‘Truman Show’ director Peter Weir tells filmmakers to unplug

VENICE—Peter Weir, the Australian director of “The Truman Show” and “Dead Poets Society,” was handed a Lifetime Achievement Award at the Venice Film Festival on Monday, and advised young filmmakers to unplug to get ahead.

Weir, 80, made his international breakthrough with the 1975 art house classic “Picnic at Hanging Rock,” before moving on to work in Hollywood, making “Witness,” starring Harrison Ford, and “Green Card.”

He received an Honorary Oscar Award in 2022 and confirmed earlier this year that he was retiring from directing. Speaking to reporters in Venice, he said aspiring directors needed to get back to basics and escape the noise of modern living.

Mental muscles

“Starting off today, I would even say don’t pick a camera up. I would pick up a pencil and paper … I would practice like a gymnasium, exercising in here, not the muscles, but the mental muscles. We are capable of extraordinary things in here,” he told a news conference, pointing to his head.

“Unplug, get away from too much information, go somewhere quiet and into the country, work on a merchant ship.”

Despite his ready advice, Weir said he did not want to mentor aspiring directors. “No, it should be lonely. It’s a lonely road. You have to travel alone.”