Mad Max: Fury Road convoy hits Sydney

A convoy of stunt performers outside the Sydney Opera House promote Mad Max: Fury Road ahead of its premiere in May 2015.

The film pits Furiosa (Charlize Theron) against the warlord Immortan Joe (Hugh Keays-Byrne) and his terrifying horde of War Boys as they chase her through the desert in hulking black vehicles Frankensteined together from parts. In this clip from Ten Eyewitness News, the War Boys and their menacing rides swarm the forecourt of the Sydney Opera House – a publicity stunt ahead of the movie’s Australian premiere. 

The whitened skin and blackened eyes of the War Boys somehow look even more sinister against the familiar backdrop of the Opera House, and we catch a glimpse of one of the film’s most indelible characters – the Doof Warrior (played by iOTA), who serves as the army’s hype guy by shredding a fire-spitting guitar against a wall of speakers as they ride into battle. 

The Fury Road production designer, Colin Gibson, emphasises that all the vehicles have been used in the Opera House convoy, despite eager requests for them from LA – director George Miller’s nod to his Australian roots. Gibson won an Oscar for his work on Mad Max: Fury Road nine months later, on 28 February 2016.

At the 2015 Academy Awards, Mad Max: Fury Road was nominated for 10 awards and won 6. It won Oscars for Costume Design (Jenny Beavan), Film Editing (Margaret Sixel), Makeup and Hairstyling (Lesley Vanderwalt, Elka Wardega and Damian Martin), Production Design (Colin Gibson and Lisa Thompson), Sound Editing (Mark Mangini and David White) and Sound Mixing (Chris Jenkins, Gregg Rudloff and Ben Osmo).

It received additional nominations for Best Picture (Doug Mitchell and George Miller), Directing (George Miller), Cinematography (John Seale) and Visual Effects (Andrew Jackson, Tom Wood, Dan Oliver and Andy Williams).