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,” “Master and Commander” and many more.
With that said, the four-time Best Director nominee hasn’t made a movie since 2010’s “The Way Back.” Why? Ethan Hawke has hinted that he is most likely done making movies.
Hawke claimed Weird is retired and that the reason for it is quite simply because he got bored of filmmaking … and the ego of certain actors:
I think he lost interest in movies. He really enjoyed that work when he didn’t have actors giving him a hard time. Russell Crowe and Johnny Depp broke him. He’s someone so rare these days, a popular artist. He makes mainstream movies that are artistic. To have the budget to do “The Truman Show” or “Master and Commander,” you need a Jim Carrey or Russell Crowe. I think Harrison Ford and Gerard Depardieu were his sort of actors. They were director-friendly and didn’t see themselves as important.
Hawke throwing a little shade towards Crowe isn’t surprising. During his peak years as an actor (1999-2007) Crowe had his fair share of anger issues. But Depp? Weirdl never made a movie with Depp, unless we count his unmade movie that was supposed to star the actor ..
Weir was attached to direct “Shantaram” starring Depp until he left the project due to “creative differences.” Is Hawke basically hinting that it was Depp’s fault that the project fell apart? That’s been the rumor for many years.
Late last year, the Sydney Morning Herald attempted to locate the reclusive Weir, who was about to receive an honorary Oscar, and, much to their surprise, were successful in tracking him down for an interview.
It’s a great chat, but let’s zero in on whether Weir believes his career is a thing of the past. When asked about retirement …
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.
Weir is now 79 and currently resides in his home country of Australia. Although plenty of filmmakers in his age range are still active (Scorsese, Eastwood, Scott, Polanski, Allen, Coppola) it does sound as though he’s called it quits on cinema. Maybe one day he’ll have to itch to un-retire, but time is definitely running out.