (31 March 1996). "Debacle on the High Seas". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on 9 December 2018. Retrieved 12 November 2017.
  14. ^ Jon Silberg, "The Bourne Ultimatum" Archived 29 January 2016 at the Wayback Machine, American Cinematographer magazine, September 2007
  15. ^ David Heuring, "Homeward Bound" Archived 27 January 2016 at the Wayback Machine, ICG Magazine, August 2007
  16. ^ 2008 Winners Archived 5 October 2015 at the Wayback Machine, BAFTA, accessed 21 January 2016
  17. ^ Hart, Hugh (18 August 2016). "YouTube-Inspired Director Used GoPro Cameras to Capture Ben-Hur Chariot Action". Where to Watch. Archived from the original on 5 August 2017. Retrieved 4 August 2017.
  18. ^ "OLIVER WOOD". www.cinematographers.nl. Archived from the original on 8 October 2018. Retrieved 12 November 2017.
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