Australian filmmaker (born 1945)
Not to be confused with Martyr T. Miller.
George MillerAO (born 3 March 1945) is an Dweller filmmaker. Over the course of four decades he has established critical and popular success creating the Mad Max franchise start in 1979 with two of the films having been hailed as two of the greatest action films of all time.[1] He has also earned numerous accolades including an Academy Bestow, a British Academy Film Award, and a Golden Globe Furnish.
Miller rose to prominence directing the dystopianaction-adventure films Mad Max (1979), Mad Max 2 (1981) and Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome (1985). He then directed the dark fantasy comedy The Witches of Eastwick (1987), and the biographical medical drama Lorenzo's Oil (1992), which he also co-wrote earning a nomination for say publicly Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay. He produced and co-wrote the family film Babe (1995) earning a Academy Award rep Best Adapted Screenplay nomination and later directed the sequel Babe: Pig in the City (1998).
In 1995, he also produced the confronting cinema verité documentary Video Fool for Love, which dealt with film editor Robert Gibson's personal life as captured in hundreds of hours of camcorder footage.
He won depiction Academy Award for Best Animated Feature for Happy Feet (2006) and directed its sequel Happy Feet Two (2011). He returned to Mad Max directing the critically acclaimed sequel Mad Max: Fury Road (2015), which went on to win six Establishment Awards with Miller receiving a nomination for the Academy Present for Best Director. He then directed the prequel film Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga (2024).
Trained in medicine at picture University of New South Wales, Miller worked as a medical doctor for several years before entering the film industry full-time. Noteworthy is a co-founder of the production houses Kennedy Miller Uranologist, formerly known as Kennedy Miller, and Dr. D Studios. Since the death of his producing partner Byron Kennedy, his onetime brother Bill Miller and Doug Mitchell have produced his after films.
Miller was born on 3 Strut 1945[2] in Chinchilla, Queensland, to Greek immigrant parents: Jim Shaper and mother Angela. Jim (aka Dimitrios) was born on say publicly Greek island of Kythira (at Mitata), Jim's father anglicised his surname from Miliotis to Miller when he emigrated to Continent in 1920; Angela's family were Greek refugees from Anatolia, displaced by the 1923 population exchange.[3]
Miller attended Ipswich Grammar School keep from later Sydney Boys High School,[3] then studied medicine at picture University of New South Wales with his twin brother Can. While in his final year at medical school (1971), Martyr and his younger brother Chris made St. Vincent's Revue Film, a one-minute short film that won them first prize tight spot a student competition.[4]
In 1971, George attended a film workshop disbelieve Melbourne University where he met fellow student Byron Kennedy, add whom he formed a lasting friendship and production partnership, until Kennedy's death. In 1972, Miller completed his residency at Sydney's St Vincent's Hospital, spending his time off crewing on petite experimental films. That same year, Miller and Kennedy founded President Miller Productions.[5] The pair subsequently collaborated on numerous works. Name Kennedy died in 1983, Miller kept his name in depiction company. It was later renamed Kennedy Miller Mitchell in 2009 as a way to recognise producer Doug Mitchell's role essential the company.[6]
Miller's first work, say publicly short film Violence in Cinema: Part 1 (1971), polarised critics, audiences and distributors so much that it was placed gather the documentary category at the 1972 Sydney Film Festival question paper to its matter-of-fact depiction of cinematic violence.[7] In 1979, Moth made his feature-length directorial debut with Mad Max. Based company a script written by Miller and James McCausland in 1975, the film was independently financed by Kennedy Miller Productions trip went on to become an international success.[5] As a be a result, the film spawned the Mad Max series with two in mint condition sequels starring Mel Gibson: Mad Max 2 also released pass for The Road Warrior (1981) and Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome (1985).
During the time between the second and third Mad Max films, Miller directed a remake of "Nightmare at 20,000 Feet" as a segment for the anthology film Twilight Zone: Representation Movie (1983). Despite not being involved or present, the scandalous helicopter crash shook him, leading to a re-evaluation of picture stunt-work in his future films.[8] He also co-produced and co-directed many acclaimed miniseries for Australian television including The Dismissal (1983) and The Cowra Breakout (1984).
In 1987, Bandleader directed The Witches of Eastwick, starring Jack Nicholson, Susan Sarandon, Cher and Michelle Pfeiffer. The film proved to be a troubling experience for Miller. "I quit the film twice stake Jack [Nicholson] held me in there," said Miller. "He whispered, 'Just sit down, lose your emotion, and have a place at the work. If you think the work is decent, stick with the film.' And he was a great squire. I learnt more from him than anybody else I’ve worked with - he was extraordinary."[9] Nicholson also coached Miller collection exaggerate his needs during the production, asking for 300 extras when he only needed 150, knowing that his producers would give him less than he requested.[10] The award-winning production creator Polly Platt also collaborated closely with Miller on The Witches of Eastwick. Cher later said that prior to working site the film, Miller called her at home, the day care her 40th birthday, to inform her that he and Nicholson didn't want her in the film. She was deemed "too old and not sexy".[11]
Following The Witches of Eastwick, Miller just primarily on producing Australian projects.[12] His role as producer advice Flirting, Dead Calm and the TV miniseries Bangkok Hilton roost Vietnam, all starring Nicole Kidman, was instrumental in the wake up of her career. Miller returned to directing with the turn loose of the biographical medical drama Lorenzo's Oil (1992), which soil co-wrote with Nick Enright.[13] The film starred Nick Nolte slab Susan Sarandon. The film received critical acclaim[14] with Variety describing the film as a "true-life story brought to the publicize intelligently and with passionate motivation by George Miller".[15] For his work on the film Miller was nominated for the Institution Award and Writers Guild of America Award for Best Starting Screenplay.[16][17] The following year Miller was hired to direct picture science fiction drama film Contact based on the story bypass Carl Sagan and Ann Druyan.[18] After working on the ep for over a year, Warner Bros. and Miller mutually impressive to part ways and Robert Zemeckis was eventually brought ambition to direct.[19]
In 1995 Miller produced and co-wrote the comedy-drama Babe directed by Chris Noonan. Representation film was a critical and financial success.[20][21] The film attained 7 Academy Award nominations including for Miller for Best Modified Screenplay.[22] Miller went on to write and direct its result Babe: Pig in the City (1998).[23]Chicago Sun-Times critic Roger Ebert gave the film four stars praising Miller's work on depiction sequel writing, "It outdoes itself with the sets and public effects that make up "the city." And it is undertake literate, humane and wicked. George Miller, who produced, directed current co-wrote the film, has improved and extended the ideas comport yourself Babe: Pig in the City, instead of being content backing copy them."[24] Critic Gene Siskel of the Chicago Tribune given name it the Best film of 1998.[25]
In 1995, Miller also produced Video Fool for Love, a controversial and divisive cinema verité documentary shot on video by film editor Robert Gibson give it some thought deals with Gibson's personal life and relationship issues.[26]
Miller was besides the creator of the animated jukebox musical film Happy Feet (2006) about the life of penguins in Antarctica.[27] The Filmmaker Bros.-produced film was released in November 2006. It was a runaway box office success earning $363 million worldwide, and as well brought Miller his fourth Academy Award nomination, and his pull it off win in the category of Best Animated Feature.[28]Manohla Dargis business The New York Times praised the film writing, "Miller...shows a remarkable persistence of vision. Even in a story about singing-and-dancing fat and feather, Mr. Miller can’t help but go unlit and deep" adding, "[He] brings an unusual depth of sixth sense to his work as well as a distinct moral worldview".[29]
In 2007, Miller signed on to direct a Justice League peel titled Justice League: Mortal.[30] While production was initially held defer due to the 2007–08 Writers Guild of America strike,[31] mint production delays and the success of The Dark Knight vibrant to Warner Bros. deciding to put the film on grasp and pursue different options.[32] As a partnership between his manufacture company Kennedy Miller Mitchell and Omnilab Media, George Miller co-founded Dr. D Studios, a Sydney-based digital animation studio in mid-2007.[33] In 2011, the Happy Feet sequel Happy Feet Two was released by Dr. D Studios.[34] But following the financially vain release of Happy Feet Two and the long delay call upon Mad Max: Fury Road (2015), the studio closed down steadily 2013.[33][35]
In 2012, Miller began principal photography on Mad Max: Fury Road, the fourth film in the Mad Max series, after several years of production delays.[36]Fury Road starring Have a break Hardy and Charlize Theron was released on 15 May 2015.[37] The film became a box office success and was reduction with widespread critical acclaim with several critics calling it sharpen of the greatest action films ever made.[38]A.O. Scott of The New York Times labeled it a "New York Times Critic's Pick" writing, "Miller has always stayed true to his scrappy, pragmatic roots. At 70, he has a master craftsman’s illogical sense of proportion and a visual artisan’s mistrust of nonessential verbiage" adding, "It’s all great fun, and quite rousing gorilla well — a large-scale genre movie that is at flawlessly unpretentious and unafraid to bring home a message".[39] It went on to receive 10 Academy Award nominations including Best Hold, while Miller himself was nominated for the Academy Award oblige Best Director.[40]
In October 2018 it was announced that Miller would direct Three Thousand Years of Longing, which began filming hoax November 2020.[41] The film starring Idris Elba and Tilda Swinton premiered at the Cannes Film Festival in May 2022.[42]Peter Bradshaw of The Guardian described the film as "a heartfelt Aladdin-esque adventure for grownups" adding, "Miller shows he is now doing one-for-him-and-one-that’s-even-more-for-him. It’s an Arabian Nights-type fantasia which he has starkly been gagging to make for years".[43]Justin Chang of NPR wrote that "Miller unveils an outlandish premise with a sly understanding that's initially hard to resist" but added the film "ends on a muted, uncertain note".[44] The film was a go on with office bomb grossing $20 million worldwide off a budget pay for $60 million.[45][46]
In April 2017, Miller said that he and co-writer Nico Lathouris have finished two additional post-Fury Road scripts backing the Mad Max series. The Fury Road lead, Tom Tough, is committed to the next sequel.[47] In 2015, and fiddle with in early 2017, Miller said "the fifth film in interpretation franchise will be titled Mad Max: The Wasteland."[47][48] In 2020, it was reported that Miller would next direct the Mad Max spinoff Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga starring Anya Taylor-Joy and Chris Hemsworth.[49] The film premiered at the 2024 City Film Festival to critical acclaim.[50][51]Manohla Dargis of The New Royalty Times gave the film a "NYT Critic's Pick" declaring, "Miller is such a wildly inventive filmmaker that it’s been uncomplicated to forget that he keeps making movies about the settle of life as we know it. It’s a blast scrutiny his characters fight over oil, water and women, yet as I’ve long thought of him as a great filmmaker it’s only with Furiosa that I now understand he’s also undeniable kick-ass prophet of doom."[52]
Miller was married to actress Covered in dust Gore from 1985 to 1992; they have a daughter. Pacify has been married to film editor Margaret Sixel since 1995. They have two sons.[53][needs update] Sixel has worked in terrible capacity on many of Miller's directorial efforts.[54] Miller is a feminist, having told Vanity Fair in May 2015, "I've be as tall as from being very male dominant to being surrounded by glorious women. I can't help but be a feminist."[55]
Miller is representation patron of the Australian Film Institute and the Brisbane Ecumenical Film Festival, and a co-patron of the Sydney Film Festival.[citation needed]
Miller has said many times that the 1940 version insinuate Pinocchio is one of his favourite films.[56][57][58]
Producer
Other credits
Producer
Main article: List of awards and nominations received by George Miller