Wolfgang Petersen Cause of Death Tragic: ‘Air Force One’ Director Dead at 81
Wolfgang Petersen, a German director popularly known for his renowned Hollywood movies like "Air Force One," "In the Line of Fire," "The Perfect Storm" and many more, has passed away at the age of 81.
According to Deadline, the famed filmmaker died last week in the arms of his wife Maria Antoinette at his home in Brentwood. His cause of death was determined to be pancreatic cancer. (via Daily Mail UK)
The director's career first started taking off in his home country of Germany, he later amassed international success after his 1981 movie "Das Boot (The Boat)" got recognized by major award-giving bodies.
The film was nominated for six Oscars, in which he won two (adapted screenplay and directing). Aside from the Academy Awards, he was also nominated for DGA Award and BAFTA.
Since then, he became one of the most sought-after filmmakers of his generation as he went on to direct some of the biggest films in Hollywood.
Wolfgang Petersen's Ups and Downs in Hollywood
His first Hollywood movie was the 1984 fantasy adventure film "The NeverEnding Story" in which he served as a director and scriptwriter.
The film revolved around a boy living in the real world who discovered the magical kingdom of Fantasia in a bookstore.
Even though he had a successful directing career for movies specifically catered to children, it didn't take long for him to produce adult-targeted movies.
"Enemy Mine" was the next movie to be released. The film's story revolved around an astronaut who accidentally landed on an alien planet where he encountered an extraterrestrial creature.
Despite Petersen's hype, the full-feature film didn't make that much money and had negative reviews. This led the director to take a break for the next six years.
He made his comeback in 1991 with the thriller "Shattered" featuring actors like Bob Hosking, Tom Berenger, and Greta Scacchi.
Petersen's first movie to garner massive box office success was the Clint Eastwood-starring movie "In the Line of Fire" in 1993, which is about the actor being a Secret Service agent that has been scarred because he didn't prevent John F. Kennedy's assassination.
In total, the movie earned $177 million worldwide and amassed positive reviews from critics.
Following this, he went on to direct several more films like "Outbreak," "The Perfect Storm," "Troy," "Poseidon" and more.
Per IMBd, his last credit was "Vier gegen die Bank" released in 2016.
