Over here, Peter Weir is an absolute legend. This is the man who directed “Witness,” “The Truman Show,” “Picnic at Hanging Rock,” “The Year of Living Dangerously,” “Dead Poets Society,” and many more.
With that said, the four-time Best Director Oscar nominee hasn’t made a movie since 2010’s “The Way Back.” Why? The Sydney Morning Herald attempted to locate the reclusive Weir, who is getting an honorary Oscar next year, and, much to their surprise, were successful in tracking him down for an interview.
Weir currently resides in his home country of Australia. It’s a great interview, but let’s zero in on whether Weir believes his career is over or not. When asked that very question, it seems to be the former.
For film directors, like volcanoes, there are three major stages: active, dormant and extinct. I think I’ve reached the latter! Another generation is out there calling “action” and “cut” and good luck to them.
Maybe one day he’ll have to itch to un-retire, but time is definitely running out. Weir is 78 and although plenty of filmmakers in his age range are still active (Scorsese, Eastwood, Scott, Polanski, Allen) it does sound as if he’s called it quits on cinema.
Speaking to IndieWire in the summer, Ethan Hawke had mentioned that Weir was retired. He blamed it on Weir’s bad experiences working with Russell Crowe and Johnny Depp, which Weir in the Sydney Morning Herald interview categorically denies.
The one Weir film that I keep going back to is “The Truman Show,” a visionary statement that prepared us for the ensuing 21st century mayhem of reality television and social media. A prophetic movie if there ever was one.