Sigourney Weaver on ‘The Gorge,’ How ‘The Witch’ Terrified Her, and Reuniting with James Cameron for the Next ‘Avatar’
Director Scott Derrickson‘s new sci-fi thriller “The Gorge” is largely a two-hander between Miles Teller and Anya Taylor-Joy as assassins tasked with guarding opposite sides of an enormous and highly classified chasm.
That chasm is also home to a supernatural force that cannot be allowed to get out, under any circumstances. Outside Teller and Taylor-Joy’s central story — a romance that develops over binoculars as they communicate without ever traversing the space between them — one of the movie’s biggest pleasures lies elsewhere.
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That’s in Derrickson’s casting of Sigourney Weaver as Bartholomew, the imposing and enigmatic operative who hires Teller to guard the gorge without revealing its secrets — or her own intentions. Part of the fun of watching Weaver in the role is seeing her as a character that recalls not Ripley, the heroine she played in four “Alien” films, but one of the shadowy figures behind Weyland-Yutani, the evil corporation that constantly put Ripley’s life in danger. Interestingly, Weaver claims she was completely unaware of the parallels when she took the job in “The Gorge.”
“That’s an interesting way to look at it,” Weaver told IndieWire, but added that if she had thought of the comparison when she read the script, “I’m not sure I would have done the movie.” For Weaver, the decision to play Bartholomew was less about paying homage to her sci-fi and horror heritage than the twists and turns of Zach Dean’s script and the opportunity to work with Derrickson, whose “The Black Phone” she admired.
“I never, ever think about the genre, ever,” Weaver said, noting that her association with sci-fi and fantasy classics like “Alien,” “Ghostbusters,” and “Avatar” is more a matter of coincidence than conscious strategy. “I only think, ‘Is this a story that I can’t put down? Is this a movie I would want to see? Does this movie take me to a place I’ve never been?'”
For Weaver, Dean’s script checked all the boxes in terms of her role and those of Teller and Taylor-Joy. “Anya’s part is very much in the tradition of Jim Cameron, who always wanted to present women as these kickass, take-care-of-business characters. I’ve watched Anya Taylor-Joy since ‘The Witch,’ which is terrifying, probably the scariest movie I’ve ever seen, and it was great fun to see her take on this kind of part.”
Another part of the fun for Weaver was Derrickson’s approach, which integrated a precise visual style with room for the actors to explore. “He always had a very clear idea of what Bartholomew was and what she wasn’t, but we got to try different things,” she said. “Sometimes directors think I don’t want their input, but I made it very clear to Scott that it doesn’t matter how many films I’ve done, I’m still learning about my role, and I’m learning about the world of the movie, so please just jump in and tell me whatever you want.”
Weaver says that when she first met with Derrickson she felt he had the most important characteristic for a director. “The director needs to have a vision that is indestructible,” she said. “Sometimes in a way that they might not be able to explain, but you can tell that it’s inside them and guiding their instincts and decisions.” Weaver feels this indestructible vision links directors as disparate as Ridley Scott, Peter Weir, Walter Hill, Paul Schrader, James Cameron, and Mike Nichols.
“It takes a lot of courage to make an ambitious movie,” Weaver said. “I’ve been incredibly fortunate to work with so many directors that had a powerful vision. I wasn’t ever looking for any particular kind of director, just someone who was crazy enough to hire me and had a vision for story to tell that no one else could tell as well.”
While Weaver is currently appearing on stage in London in “The Tempest,” she’s also in between movies on the most ambitious project of her — or anyone else’s — career, Cameron’s “Avatar” series. Weaver promises the third film, which is slated to come out this Christmas, will be worth the wait. “It’s got some wonderful new elements in it,” she said. “Then we’ll start on four and five, which are amazing scripts.” Like everyone else, Weaver is eager to see “Avatar: Fire and Ash” once all the effects are completed. “I’m very excited to see it, and I can’t wait to work with Jim again. I adore him.”
‘The Gorge’ begins streaming globally on Apple TV+ on February 14th.
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