Australian filmmaker Peter Weir captured the hearts of his Venice Film Festival masterclass audience on Sunday by telling a myriad of untold stories about some of his greatest films, including The Truman Show, Dead Poets Society, And The year we live dangerously.
The six-time Oscar nominee spoke at the Venezia Tennis Club to a crowd of fans who hung on his every word, especially when Weir divulged an intimate issue he had with Mel Gibson, 25, and Sigourney Weaver, 32, in the 1982 romantic drama.
“I was really interested in doing a first-time love story, and it was Mel Gibson’s first time doing a first-time love story,” Weir revealed. “And it was Sigourney’s first time doing a first-time love story. So we got to the scene where they were supposed to kiss, and neither of them had ever kissed, so it was like two virgins on screen.”
Weir admitted that when they rehearsed the scene, “it was a really bad kiss.” “I took Mel aside and said, ‘Mel, what’s wrong? You’re pushing too hard.’ He said, ‘No, it’s not me, Sigourney’s pushing too hard on me.'” The director was forced to take matters into his own hands, rounding up some of the best kisses in cinema, including Hitchcock’s.
Mel Gibson in “The Year of Living Dangerously.”
MGM/Courtesy of the Everett Collection
“[But] Mel, I think, was right. It was Sigourney who was pushing too hard. So I said, I went to Sigourney, I said to her – forgive me, Sigourney, if you ever see this – and I said, “Sigourney, the only way to know what’s wrong is for me to kiss you,” but the DGA, the directors guild, wouldn’t allow it, and the actor’s equity wouldn’t allow it. “But I wonder if you could kiss my hand so I can feel the pressure.” Well, we ended up laughing. And we did the scene laughing. We all relaxed about it. The year we live dangerously.”
Weir spoke of the “trust” he built with Jim Carrey and Robin Williams on their respective films. The Truman Show (1998) and Dead Poets Society (1989). “When I first met Jim, the first time we met, he was very nervous at home,” Weir begins. “… I said, ‘I think maybe [your character] “He could do a few things in front of the mirror. And he said, ‘Yeah, let’s go to the bathroom. Come on.’ So we met, ran into his bathroom, he got the soap and did a funny little comedy in front of the mirror. And that was 10 minutes after we met.”
“With Robin, I said, ‘Let’s see how far you can go. You’re very generous and generous in your comedy. But I think maybe you can raise an eyebrow and there’ll be a little laugh in the room. Just look at the little things. Let’s see how far we can go. But don’t lose your charm.’ So there was confidence.”
Weir is this year’s Golden Lion recipient for lifetime achievement…
