Sigourney Weaver: "Women are strong"
The revolution began in 1979, when Sigourney Weaver, in a sweaty undershirt, defeated the most gruesome monster in cinematic history: "Alien". She became the first woman to break through the action genre. Since then, the now 59-year-old is repeatedly seen as a strong-minded, determined woman: She fought as a biologist in "Gorillas in the Mist", defied a serial killer in "Copykill" or done in "The Weapons of Women" even with Gipsbein still their job as a nasty boss.
ChroniquesDuVasteMonde: There is the following story: As a child, you asked your mother if you were pretty. And her mother's answer was, "No, you're not very pretty." Does that shape one's life?
Sigourney Weaver: Such a sentence was typical of my mother. Many girls had to listen to something like this from their English mothers earlier. They all had a Victorian attitude and did not want their daughters to be conceited. That's why I always told my daughter that she could walk over water. Because if your own mother does not encourage you, who else? That was my reaction to my mother's lack of generosity. At 17, I was just happy when I was allowed to apply a bit of make-up to not look so simple anymore. On the other hand, my mother's words encouraged me to attach great importance to my education.
ChroniquesDuVasteMonde: You learned your profession today at the Yale School of Drama, in the parallel class of Finally Free Meryl Streep. Was there the recognition you missed at home?
Sigourney Weaver: Unfortunately not. In Yale, my teachers told me that I was not talented enough for the theater. Since the faculty was pretty strict to all of us, I did not feel like acting after graduation. Only because many friends, who were authors and directors themselves, offered me roles again and again, did I continue.
ChroniquesDuVasteMonde: You have since filmed around 40 films. Which means the most to you?
Sigourney Weaver: That may have been "Snow Cake" of 2005, in which I play an autistic mother. I researched for a year for this role. I do not think I had the courage to play such a role at an earlier stage. That was a turning point for me.
ChroniquesDuVasteMonde: To what extent?
Sigourney Weaver: Since my teachers in Yale never thought much of me, I've always felt I had to prove myself. It's only been three years since "Snow Cake" that I no longer have that.
ChroniquesDuVasteMonde: You and doubt? You were Hollywood's first action hero through her role as Ellen Ripley in Alien.
Sigourney Weaver: That role was great. Without them, many screenplays would certainly not have been sent to me, such as "Gorillas in the Mist". People are always asking me if there's going to be a fifth installment of "Alien," but production company Fox wants to keep it that way. The audience would love it. And I too miss the company of Ellen Ripley.
On the next page: What role does feminism play for Sigourney Weaver?
ChroniquesDuVasteMonde: What exactly do you find so fascinating about this female figure?
Sigourney Weaver: She's just so different from me. I appreciate people who do not cry in tears when things do not work out. Ellen Ripley always has a Plan B at hand. I have incorporated into the role the personality of a good friend. I was still walking with her yesterday.
ChroniquesDuVasteMonde: You call yourself a feminist. What does that mean today? (She thinks.)
Sigourney Weaver: I was raised by a very powerful woman. My mother made me believe early on that work is a great opportunity for the woman to assert herself. I think women are doing a great job today. There are so many who run businesses and are still good mothers. And even if I do not know much about your Chancellor, I can say that she embodies the image of a capable woman. There should be more women in the governments, the men have done enough.
ChroniquesDuVasteMonde: Did other strong women influence your life?
Sigourney Weaver: As a young girl, I admired Golda Meir, the first Prime Minister of Israel. In addition, I grew up with books in which women took the lead.
ChroniquesDuVasteMonde: Is that why you prefer the strong female characters in the scripts?
Sigourney Weaver: Women are strong, I do not have to look far. They hold the world together. Women are inspiring, they have so much humor and they often have great souls. I'm not so sure about the men (laughs). In comparison, the men are always more together and wait with their emotions until the next business trip.
ChroniquesDuVasteMonde: How did you prioritize the balance between job and family?
Sigourney Weaver: I hated being a successful business woman talking on the phone all day and staring at her blackberry. For me, as Jackie Kennedy once put it, "If you fail at parenting, it does not matter what other things you do well." Even though my work has always been important to me, I took care of my home first and foremost.
ChroniquesDuVasteMonde: Her daughter Charlotte is now 18 years old. Are you encouraging her to enter the film industry?
Sigourney Weaver: No, she does not want to be an actress, though I think she's in the blood. But even as a little girl she pushed away anyone who wanted an autograph from me. She grew up with the Starrummel and deliberately does not want him in her life. She will probably design more fashion or write songs.
ChroniquesDuVasteMonde: And how do you see your own mother today? Many people become more gracious with their parents as soon as they have children themselves.
Sigourney Weaver: My mother was always very formal. We never simply spent time together in a relaxed way, as daughters and mothers do today. We have never done so many things, such as going on vacation together. To reach my mother, I had to do something with her. At eleven, I helped her set up our apartment in France. But it was only after my father died that I took really active care of her. My mother died at the age of 94 last summer.
On the next page: Sigourney Weaver on junior stars and paparazzi terror.
ChroniquesDuVasteMonde: In your latest movie, "The Girl In The Park," you play a mother who can not find her way back to life after kidnapping her little daughter. How hard was it to get involved in this new role?
Sigourney Weaver: Losing a child and not knowing what happened to him is the nightmare of all parents. At first I could not play some scenes, although I was so impressed by the courage of my character while reading the script. From the mother's unshakable belief that her child is still alive. The role has challenged me a lot, I've never experienced anything like that before. But it's one of those incredible stories you should definitely tell.
ChroniquesDuVasteMonde: Kate Bosworth, a rising Hollywood star, plays a major role alongside you. How is it when such an experienced actress as you collides with the offspring?
Sigourney Weaver: Honestly, I was impressed. How professional this young woman was with the gossip press! We've been followed by so many paparazzi, but she has never been rude, never disturbed. I do not know if I would opt for acting again today. That means the loss of privacy.
ChroniquesDuVasteMonde: Why? There are not as many paparazzi pictures of you as there are of most of your colleagues.
Sigourney Weaver: Well, I live in New York, not in Los Angeles, where there are paparazzi everywhere. They're stuck in every corner, they're like zombies. In New York, the press behaves much more relaxed. Besides, I'm probably too bored with those privately.
That's her new role
When playing hide and seek on the playground, the three-year-old Maggie disappears without a trace. Her mother, Julia (Sigourney Weaver) almost breaks this loss: she withdraws and leaves no one to her - neither her husband, who leaves them at some point, nor her son Chris, who simply can not replace his sister. This changes only when she meets 15 years later the destitute Louise (Kate Bosworth). Julia believes that she recognizes her lost daughter in the young woman, and for the first time draws new life's courage. However, the other family members are not so sure ... A sometimes very painful, impressive psychodrama, which lives especially from the contrasting dynamics between the brittle Julia and the permissive Louise. And a little insider tip: "The Girl In The Park" is not in Germany in the cinema, but will be released on October 24 directly on DVD (Sunfilm Entertainment).
About Sigourney Weaver
Sigourney Weaver was born on October 8, 1949 as Susan Alexandra Weaver in New York. She is the daughter of British actress Elisabeth Inglis, her father was the president of the NBC Television Network in the 1950s. The name Sigourney she gave herself as a teenager - after a minor character of the novel "The Great Gatsby". The actress lives with her husband, director Jim Simpson, and their daughter Charlotte in Manhattan today.
