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Weir, 80, made his international breakthrough with the 1975
arthouse classic "Picnic at Hanging Rock", before moving on to
work in Hollywood, making "Witness", starring Harrison Ford,
"Green Card", with Andie MacDowell, and other hits.
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.
"Starting off today, I would say even 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, go and 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."
To honour Weir, Venice screened his 2003 film, the seafaring
epic "Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World", with
Russell Crowe in the lead role.
He said the producers had originally wanted to make a sequel,
but scrapped the plan because the movie didn't do well enough at
the box office - a decision that came as something of a relief
to Weir.
"I always hoped there would not be sequels or remakes. I liked
myself to move on. I didn't ever want to repeat myself," he
said.
Weir said he had originally thought of being an actor, before
deciding he was better off behind the camera. However, he
admitted his heart lay in music.
"I would swap directing for composing," he said.
(Reporting by Crispian Balmer; Editing by Andrew Heavens)
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