Exactly five years after the successful release of Mad Max: Fury Road, its lead stars have admitted that they endured a lot of conflicts while filming the movie. In an in-depth look at the production of one of the most iconic movies in the last decade, the cast shared that George Miller's Mad Max: Fury Road story was brutal but so was its production.
Hardy (Max Rockatansky), Theron (Furiosa), and Kravitz (Toast) admitted that they almost gave up because of the nine months of tough shooting conditions in both Namibia and West Sydney. The stars confessed in an interview with The New York Times that there were countless times that the production crew and cast clashed behind the scenes.
"Tom really had moments of frustration, of anger. Charlize did too. But I feel like he's the one who really took it out on George the most," Kravitz recalled.
But Theron and the Big Little Lies actress understand why Hardy and everyone on set felt too much pressure while filming Mad Max: Fury Road. For the production team, the movie has been delayed too long and they have been over the budget.
Theron added that another reason that Hardy felt the pressure was the fact that he was playing the iconic role that Mel Gibson played in three Mad Max movies. Not to mention the filming in the desert.
The Venom actor agreed. He added that the pressure on the actors has been overwhelming for many of them.
The production of Fury Road began in early 2000 and Gibson was set once again to play Max. But then, 9/11 happened and 20th Century Fox decided to pull the plug.
Hardy was later on cast along with Theron, Kravitz, and hundreds of other cast members, stunt people, and crew. They all headed to Namibia in mid-2012 for filming. The team stayed in the desert for almost a year and it took a toll on everyone.
At one point, the actors crammed into one truck for four months and endured harsh winter and blinding dust in the desert. The cast said everything was driven by "fear." Theron recalled that they functioning like their characters in the movie and they were only thinking about how to keep sane in the desert.
Nevertheless, the actors have no regrets as they said the movie wouldn't be the same if it had been done with CGI or in a controlled environment. Abby Lee, who played the role of The Dag, said the fact that the grueling and messy nature of the shoot made Mad Max: Fury Road such an Oscar award-worthy film.
The movie received 10 Oscars nominations, including Best Picture and Best Director. It won six: best in Costume Design, Production Design, Film Editing, Sound Editing, Sound Mixing, and Makeup and Hairstyling.
