Mad Max: Fury Road's Dusty Desert Conditions Had The Cast And Crew Constantly 'Choking'
Nearly a decade after its initial release, "Mad Max: Fury Road" remains a miracle of filmmaking. On paper, nothing about this movie should work. It's a new entry in a decades-old movie series with a brand new cast (after its previous star turned out to be a horrible person), with a blend of CG and practical stunts that could have easily killed half the cast yet somehow didn't, and a story told mostly via visuals rather than dialogue or quips.
It is also a movie that faced countless issues before, during, and even after production, from changes in studios to big casting changes, wars, and more — like fate was determined to keep it from getting made. One of the big challenges throughout production was the weather. The main shooting location changed from New South Wales to the Namibian desert after an unexpectedly heavy rainfall turned the original location from a wasteland into a real green place.
As read in the tell-all book "Blood, Sweat & Chrome. The Wild and True Story of Mad Max: Fury Road," the new location proved difficult for everyone involved. According to writer Kelly Marcel, everyone was "choking on dust" and "fighting to get these shots before the sand kicks up again."
"If you were ever in a scenario where you were driving in the armada, you could never see anything, because as soon as the cars in front of you start moving, it's a wall of dust," stunt driver Eugene Arendsen said. "After every single take, both my eyes were completely full of sand, and I could barely see. Medics would come over and wash my eyes out with some saline."
Sand is coarse and rough and irritating
As special effects supervisor Andy Williams said, dust was a big problem working in the Namibian desert, 60% of which is made out of silica. But director George Miller told him that "dust is our friend" even if that sounded counterintuitive. "Apart from the fact that you shouldn't be breathing it in, it gets into everything, it ruins every piece of equipment, it's a nightmare," Williams said. "But he was actually correct. The end result, the cinematography, was fantastic."
Of course, not every member of the cast and crew was this enthusiastic. Charlize Theron repoortedly had issues with director George Miller during the making of "Fury Road," from his lack of a traditional script to the shooting conditions and location. "Charlize had this aversion to dust," Miller said. "I said: 'Well, why don't we have tissues? You can wipe your hands all the time.' And she said: 'No, no, no. I want to use that.' Indeed, she would walk out of makeup and wardrobe and would roll around in dust as a preparation every morning."