Ever since the release of Mad Max: Beyond Thunderdome in 1985 cult film fans the world over have been waiting for George Miller to follow through on his promise to continue the saga.

25 years on and just as filming was about to start Australia had other ideas and the shoot got rained off as their once arid location picked for its distinct ‘apocalyptic hell-hole’ look suddenly sprouted some startlingly un-apocalyptic flowers on a brand new carpet of grass. A year on and filming of Mad Max Fury Road has moved to Africa where the weather gods are a little more kind to the dystopian film maker.

In order to do this many of the film’s principal props have had to be shipped over from their original location. Happily this includes many of the ridiculous custom-made cars that will pepper the wasteland, cars presumably fuelled exclusively by testosterone, baby’s tears and the concept of hate:

Other photos were snapped on the back of loaders taking the cars to storage in South Africa that depict several copies of Max’s famed ‘Interceptor’, his coupe of choice from the original movies. My guess is that they won’t meet a pleasant end:

Whilst they are surely a mechanic’s dream and/or nightmare, it’s all very encouraging for the future of the franchise. After struggling for so long to take the new film into production it looks like things are definitely being given the go ahead. If all goes to plan the cars here could be hitting a screen near you sometime in the near future along with new Max Tom Hardy and his prospective co-stars Charlize Theron and Nicholas Hoult. I for one can’t wait.

Source: The Age

They say that the cream always rises to the top and that seems to be the case for Tom Hardy. Having plied his trade in an inferior Star Trek sequel (Nemesis) and a left-of-mainstream biopic (Bronson) he is now picking up bigger and bigger profile roles. With an utterly impressive co-lead performance under his belt for Warrior and an eye-catching supporting role in Nolan’s Inception, Hardy now has The Dark Knight Rises and the altogether very different This Means War for us in 2012.

Bigger and more prominent lead roles were always going to come his way eventually and so now proves to be the case, with news that Hardy is set to play one of the most iconic American gangsters of all time, Al Capone. Cicero, potentially a trilogy showing the rise, reign and fall of Al Capone, has been penned by Walon Green, with David Yates looking at re-writes before taking up the director’s reins. In contrast to Hardy’s exacting physical preparation for Bronson, Warrior and Batman, he has been doing more cerebral research for Cicero, boning up on the classic films of the Warner Bros gangster cycle:-

“I’ve been working with Warner Bros., watching their gangster films — the ones with James Cagney, Humphrey Bogart and Edward G. Robinson. The idea isn’t to remake those films but to get a flavour of them as we explore Capone’s career as a racketeer. The idea at the moment is of doing a trilogy of films, but nothing is set. Everyone is just talking and exploring.”

Hardy has apparently caught up with “The Petrified Forest”, “The Public Enemy”, “Little Caesar” and “The Roaring Twenties”, an utterly worthwhile exercise regardless, but especially in order to get under the skin of Prohibition-era racketeering. Whether he will follow in the footsteps of Robert De Niro (The Untouchables) and Rod Steiger (Al Capone) and put on a bit of girth for the role remains to be seen. WB want to hold their horses a little, waiting to see how Hardy comes off in TDKR before formally greenlighting this one, though for my money he has given all of the evidence he needs to of his leading-man credentials, with a reworking of Mad Max on his schedule for 2012 as well.

We will let you know as this one develops further.

Source: Indie Wire

Here at HeyUGuys, we aim to provide you with an all-encompassing look into the world of film. Whether you’re a fully-fledged cineaste, or just possess a casual interest, there’s something for anyone with our alternative A-Z of cinema, which starts today and runs through the week.

If you’ve ever wondered just what it is an Executive Producer does, or maybe if you’ve heard the ambient sounds of Tangerine Dream in an 80’s film favourite without knowing who you were listening to, this is the list for you!

Here are the letters K-O…

King Vidor (1894 – 1982) was an American film director, producer and screenwriter whose career spanned nearly seven decades. He resides in the Guinness Book of World Records for having the longest career of any  film director (it began in 1913 and ending in 1980). In 1979 he was awarded an Honorary Academy Award, having been nominated five previous times for a Best Director Oscar.

To give you an idea of how young cinema was when a teenage Vidor first caught a glimpse of his future, it was during a visit to see his first film (A Trip to the Moon by Georges Méliès), which happens to be one of the earliest films ever made.

Vidor’s first venture into sound was 1929’s Hallelujah!, a groundbreaking film which featured an African-American cast and established the new language for sound films. He was also one of a number of famous directors at the time, to work, uncredited, on the classic The Wizard of Oz (1939).

Linda Manz (1961-) is an actress who appeared in a couple of memorable and influential cult features towards the end of the seventies. Her distinctive, androgynous look caught the attention of Terrence Malick who cast her as the young narrator in his second film (1978’s Days of Heaven), but Manz is arguably best known for her appearance in the 1979 film The Wanderers, where she played the antagonistic girlfriend of the leader of the fearsome street gang The Baldies.

In 1980, Manz starred alongside Dennis Hopper in Out of the Blue (his first directorial effort since 1971’s ill-fated The Last Movie). The film competed for the Palme d’Or at the Cannes Film Festival in that same year.

Absent from cinema screens for over a decade now, her only remaining roles post-1980 were in a handful of films towards the end of the noughties, including a small part in David Fincher’s The Game and a bigger one in Harmony Korine’s 1997 mid-west oddity Gummo.

Mumblecore is an American independent film movement which began life with the release of 2005’s Funny Ha Ha, a low-budget character piece by filmmaker Andrew Bujalski. It is primarily characterised by a modest production (often employing digital video cameras), focusing on personal relationships between twentysomethings, improvised scripts, and non-professional actors.

The name was actually coined by a sound editor on one of the early films and reflects, to some extent, the semi-improvisational, sometimes inaudible speech inflections delivered by some of the performers involved. Filmmakers in this field include Lynn Shelton, Bujalski, Mark and Jay Duplass, Aaron Katz and Joe Swanberg.

The Duplass brother scored a recent mainstream success by using many elements of Mumblecore within the studio system (Fox Searchlight) and with big name actors (John C. Reilly, Jonah Hill, Marisa Tomei and Catherine Keener) in last year’s dark comedy Cyrus. Bujalski’s third independent feature Beeswax was released last year to great acclaim and praise.

Ned Ryerson is a character from much-loved comedy Groundhog Day played by “I know the face, not sure about the name” supporting actor Stephen Tobolowsky. Ryerson the is supremely annoying insurance salesman and former high school classmate of Phil Connors (Bill Murray) whom he has the unpleasant misfortune of running into every morning as he continually relives the one day.

Tales from the set of this film have been covered a number of times in Tobolowsky’s Podcast series, The Tobolowsky Files. A jovial and erudite storyteller, the actor (who has appeared in more than 200 films and TV show throughout his career) shares both personal and industry-based stories in each instalment.

Tobolowsky was actually reunited with Murray 11 years on from ‘Groundhog’ when they both appeared in the movie version of the comic strip Garfield. Probably safe to say it wasn’t a reunion which either actor celebrate. “Bing!!!!”

Ozploitation films are a type of low-budget horror, comedy and action (sometimes combining all three genres) features which were predominant in Australia from the early 1970’s to late 80’s. Made after the introduction of the R rating in 1971, filmmakers took full advantage of the new liberal landscape, and created a number of exploitation films with distinctly antipodean sensibilities.

Mad Max is perhaps the most famous example from the New Wave era, but there were many other notable films, including Alvin Purple (a crude sex comedy featuring Animal Kingdom co-star and Oscar nominee from this year, Jacki Weaver), Razorback, Roadgames, The Man from Hong Kong, BMX Bandits (starring a teenage Nicole Kidman) and Turkey Shoot.

The term Ozploitation was first used in 2008’s revealing and often hilarious documentary on the movement, Not Quite Hollywood. Quentin Tarantino (one of the interviewees and an unsurprising vocal admirer of the films produced) coined the phrase Aussiesploitation, which documentary director Mark Hartley then shortened to Ozploitation.

Check out F-J here.

Tom Hardy (who currently holds the title for hardest working man in show business) may be adding another performance to his already busy schedule. He has reportedly been offered the role in Wanted director Timur Bekmambetov’s Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter.

Moviefone are claiming that Hardy is up for a supporting role in the film, which is an alternative take on history, and pitches the 16th President of the United States as a part-time vampire slayer. Hardy is rumoured to be up for the part of Henry Sturges, who is a mentor and brother in arms to the president.

The actor must been taking all the interesting roles me can, following the news that the third instalment of the Mad Max franchise has been delayed. He will next be seen on the big screen in Gavin O’Connor’s (Pride and Glory) Warrior which is due out in 2011.

Be prepared to be all shook up with the news from The Hollywood Reporter which claims that Elvis Presley’s granddaughter Riley Keough is up for a role in the new Mad Max reboot/sequel Fury Road.

She is set to play one of the women known collectively as the ‘Five Wives’ who Max’s new incarnation Tom Hardy (so good recently in Inception) is tasked with protecting.

21-year-old Keough is relatively new to the motion picture industry having made her film debut in The Runaways earlier this year, although she’s been in front of the camera modelling since the age of 14.

She joins the likes of Charlize Theron and Nicholas Hoult in director George Miller’s fourth film in the Mad Max franchise.

Vulture have reported that Sam (Avatar should keep me in employment for at least the next 20 years) Worthington has turned down the one of the lead roles in his Terminator Salvation director McG’s action/romantic comedy This Means War.

Fear not however, as one of the UK’s fast rising (and most interesting) stars, Tom Hardy, has stepped in. He’ll co-star alongside Captain of the Enterprise Chris Pine in a film which will see them playing two lifelong best friends who wage an epic battle against one another after both falling in love with the same woman (Reese Witherspoon).

Apparently the script has been bouncing around Hollywood for quite some time, with a number of actors (including the likes of James Franco and Bradley Cooper) attached at various points.

Normally the idea of a new McG feature going into production, combined with this film’s rather flimsy sounding premise (Hardy and Pine are both playing spies) hardly screams out  must-see cinema, but the calibre of cast McG has managed to assemble here is really beginning to sell it to me.

Hardy (soon to play an updated version of Mad Max opposite Charlize Theron in Mad Max: Fury Road) has delivered nothing but sterling work in his short career, and his current playful turn as roguish team member Eames in Inception has helped to solidify his reputation. Pine was extremely charismatic as the legendary James. T, so maybe there is potential for some real fun here.

What are your thoughts?

Talented British actor Tom Hardy (RocknRolla, Bronson) has taken part in an interview with MTV where he spoke about George Miller’s upcoming fourth installment of his iconic Mad Max series, currently known as Fury Road.

Before any questions were even asked, Hardy wanted to state that he has still not officially been cast as Mad Max:

“George (Miller) hasn’t actually confirmed that. It’s strongly coming in my direction. I would be preparing for that role.”

Now whilst I’m a fan of Tom Hardy, this statement still gives me a glimmer of hope that Mel Gibson himself may yet return to play the role which he made so iconic. As a huge fan of the Mad Max trilogy I trust creator George Miller to deliver an excellent fourth movie, however there are just some characters in cinematic history that have been portrayed so perfectly by an actor that it is difficult to accept a different person playing the part. Unfortunately for Hardy, “Mad” Max Rockatansky is one of those iconic characters and at 53 years of age I do not believe Mel Gibson is too old to reprise his role, especially seeing as how the main action pieces of the films are based around vehicles and not that much on actual physical combat.

The iconic status of the character is something that Hardy is fully aware of, and even he acknowledges that Mel Gibson is Mad Max:

“The Mad Max figure is a big figure, and I have to get my head around that. I would have to pick up where Mel left off, but in all honesty, it would be ridiculous to pick up where Mel left off. He is Mad Max. I have to bring something entirely different and new to the stage. If I get offered it and George really wants to go with me, then George will tell me exactly what he wants to do and we’ll work together on the floor to create what it is that he wants to achieve. And I hope I can get that done for him.”

Hardy then stated that his audition was not actually for Max and that George Miller has not even spoken to him about the character, but should he officially get the part he believes the two can do it justice:

“The audition process had nothing to do with Max and nothing to do with the story or the script. It was unorthodox to the point where actually I could have been auditioning for anything. It was an anonymous read. [Miller and I] haven’t actually gotten into the conversation at all about Max.” He goes on to say: “If there’s anybody who can create a Mad Max with me playing the character, it’s going to be George “” it’s his baby.”

I do agree with Hardy in that series creator George Miller is definitely the man to re-create the character if need be, but I would love for nothing more than to see Mel Gibson return as Mad Max.

Tom Hardy will have done himself a lot of favours taking on the role of Charles Bronson in the movie biopic about the infamous British criminal. Although the movie was a hard watch at times, Hardy’s performance was exceptional. He put on so much muscle for the movie that he looked like a different person. Personally I think it’ll only be a matter of time before he’s Hollywood leading man material. Which is why this news comes as no surprise to me.

E! Online have reported today that ‘multiple sources tell E! News that the Oscar-winning babe (Charlize Theron) is director George Miller’s pick to play the lead female role in the upcoming, Mad Max 4.’ They go on to talk about Tom Hardy, being looked at as a possible lead.

I guess Mel Gibson is too old now but it would have been nice to see him back. Hardy is a fine choice and as I said above, after watching his performance in Bronson, I believe he could play any role as Bronson’s character was a complete mash-up of different consciousness anyway! More info as we get it.

You can buy Bronson on DVD here if you want to check it out.