Editing Peter Weir

{{Short description|Australian film director (born 1944)}}
{{Other people}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=September 2020}}
{{Use Australian English|date=June 2011}}
{{Infobox person
| name          = Peter Weir
| honorific_suffix = [[Order of Australia|AM]]
| image         = PeterWeirApr2011.jpg
| image_upright = .91
| caption       = Weir in 2011
| birth_name    = Peter Lindsay Weir
| birth_date    = {{Birth date and age|df=yes|1944|08|21}}
| birth_place   = Sydney, Australia
| occupation    = {{Hlist|Film director|screenwriter|producer}}
| yearsactive   = 1967–2010
| spouse        = {{marriage|[[Wendy Stites]]|1966}}
| children     = 2
| signature     = File:Peter Weir signature.png
}}

'''Peter Lindsay Weir''' {{Post-nominals|country=AUS|AM}} ({{IPAc-en|w|ɪər}} {{respell|WEER|'}}; born 21 August 1944) is a retired Australian film director. He is known for directing films crossing various genres over forty years with films such as ''[[Picnic at Hanging Rock (film)|Picnic at Hanging Rock]]'' (1975), ''[[Gallipoli (1981 film)|Gallipoli]]'' (1981), ''[[The Year of Living Dangerously (film)|The Year of Living Dangerously]]'' (1982), ''[[Witness (1985 film)|Witness]]'' (1985), ''[[Dead Poets Society]]'' (1989), ''[[Fearless (1993 film)|Fearless]]'' (1993), ''[[The Truman Show]]'' (1998), ''[[Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World]]'' (2003), and ''[[The Way Back (2010 film)|The Way Back]]'' (2010). He has received six [[Academy Awards|Academy Award]] nominations. In 2022, he was awarded the [[Academy Honorary Award]] for his lifetime achievement career.<ref>{{Cite web |title=The Academy to Honor Michael J. Fox, Euzhan Palcy, Diane Warren and Peter Weir with Oscars® at Governors Awards in November |url=https://www.oscars.org/news/academy-honor-michael-j-fox-euzhan-palcy-diane-warren-and-peter-weir-oscarsr-governors-awards |website=oscars.org |publisher=The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences |access-date=August 8, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220808121548/https://www.oscars.org/news/academy-honor-michael-j-fox-euzhan-palcy-diane-warren-and-peter-weir-oscarsr-governors-awards |archive-date=August 8, 2022}}</ref> In 2024, he received an honorary life-time achievement award at the [[Venice Film Festival]] ([[Golden Lion]]).<ref>{{Cite web |title='Truman Show' Director Peter Weir Wins Venice Award, Tells Film-Makers to Unplug |url=https://www.reuters.com/lifestyle/truman-show-director-peter-weir-wins-award-tells-film-makers-unplug-2024-09-02/ |publisher=[[Reuters]] |access-date=2024-09-07}}</ref>

Early in his career as a director, Weir was a leading figure in the [[Australian New Wave]] cinema movement (1970–1990). Weir made his feature film debut with ''[[Homesdale]]'' (1971), and continued with the mystery drama ''[[Picnic at Hanging Rock (film)|Picnic at Hanging Rock]]'' (1975), the supernatural thriller ''[[The Last Wave]]'' (1977) and the historical drama ''[[Gallipoli (1981 film)|Gallipoli]]'' (1981). Weir gained tremendous success with the multinational production ''[[The Year of Living Dangerously (film)|The Year of Living Dangerously]]'' (1982).

After the success of ''The Year of Living Dangerously'', Weir directed a diverse group of American and international films covering most genres—many of them major box office hits—including [[Academy Awards|Academy Award]]–nominated films such as the thriller ''[[Witness (1985 film)|Witness]]'' (1985), the drama ''[[Dead Poets Society]]'' (1989), the romantic comedy ''[[Green Card (film)|Green Card]]'' (1990), the social science fiction comedy-drama ''[[The Truman Show]]'' (1998) and the epic historical drama ''[[Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World]]'' (2003). His final feature before his retirement was the well-received ''[[The Way Back (2010 film)|The Way Back]]'' (2010).

==Early life and education==
Peter Lindsay Weir was born in Sydney, in 1944, the son of Peggy (née Barnsley Sutton) and Lindsay Weir, a real estate agent.<ref>{{cite web| url=http://www.filmreference.com/film/1/Peter-Weir.html|title=Peter Weir Biography (1944–)|website= Film Reference| quote=...born August 8 (some sources cite June 21), 1944...}}</ref> Weir attended [[The Scots College]] and [[Vaucluse High School|Vaucluse Boys High School]] before studying arts and law at the [[University of Sydney]]. His interest in film was sparked by him meeting fellow students, including [[Phillip Noyce]] and the future members of the Sydney filmmaking collective [[Ubu Films]].<ref name=weir>{{cite web|last=Sutherland|first=Romy|url=https://www.sensesofcinema.com/2005/great-directors/weir/|title=Weir, Peter – Senses of Cinema|website=[[Senses of Cinema]]|date=February 2005}}</ref>

== Career ==

===1960s===
After leaving university in the mid-1960s, he joined Sydney television station [[ATN-7]], where he worked as a production assistant on the groundbreaking satirical comedy program ''[[The Mavis Bramston Show]]''. During this period, using station facilities, Weir made his first two experimental short films, ''Count Vim's Last Exercise'' and ''The Life and Flight of Reverend Buck Shotte''.<ref name=weir/>

In 1969, the founders of [[Producers Authors Composers and Talent]] (now PACT Centre for Emerging Artists) attended a [[Sydney University]] Architecture Revue, with sets by [[Geoffrey Atherden]] and [[Grahame Bond]]. They invited Bond, Atherden, Weir, and Weir's friend, composer [[Peter Best (composer)|Peter Best]], a chance to do a show at the [[National Art School]]. Sir [[Robert Helpmann]] saw the show and took it to the [[Adelaide Festival]].  Soon afterward Weir and Best were commissioned to write a Christmas special TV show for [[ABC Television (Australian TV network)|ABC Television]] titled ''Man on a Green Bike''.<ref name=smh2014>{{cite web | last=Blake | first=Elissa | title=PACT Centre for Emerging Artists celebrates 50 years | website=[[The Sydney Morning Herald]] | date=14 October 2014 | url=https://www.smh.com.au/entertainment/theatre/pact-centre-for-emerging-artists-celebrates-50-years-20141014-115npv.html | access-date=10 May 2022}}</ref>

===1970s===
Weir took a position with the [[Commonwealth Film Unit]] (later renamed [[Film Australia]]),<ref>{{Cite web |title=Peter Weir |url=https://www.britannica.com/biography/Peter-Weir |access-date=2022-05-18 |website=Britannica |language=en}}</ref> for which he made several documentaries, as well as one fiction film, a section of the three-part, three-director feature film ''[[3 to Go]]'' (1970), which won an [[AACTA Awards|AFI award]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://ozflicks.wordpress.com/2017/01/07/oz-directors-of-the-1970s-the-new-wave-directors/|title=New Australian Directors of the 1970s – The New Wave Directors|website=Ozflicks|date=January 7, 2017|access-date=November 5, 2023}}</ref><ref name=weir/> Another notable film in this period was the short rock music performance film ''Three Directions in Australian Pop Music'' (1972), which featured in-concert colour footage of three of the most significant [[Melbourne]] rock acts of the period, [[Spectrum (band)|Spectrum]], [[The Captain Matchbox Whoopee Band]], and [[Wendy Saddington]]. Weir's last major work for the CFU concerned an underprivileged outer Sydney suburb, ''[[Whatever Happened to Green Valley]]'' (1973); here, residents were invited to make their own film segments.<ref name=weir/>

Weir made his first major independent film, the short feature ''[[Homesdale]]'' (1971), an offbeat [[black comedy]]. It co-starred rising young actress [[Kate Fitzpatrick]] and musician and comedian [[Grahame Bond]], who came to fame in 1972 as the star of ''[[The Aunty Jack Show]]''; Weir also played a small role, but this was to be his last significant screen appearance.<ref name=weir/>

Weir's first full-length feature film was the underground cult classic, ''[[The Cars That Ate Paris]]'' (1974), a low-budget black comedy about the inhabitants of a small country town who deliberately cause fatal car crashes and live off the proceeds. It was a minor success in cinemas but proved very popular on the then-thriving [[drive-in]] circuit.<ref name=weir/> The plot had been inspired by a press report Weir had read about two young English women who had vanished while on a driving holiday in France. With this film, along with the earlier ''Homesdale'', Weir set the basic thematic pattern which has persisted throughout his career: nearly all his feature films deal with people who face some form of crisis after finding themselves isolated from society in some way – either physically (''Witness'', ''The Mosquito Coast'', ''The Truman Show'', ''Master and Commander''), socially/culturally (''Picnic at Hanging Rock'', ''The Last Wave'', ''Dead Poets Society'', ''Green Card''), or psychologically (''Fearless'').<ref>{{cite web|last=Joyaux|first=Daniel|url=https://www.rogerebert.com/features/this-must-not-be-the-place-the-films-of-peter-weir|title=This Must Not Be the Place: The Films of Peter Weir|website=[[RogerEbert.com]]|date=November 18, 2022|access-date=November 5, 2023}}</ref>

Weir's major breakthrough in Australia and internationally was the lush, atmospheric period mystery ''[[Picnic at Hanging Rock (film)|Picnic at Hanging Rock]]'' (1975), made with substantial backing from the state-funded [[South Australian Film Corporation]] and filmed on location in South Australia and rural Victoria. Based on the novel by [[Joan Lindsay]] and set at the turn of the 20th century, the film relates the purportedly "true" story of a group of students from an exclusive girls' school who mysteriously vanish from a school picnic on Valentine's Day 1900. Widely credited as a key work in the "Australian film renaissance" of the mid-1970s, ''Picnic'' was the first Australian film of its era to gain both critical praise and be given substantial international theatrical releases. It also helped launch the career of internationally renowned Australian cinematographer [[Russell Boyd]]. It was widely acclaimed by critics, many of whom praised it as a welcome antidote to the so-called [[Ocker#Ocker films|"ocker film"]] genre, typified by ''[[The Adventures of Barry McKenzie]]'' and ''[[Alvin Purple]]''.{{citation needed|date=May 2022}}

Weir's next film, ''[[The Last Wave]]'' (1977), was a supernatural thriller about a man who begins to experience terrifying visions of an impending natural disaster. It starred American actor [[Richard Chamberlain]], who was well known to Australian and world audiences as the eponymous physician in the popular ''[[Dr. Kildare (TV series)|Dr. Kildare]]'' TV series. He later starred in the major series ''[[The Thorn Birds (TV miniseries)|The Thorn Birds]]'', set in Australia. ''The Last Wave'' was a pensive, ambivalent work that expanded on themes from ''Picnic'', exploring the interactions between the native [[Australian Aborigine|Aboriginal]] and European cultures. It co-starred the Aboriginal actor [[David Gulpilil]], whose performance won the Golden Ibex (Oscar equivalent) at the [[Tehran International Festival]] in 1977, but it was only a moderate commercial success at the time.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2011 |title=Film Victoria |url=http://film.vic.gov.au/resources/documents/AA4_Aust_Box_office_report.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110218045303/http://film.vic.gov.au/resources/documents/AA4_Aust_Box_office_report.pdf |access-date=2024-09-07|archive-date=18 February 2011 }}</ref>

Between ''The Last Wave'' and his next feature, Weir wrote and directed the offbeat low-budget telemovie ''[[The Plumber (1979 film)|The Plumber]]'' (1979).<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.fangoria.com/new/the-dreadful-ten-camillas-top-ten-forgotten-australian-horrors/ |title=The Dreadful Ten: Camilla's Top Ten Forgotten Australian Horrors |date= February 26, 2015 |website=FANGORIA |first1=Camilla |last1=Jackson  |access-date=26 February 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150226201859/http://www.fangoria.com/new/the-dreadful-ten-camillas-top-ten-forgotten-australian-horrors/ |archive-date=26 February 2015 |url-status=dead}}</ref> It starred Australian actors [[Judy Morris]] and [[Ivar Kants]] and was filmed in three weeks.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0079727/trivia|title=The Plumber (TV Movie 1979) – Trivia |via=IMDb |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230502161808/https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0079727/trivia |archive-date= May 2, 2023 }}</ref> Inspired by an account told to him by friends, it is a black comedy about a woman whose life is disrupted by a subtly menacing plumber.

=== 1980s ===
Weir scored a major Australian hit and further international praise with his next film, the historical adventure-drama ''[[Gallipoli (1981 film)|Gallipoli]]'' (1981). Scripted by the Australian playwright [[David Williamson]], it is regarded as classic [[Cinema of Australia|Australian cinema]]. ''Gallipoli'' was instrumental in making [[Mel Gibson]] (''[[Mad Max]]'') into a major star, although his co-star [[Mark Lee (Australian actor)|Mark Lee]], who also received high praise for his role, has made relatively few screen appearances since.{{citation needed|date=May 2022}}

The climax of Weir's early career was the $6&nbsp;million multi-national production ''[[The Year of Living Dangerously (film)|The Year of Living Dangerously]]'' (1982), again starring Gibson, playing opposite top Hollywood female lead [[Sigourney Weaver]] in a story about journalistic loyalty, idealism, love and ambition in the turmoil of [[Sukarno]]'s [[Indonesia]] of 1965. It was an adaptation of the novel by [[Christopher Koch]], which was based in part on the experiences of Koch's journalist brother Philip, the [[Australian Broadcasting Corporation|ABC]]'s Jakarta correspondent and one of the few western journalists in the city during the 1965 attempted coup. The film also won [[Linda Hunt]] (who played a man in the film) an Oscar for [[Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress|Best Actress in a Supporting Role]]. The film was again produced by [[Hal and Jim McElroy]], who had also produced Weir's first three films, ''The Cars That Ate Paris'', ''Picnic at Hanging Rock'' and ''The Last Wave''.{{Citation needed|date=May 2022}}

[[File:Peter Weir on the set of Witness (1984).jpg|thumb|Weir on the set of ''Witness'' in 1984]]

Weir's first [[Cinema of the United States|American film]] was the successful thriller ''[[Witness (1985 film)|Witness]]'' (1985), the first of two films he made with [[Harrison Ford]], about a boy who sees the murder of an undercover police officer by corrupt coworkers and has to be hidden in his [[Amish]] community to protect him. Weir directed Ford in his only performance to receive an [[Academy Awards|Academy Award]] nomination, while child star [[Lukas Haas]] also received wide praise for his debut film performance. ''Witness'' also earned Weir his first Academy Award nomination as [[Academy Award for Best Director|Best Director]], and was his first of several films to be nominated for an [[Academy Award for Best Picture]]—it later won two for [[Academy Award for Best Film Editing|Best Film Editing]] and [[Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay|Best Original Screenplay]].<ref>{{cite web|last=Smith|first=Jeremy|url=https://www.slashfilm.com/871359/it-took-a-total-re-write-to-make-witness-an-oscar-winner/|title=It Took A Total Re-Write To Make Witness An Oscar Winner|website=[[/Film]]|date=May 23, 2022|access-date=November 5, 2023}}</ref>

It was followed by the darker, less commercial ''[[The Mosquito Coast (film)|The Mosquito Coast]]'' (1986), [[Paul Schrader]]'s adaptation of [[Paul Theroux]]'s novel. Ford played a man obsessively pursuing his dream to start a new life in the Central American jungle with his family. These dramatic parts provided Harrison Ford with important opportunities to break the typecasting of his career-making roles in the ''[[Star Wars]]'' and ''[[Indiana Jones]]'' series. Both films showed off his ability to play more subtle and substantial characters and he was nominated for a Best Actor Oscar for his work in ''Witness'', the only Academy Awards recognition in his career.<ref>{{cite web|last=Potter|first=Jordan|url=https://faroutmagazine.co.uk/harrison-ford-worst-movie-unfairly-treated/|title=Harrison Ford explains why his worst-performing movie was 'unfairly treated'|website=Far Out Magazine|date=March 8, 2023|access-date=January 20, 2025}}</ref> ''The Mosquito Coast'' is also notable for a performance by the young [[River Phoenix]].

Weir's next film, ''[[Dead Poets Society]]'', was a major international success, with Weir again receiving credit for expanding the acting range of its Hollywood star. [[Robin Williams]] was mainly known for his anarchic stand-up comedy and his popular TV role as the wisecracking alien in ''[[Mork & Mindy]]''; in this film he played an inspirational teacher in a dramatic story about conformity and rebellion at an exclusive New England [[University-preparatory school|prep school]] in the 1950s. The film was nominated for four Oscars, including [[Academy Award for Best Picture|Best Picture]] and [[Academy Award for Best Director|Best Director]] for Weir. It won [[Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay|Best Original Screenplay]] and launched the acting careers of young actors [[Ethan Hawke]] and [[Robert Sean Leonard]]. It became a major box-office hit and is one of Weir's best-known films to mainstream audiences.{{citation needed|date=May 2022}}

=== 1990s ===
Weir's first romantic comedy ''[[Green Card (film)|Green Card]]'' (1990) was another casting risk. Weir chose French screen icon [[Gérard Depardieu]] in the lead—Depardieu's first English-language role—and paired him with American actress [[Andie MacDowell]]. ''Green Card'' was a box-office hit but was regarded as less of a critical success, although it helped Depardieu's path to international fame. Weir received an Oscar nomination for his original screenplay.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://awards.bafta.org/award/1992/film |title=BAFTA Awards: Film in 1992 |website=[[BAFTA]] |year=1992 |access-date=16 September 2016 |ref={{harvid|BAFTA|1992}}}}</ref>

''[[Fearless (1993 film)|Fearless]]'' (1993) returned to darker themes and starred [[Jeff Bridges]] as a man who believes he has become invincible after surviving a catastrophic air crash. Though well reviewed, particularly the performances of Bridges and [[Rosie Perez]]—who received an Oscar nomination for [[Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress|Best Supporting Actress]]—the film was less commercially successful than Weir's two preceding films. It was entered into the [[44th Berlin International Film Festival]].<ref name="Berlinale">{{cite web |url=http://www.berlinale.de/en/archiv/jahresarchive/1994/02_programm_1994/02_Programm_1994.html |title=Berlinale: 1994 Programme |access-date=12 June 2011 |work=berlinale.de}}</ref>

After five years, Weir returned to direct his biggest success to date, ''[[The Truman Show]]'' (1998), a fantasy-satire of the media's control of life starring [[Jim Carrey]]. ''The Truman Show'' was both a box office and a critical success, receiving positive reviews and numerous awards, including three Academy Award nominations: [[Andrew Niccol]] for [[Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay|Best Original Screenplay]], [[Ed Harris]] for [[Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor|Best Actor in a Supporting Role]], and Weir himself for [[Academy Award for Best Director|Best Director]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=The 71st Academy Awards {{!}} 1999 |url=https://www.oscars.org/oscars/ceremonies/1999 |access-date=2022-07-13 |website=Oscars.org {{!}} Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences |date=18 November 2016 |language=en}}</ref> In addition to the Academy Award nominations, the film won the [[Hugo Award for Best Dramatic Presentation|1999 Hugo Award for Best Dramatic Presentation]].<ref>{{Cite web |date=2007-07-26 |title=1999 Hugo Awards |url=https://www.thehugoawards.org/hugo-history/1999-hugo-awards/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110507164745/http://www.thehugoawards.org/hugo-history/1999-hugo-awards/ |archive-date=2011-05-07 |access-date=2022-09-16 |website=The Hugo Awards |language=en-US}}</ref>

=== 2000s ===
In 2003, Weir returned to period dramas with ''[[Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World]]'', starring [[Russell Crowe]]. A screen adaptation from various episodes in [[Patrick O'Brian]]'s blockbuster adventure series set during the [[Napoleonic Wars]],<ref>{{cite news|last=French|first=Philip|date=November 22, 2003|title=Command performance|url=https://www.theguardian.com/theobserver/2003/nov/23/features.review17|work=[[The Guardian]]|access-date=March 1, 2021|archive-date=January 26, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210126121841/https://www.theguardian.com/theobserver/2003/nov/23/features.review17|url-status=live}}</ref> the film was well received by critics, but only mildly successful with mainstream audiences.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/master_and_commander_the_far_side_of_the_world/ | title=Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World (2003) | work=[[Rotten Tomatoes]] | publisher=[[Fandango Media|Fandango]] | access-date=October 20, 2020 | archive-date=October 29, 2020 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201029060611/https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/master_and_commander_the_far_side_of_the_world | url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.metacritic.com/movie/master-and-commander-the-far-side-of-the-world | title=Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World Reviews | work=[[Metacritic]] | publisher=[[CBS Interactive]] | access-date=October 1, 2015 | archive-date=September 28, 2015 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150928023828/http://www.metacritic.com/movie/master-and-commander-the-far-side-of-the-world | url-status=live }}</ref> Despite another nomination for [[Academy Award for Best Picture|Best Picture]] and [[List of accolades received by Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World|winning two Oscars]]—for frequent collaborator [[Russell Boyd]]'s cinematography and for sound effects editing—the film's box office success was moderate ($93&nbsp;million at the North American box office).<ref>{{cite web|last=Fuster|first=Jeremy|title='Master and Commander': 15th Anniversary of the Franchise That Never Was|website=[[TheWrap]]|date=November 13, 2018|url=https://www.thewrap.com/master-commander-15th-anniversary/|access-date=May 17, 2023}}</ref> The film grossed slightly better overseas, gleaning an additional $114&nbsp;million.

Weir had developed several other projects in the 2000s that never came to fruition, including an adaptation of ''The War Magician'' with actor [[Tom Cruise]], an adaptation of [[Robert Kurson]]'s novel ''[[Shadow Divers]]'', early development of a proposed [[Shantaram (novel)#Proposed film adaptation|''Shantaram'' film]] starring [[Johnny Depp]], and an adaptation of [[William Gibson]]'s [[sci-fi]] novel ''[[Pattern Recognition (novel)|Pattern Recognition]]''.<ref>{{cite news |last=Bell |first=Christopher |date=January 12, 2011 |title=Peter Weir Teases 3 Projects That Fell Apart In The '00s; Here's What They Might Be |url=https://www.indiewire.com/2011/01/peter-weir-teases-3-projects-that-fell-apart-in-the-00s-heres-what-they-might-be-120941/ |work=[[IndieWire]]}}</ref>

=== 2010s ===
In 2010, Weir resurfaced with the historical epic ''[[The Way Back (2010 film)|The Way Back]]'',<ref>{{cite web|url=https://variety.com/2008/film/markets-festivals/peter-weir-finds-his-way-back-1117994186/|title=Peter Weir find his 'Way Back': Australian helmer to write, direct fact-based film – Variety.|date=17 October 2008 |access-date=20 April 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090609153457/http://www.variety.com/article/VR1117994186.html?categoryid=13&cs=1|archive-date=9 June 2009|url-status=live}}</ref> about escapees from a Soviet [[gulag]]. The film, while generally well-received critically, was not a financial success.<ref name="mojo">{{cite web|url=http://www.boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=wayback.htm |title=The Way Back (2011) |publisher=Box Office Mojo |access-date=2022-09-27}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.empireonline.com/reviews/reviewcomplete.asp?FID=135919 |title=Empire's The Way Back Movie Review |publisher=Empireonline.com |access-date=2022-09-27}}</ref>

In 2012, it was reported that Weir would direct his own adapted script of [[Jennifer Egan]]'s gothic thriller ''[[The Keep (Egan novel)|The Keep]]'' the following year and shoot in Europe. Weir described the project as, "Basically, ... a studio-shoot movie."<ref>{{cite web|last=Dang|first=Simon|title=Peter Weir Returns With Adaptation Of Jennifer Egan's Contemporary Gothic Thriller 'The Keep'|website=[[IndieWire]]|date=May 20, 2012|url=https://www.indiewire.com/2012/05/peter-weir-returns-with-adaptation-of-jennifer-egans-contemporary-gothic-thriller-the-keep-251984/|access-date=April 22, 2023}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|last=Trumbore|first=Dave|title=Peter Weir to Direct Adaptation of Contemporary Gothic Thriller THE KEEP|website=[[Collider (website)|Collider]]|date=May 21, 2012|url=https://collider.com/peter-weir-the-keep/|access-date=April 22, 2023}}</ref> As the years passed, however, without an official announcement, he started to be described as "retired".

=== 2020s ===
Speaking in July 2022, speculating about Weir's unannounced retirement, Ethan Hawke said, "I think [Weir] 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."<ref>{{cite web |last=Burton |first=Jamie |date=20 July 2022 |title=Ethan Hawke Says Filmmaker Peter Weir Retired After Johnny Depp 'Broke Him' |url=https://www.newsweek.com/ethan-hawke-peter-weir-retired-johnny-depp-russell-crowe-broke-him-1726221 |website=[[Newsweek]] |access-date=20 July 2022}}</ref>

In November 2022, Weir received an [[Academy Honorary Award]] from the [[Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences]].<ref>{{Cite web |last=Bahr |first=Lindsey |date=20 November 2022 |title=Honorary Oscar awards celebrate Fox, Weir, Warren and Palcy |url=https://abcnews.go.com/Entertainment/wireStory/honorary-oscar-awards-celebrate-fox-weir-warren-palcy-93657625 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221120092050/https://abcnews.go.com/Entertainment/wireStory/honorary-oscar-awards-celebrate-fox-weir-warren-palcy-93657625 |archive-date=20 November 2022 |url-status=dead |publisher=[[ABC News (United States)|ABC News]] |agency=[[Associated Press]]}}</ref>

On the occasion of this award, he also gave his first interview in many years, to ''[[The Sydney Morning Herald]]''. In the interview, he said Hawke's quote "must have been taken out of context. I find it puzzling." However, Weir confirmed his retirement, saying that "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." He stated that he has enjoyed visiting ancient ruins and battlefields and diving on the WWII shipwrecks of the [[Truk Lagoon]] during his retirement.<ref>{{cite web |last=Maddox |first=Garry |date=21 November 2022 |title=From Hitchcock and Hanging Rock to Hollywood: Peter Weir Reflects on His Brilliant Career |url=https://www.smh.com.au/culture/movies/from-hitchcock-and-hanging-rock-to-hollywood-peter-weir-reflects-on-his-brilliant-career-20221114-p5bxy2.html |newspaper=[[Sydney Morning Herald]]}}</ref>

== Personal life ==
On 14 June 1982, Weir was appointed a Member of the [[Order of Australia]] (AM) for his service to the film industry.<ref>[https://honours.pmc.gov.au/honours/awards/883051 It's an Honour] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210126025550/https://honours.pmc.gov.au/honours/awards/883051 |date=26 January 2021 }} – Member of the Order of Australia</ref>

== Filmography ==
{{main|Peter Weir filmography}}

{|class="wikitable"
|+Directed features
|-
! Year
! Title
! Distributor
|-
| 1971
| ''[[Homesdale]]''
|
|-
| 1974
| ''[[The Cars That Ate Paris]]''
|rowspan=2| [[British Empire Films]]
|-
| 1975
| ''[[Picnic at Hanging Rock (film)|Picnic at Hanging Rock]]''
|-
| 1977
| ''[[The Last Wave]]''
| [[United Artists]]
|-
|1979
|''[[The Plumber (1979 film)|The Plumber]]''
|
|-
| 1981
| ''[[Gallipoli (1981 film)|Gallipoli]]''
| [[Village Roadshow]] / [[Paramount Pictures]]
|-
| 1982
| ''[[The Year of Living Dangerously (film)|The Year of Living Dangerously]]''
| [[United International Pictures]] / [[Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer|MGM/UA Entertainment Company]]
|-
| 1985
| ''[[Witness (1985 film)|Witness]]''
| Paramount Pictures
|-
| 1986
| ''[[The Mosquito Coast (film)|The Mosquito Coast]]''
| [[Warner Bros.]]
|-
| 1989
| ''[[Dead Poets Society]]''
|rowspan=2| [[Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures|Buena Vista Pictures]]
|-
| 1990
| ''[[Green Card (film)|Green Card]]''
|-
| 1993
| ''[[Fearless (1993 film)|Fearless]]''
| Warner Bros.
|-
| 1998
| ''[[The Truman Show]]''
| Paramount Pictures
|-
| 2003
| ''[[Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World]]''
| [[20th Century Fox]]
|-
| 2010
| ''[[The Way Back (2010 film)|The Way Back]]''
| [[Newmarket Films]] / Exclusive Film Distribution / Meteor Pictures
|}

== Awards and nominations ==
{{Main|List of awards and nominations received by Peter Weir}}

{| class="wikitable"
|-
! rowspan="2" | Year
! rowspan="2" | Title
! colspan="2" style="text-align:center;" width=160| Academy Awards
! colspan="2" style="text-align:center;" width=160| BAFTA Awards
! colspan="2" style="text-align:center;" width=160| Golden Globe Awards
|-
! Nominations
! Wins
! Nominations
! Wins
! Nominations
! Wins
|-
|1975
|''[[Picnic at Hanging Rock (film)|Picnic at Hanging Rock]]''
|
|
|align=center|3
|align=center|1
|
|
|-
|1981
|''[[Gallipoli (1981 film)|Gallipoli]]''
|
|
|
|
|align=center|1
|
|-
|1982
|''[[The Year of Living Dangerously (film)|The Year of Living Dangerously]]''
|align=center|1
|align=center|1
|
|
|align=center|1
|
|-
|1985
|''[[Witness (1985 film)|Witness]]''
|align=center|8
|align=center|2
|align=center|7
|align=center|1
|align=center|6
|
|-
|1986
|''[[The Mosquito Coast (film)|The Mosquito Coast]]''
|
|
|
|
|align=center|2
|
|-
|1989
|''[[Dead Poets Society]]''
|align=center|4
|align=center|1
|align=center|6
|align=center|2
|align=center|4
|
|-
|1990
|''[[Green Card (film)|Green Card]]''
|align=center|1
|
|align=center|1
|
|align=center|3
|align=center|2
|-
|1993
|''[[Fearless (1993 film)|Fearless]]''
|align=center|1
|
|
|
|align=center|1
|
|-
|1998
|''[[The Truman Show]]''
|align=center|3
|
|align=center|7
|align=center|3
|align=center|6
|align=center|3
|-
|2003
|''[[Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World]]''
|align=center|10
|align=center|2
|align=center|8
|align=center|4
|align=center|3
|
|-
|2010
|''[[The Way Back (2010 film)|The Way Back]]''
|align=center|1
|
|
|
|
|
|-
!colspan="2"|Total
!align=center|29
!align=center|6
!align=center|32
!align=center|11
!align=center|27
!align=center|5
|}

'''Directed Academy Award Performances'''
{| class="wikitable"
!Year
!Performer
!Film
!Result
|-
| colspan="4" style="text-align:center;"|'''[[Academy Award for Best Actor]]'''
|-
|[[58th Academy Awards|1985]]
|[[Harrison Ford]]
|''[[Witness (1985 film)|Witness]]''
|{{nom}}
|-
|[[62nd Academy Awards|1989]]
|[[Robin Williams]]
|''[[Dead Poets Society]]''
|{{nom}}
|-
| colspan="4" style="text-align:center;"|'''[[Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor]]'''
|-
|[[71st Academy Awards|1998]]
|[[Ed Harris]]
|''[[The Truman Show]]''
|{{nom}}
|-
| colspan="4" style="text-align:center;"|'''[[Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress]]'''
|-
|[[56th Academy Awards|1982]]
|[[Linda Hunt]]
|[[The Year of Living Dangerously (film)|''The Year of Living Dangerously'']]
|{{won}}
|-
|[[66th Academy Awards|1993]]
|[[Rosie Perez]]
|[[Fearless (1993 film)|''Fearless'']]
|{{nom}}
|-
|}

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

== Further reading ==
*[https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1985-01-27-ca-9621-story.html Peter Weir Pays Witness to the Amish] – 27 January 1985
*[https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1989-06-04-ca-2509-story.html Peter Weir: In a Class by Himself] – 4 June 1989
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20101218231745/http://industrycentral.net/director_interviews/PW01.HTM Poetry Man] – ''Premiere'' magazine Interview – July 1989
*[https://www.nytimes.com/1993/10/13/movies/a-director-asks-for-odd-and-gets-it.html?ref=peter_weir A Director Asks for Odd and Gets It] – 13 October 1993
*[https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1993-10-17-ca-46540-story.html Staring Death in the Face] – 17 October 1993
*[http://www.tabula-rasa.info/AusHorror/PeterWeir.html Weir'd Tales – An interview with Peter Weir] – 1994
*[http://splicedwire.com/features/weir.html A Weir'd Experience] – 20 April 1998
*[https://www.nytimes.com/1998/05/21/movies/director-tries-a-fantasy-as-he-questions-reality.html?ref=peter_weir Director Tries a Fantasy As He Questions Reality] – 21 May 1998
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20090227152936/http://www.avclub.com/articles/peter-weir,13526/ Interview – Peter Weir] – 3 June 1998
*[http://www.tipjar.com/dan/peterweir.htm More to Digest than Popcorn: An Interview with Peter Weir] – 4 June 1998
*[http://thehollywoodinterview.blogspot.com/2008/03/peter-weir-hollywood-interview.html Peter Weir: The Hollywood Interview] – 15 March 2008
*[https://archive.today/20130414150659/http://www.dgaquarterly.org/BACKISSUES/Summer2010/DGAInterviewPeterWeir.aspx Uncommon Man] – The ''DGA Quarterly'' Interview – Summer 2010

== External links ==
{{Wikiquote}}
* {{IMDb name|1837}}
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20110903031611/http://www.bafta.org/access-all-areas/videos/peter-weir-delivers-baftas-annual-david-lean-lecture,30,BLP.html Peter Weir's 2010 David Lean lecture at BAFTA]
* [http://www.sensesofcinema.com/2005/great-directors/weir/ Senses of Cinema: Great Directors Critical Database]
* [https://archive.today/20121128004606/http://colsearch.nfsa.afc.gov.au/nfsa/search/display/display.w3p;adv=yes;group=;groupequals=;holdingType=;page=0;parentid=;query=356859;querytype=;rec=0;resCount=10 Peter Weir at the National Film and Sound Archive]

{{S-start}} {{S-ach}}
{{s-bef|before=[[Baz Luhrmann]]<br />for ''[[Romeo + Juliet]]''}}
{{s-ttl|title=[[BAFTA Award for Best Direction]]|years=1998<br />'''for ''[[The Truman Show]]'' '''}}
{{s-aft|after=[[Pedro Almodóvar]]<br />for ''[[All About My Mother]]''}}
{{s-bef|before=[[Roman Polanski]]<br />for ''[[The Pianist (2002 film)|The Pianist]]''}}
{{s-ttl|title=BAFTA Award for Best Direction|years=2003<br />'''for ''[[Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World]]'' '''}}
{{s-aft|after=[[Mike Leigh]]<br />for ''[[Vera Drake]]''}}
{{S-end}}

{{Peter Weir}}
{{Navboxes
|title = [[List of awards and nominations received by Peter Weir|Awards for Peter Weir]]
|list =
{{Academy Honorary Award}}
{{AACTA Award Best Direction 1971–1979}}
{{Australian Film Institute Jury Prize}}
{{BAFTA Best Film recipients}}
{{BAFTA Award for Best Direction}}
{{BAFTA Los Angeles Britannia Awards}}
{{Florida Film Critics Circle Award for Best Director}}
{{Golden Lion for Lifetime Achievement}}
{{London Film Critics Circle Award for Director of the Year}}
{{London Film Critics Circle Award for Screenwriter of the Year}}
{{Longford Lyell Award}}
}}

{{Venice Film Festival jury presidents}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Weir, Peter}}
[[Category:1944 births]]
[[Category:Australian film directors]]
[[Category:Best Director BAFTA Award winners]]
[[Category:Commanders of the Order of Merit of the Republic of Poland]]
[[Category:Filmmakers who won the Best Film BAFTA Award]]
[[Category:English-language film directors]]
[[Category:European Film Awards winners (people)]]
[[Category:Hugo Award winners]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:Members of the Order of Australia]]
[[Category:People educated at Scots College (Sydney)]]
[[Category:Film directors from Sydney]]
[[Category:Mass media people from Sydney]]
[[Category:Sydney Law School alumni]]
[[Category:University of Sydney alumni]]
[[Category:Academy Honorary Award recipients]]
[[Category:Golden Lion for Lifetime Achievement recipients]]