David White with Gregg Rudloff at the 2016 Academy Awards.
Gregg Rudloff, a multiple Oscar-winning re-recording mixer who worked on Mad Max: Fury Road, The Lego Movie and The Matrix franchise, has died in Los Angeles. He was 63.
The US-born sound guru followed in the footsteps of his father Tex Rudloff, an Oscar nominee for The Buddy Holly Story in 1978.
Among his most recent credits were The Other Side of the Wind, Teen Titans Go! To the Movies, The Foreigner, Molly’s Game, Death Note and Fences.
He won best sound Academy Awards for George Miller’s Mad Max: Fury Road, shared with Chris Jenkins and Ben Osmo; The Matrix, shared with John T. Reitz, David E. Campbell and David Lee; and Glory, shared with Donald O. Mitchell, Elliot Tyson and Russell Williams II.
Miller tells IF: “Only those privileged to work closely with Gregg Rudloff would know the mastery and brilliance of his work. All who encountered him, however, got to know the brightness of his mind and the elegance of his soul.”
Australian sound designer David White, who won an Oscar for Mad Max: Fury Road, shared with Mark A. Mangini, hailed him as “an understated colossal giant of the film sound community.”
In his effusive tribute on social media, White said: “More than one minute of silence is being observed worldwide, such was his impact. Gregg showed me by his example how to be a man. My life was changed by being in the presence of this man, a real man, forever.
“When it came time to consider who would mix Fury Road, GM (Miller) initially offered that role to me. I dismissed that and said to George that his ginormous film needed the best, someone who could bring something to the table rather than just handling it, and soon after the wonderful Gregg Rudloff was engaged, and far out did he bring something. I didn’t even know who he was; GM and Doug Mitchell made the choice.
“From the moment Gregg came into my world, my understanding of humility, excellence and what it is to be a man and to stand for something changed forever. I thank you my friend, and though I know you knew I felt that, oh god I wish I said it to you. Too late now.”
Fellow mixer Cate Cahill, who also worked on Miller’s opus, posted: “Just devastated. Such a excellent guy. Fully accepted me as a mixer in the industry without regard to gender. We talked mixing a lot, he was generous with information and his time.”
A frequent collaborator with Clint Eastwood, he earned Oscar nominations for his work on American Sniper, Argo, Flags of our Fathers and The Perfect Storm. His extensive credits include The Girl on the Train, Jersey Boys, Pacific Rim, Gran Torino, Changeling, Speed Racer and Superman Returns.
His bio on Technicolor’s website stated: “Gregg gets excited about anything that allows him to help bring the filmmaker’s vision to the screen, that helps the audience forget they’re in a theatre and become lost in the film. He says, ‘For me it’s not so much about what I’ve done, it’s about whom I’ve done it with.’”