The long-awaited 'Mad Max Fury Road' was considered an epic when it hit screens in 2015. Its behind-the-scenes stories of the difficulties of the shoot, including the fighting between co-stars Charlize Theron and Tom Hardy, have an infamy all their own.
Vanity Fair recently shared an extract from Kyle Buchanan's upcoming 'Blood, Sweat and Chrome: The Wild and True Story of Mad Max: Fury Road', which explores the making of the movie.
In the extract, Charlize Theron said she and Tom Hardy "were either fighting or we were icing each other." She expressed regret, saying: "We should not have done that; we should have been better. I can own up to that."
Nicholas Hoult, who played Nux on 'Mad Max: Fury Road' describes it as: "It was kind of like you’re on your summer holidays and the adults in the front of the car are arguing."
Their colleagues described how Hardy had a hands-on approach to the filmmaking process, wanting to express himself creatively, honing in on method acting.
Theron, on the other hand, was a straight shooter, wanting to get on with the production. She was unimpressed by Hardy's frequent tardiness coming to the 'Mad Max Fury Road' set.
Theron describes feeling "scared shitless" about the lack of clarity on the shoot.
One day, when Hardy was three hours late for filming, as Theron sat in full make up and costume in the oil rig waiting for him, camera operator Mark Goellnicht describes: "She jumps out of the War Rig, and she starts swearing her head off at him, saying, “Fine the fucking cunt a hundred thousand dollars for every minute that he’s held up this crew,” and “How disrespectful you are!”
"She was right. Full rant. She screams it out. It’s so loud, it’s so windy—he might’ve heard some of it, but he charged up to her up and went, “What did you say to me?”
"He was quite aggressive. She really felt threatened, and that was the turning point, because then she said, “I want someone as protection.” She then had a producer that was assigned to be with her all the time."
Hardy describes: "In hindsight, I was in over my head in many ways. The pressure on both of us was overwhelming at times. What she needed was a better, perhaps more experienced partner in me. That’s something that can’t be faked. I’d like to think that now that I’m older and uglier, I could rise to that occasion."
Goellnicht describes how there was "this change in their mood" after the incident when they went back to shooting. He says: "They were really civil and nice. [Tom Hardy] was a different person by the end—a lot easier to deal with, a lot more cooperative, more compassionate."
'Blood, Sweat & Chrome: The Wild and True Story of Mad Max: Fury Road' is available to pre-order on Amazon.