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In 1983, the Cannes Film Festival discovered the last feature film by Peter Weir, The Year of All Dangersthe story of an Australian journalist, Guy Hamilton, played by Mel Gibsonsent to Indonesia during the overthrow of President Sukarno in 1965, and an English embassy assistant, Jill Bryant, played by Sigourney WeaverAgainst a backdrop of political drama, a romance blossoms between these two young people, sealed by kisses.
An almost inevitable bodily performance for actors, kisses are generators of key moments in cinema: Gone with the Wind, Titanic, Casablancaetc. Those of The Year of All Dangers could have been very different from those presented on screen, if the director had not intervened in time to guide his actors. An original story told very recently for the first time.
While Sigourney Weaver left the current Venice Film Festival with the Golden Lion for her entire career, a few days later, Peter Weir came to confide in a masterclass where he was very talkative, revealing secrets from the filming of Truman Show, Dead Poets Society and also The Years of All Dangersreturning to the kissing scene between Mel Gibson, then twenty-five years old, and Sigourney Weaver, seven years his senior:
“I was very interested in writing a love story and it was the first time Mel Gibson had done anything like that. It was also the first love story that Sigourney Weaver had done. We got to the kissing scene, and neither of them had ever kissed before, it was like two virgins on screen.”
During rehearsals, Peter Weir noticed that something was wrong with the scene, the kiss was very bad: “I took Mel aside and told him 'Mel, what's going on? You're pressing too hard on her lips.'” The actor denies it and explains that, on the contrary, it's his partner who is to blame.
Without wasting any time, the director gathers his actors and shows them the best kisses in cinema – including those of Hitchcock. Then, he takes Sigourney Weaver aside, realizing that it was indeed her who was kissing too hard:
“So I went to Sigourney, and I said to her – Sigourney, forgive me if you come across this – 'Sigourney, the only way I'd know what's wrong would be to kiss you. But the Directors Guild would never let me do that, and neither would the ethics of actors. So I was wondering, if you could kiss my hand so I could see how much pressure you're putting on.'”
A funny story that ended with laughter and a convincing kiss. Sigourney Weaver and Mel Gibson can therefore thank Peter Weir for this lesson that was useful to them during their respective careers, both having camped after The Year of All Dangerslovers on screen.
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