Introduction
As long as there has been Hollywood…there have been Hollywood feuds. Instances when those behind, in front of the camera, or both, could not agree or disagree. A town of tinsel and egos, it is no surprise that not every personality gels. It is a place of work and industry; and have you liked every single colleague you have ever worked with?
Often the drama behind the scenes can enhance what appears on screen…and sometimes even overshadow it! But, there’s no such thing as ‘Bad Press.’ We as an audience love a good Hollywood Feud. It equates to our natural habit of ‘gossiping’ about our work colleagues, whispering about our schoolmates behind their backs, as we as a species and as an audience thrives on schadenfreude: the pleasure derived from another person’s misfortune.
Over a series of deep dives and retrospectives, Cinema Scholars has been jumping into the ring and revealing the root causes of some of the sublime to ridiculous Hollywood Feuds. Who was involved? How did it start? Did it affect the end product? Did it ever end?
With Mad Max prequel Furiosa now available VOD, let’s revisit another part of the saga and how its stars were indeed on a Fury Road…
Charlize Theron Vs. Tom Hardy
In 2015 the fourth instalment in George Miller’s Mad Max franchise had escaped development hell and reached theatres. Mad Max: Fury Road (2015) was a hit with audiences and critics, although modestly at the box office. But the production process had entered a level of fire and brimstone as Miller’s two stars had exhibited the same hostility and mistrust behind the camera as in front! Upon reflection, it is relatively straightforward to understand how these circumstances came to be.
Director Input…Or Lack Thereof…
Any audience member who has witnessed either or both of the recent entries in the saga – preferably on the biggest screen with the best sound system possible – will have been left in awe by the extraordinary visuals and out-of-this-world cinematography. These were of course no fluke. In the years of preparation for his ongoing opus, the reassuringly eccentric Miller channeled his ideas onto elaborate storyboards as opposed to a script. 3,500 storyboards in fact for Fury Road. This means for every minute of the film, there were on average 29 storyboards. Thus leaving little room for the small matter of…character lines.
Miller has said in the past that character parts in his films are mostly ‘non-verbal’ and they only talk when they have to. Indeed, while doing recent press for Furiosa, Miller told Simon Mayo of the Kermode and Mayo’ Take podcast:
“I try to make movies that are ‘silent movies’ with sound”
So, it would seem the actors did not have anything to sink their teeth into, and were unsure how to please the director, and as professional actors became increasingly frustrated.
Road to Nowhere
The film was shot in the Namibian desert, with southwest Africa standing in for post-apocalyptic Australia. Theron and Hardy were usually filmed inside the War Rig, which you may remember was not exactly a limousine. It is understandable for tensions to rise along with temperature, and space diminishing. Theron herself explained to Esquire:
“It was the isolation, we were stuck in a rig for the entire shoot. It was like a family road trip that just never went anywhere. We never got anywhere. We just drove. We drove into nothingness, and that was maddening sometimes.”
Max Making Others Mad
With Hardy being the title character, and inheriting the role of the Road Warrior of course from Mel Gibson, one can imagine the pressure of the role and reinvigorated franchise on his shoulders; even before the camera rolls. However, it seems Hardy’s response was frequent tardiness.
Reports from the crew, including camera operator Mark Goellnict, suggest that Hardy would regularly arrive late, especially for early morning call times. Theron meanwhile was the ultimate professional and arrived on set in a timely fashion, often after spending hours in the make-up chair achieving Furiosa’s now iconic look. On one such occasion, it became too much for her:
“Fine the f**king c**t a hundred thousand dollars for every minute that he’s held up his crew!”
The atmosphere then went from bad to worse as Theron became increasingly uncomfortable with what she thought was a male-dominated set, with Hardy’s actions being overlooked. She even requested that veteran producer Denise Di Novi be brought in to support her. However, producer Doug Mitchell did not permit Di Novi to be on set!
The Calming Of the Sandstorm
The tension did finally ease down, as Hardy, a method actor, was possibly reflecting the arc in his character, as it was around the time of filming the reclaiming of the Citadel when the two characters unite. It was noted again by Goellnicht, that Hardy:
“…was a different person by the end…a lot easier to deal with, a lot more cooperative, more compassionate…”
Hardy did go on to state to The Times newspaper:
“I think I was a little overwhelmed by the scale of this shoot and it got on my nerves. Charlize deserved a partner more experienced than me.”
Theron also went on to share in her Esquire interview that Hardy gave her a self-portrait, with a red handprint on the back as a special gift, with a note that read:
“You are an absolute nightmare, BUT you are also f**king awesome. I’ll kind of miss you. Love, Tommy.”
Conclusion
Tensions between Tom Hardy and Charlize Theron on the set of Mad Max: Fury Road mirrored their characters’ tension in the movie, which Miller would later confirm.
The feud escalated due to different acting methods, harsh conditions, and prioritizing storyboard over script. Despite initial animosity, Hardy and Theron eventually reconciled, with Hardy giving Theron a farewell gift acknowledging the tension. The audience received a gift that was Mad Max: Fury Road.
