
Died at 84
male
Oliver Wood (February 21, 1942 – February 13, 2023) was a British cinematographer, best known for his work on blockbuster action and comedy films such as Die Hard 2, Face/Off, Freaky Friday, Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby, and the Bourne franchise. 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. Wood was born in London on 21 February 1942. At the age of 19, he moved to New York City. His first break came for director Leonard Kastle on the cult crime film The Honeymoon Killers (1969), where he used available light to give the dark comedy a newsreel look. He shot numerous B-movies and independent films throughout the late 1970s and 1980s, frequently collaborating with cinematographers Joseph Mangine and Fred Murphy. 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. 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 the 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). 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. 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. He was nominated for a BAFTA for The Bourne Ultimatum (2007). In 2016, Wood shot the remake of Ben-Hur, directed by Timur Bekmambetov, utilising GoPro cameras to film the movie's action sequences. His last credit was for Morbius (2022). Wood died from cancer at his home in Los Angeles, California, on 13 February 2023 at the age of 80. He is survived by his wife, Sabina Groh; his daughters, Katharine Wood and Fiona Wood; and his son, Emerson Forth. Description above from the Wikipedia article Oliver Wood, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.

Oliver Wood

X-Men: Mankind (2003) Cinematographer
for X-Men: Mankind (2003) Cinematographer in X-Men: Re-imagined
Suggested by bencasting

My attempt to reorganise X-Men films into a more cohesive timeline. X-Men (2000): Growing fear of mutants. Focus on the X-men’s found-family dynamic across generations. Rogue given more character development. Clash with Magneto & the Brotherhood stopping his increasingly extreme plan. X-Men: Mankind (2003): Wolverine’s past emerges through flashbacks. The cruelty of William Stryker’s Weapon X program forces the X-Men and Magneto into a reluctant alliance, while Jean Grey’s powers are pushed to the limit saving the team. X-Men: Phoenix Rising (2007): Jean, believed dead, returns with the Phoenix Force, amplifying her anger at humans, Charles & Magneto. She causes destruction, struggles morally, and ultimately chooses to take control of the power, manifesting as the Phoenix in the sky and removing herself from the world. Sentinel program quietly advances. X-Men: First Class (2010): Nathaniel Essex as architect pulling strings from the shadows. More time with Erik hunting Nazis. More comic-accurate Emma Frost; Darwin survives; Havok swapped to fix continuity. X-Men: Days of Future Past (2013): Mostly the same but with enough focus and better lines for characters to give them time to shine. X-Men: Bloodlines (2023): Set against the fall of the iron curtain – Mr. Sinister is abducting unregistered mutants across Europe. Setting traps for the x-men, to divide and capture Scott & Jean to harness their DNA. Jean’s powers surge during a showdown beneath Berlin, destroying Sinister’s archives, forcing his retreat. X-Men: Apocalypse (2025): Jeans power surge & Sinister’s failure awakens Apocalypse. Seeing his “pawn” could not control the X-Men or Jean’s cosmic power, Apocalypse corrupts 4 Horsemen to reshape the modern world. Guided by future Charles via the astral plane, Jean learns to control her Phoenix energy. The team overcome Apocalypse, entombing him & preventing his conquest.


