Peter Weir

Made films the shows talk about.

Wikidata Q55424: matched by corpus:resolve, told apart by Wikidata joins them to Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World, which Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World with John Hodgman credits them on.

Counted as director, the making department they hold the most credits in. The films the hosts said they directed, which the two lists below run through too: Picnic at Hanging Rock (1975); The Last Wave (1977); Gallipoli (1981); The Year of Living Dangerously (1982); Witness (1985); The Mosquito Coast (1986); Dead Poets Society (1989); Green Card (1990); Fearless (1993); The Truman Show (1998); Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World (2003); Master and Commander.

Draws on

What the speakers say they, or a film of theirs, drew on. Each is a speaker's account: “the maker said so” when they report the maker's own words, “the host's read” when the read is theirs.

Alfred Hitchcock: 1 line

  1. lineage (lineage) · through The Truman Show (1998), which they directed: Alfred Hitchcock ⇒ The Truman Show (the host's read). Same line: the premise is Frank Capra crossed with Hitchcock.
    “you basically take Frank Capra and Alpha Hitchcock and you put it together, and that's what this movie is.”
    The Rewatchables · ‘The Truman Show’ With Bill Simmons, Glen Powell, and Chris Ryan · 0:29:43 · unknown (0.40 sure it was them)

Frank Capra: 1 line

  1. lineage (lineage) · through The Truman Show (1998), which they directed: Frank Capra ⇒ The Truman Show (the host's read). Nichol's idea is described as Capra plus Hitchcock combined.
    “you basically take Frank Capra and Alpha Hitchcock and you put it together, and that's what this movie is.”
    The Rewatchables · ‘The Truman Show’ With Bill Simmons, Glen Powell, and Chris Ryan · 0:29:43 · unknown (0.40 sure it was them)

Rafael Yglesias: 1 line

  1. lineage (source) · through Fearless (1993), which they directed: Rafael Yglesias ⇒ Fearless (the host's read). Weir loved the unpublished-novel first-draft script, adapted by its own author.
    “He adapts his own unpublished book.”
    Blank Check with Griffin & David · Fearless with Timothy Simons · 1:11:17 · David Sims (0.50 sure it was them)

The Fabulous Baker Boys (1989): 1 line

  1. people (casting reason) · them, directly: The Fabulous Baker Boys ⇒ Peter Weir (the maker said so: Weir's dossier). Weir says he was drawn to Bridges by The Fabulous Baker Boys and The Fisher King.
    “I was drawn to bridges, it's like, fabulous Baker Boys, 89, Fisher King 91.”
    Blank Check with Griffin & David · Fearless with Timothy Simons · 0:48:12 · David Sims (0.50 sure it was them)

Titanic (1997): 1 line

  1. unmapped (shared-technology) · through Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World (2003), which they directed: Titanic ⇒ Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World (the host's read). The film exists because James Cameron's Mexican Titanic tank, with a gimbal, was still usable for the ship set.
    “James Cameron had done the legwork to build out the system to be able to basically shoot this on a gimbal in a tank of a proper set.”
    Blank Check with Griffin & David · Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World with John Hodgman · 1:30:47 · David Sims (0.50 sure it was them)

Drawn on by

What the speakers say drew on them or a film of theirs, marked the same way.

Survivor: 1 line

  1. industry (industry) · through The Truman Show (1998), which they directed: The Truman Show ⇒ Survivor (the host's read). Truman Show weirdly kicked off reality TV, predating Survivor by a year or two.
    “This kind of weirdly kicked it off, like this predated by a year or two.”
    The Rewatchables · ‘The Truman Show’ With Bill Simmons, Glen Powell, and Chris Ryan · 0:12:44 · unknown (0.40 sure it was them)

Tron: Legacy (2010): 1 line

  1. craft (visual reference) · through Fearless (1993), which they directed: Fearless ⇒ Tron: Legacy (the host's read). The 1993 Bridges look was the reference for the de-aged CGI Bridges in Tron: Legacy.
    “I believe that this was the main visual reference for creepy CGI Jeff Bridges and Tron Legacy.”
    Blank Check with Griffin & David · Fearless with Timothy Simons · 0:52:17 · Tim Simons (0.40 sure it was them)

What the speakers said they did

Directing (26) everyone in directing

What was said about them, by kind

career (2)

  1. career (contrast-career-arc): Peter Weir → Wolfgang Petersen. Weir transitioned into the studio system and stayed true to his standards while Petersen slipped.
    “There are very few people who I think made this transition into the studio system and just basically stayed true to their standards and their ethos and didn't slip.”
    Blank Check with Griffin & David · Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World with John Hodgman · 2:48:52 · unknown (0.40 sure it was them)
  2. career (career boost): Peter Weir → Harrison Ford. Weir's films made Ford respected as an actor, as Dead Poets did for Williams.
    “and, you know, he made Harrison Ford respected as an actor.”
    Blank Check with Griffin & David · Fearless with Timothy Simons · 0:36:08 · David Sims (0.40 sure it was them)

contrast (1)

  1. contrast (contrast): Peter Weir → The Mosquito Coast. If they cover Weir they would not cover the Apple TV+ Mosquito Coast.
    “If we cover Peter Weir, we will not be covering Apple Plus mosquito Coast.”
    Blank Check — Patreon · 2025 March Madness Update 1 · 0:47:58 · unknown (0.40 sure it was them)

craft (5)

  1. craft (craft): Peter Weir → John Seale. Before Fearless, Weir mostly kept his Australian above-the-line crew such as John Seale; Allen Daviau was the first American cinematographer the show covered with him.
    “He mostly kept his, like, above the line, Australian, John, John Seal, and guys like that.”
    Blank Check with Griffin & David · Fearless with Timothy Simons · 2:32:24 · David Sims (0.50 sure it was them)
  2. craft (craft): The Truman Show → Peter Weir. The pairing of Weir and Carrey is what makes the film timeless despite earlier script and casting permutations.
    “something about Peter Weir and Jim Carrey and what they chose to do with it, you're like, that's timeless.”
    The Rewatchables · ‘The Truman Show’ With Bill Simmons, Glen Powell, and Chris Ryan · 0:08:25 · Glen Powell (0.80 sure it was them)
  3. craft (craft): The Truman Show → Peter Weir. Powell reads Weir's production design and hidden Easter eggs, like a Latin 'all for one, one for all' arch, as intentional and unforegrounded.
    “Peter Weir especially is just very good with production design and like the little Easter eggs”
    The Rewatchables · ‘The Truman Show’ With Bill Simmons, Glen Powell, and Chris Ryan · 0:11:46 · Glen Powell (0.80 sure it was them)
  4. craft (craft): Peter Weir → Richard Linklater. Weir, like Linklater, has no overbearing visual style but gets incredible performances.
    “kind of reminds me of Linklater in that there's not like an overbearing visual style”
    The Rewatchables · ‘The Truman Show’ With Bill Simmons, Glen Powell, and Chris Ryan · 0:20:12 · Chris Ryan (0.70 sure it was them)
  5. craft (craft): Peter Weir → Dead Poets Society. Weir prepped actors with deep backstory: Dead Poets actors wrote biographies; on Truman he wanted backstories for everyone.
    “we had us do our own biographies for every character.”
    The Rewatchables · ‘The Truman Show’ With Bill Simmons, Glen Powell, and Chris Ryan · 0:25:30 · Chris Ryan (0.40 sure it was them)

industry (3)

  1. industry (marketing-problem): Peter Weir → The Truman Show. Posters could not say 'from the director of The Truman Show' because audiences could not connect that to a Russell Crowe sailing epic; Weir has no genre.
    “it would just look weird for this poster with Russell Crowe's to then be like, from the director of the Truman show.”
    Blank Check with Griffin & David · Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World with John Hodgman · 0:16:37 · unknown (0.50 sure it was them)
  2. industry (awards-win): Peter Weir → Peter Jackson. Weir won the BAFTA for director over Jackson.
    “He beat Jackson.”
    Blank Check with Griffin & David · Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World with John Hodgman · 1:38:22 · unknown (0.40 sure it was them)
  3. industry (industry): Peter Weir → Sean Fennessey. In 1997 Sean could find maybe two Peter Weir movies; now the Criterion Channel has all of them.
    “I could find maybe 2 Peter Weir movies”
    The Big Picture · 300th Episode Ask-Us-Anything Mailbag Spectacular · 1:37:30 · Sean Fennessey (0.90 sure it was them)

people (4)

  1. people (casting): Peter Weir → Mel Gibson. Weir called Gibson first for Fearless; Gibson was busy making The Man Without a Face.
    “Weir's 1st call was to Mel Gibson, who someone he'd worked with before, who's obviously a giant star”
    Blank Check with Griffin & David · Fearless with Timothy Simons · 0:32:59 · David Sims (0.60 sure it was them)
  2. people (director clout): Peter Weir → David O. Russell. Both were directors A-listers trusted and expected awards from.
    “The last guy who kind of had this for better or worse, and mostly for worse, was David O. Russell.”
    Blank Check with Griffin & David · Fearless with Timothy Simons · 0:36:22 · David Sims (0.50 sure it was them)
  3. people (casting reason): Peter Weir → The Fabulous Baker Boys. Weir says he was drawn to Bridges by The Fabulous Baker Boys and The Fisher King.
    “I was drawn to bridges, it's like, fabulous Baker Boys, 89, Fisher King 91.”
    Blank Check with Griffin & David · Fearless with Timothy Simons · 0:48:12 · David Sims (0.50 sure it was them)
  4. people (director credit): Peter Weir → Picnic at Hanging Rock. Dana attributes Picnic at Hanging Rock to Peter Weir.
    “Peter Weir's picnic and Hanging Rock”
    Blank Check with Griffin & David · An Angel at My Table with Dana Stevens · 0:16:07 · Dana Stevens (0.90 sure it was them)

programming (1)

  1. programming (recommendation): Peter Weir → Fearless. A host has not seen Fearless and is obsessed with plane crashes.
    “the most intense plane crash scene in a movie.”
    Blank Check — Patreon · 2025 March Madness Update 1 · 0:48:14 · unknown (0.40 sure it was them)

theme (2)

  1. theme (comparison): Peter Weir → Sidney Lumet. A director whose style matches the material, like Lumet.
    “I think of him a little similar to Sidney Lamette.”
    Blank Check with Griffin & David · Fearless with Timothy Simons · 0:30:03 · David Sims (0.50 sure it was them)
  2. theme (comparison): Peter Weir → Ang Lee. Ang Lee looked like a chameleon but had through lines; Weir may be the same, though more consciously different.
    “Then you watch the movies and you're like, there are very obvious themes and through lines.”
    Blank Check with Griffin & David · Fearless with Timothy Simons · 0:30:23 · Griffin Newman (0.60 sure it was them)

unmapped (2)

  1. unmapped (weir-wet-films): Peter Weir → The Last Wave. Joking that Weir is one of history's wettest directors: The Last Wave, The Truman Show, rain in Green Card, Dead Poets Society, with Master and Commander the soaking culmination.
    “The place also one of one of history's wettest directors. Peteyware.”
    Blank Check with Griffin & David · Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World with John Hodgman · 1:29:39 · unknown (0.40 sure it was them)
  2. unmapped (next episode): Peter Weir → Jim Carrey. The Truman Show required waiting because Carrey was booked for two years.
    “Jim Carrey wants to do the movie.”
    Blank Check with Griffin & David · Fearless with Timothy Simons · 2:57:22 · David Sims (0.40 sure it was them)

verdict (2)

  1. verdict (verdict): The Truman Show → Peter Weir. Weir has the best Oscar case of the film's three nominations.
    “I think I actually think there was the best case for him.”
    The Rewatchables · ‘The Truman Show’ With Bill Simmons, Glen Powell, and Chris Ryan · 1:30:43 · Glen Powell (0.50 sure it was them)
  2. verdict (verdict): Peter Weir → Baz Luhrmann. Weir had a strong showing over Luhrmann.
    “Peter Weir, uh, had a very strong showing against Baz Luhrmann.”
    Blank Check — Patreon · 2025 March Madness Update 1 · 0:46:48 · unknown (0.40 sure it was them)

Fun items about them

  1. fun, about Peter Weir: Weir's directing patience: he rewrote the property into a friendship story, using the 10th book (The Far Side of the World) for the subtitle instead of the first book.
    “I want it to be on the friendship of Aubrey Maturin.”
    Blank Check with Griffin & David · Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World with John Hodgman · 1:02:11 · David Sims (0.50 sure it was them)
  2. fun, about Peter Weir: Weir said making movies in 1970s Australia, with no good screenwriters, forced him to revise scripts and learn to work dialogue with actors.
    “he said they had no good screenwriters in, in Australia.”
    The Rewatchables · ‘The Truman Show’ With Bill Simmons, Glen Powell, and Chris Ryan · 0:22:48 · Chris Ryan (0.60 sure it was them)
  3. fun, about Peter Weir: He wished he could install a video camera in every theater so the projectionist could cut to viewers watching.
    “I would have loved to have had a video camera installed in every theater”
    The Rewatchables · ‘The Truman Show’ With Bill Simmons, Glen Powell, and Chris Ryan · 1:18:40 · unknown (0.40 sure it was them)
  4. fun, about Peter Weir: 1997 versus now: Sean could find two Peter Weir films then; the Criterion Channel has all of them.
    “On the Criterion Channel, you could watch all of them.”
    The Big Picture · 300th Episode Ask-Us-Anything Mailbag Spectacular · 1:37:33 · Sean Fennessey (0.90 sure it was them)
  5. fun, about Peter Weir: Promise they would not cover Apple's Mosquito Coast series.
    “If we cover Peter Weir, we will not be covering Apple Plus mosquito Coast.”
    Blank Check — Patreon · 2025 March Madness Update 1 · 0:47:58 · unknown (0.40 sure it was them)