George Miller (filmmaker)
George Miller AO (born 3 March 1945) is an Australian filmmaker. Over the course of four decades he has received critical and popular success creating the Mad Max franchise starting 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 Award, a British Academy Film Award, and a Golden Globe Award.
Not to be confused with George T. Miller.
George Miller
Miller rose to prominence directing the dystopian action-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 the Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay. He produced and co-wrote the family-friendly film Babe (1995) earning a Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay nomination and later directed the sequel Babe: Pig in the City (1998).
He won the 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 Academy Awards with Miller receiving a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Director. He then directed the prequel film Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga (2024).
Trained in medicine at the University of New South Wales, Miller worked as a physician for several years before entering the film industry full-time. He is a co-founder of the production houses Kennedy Miller Mitchell, formerly known as Kennedy Miller, and Dr. D Studios. Since the death of his producing partner Byron Kennedy, his younger brother Bill Miller and Doug Mitchell have produced his later films.
Early life and education[edit]
Miller was born on 3 March 1945[2] in Chinchilla, Queensland, to Greek immigrant parents: Jim Miller and mother Angela. Jim (aka Dimitrios) was born on the Greek island of Kythira (at Mitata), Jim's father anglicised his surname from Miliotis to Miller when he emigrated to Australia in 1920; Angela's family were Greek refugees from Anatolia, displaced by the 1923 population exchange.[3]
Miller attended Ipswich Grammar School and later Sydney Boys High School,[3] then studied medicine at the University of New South Wales with his twin brother John. While in his final year at medical school (1971), George and his younger brother Chris made St. Vincent's Revue Film, a one-minute short film that won them first prize in a student competition.[4]
In 1971, George attended a film workshop at Melbourne University where he met fellow student Byron Kennedy, with 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 short experimental films. That same year, Miller and Kennedy founded Kennedy Miller Productions.[5] The pair subsequently collaborated on numerous works. After Kennedy died in 1983, Miller kept his name in the company. It was later renamed Kennedy Miller Mitchell in 2009 as a way to recognise producer Doug Mitchell's role in the company.[6]
Career[edit]
1971–1985: Early work and Mad Max trilogy[edit]
Miller's first work, the short film Violence in Cinema: Part 1 (1971), polarised critics, audiences and distributors so much that it was placed in the documentary category at the 1972 Sydney Film Festival due to its matter-of-fact depiction of cinematic violence.[7] In 1979, Miller made his feature-length directorial debut with Mad Max. Based on a script written by Miller and James McCausland in 1975, the film was independently financed by Kennedy Miller Productions and went on to become an international success.[5] As a result, the film spawned the Mad Max series with two further sequels starring Mel Gibson: Mad Max 2 also released as 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: The Movie (1983).[8] He also co-produced and co-directed many acclaimed miniseries for Australian television including The Dismissal (1983) and The Cowra Breakout (1984).
1987–1995: Established director[edit]
In 1987, Miller 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 and Jack [Nicholson] held me in there," said Miller. "He said, 'Just sit down, lose your emotion, and have a look at the work. If you think the work is good, stick with the film.' And he was a great man. I learnt more from him than anybody else I’ve worked with - he was extraordinary."[9] Nicholson also coached Miller to 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 designer Polly Platt also collaborated closely with Miller on The Witches of Eastwick. Cher later said that prior to working on the film, Miller called her at home, the day after 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 focused primarily on producing Australian projects.[12] His role as producer of Flirting, Dead Calm and the TV miniseries Bangkok Hilton and Vietnam, all starring Nicole Kidman, was instrumental in the development of her career. Miller returned to directing with the release of the biographical medical drama Lorenzo's Oil (1992), which he co-wrote with Nick Enright.[13] The film starred Nick Nolte and Susan Sarandon. The film received critical acclaim[14] with Variety describing the film as a "true-life story brought to the screen intelligently and with passionate motivation by George Miller".[15] For his work on the film Miller was nominated for the Academy Award and Writers Guild of America Award for Best Original Screenplay.[16][17] The following year Miller was hired to direct the science fiction drama film Contact based on the story by Carl Sagan and Ann Druyan.[18] After working on the film for over a year, Warner Bros. and Miller mutually agreed to part ways and Robert Zemeckis was eventually brought on to direct.[19]
1995–2011: Babe and Happy Feet films[edit]
In 1995 Miller produced and co-wrote the comedy-drama Babe directed by Chris Noonan. The film was a critical and financial success.[20][21] The film earned 7 Academy Award nominations including for Miller for Best Adapted Screenplay.[22] Miller went on to write and direct its sequel Babe: Pig in the City (1998).[23] Chicago Sun-Times critic Roger Ebert gave the film four stars praising Miller's work on the sequel writing, "It outdoes itself with the sets and special effects that make up "the city." And it is still literate, humane and wicked. George Miller, who produced, directed and co-wrote the film, has improved and extended the ideas in Babe: Pig in the City, instead of being content to copy them."[24] Critic Gene Siskel of the Chicago Tribune named it the Best film of 1998.[25]
Personal life[edit]
Miller was married to actress Sandy Gore from 1985 to 1992; they have a daughter. He has been married to film editor Margaret Sixel since 1995. They have two sons.[52] Sixel has worked in some capacity on many of Miller's directorial efforts.[53] Miller is a feminist, having told Vanity Fair in May 2015, "I've gone from being very male dominant to being surrounded by magnificent women. I can't help but be a feminist."[54]
Miller is the patron of the Australian Film Institute and the Brisbane International Film Festival, and a co-patron of the Sydney Film Festival.
Miller has said many times that the 1940 version of Pinocchio is one of his favourite films.[55][56][57]