Max Stopped by War Fear
By Beth Hannan Rimmels
Concerns about a war in Iraq have halted the start of production for 20th Century Fox and Icon's Mad Max: Fury Road, the fourth film in the post-apocalyptic franchise. Filming was supposed to begin in July in Namibia, but now writer/director George Miller won't start until the fall.
"Any time you do a show like this, it is a massive undertaking with enormous prep time," Jim Gianopulos, chairman of Fox Filmed Entertainment, told Variety. "In this case, it is about the movement of huge vehicles and a mass of people, and with the pending war and all the potential logistical consequences, we had the latitude to wait and let some of this stuff blow over before going into full-bore production. What we do have firmly in place is Mel and George."
Fox had originally announced a tentative summer 2004 release date, but Gianopulos said the studio won't know if the film can keep that date until an actual start date is set.