Blood, Sweat & Chrome: The Wild and True Story of Mad Max: Fury Road

Like my headline implies, it was certainly an Odyssey for filmmaker George Miller to bring to the big screen, "Mad Max, Fury Road". Very similar to the Iliad, it took a similar 20 years for director Miller to be able to realize his vision of the 4th installment in the Mad Max franchise. From the early goings, when he was approached to make a t.v. series of this, to when he realized that it would make an interesting story for the big screen, to when he was making the animated film "Happy Feet", and at the same time trying to film his latest Mad Max opus, the journey on the road to this modern action masterpiece was fraught with peril. From the casting, to the building of the wild vehicles (in which, as usual, a vision of a dystopian future showing cars & vehicles that looked like they came off the assembly line from a mad scientist's fevered dreams), location problems, etc., the making OF this film is almost as fascinating as the film itself. For starters, the locale that they ORIGIANLY wanted to shoot it in, in a desert area of Miller's homeland of Australia, had to be abandoned, because? A FREAK of nature rainstorm (the area hadn't had rain for WELL over a century!), wound up turning the landscape into a tropical paradise. They then had to pack up & find an area on the African continent by the name of Namibia, which wound up being the perfect substitute, all except for the one horse town that was nearby, and only had 2 of everything (2 hotels, 2 movie theaters, 2 bars.........you get the idea). The casting of Charlize Theron & Tom Hardy as Furiosa & Max, respectively, when watching the finished product, looks like a casting thing of beauty to the naked eye, but behind the scenes, they were NOT getting on very well (in fact, in the scene in which they fight hand-to-hand against each other, you can see how they felt towards each other). It lent itself very well (and believably). Despite these problems & "difference of opinions", however, there were some interesting things that director Miller did to make his characters more believable, and to get them more into character. He organized actor's workshops with his actors, to allow them the opportunity to let them develop their own character's backstories, and have long discussions as to where there characters were coming from........... how "The Wives" and how the "War Boys" (the actors portraying them), how they would interact off set, how they would make their own little language with each other............. Miller's hiring of a dramaturg (Nico Lauthoris, who would wind up getting a screenplay credit), how he wrote a 190 page thesis on the meaning of the film...........from Max' journey, to the Wives, War Boys, the God-like devotion they displayed to their leader "Immortan Joe"........... it all helped them truly hone in on what they were supposed to be doing character-wise, and when you see the film, you can understand how these excercises and workshops developed them. I particularly enjoyed the way the author, Kyle Buchanan, who did a TON of interviewing for this novel, sets up how ............. when he's talking to either Miller, or Hardy, or whomever, he types their name in bold print and then let's the actor speak their words. I have a like for these sort of novels (the "behind the scenes" of a film), I did a review of the behind the making of The Godfather (the novel "Leave the Gun...... Take the Cannolis"), and I rather enjoy when the curtain is pulled back & reveals the details that we weren't made aware of on our favorite films. Blood, Sweat & Chrome is an amazing read, and I highly recommend it............ if you really want an understanding of the journey that some of these filmmakers have, and how much (at times), actual heartbreak can go into it............ but in the end, George Miller (who WAS having health issues during the making of this film), gets a chance to see his vision TRULY come to life. For some, it's worth the pain.

I had no idea how much drama and stress went on behind the scenes of Mad Max: Fury Road until I read this book. Well written and a super interesting read for fans of the movie franchise.

This was a great oral history of Fury Road that featured interviews with the key cast and crew. Lots of good quotes. If anything, I would have loved to have heard even more (it seems like George Miller shows up in the book most often to end cap bits of drama or anecdotes, and I'd have loved to hear more of his philosophising!), but i read it fairly quickly and it was laid out in a way that was very digestible.

This extremely well-researched gave me even more insight into George Miller's struggle to make Fury Road. The interviews are comprehensive-- but the book moves quickly. I devoured it in a weekend. The author shows a lot of sensitivity for the creative people involved, especially the actors. I now believe I understand better what they went thru, and even the true nature of the whole Tom Hardy-Charlize alleged beef. It makes much more sense, given the overall context supplied by this book. I hope he does one for Furiosa!

What a gem of a read. The physical build of the book is so good it is on display behind glass in my dining room.

An interesting behind-the-scenes for one of the best action movies ever put to film. It read quick and fast and is really informative while also being really entertaining. It's a miracle no one died during the filming and such a coherent masterpiece came from the chaos of filming.

Fabulous book - mostly an oral history. Loved all the behind the scenes. Jaw dropping in what it took to make this film.

A really well researched study of the movie.

BLOOD, SWEAT & CHROME por Kyle Buchanan es esencial para cualquier fan de este gran filme. El libro en sí esta compuesto de extractos de entrevistas a todo el crew que ayudo a filmar esta cinta, desde George Miller, Tom Hardy y Charlize Theron hasta los prop-makers que forjaron la multitud de carros postapocalípticos que aparecen en la cinta.El libro esta dividido en 3 partes:1. La concepción de FURY ROAD y su pre-producción2. El rodaje de la película en Namibia3. La post-producción y la recepción del filmeUna vez que empieces a leerlo no vas a poder parar, altamente recomendado para fans de la cinta. OJO: El libro esta en inglés.

Had a long plane ride so I wanted to read instead of watch a movieGlad I picked this up. Really good and if you are a major fan of the character, then you will love it

If you are looking for this book you know you want to read. So read it.

The book is brilliant. It is a hard read at first, but the more you get into it the harder it is to stop. The author has taken a great approach to talk about the past of Mad Max, the challenges the franchise faced and was still facing. It is just fascinating to read accounts on how much work was put in to gather the results we see on the screen.

I thought my obsession with MAD MAX FURY ROAD was a quirky individual thing. This marvellous read shows me I am not alone and explains in every detail why the film is a masterpiece.Using quotes could have been tiresome, especially when one is not always clear of the role each speaker played. But Kyle Buchanan strings hours and hours of interviews together in a readable form that fits into a coherent story. And what a story! The detail, the dogged determination of everyone, especially the director George Miller, is awesome to read. The shooting was a nightmare and yet one that no one walked away from.This is a marvellous read which enables you to see that genius is never about cutting corners. Kyle Buchanan is in awe of his subject and his enthusiasm for the move and his respect for the many participants in this massive endeavour is refreshing and informative.I have 2 criticisms- I wish the budget for this excellent book had stretched to pictures.Also, I have long thought that the musical score for FURY ROAD is a masterpiece in itself. It is not till page 266 that Tom Holkenborg’s is mentioned and then only briefly.I watched FURY ROAD on a plane recently - yet again. This book has renewed my determination to see it again on the big screen. And probably several times more after that!