Matthew Wood Wiki: Sound Engineer, Net Worth, Wall E, Star Wars: The Last Jedi & Facts To Know

The movie “Star Wars: The Last Jedi” was the highest grossing film last year, raking over $1.3 billion. There is a higher chance that you have had the privilege to watch the film, and if not, you are among the few people hoping to. The movie wouldn’t be as great if it were not the fantastic work of the director and his crew, among them being the sound engineer, Matthew Wood. Credit should also go to Wood for the excellent work done. As a sound engineer, his role was to supervise the sound and do corrections where necessary. So who is he? Matthew Wood is a just a humble guy with a youthful face but don’t let the look fool you; he is 45. Wood is not only a sound engineer but also a voice actor. He has been working on various films for 17 years including “There Will Be Blood,” “WALL-E,” “Star Wars: Episode III-Revenge of the Sith,” “Star Wars: The Clone Wars,” and the one he was nominated for Oscar 2018, “Star Wars: The Last Jedi.” Wood has been one of the most innovative people in Hollywood and has even pioneered new technologies for motion pictures. The sound engineer is employed by Skywalker Sound which is located in Marin County.

“Star Wars: The Last Jedi,” is the second installment of the “Star Wars” sequel trilogy after “Star Wars: The Force Awakens.” Produced by Lucasfilm, directed by Rian Johnson, and distributed by Disney, the film was the most successful one in 2017. One of the most noticeable aspects of the film is the sound. Matthew Wood, with the assistance of Ren Klyce was responsible on that side. Wood’s advantage was that he is experienced with “Star Wars” series since he has worked for over 20 years for the series and made a decent net worth from that. While at Skywalker Sound headquarters, Wood and Klyce created new sounds to be used in “The Last Jedi” while referring to the previous techniques and sound sources used by Ben Burtt, who was the sound engineer of the previous “Star Wars.” Matthew Wood then expanded on the “Star Wars” universe but never played away from its roots. Wood was excited to have Ren Klyce on his side while working on the film and he helped him achieve the Rian’s motive of giving a new sound to his scripts. Even though it was Klyce’s first time, he didn’t disappoint, and it’s evident since Matthew Wood is competing against other sound engineers for the Oscar 2018 award in that category.

Wood said that he always got excited when a new director came on board because a new director brought some new ideas to the film and his new vision for the new trilogy. They had established who the characters would be and where the film was heading to, but Wood wanted to have a new director to lead them. Rina loves the Star Wars and was determined to push the “The Last Jedi” forward. Wood was left with the task of updating the sounds of the TIE fighter, lightsaber, and others into the new environments and also the sounds of the vehicles, creatures, and weapons. Wood lastly said that the excitement that he had working for with Rian was infectious.

There would be music and some effects, but Wood chose to minimize them so that the audience could be tuned to intimacy between the actors and so everything that the audience could hear was the core dialogue and the little footsteps and breaths of the couple. On one scene, Daisy Ridley got looped because the water behind her and the rain was making more noise. Wood stated that by looping her voice, everything turned perfect. The producer differed with Wood’s decision to do that and was worried that the quiet feeling would impact the film negatively, but Wood assured him that all would be well. The sound engineer convinced the producer that it was effective for that moment to allow the audience to get every word of their communication.

Rey and Ren struggle to in Supreme Leader Snoke’s room to gain control of the Skywalker lightsaber. At the moment, a “Star Wars Rebels” sound plays. Well, blame Wood for that if you feel it wasn’t good, but I bet it turned out fine for most of the viewers. It was Rian who asked for something to be put there to go with the tension. Wood found the sound from one of the past “Star Wars.” Wood has been the sound engineer of the past “Star Wars” including “Star Wars: Episode III-Revenge of the Sith,” and “Star Wars: The Clone Wars” knew very well what to make the film come out well. It is the same thing he will do if he will do if he comes across movies similar to “There Will Be Blood.” And “WALL-E.”

Matthew Wood has a net worth of $800,000 according to Biography Net Worth, and he has made almost all his net worth from being a sound engineer.

“The Last Jedi” is an exciting film to watch, and you won’t be surprised to see Wood scoop that Oscar 2018 award.