One of the absolute greats has decided to call it a day. Australian director Peter Weir has confirmed he is now fully retired from filmmaking. He was guest of honor at the Festival de la Cinematheque in Paris this week and was asked why he hasn’t made a movie since The Way Back, and he confirmed he has retired:
“I am retired. Why did I stop cinema? Because, quite simply, I have no more energy.”
Back in 2022, he had hinted at this by telling an interviewer:
“For film directors, like volcanoes, there are three major stages: active, dormant and extinct. I think I’ve reached the latter.”
This was after his adaptation of Gregory David Roberts’ novel Shantaram starring Johnny Depp was reworked into a Charlie Hunnam-led TV series.
Weir’s filmography is staggering. Picnic at Hanging Rock, Gallipoli, Witness, Green Card, Dead Poets Society, The Truman Show, The Mosquito Coast, The Year of Living Dangerously, The Last Wave, The Cars That Ate Paris, and Fearless are all his movies.
I rewatched Witness recently and that movie still stands up. It is an exceptional thriller. Of course, Weir was also responsible for one of the greatest movies ever made, Master And Commander: The Far Side Of The World.
His movies have received 29 Academy Award nominations and won 6.
Check back every day for movie news and reviews at the Last Movie Outpost
