It took a matter of a few days but filmmaker George Miller had to clarify a few things after statements recorded for the Page Six Column of the New York Post went public. The subject in question pertained to whether or not he would direct more Mad Max films following his recent success with the fourth, Mad Max: Fury Road last summer.
“I won’t make more ‘Mad Max’ movies,” said Miller as quoted in the original report. “‘Fury Road’ with Charlize Theron, Zoë Kravitz, Rosie Huntington-Whiteley and Riley Keough was forever getting completed. If you finish one in a year, it’s considered a leap of faith. Start, stop, start again.” That report went on with Miller allegedly telling the Post, “I’ve shot in Australia in a field of wild flowers and flat red earth when it rained heavily forever,… “We had to wait 18 months and every return to the US was 27 hours. Those ‘Mad Maxes’ take forever. I won’t do those anymore.”
Fast forward two days later, and Miller isn’t merely changing his story, but correcting the record for the sake of context. “That was a completely garbled interview.” said Miller to The Wrap where it was also said he had traveled for 27 hours after arriving in time for the National Board of Review on January 5 where the journalist for the Post was asking him questions amid a noisy atmosphere.
“She completely got the wrong fragments of information that were just not true.”, said Miller. “I said no, [another ‘Mad Max’ movie] will not be next, and she took that to mean I never wanted to make another ‘Mad Max.’ It won’t necessarily be next, but I have two more stories.”
I can certainly understand how a noisy atmosphere can contribute to a possibly accidental journalism faux pas. Nevertheless, you can still discount your earlier worries with the hopes that Warner Bros. will move forward with Mad Max: The Wasteland, and whatever else Miller may have in mind for the newly rebooted desert road epic.
Mad Max: Fury Road, which starred Tom Hardy in the title role and in place of original franchise star, Mel Gibson, and co-starring Charlize Theron in the role of desert warrior, Furiosa, is currently the recipient of ten Oscar nominations announcent on Thursday, including Best Picture and Best Director.
Stay tuned for more info.