George Miller Was Open to “Female Mad Max” in 1985
Have you ever wondered how an idea came into a writer or directors mind? And how long they may hold onto that idea? For George Miller, he apparently had one for about 30 years before it came to life.
Mad Max: Fury Road is a hit amongst the fans who’ve seen it. And they love the character of Furiosa, who was played epically by Charlize Theron. And many actually consider her more Mad Max than Mad Max was!
So when did Miller get the idea for such a character? Well, he had it in 1985, or rather was at least open to it 1985. A recently published interview (it was shelved in 1985) reveals his thoughts on having a “Female Mad Max”:
“I thought a lot about that. I think there’s no question about it. I still can’t figure out sexuality; I mean it’s such a big mystery to us all. It’s like violence and aggression, it’s something we try to understand with our heads, our intellect, but they’re really to do much more with the instinctual side of us. It’s old brain versus new brain, you know?
If you agree that heroes are the agents of revolution, there have been very few women heroes in society. I don’t think there’s any reason why there can’t be a female version, in fact the Tina Turner [character] in the subtext of Mad Max 3, before the story started, probably followed a very classic hero story – the story of how she built Bartertown would be a very interesting story. And – in the way we discussed her back story, she would pretty well follow the hero story – she would have to. So a short answer is yes, I think there can be a female hero in the same way. How we would respond collectively as audiences, I don’t know. I suspect that we would respond very well, if the story was well told.”
If the fans are any indication, he told the story very well.