Marc Harold Wolff (born 25 August 1947)
IMDb
/ref> is a well-known American helicopter stunt pilot.
Early life
He grew up and went to school in New Jersey
New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delaware ...
.
Career
Feature films
He has worked on many action films as an aerial coordinator, working on over 170 films. He worked on his first film in 1974. On films, he works with the second unit
Second unit is a discrete team of filmmakers tasked with filming shots or sequences of a production, separate from the main or "first" unit. The second unit will often shoot simultaneously with the other unit or units, allowing the filming stag ...
. Where an aerial sequence (often found in action and science-fiction films) is required, he coordinates the aerial shot
Aerial may refer to:
Music
* ''Aerial'' (album), by Kate Bush
* ''Aerials'' (song), from the album ''Toxicity'' by System of a Down
Bands
*Aerial (Canadian band)
* Aerial (Scottish band)
* Aerial (Swedish band)
Performance art
* Aerial sil ...
from a helicopter.
Flying Pictures
He works with Flying Pictures of the UK, based at the former RAF Chilbolton
Royal Air Force Chilbolton or RAF Chilbolton was a Royal Air Force station in Hampshire, England. The airfield was located in Chilbolton approximately south-southeast of Andover, about southwest of London
Opened in 1940, it was used by t ...
in the Test Valley
Test Valley is a local government district and borough in Hampshire, England, named after the valley of the River Test. Its council is based in Andover.
The borough was formed on 1 April 1974 by a merger of the boroughs of Andover and Romsey, a ...
district of western Hampshire
Hampshire (, ; abbreviated to Hants) is a ceremonial county, ceremonial and non-metropolitan county, non-metropolitan counties of England, county in western South East England on the coast of the English Channel. Home to two major English citi ...
. Flying Pictures claims to be the world leader in aerial & helicopter filming services for feature films.
In the 2012 Summer Olympics opening ceremony
The opening ceremony of the 2012 Summer Olympics took place on the evening of Friday 27 July 2012 in the Olympic Stadium, London, during which the Games were formally opened by Queen Elizabeth II. As mandated by the Olympic Charter, the pr ...
, he flew the helicopter for the section flying along the River Thames
The River Thames ( ), known alternatively in parts as the The Isis, River Isis, is a river that flows through southern England including London. At , it is the longest river entirely in England and the Longest rivers of the United Kingdom, se ...
, next to Big Ben
Big Ben is the nickname for the Great Bell of the Great Clock of Westminster, at the north end of the Palace of Westminster in London, England, and the name is frequently extended to refer also to the clock and the clock tower. The officia ...
, entitled '' Isles of Wonder'', also known as ''Journey along the Thames''. He also flew the helicopter for the pre-recorded sequence known as ''Happy and Glorious'', flying it straight through Tower Bridge
Tower Bridge is a Listed building#Grade I, Grade I listed combined Bascule bridge, bascule and Suspended-deck suspension bridge, suspension bridge in London, built between 1886 and 1894, designed by Horace Jones (architect), Horace Jones and e ...
, with camerawork by John Marzano. The sequence ended with an AgustaWestland AW139
The AgustaWestland AW139 is a medium-lift twin-engined helicopter developed and produced by the Anglo-Italian helicopter manufacturer AgustaWestland, later wholly owned by Leonardo S.p.A. It is marketed at several different roles, including V ...
flying above the Olympic Stadium, with the Queen portrayed by Julia McKenzie
Julia Kathleen Nancy McKenzie (born 17 February 1941) is an English actress, singer, presenter, and theatre director. She has premièred leading roles written by both Alan Ayckbourn and Stephen Sondheim. On television, she is known for her BAFT ...
, who appeared to parachute from the helicopter; he piloted this helicopter above the Olympic Stadium. The two parachutists were Mark Sutton
Mark may refer to:
Currency
* Bosnia and Herzegovina convertible mark, the currency of Bosnia and Herzegovina
* East German mark, the currency of the German Democratic Republic
* Estonian mark, the currency of Estonia between 1918 and 1927
* Finn ...
(James Bond) and Gary Connery
Gary Connery (born 18 June 1969) is a British skydiver, BASE jumper, and professional stuntman. Connery has performed stunt-work in numerous films. He has also acted as the stunt-double for Gary Oldman, Leonardo DiCaprio, Rowan Atkinson, and J ...
(Queen). A similar helicopter is seen at the end of ''Skyfall
''Skyfall'' is a 2012 spy film and the twenty-third in the ''James Bond'' series produced by Eon Productions. The film is the third to star Daniel Craig as fictional MI6 agent James Bond and features Javier Bardem as Raoul Silva, the villai ...
'', which he had helped to film the aerial sequences.
Personal life
He has lived in Mougins
Mougins (; oc, Mogins ; la, Muginum ) is a commune in the Alpes-Maritimes département in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region in Southeastern France. In 2019, it had a population of 19,982.
It is located on the heights of Cannes, in the a ...
in south-east France since 2001, with his wife and son and daughter. He lived in Cornwall previously for many years, where his children were born.
Filmography
* '' For Your Eyes Only'' (1982), opening sequence at Beckton Gas Works
Beckton Gasworks was a major London gasworks built to manufacture coal gas and other products including coke from coal. It has been variously described as 'the largest such plant in the world' Winchester C (Ed), ''Handling 2,000,000 tons of coal ...
on 3 November 1980
* ''Biggles
James Bigglesworth, nicknamed "Biggles", is a fictional pilot and adventurer, the title character and hero of the ''Biggles'' series of adventure books, written for young readers by W. E. Johns (1893–1968). Biggles made his first appearance ...
'' (1986)
* '' Black Hawk Down'' (2001)
* ''Skyfall
''Skyfall'' is a 2012 spy film and the twenty-third in the ''James Bond'' series produced by Eon Productions. The film is the third to star Daniel Craig as fictional MI6 agent James Bond and features Javier Bardem as Raoul Silva, the villai ...
'' (2012)
References
External links
Interview
Flying Pictures
{{DEFAULTSORT:Wolff, Marc
1947 births
American stunt performers
Stunt pilots
Helicopter pilots
People from Alpes-Maritimes
Living people