Shortly afterMad Max: Fury Road’s release in May, many fans started wondering if this blockbuster would have any shot at winningBest PictureatThe 88th Annual Academy Awards, which were handed out last night. As it turns out,Mad Max: Fury Roaddid end up taking home the most Oscars, winning six, but it was largely shut out of the major categories, such as Best Picture and Best Director, forGeorge Miller’s work behind the camera.Mad Max: Fury Roadwas actually one of just three movies that ended up taking home multiple awards last night.
Mad Max: Fury Road’s wins were largely in technical categories, taking homeOscarsfor Best Costume Design (Jenny Bevan), Best Production Design (Colin Gibson; Katie Sharrock, Lisa Thompson), Best Makeup and Hairstyling (Lesley Vanderwalt, Damian Martin, Elka Wardega), Best Film Editing (Margaret Sixel), Best Sound Editing (Mark Mangini, David White) and Best Sound Mixing (Ben Osmo, Chris Jenkins, Gregg Rudloff). It was nominated for 10 awards in total, losing the Best Cinematography (John Seale), Best Visual Effects (Andrew Jackson, Tom Wood, Dan Oliver, Andy Williams), Best Director (George Miller) and Best Picture awards.The Revenantwon for Best Actor (Leonardo DiCaprio), Best Director (Alejandro González Iñárritu) and Best Cinematography (Emmanuel Lubezki), withSpotlightwinning Best Picture and Best Original Screenplay (Thomas McCarthy, Josh Singer) for its only two Oscar wins.
Over the past few years, the growing trend has been to spread the awards out as much as possible, and with only three movies winning multiple Oscars this year, that trend has continued. Long gone are the days of dominant movies likeTitanicandThe Lord of The Rings: The Return of The King, which both took home 11 Oscars apiece. Those two movies are also exceptions to the rule that, most times,box officehits don’t fare well in the major awards on Oscar Sunday.Mad Max: Fury Roadwasn’t actually the highest-grossing Best Picture contender, a title which goes toThe Martian, but that movie was shut out of all the awards it was nominated for.
From directorGeorge Miller, originator of the post-apocalyptic genre and mastermind behind the legendary Mad Max franchise, comesMad Max: Fury Road, a return to the world of the Road Warrior, Max Rockatansky. Haunted by his turbulent past, Mad Max (Tom Hardy) believes the best way to survive is to wander alone. Nevertheless, he becomes swept up with a group fleeing across the Wasteland in a War Rig driven by an elite Imperator, Furiosa (Charlize Theron). They are escaping a Citadel tyrannized by the Immortan Joe (Hugh Keays-Byrne), from whom something irreplaceable has been taken. Enraged, the Warlord marshals all his gangs and pursues the rebels ruthlessly in the high-octane Road War that follows.
The supporting cast includesNicholas Hoult,Josh Helman, Nathan Jones, Nathan Jones,Rosie Huntington-Whiteley,Riley KeoughandAbbey Lee. What do you think aboutMad Max: Fury RoadOscar haul? Do you think it deserved to win Best Picture or Best Director forGeorge Miller’s work? Chime in with your thoughts below, and stay tuned for more Oscar analysis.
