Mad Max: Fury Road is by far one of the most exciting action movies of the past decade. It is visually stunning, features outstanding performances, and has deeper themes that not every action movie can usually show off proudly.
Yet, such go through years of development hell before going through production and post-production editing nightmares.
Everything Started With Development Hell
After the release of in development hell for a decade.
Even a decade later, when in 1995 Miller bought the rights to the future movies in the franchise, he didn't immediately know what he wanted to do next. Only in 1998 did he get an idea for a fourth installment, which he then improved in 1999 and went to 20th Century Fox with to pitch.
Filming Couldn't Seem To Start
At first, the film was scheduled to shoot in 2001, but was postponed because of the September 11 attacks. In 2003, the filming would be delayed again due to the Iraq War (which was an issue because the filming moved to Namibia from its initial location in Australia). Miller went on to direct 2006's Happy Feet before returning to the project.
After the experience, the director briefly considered animating the movie instead but settled for live-action as he initially intended to. In 2009, it was announced that filming would begin in 2011, but it was delayed a few more times before finally starting in July 2012.
Lead Actor Was Changed
This is not usually a big deal because many projects will go on changing their actors in pre-production, but the situation with Mad Max: Fury Road was a bit different.
Even in the early 2000s, Miller didn't see Tom Hardy as Max.
The Weather Was Changing... Again
Once everything was in place, the filming was set to begin in Australia again. However, Miller ran into another problem. The weather was changing and there was nothing the filmmakers could do.
The heavy rains that fell in the Broken Hill desert in Australia made wildflowers grow in the locations chosen by the team, which was absolutely inappropriate for the look of the movie. Once more, Miller and the crew had to come up with another plan.
The Filming Locations Were Changing... Again
Just like the previous time, the crew decided to move to Namibia to film the movie there. Luckily, there were no big issues this time (except, of course, for the fact that they had to reschedule the shoot yet again).
Other locations that were considered included the Chott el Djerid in Tunisia and the Atacama Desert in Chile, along with some locations in Azerbaijan.
Everything Was Filmed On Location
Of course, filming peacefully was never an option, so it was obvious that Miller would want to do something grand with his new movie.
For starters, almost the entire film was shot on location and the director ensured that there was a significant number of real cars so that they wouldn't have to be added afterward with CGI. Moreover, Miller mostly used his storyboards rather than the script to film the movie, which made them spend even more time on filming (which ultimately took eight months to complete).
There Were Tensions On Set Between Cast
When filming in a desert, it's inevitable that the weather won't be nice and cool but rather hot and stressful. Therefore, it's not surprising tensions between the cast and crew rose (especially for Miller, Hardy, and Charlize Theron).
Of course, the weather was not the only issue here. The overall atmosphere and the constant stress were doing their part in exacerbating the tensions between everyone (to some extent). Luckily, Theron and Hardy itted they should have been easier on each other, with Hardy even apologizing to Miller.
Accusations Of Damaging The Namibian Desert
In February 2013, a draft of a document from the Namibian Coast Conservation and Management Project was leaked which accused the filmmakers of damaging the Namibian desert.
Allegedly, the filming caused some plant and animal species to become endangered which isn't all that surprising considering that the shoot involved explosions and the use of fire in some form or another. The Namibia Film Commission visited the set and said that the claims made by the media were unjust.
The Result Was 480 Hours Of Footage
It's unsurprising that the movie took around two years to be released after the filming wrapped. Why? Well, Miller now had 480 hours of footage to edit.
It's unbelievable that the director managed to create something worthy in the end out of all the footage he had - a movie that was praised both by critics and by regular viewers alike.
The Disappointment That Came After
Despite being a beloved film among critics and audiences alike (and earning multiple nominations and wins at all the major award shows), Mad Max: Fury Road was a box office disappointment theatrically.
On a reported budget of around $155-185 million, it only earned $375 million in theaters. That being said, it did get multiple home editions which have collectively grossed a total of almost $56 million as of 2020.
