{"id":21971,"date":"2024-04-30T17:13:23","date_gmt":"2024-04-30T15:13:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.samdb.co.za\/blogs\/?p=21971"},"modified":"2024-04-30T17:13:28","modified_gmt":"2024-04-30T15:13:28","slug":"furiosa-a-mad-max-saga","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.samdb.co.za\/blogs\/blog\/2024\/04\/30\/furiosa-a-mad-max-saga\/","title":{"rendered":"Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Accelerate. Decelerate.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The atmosphere on the set of George Miller\u2019s Furios<\/a>a<\/a>: A Mad Max Saga<\/a> <\/em>can be defined in near entirety by these two kinetic states. Here on the barren flats of Broken Hill, New South Wales, engines rev against the ancient silence, starting and stopping as Miller\u2019s crew runs through vehicle prep. Every time an engine is pushed to its limit, the set feels flushed with a dose of organized chaos. It energizes, invigorates. But, as the pistons slow and the land returns to its natural state of quiet, a certain tension remains. Anticipation builds, imbuing cast and crew with a heightened connection to the movie being made, to the story being told.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Whether the circumstances are calculated or organic (or both) is beside the point. What matters is the creative buzz that this approach produces. Its effect shows in the work of Miller\u2019s artists and artisans. A massive War Rig looms above the desert sands, meticulously retrofitted with all the gloriously grease-stained bravado of the infamous \u201cWasteland\u201d aesthetic. Up ahead, mechanics work on a similarly souped-up muscle car. A team of skilled hair and makeup artists toil tirelessly on the film\u2019s two leads, while the stunt team rehearses for another day of crashing, rolling and revving. And at the center of it all, the mastermind stands calm, seemingly at home in the midst of such structured madness.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI think all films, one way or another, are allegorical,\u201d says Miller, the beginning of an answer to a question I\u2019ve posed about the origins of his Furiosa<\/em> story. \u201cAs human beings, wherever we are in time and space, we have the same patterns of behavior. Even though the Mad Max<\/em> stories are set in some degraded future, we still go back to behaviors that are medieval or pre-medieval. In a way it\u2019s forward to the past, and as we watch it in the present, we measure it against the current zeitgeist and the things we experience in our time.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n

\n
\"\"<\/a><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

Miller\u2019s previous film, the brilliant Mad Max: Fury Road<\/a><\/em>, is littered with moments capturing the fateful balance between acceleration and deceleration. Consider the film\u2019s opening: Max Rockatansky scurries into his vehicle after relieving himself and drives off into the desert. Silence. And then, a hoard of War Boys rips onto the screen, hot on his tail. The effect is gripping and visceral\u2014gasoline-fueled mayhem made all the more effective by the heavy quiet that precedes it. It seems Miller has unearthed a certain magic in the cinematic commingling of these two principles, both onscreen and behind the scenes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cOn the simplest level,\u201d Miller continues, \u201cFuriosa <\/em>is about someone who\u2019s taken from<\/p>\n\n\n\n

home as a child, makes a promise to return, and she spends her whole life trying to get home. It\u2019s an odyssey. Now, the purpose of odyssey is not the actual events that happen, so much as what\u2019s happening to the soul of the protagonist. It\u2019s about who she becomes.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

With Furiosa<\/em>\u2014an origin story for the heroine on equal footing with Mad Max in Fury Road<\/em>\u2014Miller needed to find an actor who could embody the heroine in her teenage and developmental years without sacrificing any of the character\u2019s inherent grit. Enter, Anya Taylor-Joy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt was mid-lockdown and I got a text from a filmmaker that I\u2019ve worked with, Edgar Wright, who said George Miller wanted to talk,\u201d Taylor-Joy recounts, as she finishes up in wardrobe. \u201cMy whole body felt electrified. George and I had a FaceTime, and he was asking all of these slightly cryptic questions: \u2018How good are you on a motorcycle? Are you willing to do your own stunts?\u2019 Eventually, he explained that he was doing a prequel to Fury Road<\/em>, the story<\/p>\n\n\n\n

of Furiosa, and asked if I\u2019d mind auditioning for it. He wanted me to do a speech from the movie<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Network<\/em>, the \u2018Mad as Hell\u2019 speech. It\u2019s essentially an angry plea from a news broadcaster demanding that people stand up and fight for what\u2019s right, because the world that they live in is so diabolical.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I ask Taylor-Joy how it felt to learn she\u2019d landed the part. \u201cI was alone in my apartment in Belfast,\u201d she recalls with a smile. \u201cI ran around the whole apartment screaming.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Shouldering the reputation of such a revered character would be no small task. With a bevy of stunts and epic spectacle ahead, Joy plunged into preparation for the role. Producer Doug Mitchell had a front-row seat to the transformation stage of her process.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cShe jumped in long before pre-production,\u201d says Mitchell. \u201cShe\u2019s not a big muscular person, so she had to go through very strict and heavy training. She had five trainers \u2013 personal trainers, action trainers, fight trainers, motorbikes, cars and so on. She worked with all these different professionals and seemed to really enjoy it. She made a huge commitment, and I think she gives a tremendous performance in the role.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Miller seconds Mitchell\u2019s sentiment: \u201cThe world of Furiosa<\/em> is very laconic. Words are used as a form of pageantry. They\u2019re not recreational, they\u2019re simply there to communicate essential information. These characters don\u2019t say much, so they have to say a lot simply by being present in front of the camera. Anya has that in spades.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Furiosa\u2019s nemesis\u2014a twisted demagogue of the Wasteland known as Dementus\u2014is the charismatic foil in her quest for homecoming. As Miller describes him, \u201cDementus is a warlord who falls into the same pattern as many historical characters: Genghis Khan, Hannibal, the people who marauded across a great vast land, absorbing all its resources in order to conquer. That pattern has repeated itself over and over throughout history.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

To portray the mercurial yet smooth-talking antagonist, Miller turned to fellow Australian and international superstar Chris Hemsworth. \u201cChris is incredibly considerate about the world,\u201d says Miller. \u201cVery observant, very self-aware. I asked him to read the screenplay, and he understood the character straight away. He not only knew what he had to do to achieve the character, but he understood very much how it fit into the context of the whole story.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cComplicated individual,\u201d says Hemsworth, describing his character in the film. Today is the actor\u2019s first on set. We speak in the makeup trailer as Hemsworth\u2019s makeup designer, Matteo Silvi, fits a beak-like prosthetic over his nose.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He continues: \u201cDementus is a product of this world, this violent reality of the Wasteland. He\u2019s been manipulated and sculpted by this experience, an experience of immense pain and loss. But that\u2019s what this place is, you know? Everything is so desperate, and it\u2019s all about day-to-day survival. There\u2019s a depth to him that I hope people see. Not that it justifies his actions, but it does give you an understanding as to why he commits such harsh, violent acts. I think in his mind, it\u2019s about survival.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Watching the transformative process of the prosthetics work is something to behold. The nose itself is not oversized or exaggerated in any way, but on Hemsworth\u2019s face, the subtle variation goes a long way. It\u2019s this kind of skilled, experienced craftsmanship that has helped separate the franchise from its action counterparts. The devil is\u2014and always has been\u2014in the details.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cOne of George\u2019s main tenets is that if something is to survive, it has to have an innate worth,\u201d says Production Designer Colin Gibson. \u201cThat worth can be beauty. It can be mechanical worth, it can be structural. It can simply provide the best means of killing the bastard who wants to kill you, but it has to be something worth saving.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This philosophical approach to detail and design is perhaps what makes Miller\u2019s Wasteland so viscerally engaging. Knowing that no effort has been spared in its creation, everything onscreen becomes imbued with great meaning (both obvious and abstract). I can\u2019t help but notice that, when asked a question, most of Miller\u2019s crew has responded in this way. I jot down notes that later read like sage proverbs (\u201cThe future is here, it\u2019s just unevenly distributed\u201d). The philosophical seems to be top of mind, paired with an absence of any and all superficiality. It would seem that Miller\u2019s thoughtful approach is as equally effective as it is infectious.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n