Wolfgang Petersen, director of Das Boot and Air Force One, dies at 81 | Movies

German director Wolfgang Petersen has died at the age of 81.

The Academy Award-nominated writer and director is known for films such as Das Boot, Air Force One, and In the Line of Fire. He died of pancreatic cancer at home in the company of his wife, Maria Burgel Petersen. His representative confirmed his death.

After directing the thriller One of the Others of Us and the bizarre drama Die Konsequenz, Petersen set out with 1982’s Das Boot, a World War II drama about a German submarine. It was a commercial and critical success and was nominated for six Academy Awards, including Best Director and Best Adapted Screenplay for Petersen.

“Many directors have one movie,” He said in a later interview. “He is the one who changed everything for you and the one that people will talk about forever. I am lucky enough to have this movie.”

This led to Petersen’s first English-language film, the fantasy adventure The NeverEnding Story, which was an international hit and led to a string of Hollywood successes for Petersen.

He collaborated with Clint Eastwood on the thriller In the Line of Fire, which was nominated for three Oscars, before working with Dustin Hoffman on the disaster thriller Outbreak and Harrison Ford in 1997’s Air Force One.

Seen in the following years bring out the fact-based adventure The Perfect Storm, the war saga of Troy and Poseidon a disaster remake. The latter was a monetary and commercial mistake. “What I should probably have done was a Poseidon movie,” He said in an interview in 2016. “I was in for a hit at the time… I shouldn’t have done it, because it doesn’t work like that. At some point it fails.”

He then decided to take a 10-year hiatus before returning in 2016 with the German comedy Vier gegen die Bank.

The tribute was paid for on Twitter by Dr. Sleep and Midnight Director Mike Flanagan. “Very sad to hear of the passing of Wolfgang Petersen.” he is chirp. “I LOVE DAS BOOT, IN THE FIRELINE, PERFECT STORM, BLAST… and I will always have a very special place in my heart for the endless story. Rest in peace.”