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George Miller's New Movie "Furiosa" to Premiere at Cannes Film Festival
May 15th, 2024
In the cinematic landscape, filmmaker George Miller stands as a unique voice, having chartered the territory of the "Mad Max" series single-handedly since its inception in 1979. His latest offering, "Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga," starring Anya Taylor-Joy and Chris Hemsworth, is a prequel to the critically acclaimed "Mad Max: Fury Road." The new film is set to premiere at the Cannes Film Festival, which marks Hemsworth's first time participating in the prestigious event. "Furiosa," ready to hit theaters on May 24, continues to display Miller's characteristic high-adrenaline, expansive world-building, showcasing a young Furiosa’s backstory.
What's intriguing is Miller's revelation about how his former medical career has fundamentally informed his filmmaking. Terms like "extremis" translate vividly into the visual language of "Mad Max"'s wild, dystopian landscapes, and Miller's intimate knowledge of the human condition has enriched his storytelling approach. Despite having relinquished hands-on technical tasks, Miller's sharp editorial sense and intellectual engagement with his work remain his main tools in crafting these films.
Nevertheless, the journey back to the "Mad Max" universe hasn't been without tribulations. Following the success but fraught production of "Fury Road," legal disputes delayed progress. Happily, resolutions were found, and "Furiosa" was eventually able to move forward, with Miller initially envisioning it as an anime feature. He has also expressed an interest in producing another addition to the series, "The Wasteland."
The actors relay their commitment to the challenging process of filming "Furiosa," especially Taylor-Joy, who faced the physical trials with determination, including performing a remarkable action sequence that spanned 78 days of filming. Hemsworth, on the other hand, found depth in portraying the villain, Dementus, garnering a deeply satisfying experience from the role.
In an industry that often abandons its creators as franchises grow, Miller’s unbroken connection to the "Mad Max" saga is rare. The stories resonate with contemporary global concerns such as scarcity of resources while holding onto a vision of relentless chaos proximate to our modern psyche. On a personal note, Miller reflects on changes he’s witnessed over time in the natural world and draws parallels with storytelling, a method of making sense of life's turmoil—which he recognizes as a shared trait with his brother who pursued a career in medicine.
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💭 Discussion Questions
1
. How does George Miller's previous career choice influence his approach to filmmaking and storytelling within the 'Mad Max' franchise?2
. What are the challenges and rewards actors like Anya Taylor-Joy and Chris Hemsworth face while immersing themselves in their roles for 'Furiosa'?3
. Discuss the significance of George Miller's continuous role in the 'Mad Max' universe compared to the common practice of franchises changing creators.📖 Vocabulary
🌐 Cultural context
George Miller is an Australian filmmaker, famous for the "Mad Max" franchise which began with the original film in 1979. "Mad Max" is iconic in film history for its post-apocalyptic setting and action sequences. The Cannes Film Festival mentioned is a prestigious film festival held in France, where industry leaders showcase their work. Miller's references to his medical background are part of a broader trend of directors using their past experiences to inform their creative processes. The series touches on themes relevant to global issues such as resource scarcity.
🧠 Further reading
Dogme 95
In 1995, the Danish filmmakers Lars von Trier and Thomas Vinterberg launched an avant-garde movement known as Dogma 95. They intended to revolutionize cinema by focusing on core aspects like narrative, performance, and theme, while rejecting the usage of sophisticated special effects and technology. Their manifesto and set of strict "Vows of Chastity" aimed to reassert the role of the director as an artist, rather than being beholden to the conventional studio system. This approach was meant to counterbalance the trend of enormous film budgets and to foster a new level of creativity and artistic control.
The genesis of the movement was both rapid and somewhat irreverent; von Trier and Vinterberg drafted their ideas in merely 45 minutes, echoing the iconoclastic spirit of François Truffaut's 1954 critique of the French cinema establishment. Dogma 95 was publicly introduced in Paris during a conference dedicated to the future of cinema, with von Trier famously disseminating red leaflets to an unsuspecting audience.
Despite the movement's strict rules, von Trier's "Breaking the Waves", a film produced prior to the establishment of Dogma 95, served as an influential reference, despite it not wholly adhering to Dogma's guidelines. It demonstrated the raw ethos von Trier and Vinterberg were advocating. The pair admitted that their manifesto was designed to be deliberately extreme to provoke a new direction in the film industry, providing counterpoint to the prevailing high-budget production trend.
Action film
Action films are a popular type of movie that often includes exciting elements like high-speed chases, combat, gunplay, large-scale destruction, and daring stunts. They have been the subject of academic discussions since the 1980s, with some experts arguing that these movies prioritize visual spectacle over plot, while others believe the spectacle elements can enhance the storytelling. These films don't exist in isolation and frequently blend with other genres, which can result in a variety of styles from action-comedy to action-horror or action-science fiction.
Historically, the modern action film as we recognize it today began to emerge with New Hollywood in the 1960s and 1970s, drawing inspiration from war movies, crime stories, and Westerns. This period also saw the rise of anti-hero characters. The evolution of action movies continued through the 1980s, known as the classical period, into the post-classical era, which was significantly influenced by Hong Kong cinema and the increasing use of computer-generated imagery. The genre underwent another transformation after the events of September 11, 2001, as seen in films such as "Kill Bill" and "The Expendables", which brought a sense of nostalgia by harking back to the genre's earlier styles.
Scott Higgins, writing in Cinema Journal in 2008, noted that action movies are both widely enjoyed and frequently criticized for their emphasis on spectacle at the expense of a carefully crafted narrative. David Bordwell also observed that the genre often embodies what is perceived as Hollywood's tendency to focus less on storytelling and more on grandiose visual effects. Despite this criticism, the action film remains a cornerstone of contemporary cinema, with its specific characteristics such as dynamic chases, explosions, and skilled stunt work continuing to captivate audiences around the globe.
Dragonball Evolution
In 2009, a film blending science fiction, action, and martial arts, directed by James Wong and produced by notable filmmaker Stephen Chow, was released under the title "Dragonball Evolution". This Hollywood production, written by Ben Ramsey, attempted to capture the essence of Akira Toriyama's renowned Japanese manga series "Dragon Ball". The ensemble cast included Justin Chatwin as the protagonist Goku, alongside Emmy Rossum, James Marsters, Jamie Chung, Chow Yun-fat, Joon Park, and Eriko Tamura.
The narrative of "Dragonball Evolution" centers on a young Goku, who discovers his own history and embarks on a mission to defeat the malignant extraterrestrial overlord, Lord Piccolo. Piccolo's intent is to acquire the powerful Dragon Balls to dominate the Earth. The movie portrays Goku's confrontation with this foe and his journey to prevent the potential catastrophe.
Although development of the film started in 2002, and it premiered in Japan, the United States and several Asian markets between March and April 2009, it was met with disapproval from both critics and the original manga's fan base. They criticized the film's script, cast, and deviation from the manga it was based on. Financially, the movie fared poorly, only managing to gather $9.4 million in North America and a cumulative global revenue of $56.5 million, which was not sufficient to recoup its $30 million production budget.
While "Dragonball Evolution" was initially intended to pave the way for a franchise, its lackluster performance halted any plans for future sequels. It has been labeled one of the worst movies ever made. This film has faced serious backlash for 'whitewashing'—a practice involving the casting of white actors in roles meant for characters of other ethnicities—which has negatively influenced subsequent anime-to-film adaptations.
The story of the movie unfolds with the saga of the vile King Piccolo who, two millennia ago,