Das Boot director Wolfgang Petersen dies aged 81

Wolfgang Petersen has died at the age of 81.

The acclaimed filmmaker - who received two Oscar nominations for writing and directing the war epic 'Das Boot' - died from pancreatic cancer at his home in Brentwood, California, on Friday (12.08.22).

The German-born director, producer and screenwriter made the switch to Hollywood following the success of 'Das Boot', and he worked with the likes of George Clooney, Brad Pitt, Harrison Ford and Morgan Freeman during his career.

His films credits also included 'The NeverEnding Story', 'In the Line of Fire' and 'Air Force One'.

However, Petersen admitted in 2016 that he regretted directing the 'Poseidon' remake in 2006, which starred Kurt Russell, Josh Lucas and Richard Dreyfuss.

The movie proved to be a loss-maker for the studio and Petersen confessed that he "probably should not have done" the film.

He said: "I was on a roll at that time. 'In the Line of Fire', 'Outbreak', 'Air Force One, Perfect Storm', 'Troy' - I did all these films in a row, and each one was more successful than the one before. Five in a row.

"So they said, 'Wolfgang can do anything. Just give him all the money, we'll be fine.' But it wasn't. I shouldn't have done it, because it just doesn't work like that. At some point you fail."

On the other hand, Petersen relished making the 2000 biographical drama 'The Perfect Storm'.

The movie starred the likes of George Clooney, Mark Wahlberg and John C. Reilly, and Petersen admitted to feeling "very proud" of the project.

He explained: "We got a lot of calls from people who said, 'Wolfgang, don't be crazy. This can't work. This is a summer movie, a $150-million movie. And they all die at the end? Are you nuts? Can you at least have one, like Mark Wahlberg, survive at the end?' But we did it."