It was the year 1979 when Mel Gibson starred in an iconic film that would go on to make history. Starring in Mad Max and portraying the role of a lonesome ranger on a desolate land, the film received rave reviews and developed into an iconic franchise that we know and love today.
It is often said that great things have humble beginnings and Mel Gibson was just a budding actor at that time. A shocking piece of information was recently revealed that just showed the tight budget of the movie and how much of a salary Mel Gibson earned for the role!
Mel Gibson’s Modified Car Was Worth More Than His Salary!
With George Miller as the director and Mad Max being one of the first few films of Mel Gibson, the salary of the lead actor was quite a bit low. Although what Gibson received was quite low, we can draw some comparisons.
Throughout the film, Gibson drove an iconic V8 Interceptor which became a symbol for the film. The car was modified by production designer Murray Smith when Miller stated that he wanted an “evil-looking, Australian car.” As per a post on X (formerly Twitter), it was revealed that the car cost $35,000 to make which was roughly three times more than the paycheck that Mel Gibson received for starring in the film!
Max’s famous V8 Interceptor car was modified by production designer Murray Smith, following Miller’s brief for an “evil-looking, Australian car.” It cost over $35,000 to create – more than three times Mel Gibson’s salary for the film.
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— All The Right Movies (@ATRightMovies) April 14, 2024
Another post revealed that Gibson was paid $10,000 for his role as Max in the 1979 film. On top of that, he had to do all the hand-to-hand fight scenes himself. Although this resulted in a spectacular film, Gibson was later cut from the U.S. trailers of the film!
Why George Miller Depicted Mad Max In A Dystopian World!
Having financial troubles made for the perfect reason for George Miller to set his film in a post-apocalyptic world but it wasn’t always the plan. In an interview with Deadline, here’s what Miller had to say about his 1979 film.
“[It was] almost impossible to do action sequences in the streets of Melbourne in the city in the modern day… the idea was to set it in a dystopian future simply because we could play in empty streets —”
He further continued,
“And that was a really lucky thing because accidentally the film, which otherwise would have been present-day naturalistic, turned out to be more allegoric, unwittingly, and that’s what led to Mad Max and that’s why I’m still doing them because they’re very addictive.”
Released in 1979 and earning $100 million worldwide, Mad Max received a rating of 6.8/10 on IMDB and a whopping 89% on Rotten Tomatoes. The film is currently available to stream on Prime Video in the U.S.
