Charlize Theron ‘felt so threatened’ by Tom Hardy making Mad Max she required on-set protection!

How’s that for a headline?

In a story that is spreading across social media, the Actress has candidly discussed the volatile filming of the movie “Mad Max: Fury Road!”

This 2015 action spectacular was the latest in the story of “Mad Max”, and ex-cop who wandered a post apocalyptic Australia.

And now, wild details of the animosity between stars Charlize Theron and Tom Hardy have been detailed in a new book about the making of the film!

Set in a post-apocalyptic desert wasteland where gasoline and water are scarce commodities, “Fury Road” was acclaimed for giving the lead role to a female…first, check out the trailer:

Considering the first three films starred Mel Gibson, it was a brave choice to focus more on Theron’s character than Hardy’s…perhaps that led to their frosty relationship through the lengthy shoot in the Namibian desert, but Kyle Buchanan’s new book “Blood, Sweat & Chrome: The Wild and True Story of Mad Max: Fury Road” reports it was much much worse!

In fact, the book says that Theron felt “sufficiently threatened” to require on-set protection from the “aggressive” Hardy.

Here’s just one story from the set, based on Hardy’s ongoing late arrivals to the set:

In one instance, Hardy was due on set at 8am, along with the rest of the cast and crew required that day. They included Theron, then a new mother whose baby was in childcare nearby while she worked.

Despite producers having made a “special request” for Hardy be punctual, he was more than three hours late, during which time Theron remained in position, ready to shoot. “She was really going to make a point,” recalled camera operator Mark Goellnicht. “She didn’t go to the bathroom, didn’t do anything. She just sat in the War Rig.”

When Hardy finally arrived, Theron asked Hardy: “How disrespectful are you?” and said the producers should “fine the fucking cunt a hundred thousand dollars for every minute that he’s held up this crew”.

Hardy responded by “charging up to her” and saying: “What did you say to me?” Goellnicht said Hardy seemed “quite aggressive” and that Theron “really felt threatened.”

“That was the turning point, because then she said, ‘I want someone as protection.’”

Theron added: “It got to a place where it was kind of out of hand, and there was a sense that maybe sending a woman producer down could maybe equalise some of it, because I didn’t feel safe.”

Theron is interviewed extensively for the book, and she doesn’t hold back, as this excerpt shows:

“I don’t want to make excuses for bad behaviour, but it was a tough shoot. Now, I have a very clear perspective on what went down. I don’t think I had that clarity when we were making the movie. I was in survival mode; I was really scared shitless.”

However, according to the book, the producer assigned to Theron, Denise Di Novi, was barred from set by producer Doug Mitchell, meaning that Theron “still felt pretty naked and alone” on set.

The book goes on to report this from Theron:

“You understand the needs of a director who wants to protect his set, but when push comes to shove and things get out of hand, you have to be able to think about that in a bigger sense,” Theron continued. “That’s where we could have done better, if George trusted that nobody was going to come and fuck with his vision but was just going to come and help mediate situations.”

It’s well known in the industry that Theron is terrific to work with – that is NOT the reputation that Hardy has built.

The book reports:

Assistant cameraman Ricky Schamburg called Hardy “very provocative” and Theron the opposite, while key second assistant director Samantha McGrady called Theron “the easiest person to deal with”.

According to the book, another Actor on the set “likened the on-set atmosphere to being “on your summer holidays and the adults in the front of the car are arguing”; a comparison Theron agreed with: “It was horrible! We should not have done that; we should have been better. I can own up to that.”

Hardy responded by saying he was “in over my head in many ways”.

“The pressure on both of us was overwhelming at times. What she needed was a better, perhaps more experienced partner in me. That’s something that can’t be faked. I’d like to think that now that I’m older and uglier, I could rise to that occasion.”

Even with all of the on-set problems, the film was a huge critical success, nominated for Best Picture of 2015 – and it won 6 Academy Awards, the most of any film that year!

Here’s the book, which I cannot wait to dive into!

This is one of several “on set” books I’ve shared about classic films, like this one:

The 1974 masterpiece “Chinatown” happened after Director Roman Polanski’s wife was murder by the Manson family…this book looks at how that horrific event impacted so much about the movie.

See more here:

Here’s a book at dug into Hollywood’s cinematic revolution in 1967:

This was a cinematic slap hear around the world – click here to see how it changed entertainment forever:

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Categories: 70's Cinema, Academy Awards, Action Films, Art, Australia, Awards, Books / Media, Cult Movies, Film Fight Club, Great Films, Memoirs, Movies, Pop Culture, Talent/Celebrities

Tags: books, Charlize thereon threats, Charlize Theron versus Tom Hardy, cult movies, entertianment, mad max fury road behind the scenes book, mad max fury road book, mad max fury road controversy, memoirs, movies, tom hardy threats