Mastermind of Mad Max also directed Babe and Happy Feet

Kim Holcomb | KING 5 Evening

Show Caption Hide Caption Mastermind of Mad Max also directed Babe and Happy Feet Mastermind of Mad Max also directed Babe and Happy Feet

LOS ANGELES - In an era of computer-generated action, Mad Max Fury Road is an anomaly.

The car wrecks are real.

The mind-blowing stunts were performed on location, in real time - rather than inside a padded, climate-controlled studio against a green screen.

The movie's writer/director, George Miller, is a master of practical effects.

"It was fun," he said, of the 4-month shoot in the Namibia desert. "It was kind of a demented pleasure in doing it, but it was also very, very hard, going out there, 120 days, every day a big stunt day. And the heat and the grime and the dust. But you want it to feel real. You don't want it to be just pixels, artificial."

Fury Road has the same authenticity as Miller's first Mad Max movies.

But in between the dark dystopian tales, he spent time creating - of all things - family films.

Miller wrote and directed Babe and won an Oscar for Happy Feet.

"How does the mind that brought us (Mad Max) also give us Happy Feet and Babe?" asked entertainment reporter Kim Holcomb.

"Because of my kids," Miller laughed. "When I made the first Mad Maxes, I had no kids. Then I had kids and all I'm watching is family movies, so my mind is in that space. And I love those stories. And then my kids grew up and I'm now able to make Mad Max movies."

Mad Max Fury Road is rated R and opens in theaters May 15.