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As breaks in franchises go, 30 years is a pretty lengthy hiatus.
The sun last went down on Mad Max three decades ago at the end of 1985s Beyond Thunderdome.
Not that he was ever envisaged as the face of a franchise.
After I finished the first Mad Max, I never thought Id make a second.
Filming wouldnt begin for almost two years, with production delayed further by freak weather.
There was often that feeling it was never going to get made, remembers Miller.
We were rained out of our locations in the outback of Australia.
The red desert turned to a flower garden.
The salt lakes had pelicans on the water."
Thats the quality I first saw in Mel Gibson when he played Mad Max at 21.
Tom brings his own unique quality, asserts Miller.
Its always the case.
We had many James Bonds; weve had two Mad Maxes.
Thats exactly the same with Tom versus Mel.
Not to mention a vest so grubby itd have John McClane running to the dry cleaners.
As for her hair?
Shed just have it clipped every three days.
According to Miller, the hairdo was her idea.
She called one day and said, Im thinking of getting a buzz cut.
The moment she said that, I just thought, brilliant.
Nicholas Hoult also underwent quite a transformation to play War Boy Nux.
He also had his hair shaved to stubble, and used a skipping rope on set to drop weight.
Theron, meanwhile, was bulking up to ensure she could cut it in the action environment.
I just hate that idea of scrawny little girls fighting men off and then winning.
I looked like a football player in this movie!
Even the idea for Fury Road came at an unpredictably low-key moment.
He specifically remembers when inspiration struck.
I was walking across a road on a pedestrian crossing.
By the time I got halfway across, this idea popped into my head.
It occurred to me it would make a really good Mad Max movie.
Originally the script was just a comic book, remembers Hoult.
It was 300 pages with no dialogue, essentially.
Given the intensity of the Comic-Con footage, the full film could be something of an endurance test.
The 3D which is currently being finely tuned should add to that.
With a lot of movies, theres the stunt sequences, says Miller.
In this movie, every sequence had some element of risk or stunt.
Even if it was a dialogue sequence, it was in a fast-travelling vehicle.
Often people were hanging off the vehicle, on top of the vehicle, or underneath the vehicle.
With such a lean set-up, plot specifics are necessarily sparse, although Miller does share some details.
As one of the Immortans best pursuit riders, hes sent to chase the fugitives down.
Mad Max has a raw, elemental quality, says Miller.
Its not a fantasy CGI movie.
So why CGI a car wreck when you could do it for real?
That meant building, marshalling, and crashing dozens of stunt cars in Namibia.
For the cast who were heavily involved with the stunts the experience was staggering.
Wide-eyed, Hoult recalls the first time he drove out in the big war party.
And I remember looking around before the take and it did give me chills, actually.
I remember thinking, God, people are going to think this is CGI… sighs Theron.
It was one of those moments where youre like, We are in a world.
It just wouldnt have been a Mad Max movie if it was filmed on a backlot.
Its not a greenscreen movie shot inside a studio.
Its out there in the real world, says Miller.
The film looks different it feels different than a CG movie.
It feels like youre really there."
And in terms of future films?
The engines already being revved.
Because of the delay, weve written two others, admits Miller.
Thats well over 100 issues you’re able to explore, including our most recent issues.
Furiosais in theaters now.
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