Sigourney Weaver

Interview By: Ray Dademo
RayDademo@TheCinemaSource.com

At fifty-five, Sigourney Weaver has received that rarest of rare gems -- the leading role in a major motion picture. The film -- "Imaginary Heroes" -- has proven to be something of a mixed bag, as far as critics go but that hasn't quashed buzz about Ms. Weaver's tour-de-force as a middle-aged mother rebelling against her social constraints. Moviegoers -- at least those with little regard for the opinions of movie reviewers -- have found themselves enchanted by Ms. Weaver's work in the film, but seem divided on whether the film itself is worthwhile.

Nevertheless, a mixed reaction holds little bearing on Sigourney Weaver's enthusiastic and unshakable opinion. As she puts it: "I just feel that Dan [Harris, the director] is a very big talent and for a first film, this is certainly as good as 'Garden State' or some of these other films getting so much attention. I can't explain why there is such a division, but certainly the people whose opinions I care about have universally loved this movie."

So then why, Ms. Weaver, do some critics have such a large antipathy to a film as "good" as "Imaginary Heroes'"

"I think its a young person's movie. It's been compared to 'Ordinary People' which is a good film but I don't think Dan Harris was even born when 'Ordinary People' came out -- he's never seen it. I think you should judge the film on what it is, instead of comparing it to other films. Some of the negative [reviews] have said 'Well it's just like 'Ordinary People.'' It's not at all like 'Ordinary People.' The role I play is nothing like Mary Tyler Moore's character." This is a valid point. Most reviewers have cited "Ordinary People" as their justification for disliking "Heroes." At this stage, Weaver hopes the film will live on despite the mistreatment of a few columnists. "It's kind of like 'The Ice Storm' but told from a younger perspective. So for that generation I think this is going to be a very important film."

The universality of "Heroes" -- according to Ms. Weaver -- stems from the extraordinary direction and writing of its master-and-commander Dan Harris. "One of the things I admired about Dan was that his approach to movies like that -- which I've been in -- is the same as his approach to stories like 'Imaginary Heroes.' Just because it's a big genre picture doesn't mean you shouldn't put in complicated situations for the characters, a lot of layers, et cetera. His approach to the story and character development is exactly the same in 'X-Men 2' as it is in 'Imaginary Heroes.'"

Harris' "magic touch" was evident (at least to Sigourney Weaver) at first read. "I read a lot of scripts and I feel like there are so many humorless older women characters -- bad mothers who take drugs and unpleasant stepmothers -- so here was a person who was not just a fifty-four year old woman, but you could imagine her as a teenager, you could imagine her falling in love with Jeff Daniels, you could imagine all these stages in her life and this was how she ended up. I think that's rare writing."

The combination of a complex character in a story/character driven piece proved irresistible for a three-time Oscar nominee like Weaver. Though pretty far removed from the unruly housewife she plays, Weaver found plenty to identify with. "I think it's been a weird life for her -- living in the suburbs. But I think that's true for a lot of people. All kinds of people end up living in the suburbs, living in houses that all look alike and inside you don't really know what's going on. She's quite funny -- she's very dry and ironic about things. I think for a lot of people that's a way of coping. I sort of related to that. I thought she was good company. This was all in the writing. When her husband talks about the appeal of cosmetic surgery and she reaches out to say 'Baby, you don't need that. You look good to me.' I just feel like these are situations that probably happen a lot. I just thought it was wonderful that they were all put in this story."

Wit as a defense mechanism was something Weaver could definitely relate to. "I think you have to use [humor] non-stop. When I was a teenager I used to crack jokes about myself before someone else could. That sort of became how I got through a lot of situations." That wasn't the end of Weaver's personal connection with Sandy Harris (her character in the film). When it came to Sandy's discovery of her son's marijuana, the actress was forced to consider how she'd respond to such things had they occurred in real life. "If my daughter was in college, I wouldn't do anything. But, if she were in high school...I'm sure I wouldn't supposed to be looking through her things. You have to respect the privacy of people you live with. But if I had inadvertently come across something like that I would have to bring it up. But I figure once they're over eighteen I might talk about it but I wouldn't say 'I have to police this.' I probably wouldn't be that surprised."

With such an illustrious career it's surprising that Weaver's film roles come so few and far-between. Aside from becoming a woman of "a certain age" she is also adamant about choosing roles of quality over quantity and setting a positive example for her teenage daughter, Charlotte. As far as Hollywood is concerned Weaver is an optimist. She doesn't see a downward trend taking place on the big screen, instead taking issue with the small one. "The only place I see a big difference is reality shows. People don't seem to know that they're behaving really badly. I don't think it has to do with taking your clothes off. I think that there's being small and being mean and selfish -- all these things that people don't seem to have any trouble doing in front of the world. When my daughter watches these shows, I'm not very enthusiastic. I try to limit that because I want her to see that its important to have a sense of yourself and certain standards of behavior, in any situation. There's a certain level that you're not going to drop below. These reality shows encourage people to behave very badly in front of the camera. I don't think it's very inspiring."

Nevertheless with two movies in the works (the animated "Happily N'Ever After" and the Truman Capote biopic "Every Word Is True") and no signs of slowing down, "inspiring" is one adjective that continues to attach itself to Sigourney Weaver and her impressive body of work.