Oliver Wood

• Name — Oliver Wood • Occupation — Cinematographer • Born — 21 February 1942 • Birthplace — London, England • Died — 13 February 2023 • Place of death — Los Angeles, California, U.S. • Years Active — 1968–2022 • Spouse — Jane Forth Sabina Groh • Children — 3

Wood was born in London on 21 February 1942. One of his early jobs in the film industry was as an assistant to director John Boorman, while he was head of the BBC's documentary department. Wood shot the (now partially-lost) 1967 short film Popdown in London, and Rene Daalder's 1969 film The White Slave, and was a camera assistant for the Michael Winner-directed music hall documentary A Little of What You Fancy in 1968. In the late 1960s, Wood moved to New York City. He cited French New Wave cinematographer Raoul Coutard as one of his strongest influences.

His first break in the US came when he was hired by director Leonard Kastle to shoot The Honeymoon Killers, a low-budget film based on the real-life serial killer couple Raymond Fernandez and Martha Beck, "the Lonely Hearts Killers." He utilized high-contrast black-and-white film stock and natural lighting to give the dark comedy a cinéma vérité-inspired pseudo-documentary look. The film is now considered a cult classic, and Wood's photography was noted at the time. 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. His big break came when he was director of photography for 53 episodes of the 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 shot the Bourne Trilogy, where he worked with director Paul Greengrass on Supremacy and Ultimatum, producing 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, utilizing GoPro cameras to film the movie's action sequences.

Wood married twice, once to Jane Forth. He had two daughters, and a son. Wood died from cancer at his home in Los Angeles, California on 13 February 2023 at the age of 80.

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