David Wenham was worried about casting Hugo Weaving in
The Turning.
Wenham was one of the 17 directors chosen to adapt Tim Winton's book of short stories and wanted Weaving for his film
Commission.
Although Wenham had acted alongside Weaving before, The Turning marked his directorial debut and that combined with their history initially made it strange.
"I worked with Hugo as an actor, so to then be on the other side, like I was concerned at first. I thought, `God I wonder if Hugo's going to say yes to this project'," he says.
"I was hopeful but I didn't want to count my cookies before they were baked."
Weaving did say yes and found the experience of working with Wenham, who also wrote
Commission, very easy.
He says Wenham wanted
Commission, about a reconciliation between a father and a son, not to be too fancy and let the story speak for itself.
"He was incredibly well prepared and made it all seem so effortless when I know it wasn't," he says.
"We laughed a lot. It was good, we had fun, we sat around campfires."
Coincidentally, the first time the pair worked together was actually on a different Tim Winton project, an adaptation of
That Eye, The Sky for theatre.
Another coincidence - it was adapted by Justin Monjo and Richard Roxburgh, who also directed the play, and who both are working on The Turning.
Weaving says that first time must have been close to 20 years ago.
"(Wenham) was fairly fresh out of drama school I think. It was just after I did Priscilla," he says.
Wenham was one of the key reasons for Weaving signing onto The Turning. But the unusual aspect of the project was also appealing.
While there are 17 short films, each with a different director, writer and cast, the stories are linked by recurring characters (although played by different actors).
Weaving says as with the book, the short films don't appear in chronological order, instead jumping backwards and forwards in time "like an interesting mosaic or tapestry".
In total
The Turning, which was curated by producer and director Robert Connolly (
Balibo), runs at three hours long. It features Australian actors including Cate Blanchett, Rose Byrne and Miranda Otto, and directors such as Mia Wasikowska, Warwick Thornton and
Snowtown's Justin Kurzel.
Weaving says people who love the book, will love the film.
"You get a very strong sense of Tim having seen the whole piece," he says.
"The directors really love his material and that's why they've been drawn to it and they love his characters...
"They're very real people, so I think the response to it, I imagine will be very, very positive."
From here.
