Australian filmmaker Peter Weir captured the hearts of a masterclass audience at the Venice Film Festival on Sunday as he told countless untold stories about some of his blockbusters, including “Truman’s World”, “Dead Poets Society”, and year of dangerous living.
The six-time Oscar nominee spoke to a crowd of fans at the Venice Tennis Club who hung on every word, especially when Will revealed on Tennis Open that he was dating the 25-year-old Mel Gibson and 32-year-old Sigourney Weaver had intimacy issues.
“I was very interested in doing a love story for the first time, and it was Mel Gibson’s first time doing a love story,” Will revealed. “This was Sigourney’s first time doing a love story. So we got to the scene where they had to kiss, and neither of them had ever kissed before, like two virgins on screen.
Will admits that when they were rehearsing the scene, “It was a really bad kiss.” “I pulled Mel aside and said, ‘Mel, what’s wrong? You’re stressed out.’ He said, ‘No, It’s not my problem, Sigourney was too harsh on me.” The director was forced to take matters into his own hands, assembling some of the best kisses in movies, including those by Hitchcock.
Mel Gibson in The Year of Living Dangerously.
Courtesy of MGM/Everett Collection
“[But] I think Mel is right. Sigourney was the one who was stressed out. So I said, go find Sigourney, and I said—please forgive me, Sigourney, if you see this—I said, “Sigourney, the only way I’m going to know what’s wrong is if I Kiss you,” but the DGA doesn’t allow it, and neither does actors’ rights. “But I was wondering if you could kiss my hand so I could feel the pressure of it.” Well, we just laughed. Laughing is how we get through this scene. we are all relaxed year of dangerous living”.
Will talks about the ‘trust’ he built with Jim Carrey and Robin Williams on their respective films Truman Show (1998) and dead poets society (1989). “When I first met Jim, our first meeting, he was very nervous at home,” Will begins. “…I said, ‘I think maybe [your character] You can do small things in front of the mirror. He said, ‘Yeah, let’s go to the bathroom. hurry up. So we just met and we ran to his bathroom and he took the soap and did a funny little comedy in the mirror. That was 10 minutes after we met.
“With Robin, I said to him: ‘Let’s see how low you can go. You’re very interested in your comedy. But I thought maybe if I just raised an eyebrow, there would be a burst of laughter in the room. Just look at the small things. Let’s see how small we can be but don’t lose your charm.
Will won the Golden Lion Award for Lifetime Achievement at this year’s 81st Venice Film Festival.
