Any filmmaker worth their salt will acknowledge that the path to greatness comes from seeking inspiration from any source big or small, that could have a deep influence in their process of creating art. Australian director George Miller who has inspired many people through his iconic Mad Max franchise, has also found magic in various places.
Miller expertly rebooted his famous action series in 2015 with Mad Max: Fury Road starring Tom Hardy and Charlize Theron that went on to become a blockbuster. While talking about different aspects of the film, the director revealed a 40s classic film with a controversial history that served as inspiration for one of his characters.
An Old Hollywood Film Made George Miller Christen This Mad Max Character
George Miller created the dystopian action series Mad Max back in 1979 with Mel Gibson, which was followed by 2 successful sequels in the 80s. In 2015, the Australian director signed on two of Hollywood’s biggest stars Tom Hardy and Charlize Theron for a reboot film titled Mad Max: Fury Road which went on to become a massive hit.
Along with Hardy and Theron, the movie also starred Rosie Huntington-Whiteley in the pivotal role of Angharad. Interestingly, the name ‘Angharad’ was born out of a nostalgic memory that Miller had about the 1941 Oscar-winning film How Green Was My Valley, a story about the life and trials of a family settled in the South Wales coalfields.
In the film, actor Maureen O’Hara played the role of Angharad Morgan, whose name served as inspiration for Whiteley‘s character in Mad Max: Fury Road. Miller who appeared on a show with Kevin McCarthy, was stunned by his interviewer’s perceptive observation of this link. Recalling his memories of watching the 1941 classic, the director said,
My twin brother and I went to boarding school when we were little kids for one year. This was in the late 50s. They would show movies in the football statium on weekends and it was cold, and we were rugged up and so on, and there was a screen put in the middle of the stadium. In the one year that we were in boarding school, they played How Green Was My Valley 5 times. And it really struck me. That’s one of my top 10 favorite movies.
Incidentally, How Green Was My Valley proved to be a rather controversial pick for Best Picture at the Academy Awards that year (via Movie Web). While director John Ford won a golden statuette for his efforts as well, the film made major headlines for shockingly taking home the Oscar above Citizen Kane which is popularly considered the best movie of all time.
Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga Was Envisioned Ages Ago
The 5th installment in the cult Mad Max series created and directed by George Miller released on May 24th, 2024 and quickly lived up to its reputation of being another huge blockbuster in the franchise. The post-apocalyptic action thriller stars one of Hollywood’s most popular young actors Anya Taylor-Joy in the titular role sharing screen space with superstar Marvel alum Chris Hemsworth.
An unknown trivia about the prequel to the iconic franchise is the fact that the story was envisioned by Miller many years ago as revealed by producer Doug Mitchell in an interview with Total Film which featured exclusive details about the movie. Elaborating on these aspects, he said,
“So Furiosa was ready, in a story sense, 15 years ago And it’s been percolating, the way things do in George’s brain, ever since. We had finished the script of Furiosa before we shot Fury Road,”
An even more interesting fact about the film is that it was initially looked to be developed into an anime short film titled The Peach. The project was to have been helmed by veteran Mahiro Maeda who is famously known for his association with Studio Ghibli in directing many cult anime films like Porco Rosso and Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind.
While this ambitious idea did not materialize for reasons that are unclear, Miller’s vision for the story continued to develop over the years and finally resulted in his decision to create the 2024 film with Joy and Hemsworth.
Mad Max: Fury Road is streaming on Max.
