Although few sci-fi fans could imagine anyone but George Miller making Mad Max movies, the franchise’s writer/director almost gave up on shooting the original Mad Max back in 1978. Although Mad Max: The Wasteland has been delayed repeatedly since the success of Fury Road in 2015, the movie’s lengthy production has been nowhere near as fraught as that of 1979's original Mad Max. Made on a shoestring budget by Australian writer/director George Miller, the original revenge thriller was a massive hit with audiences worldwide upon its release.
However, before that success, Mad Max’s long production process was plagued by problems. The movie’s meager budget meant that the creators couldn’t afford many locations, resulting in Mad Max being set in the future solely to save on costs. Meanwhile, an accident near the set shook the helmer’s confidence so badly that Miller almost left the director’s chair.
Original star Rosie Bailey (who was set to play Max’s wife) and stunt coordinator Grant Page had a serious motorcycle accident en route to the set which shook the director’s confidence on his feature debut. Although every Mad Max movie is filled with high-octane vehicle-smashing action (or perhaps because of this fact), the young Miller became certain that he was not experienced enough to ensure everyone’s safety on-set. This convinced Miller that he should step down and become a producer, allowing a more experienced helmer to bring his vision to life. Fortunately, Miller opted not to give up on directing Mad Max, and the rest is cinematic history.
In Kyle Buchanan’s tell-all book Blood, Sweat & Chrome: The Wild and True Story of Mad Max: Fury Road, the director talks of his fear of returning to the Mad Max set after production was shut down for two weeks due to the accident. The Mad Max creator said he thought “we haven’t even started, and people are gonna die.” However, shortly afterward Miller reneged on this decision, reversing the choice to step down only a few hours after informing producer Byron Kennedy that he intended to give up his directing duties.
Fortunately for all parties involved, both Page and Bailey made full recoveries after their accident off the set. Bailey continued to work in Australian television and movies, appearing one everything from The Young Doctors to Cop Shop, while Page returned to work on Miller’s movie. He later worked on the cult hit Roadgames and is still working as a stunt coordinator as of 2020’s The Legend of the Five. As for Mad Max himself, once Miller returned to the series, the director never looked back. Miller went on to write and helm every sequel in the series including the belated hit Fury Road, and as of 2022, he is hard at work on both a Mad Max sequel and a Furiosa-centric prequel.