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New Mad Max Film

IceDiver writes "According to Google News Mel Gibson has signed up for a new Mad Max film "Fury Road". His salary? A whopping $25,000,000.00 Apparently the script has been in the works for 3 years and is highly polished. As a big fan of all 3 Mad Max films, I am looking forward to this one! "

41 of 510 comments (clear)

  1. profit ? by a7244270 · · Score: 5, Insightful

    I wonder if they will make any money.

    According to the article they are going to spend about 180 mil to make MM4, and MM1,2,3 combined made less than 70 mil.

    But then again, these days is seems like all you need ia a hot chick and some special effects to rake it in - plot optional.

    1. Re:profit ? by nakedbonzai · · Score: 5, Funny

      As long as Kevin Costner isn't starring in it, it'll make money.

    2. Re:profit ? by dvdeug · · Score: 5, Informative

      Ah, but are those numbers inflated? Movies cost more now than they did then.

      The original Mad Max was made on a very low budget. It was the highest profit to cost ratio movie until Blair Witch. So cheap that the only actor to wear real leather was Mel Gibson - the other characters had to do with fake leather.

      (All from the pop-up-video type notes on the DVD.)

    3. Re:profit ? by kizarny · · Score: 5, Insightful

      Waterworld made money, over $70 million in its first domestic box office run, before overseas export, video release and licensing. It's a seldom stated film industry secret but... they all eventually make money.

    4. Re:profit ? by Iamthefallen · · Score: 5, Funny

      Actually, very few make money, in some magic way they all just barely break even...

      --
      Wax-Museum Fire Results In Hundreds Of New Danny DeVito Statues
  2. 25 million? by PanBanger · · Score: 5, Funny

    I guess we know who run Bartertown.

    1. Re:25 million? by GuyMannDude · · Score: 5, Funny

      C'mon people! What is this "25 million" and "$25,000,000.00" stuff I'm seeing here? This is News for Nerds for chrissake! Mel's salary will be $2.5e7. Get it right. :)

      GMD

    2. Re:25 million? by delfstrom · · Score: 5, Insightful

      You must be a scientist type, then. An engineer would say 25.7M (Example, for ten megapascals an engineer writes 10 MPa, not 1.0E7 Pa)

  3. Yeah but will they be clever... by Jonny+Ringo · · Score: 5, Funny

    enough to make it look as low budget as the first one? Paying Mel 25 million they may not have a choice! :-)

  4. Re:What? by chuckfirment · · Score: 4, Funny

    "You admit to being a "fan" of Thunder Dome? Blarg."

    I definately admit to it. To this day I'll occasionally hear the chanting in my head, "Two men enter! One man leave!"

    Thankfully it's at completely inappropriate times like corporate meetings or trying to merge in traffic.

    Chuck Firment

  5. According to Google News? by FreeLinux · · Score: 5, Funny

    You mean according to Google News by way of CNN, by way of Reuters, don't ya?

    1. Re:According to Google News? by tfreport · · Score: 5, Insightful

      This should be modded up. This was the first thing I thought about reading this article, there is no Google News in terms of reporting stories. Sure you can mention that they pointed you to the story but saying that something is acording to them is wrong.

      It has been said on Slashdot many times that Google should not be held responsible for what it links to (the whole Church of Scientology debate) but it then should also not credit for someone else's reporting. It is only the way it should be that you either always are responsible for links or you never are.

  6. MAD Max? by Scotch+Game · · Score: 4, Funny

    For $25,000,000 for the fourth movie he should go from "Mad Max" to "Old, Rich, Happy Max".

  7. re: New Mad Max Film by jonerik · · Score: 5, Funny

    According to Google News Mel Gibson has signed up for a new Mad Max film "Fury Road".

    And it's already available at sidewalk kiosks throughout China.

  8. More apocalyptic blather? by guacamolefoo · · Score: 5, Interesting

    I read about the movie this morning on CNN, but I wasn't really that excited by it. The interesting part of the story arc has been exhausted, IMHO. I'm not exactly sure where this one will go, unless it is a rehash of the last two plots.

    1. Mad Max = world going to hell
    2. Road Warrior = world gone to hell
    3. Thunderdome = World gone to hell, but redeeming itself
    4. New movie = (?) Make money!

    There is some overlap (Road Warrior had an inkling of redemption at the end, but it was more explicit in Thunderdome.

    This may end up being a good action flick, but I am not seeing significant potential to do anything very new or exciting. I expect that, like Mel, we'll find out that the series is old and tired.

    guac-foo.

    1. Re:More apocalyptic blather? by Telastyn · · Score: 5, Interesting

      Kinda like Harrison Ford and the "new" Indiana Jones movie? Or the Scooby Doo movie? Or the Star Wars prequels? Or...

      Seems like alot of Movie Execs (read: tripe) have gone from rehashing old, moderately good films, into moderate films with different names and just went straight to remaking the same damned film, this time with nostalgia!

    2. Re:More apocalyptic blather? by moosemoose · · Score: 5, Funny

      Its actually, "furry road" and the plot involves an aging warrior who mows down small rodents on an abandoned interstate with his flamethrowing wheel chair in order to provide food to the starving survivors of the apocalypse.

      --
      the real evil is not what people think - its how people think
    3. Re:More apocalyptic blather? by Col.+Klink+(retired) · · Score: 5, Funny

      I think the plots are more like this:

      1. Mad Max = Max chased in his car
      2. Road Warrior = Max chased in his truck
      3. Thunderdome = Max chased in his train
      4. New movie = Max chased in his Rolls Royce

      --

      -- Don't Tase me, bro!

  9. I don't know by tps12 · · Score: 5, Funny

    I'll see it, I'm sure, but I'm skeptical as to whether the true spirit of the originals will persist. The ideas and expressions that once comprised pop culture have changed so much that the original Mad Max themes of individualist strength and moral integrity will probably be cast aside in favor of a more contemporary populist sensibility.

    By way of comparison, consider that "Popeye" had a character called Wimpy, who was addicted to hamburgers (a stand-in for alcohol in those more sensitive times). He was continuously broke, and to finance his habit was reduced to trying to con other characters out of their money ("I'll gladly pay you Tuesday for a hamburger today"). His crippling addiction lost him everything, even his dignity. He was not a hero, but a character to be pitied for his devotion to something so artificial and his lack of work ethic.

    Look at today's children's cartoons and you'll find nothing like Wimpy. Instead, you'll see obviously gay characters like Spongebob Squarepants, who epitomizes and glorifies chronic laziness and disrespect for authority. Even his name, "Squarepants," alludes to the angular uniforms of China's Red Army. Is it any surprise that generation Xers grow up with no work ethic and a feeling of entitlement, when they have been indoctrinated with this kind of skewed moral framework? The values expressed in the original Mad Max films are completely alien to them, and I'm not optimistic that they'll come through at all.

    --

    Karma: Good (despite my invention of the Karma: sig)
    1. Re:I don't know by stratjakt · · Score: 5, Interesting

      Here's how I understand the spinach thing:

      Popeye was originally an adult comic strip, published for sailors out at sea. It was in something like stars and stripes, or whatever.

      Anyways, he was a charicature of 'a sailor man', and would go ashore, get drunk, pick up hookers, swear constantly, and fight anyone who crossed his path.

      Anyhow, kids would get ahold of the comic and start reading it. And, much like today (GTA3, etc) parents and do-gooders protested and whined. "Please think of the children".

      So as a gag, EC Segar decided to mock all the whiners and put a 'kid friendly' message into one of the strips - he ate his spinach and then kicked everyones ass. It stuck.

      It was a running gag to mock whiners. Eventually it became nothing more than a kids cartoon, but the spinach thing was already there.

      Besides, he doesnt suck it through a pipe.

      BTW, the "mexican loco weed" thing is an urban legend. It never happened.

      --
      I don't need no instructions to know how to rock!!!!
    2. Re:I don't know by El · · Score: 4, Insightful

      When you begin to find cartoon squirrels attractive, maybe you should take that as a sign that you REALLY need to get out more often!

      --

      "Freedom means freedom for everybody" -- Dick Cheney

  10. Re:sheesh by Reality+Master+101 · · Score: 5, Informative

    I was tempted to agree with you, but actually dude is younger than you might think. He's only 46. Not like, say, Harrison Ford who is 60.

    --
    Sometimes it's best to just let stupid people be stupid.
  11. Let's see.... by Schnapple · · Score: 5, Insightful
    1. Original director from first film
    2. Big budget
    3. A script that's been in the works for years
    4. Beloved franchise
    5. Original actors where possible
    Sounds like it can't go wrong, right?

    Can you say The Phantom Menace?

    1. Re:Let's see.... by ggruschow · · Score: 4, Interesting
      Sounds like it can't go wrong, right? Can you say The Phantom Menace?

      Uh yeah. The Phantom Menace was a major flop (where major flop is defined as the #3 highest grossing film so far.

      Seriously. Who here didn't see it?

      Now, I know you think it sucked, but I bet you went and saw Episode 2 as well, eh?

      I was too young to see Mad Max 1-3 in theaters. I'll go and see this one so long as it's rated >40% on rottentomatoes.

  12. Re:sheesh by frieked · · Score: 5, Funny

    Gonna disagree with me eh?

    That's it... 2 men enter, 1 man leave
    me and you buddy :p

    --

    I have often regretted my speech, never my silence.
    -Xenocrates
  13. Mad Max Movies FAQ by eht · · Score: 4, Informative

    Mad Max Movies FAQ is a great link for all thing's Mad Max

  14. In this episode... by ptomblin · · Score: 5, Funny

    He makes it to the shore just as Kevin Costner steps ashore from his catamaran.

    --
    The next Cmdr Taco duplicate will be ready soon, but subscribers can beat the rush and see it early!
    1. Re:In this episode... by Cheap+Imitation · · Score: 5, Funny

      Hey! Maybe they can team up to deliver the mail....

  15. MAD MAX Beyond Geritol by GodHead · · Score: 5, Funny


    Mel will be driving a beat up station wagon, with the right turn signel flashing, 20 miles an hour under the speed limit while looking for an all-you-can-eat buffet.

    --
    Just wait till some crappy band steals your nic.
  16. well, in that case by sydlexic · · Score: 4, Funny

    he sure looks old for his age. in close-ups he reminds me of the cigarette man.

  17. Highly Polished by sdo1 · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Highly Polished... yea, I know what that means. It means a committee has been hard at work f***ing up what was probably a pretty good script.

    A couple of recent script-by-committee disasters include "How the Grinch Stole Christmas", "Batman and Robin", and "The Scorpion King". Of course having one person in full control of the script isn't necessarily a good thing either as Mr. Lucas has so painfully pointed out.

    -S

    --
    --- What parts of "shall make no law", "shall not be infringed", and "shall not be violated" don't you understand?
  18. Re: New Mad Max Film by MongooseCN · · Score: 5, Funny

    Dark Helmet:
    How can there be a cassette of Spaceballs: The Movie? We're still in the middle of making it!
    Col. Sandurz:
    That's true, sir. But, there's been a new breakthrough in home video marketing.
    Dark Helmet:
    There has?
    Col. Sandurz:
    Yes. Instant cassettes. They're out in stores before the movie is finished.

  19. The last of the V8 Interceptors by bmajik · · Score: 5, Interesting

    The Road Warrior was my favorite movie from the first time i saw it (at the tender age of 5) up until "The Devil's Advocate" came out.

    Nobody in kindergarten knew what the hell i was talking about if i asked them if they needed a guy to haul this rig.

    To this day, i still want the car he had in mad max. That supercharger (albeit fake) was the coolest thing i've ever seen. And i want a gear lever with a red button on it that makes the most glorious sound i've ever heard. I had a whole section on my website about the mad max car and some guy in .au emailed me about it with lots of details and info while i was in college. There are clone mad max cars up for auction from time to time. Hopefully, when im old and loaded, i'll be able to pick up a perfect replica mad-max car, with a _working_ super charger that somehow makes that incredible whine when i engage the supercharger.

    I've actually asked a couple of tuners about that functionality, apparently it was pretty suspect. To run a boosted motor you need to run lower compression pistons to avoid predetonation, which means that when the SC was disengaged you'd be making shit for power , (although i guess technically you'd be using less gas, but the engine would be way less than optimally efficient). that makes it basically a tradeoff, theres probably some crossover point where you're actually getting better "bang for your gas" with the SC engaged than with it off.

    Also, whowever invented the wrist-gauntlet mounted mini-crossbow is a diety.

    --
    My opinions are my own, and do not necessarily represent those of my employer.
    1. Re:The last of the V8 Interceptors by geek · · Score: 4, Funny

      Knight Rider is king of the heap, sorry

  20. Re:sheesh by thesophist · · Score: 5, Funny
    Great! In 20 years we will have Mad Max X: Wheelchair Warrior to look forward to...

  21. timely! by kevin+lyda · · Score: 5, Funny

    woo-hoo! new mad max film. it would be a good idea to study it to learn how to live after bush starts a nuclear holocaust...

    --
    US Citizen living abroad? Register to vote!
  22. Fake Leather? by theduck · · Score: 5, Funny

    You had fake leather? You were lucky! When I was a lad, we had to paint our bodies with hot sulfurous pitch if we wanted to even LOOK like we wore fake leather in a movie!

    --
    How can we afford to ever sleep
    So sound again
    --ebtg
    1. Re:Fake Leather? by Bobb+Sledd · · Score: 5, Funny

      You had sulfurous pitch? You were lucky...

      --
      "They said I probly shouldn't fly with just one eye," "I am Bender. Please insert girder."
  23. Script? by BryanL · · Score: 4, Funny

    "Apparently the script has been in the works for 3 years and is highly polished"

    I have read childrens books to my four year old that have had more words than the first three movies combined. What can there be to polish?

  24. Re:Everyone's free to use sunscreen... by Reality+Master+101 · · Score: 5, Insightful

    How about $1Million? Would it REALLY fucking cramp Mel's style? Or Tom Cruise's?

    Why are you blaming the actors? What are they supposed to do, say "No thanks, that's too much money"?

    If Mel Gibson can attract enough people to the movie to make that much money, who should get the money?

    --
    Sometimes it's best to just let stupid people be stupid.
  25. Branding by Animats · · Score: 5, Interesting
    No actor is worth $25M. It's branding, not talent. I'm surprised that Hollywood hasn't figured out a way around that problem.

    Some years ago, a friend of mine dragged me backstage at a major rock concert during setup, and I was hearing how the show had two sets of equipment and props, leap-frogging each other from city to city, with one group in setup while another was in teardown. I was talking to one of the promoter's financial people, and said, "So why not have two sets of musicians. Cats has two road companies. Barnum and Bailey Circus has two units. There have been rock groups where, over time, all the members of the band were replaced. And nobody can see those guys on stage (this was in a football stadium, and before big-screen projectors) anyway. Your costs will go up by only 20-30%, but revenue will double." He looked very thoughtful for a while.

    Someday, Clear Channel will probably pull this off.