George Miller
GEORGE MILLER
Date of Birth: March 3, 1945
A native of Australia, George Miller first earned a degree in medicine from the University of New South Wales before turning to filmmaking. He met Byron Kennedy at a film workshop, and the two collaborated on a comedy short called Violence in the Cinema - Part 1 (1971). It won two Australian Film Institute (AFI) Awards and, following its success, Miller and Kennedy formed Kennedy Miller Productions.
Miller made his feature film directing/writing debut with the international success Mad Max (1979), starring Mel Gibson. For his efforts, Miller received AFI nominations for Best Director and Best Original Screenplay.
The follow up, Mad Max 2 (1981), was an even bigger hit, garnering Miller an AFI award for Best Director and Grand Prize at the Avoriaz Fantastic Film Festival. The second sequel, Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome (1985), was also a hit, earning Miller Best Director and Best Writing nominations from the Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror Films, USA.
The dark comedy The Witches of Eastwick (1987) starring Cher, Jack Nicholson and Susan Sarandon followed and was also a success at the box office. In 1993 Miller received a Best Original Screenplay Oscar nomination for the emotional drama Lorenzo's Oil (1992), which he co-wrote, directed and produced.
Two more Academy Award nominations came Miller's way when he produced and co-wrote the international blockbuster Babe (1995). The film earned a total of seven Academy Award nominations, winning the Oscar for Best Visual Effects. In addition, Babe garnered four BAFTA Award nominations, including two for Miller for Best Film and Best Adapted Screenplay, and won a Golden Globe for Best Motion Picture - Comedy/Musical.
He next directed, produced and narrated the documentary 40,000 Years of Dreaming (1997), the Australian contribution to the international celebration of the Century of Cinema. Miller decided to direct the sequel to Babe himself, titled Babe: Pig in the City (1998), which he also produced and co-wrote. Unfortunately, it held little of the charm of the original and was a box office failure.
After taking some time off, Miller directed, produced and co-wrote Happy Feet (2006), about a tap dancing penguin. He'd first become fascinated by penguins after watching a documentary about them, and decided animation was the way to go. It starred the voice talents of Elijah Wood, Nicole Kidman, Hugh Jackman and Robin Williams.
After doing a sequel to Happy Feet, called Happy Feet Two (2011), Miller released his Mad Max reboot, which was almost six years in the making. Mad Max: Fury Road stars Tom Hardy as Max alongside Charlize Theron and Nicholas Hoult.
TV directing credits include a six-hour miniseries called The Dismissal (1983), which broke ratings records in Australia.
Miller is a Patron of the Sydney Film Festival, the Australian Film Institute and the Brisbane International Film Festival. In 1996 he was awarded the Order of Australia for distinguished service to Australian cinema.
Filmography:
Mad Max: Fury Road (2015)Happy Feet Two (2011)
Happy Feet (2006)
Babe: Pig in the City (1998)
40,000 Years of Dreaming (1997)
Lorenzo's Oil (1992)
The Witches of Eastwick (1987)
Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome (1985)
Twilight Zone: The Movie (1983) (segment 4)
Mad Max 2 (1981)
The Chain Reaction (1980)
Mad Max (1979)