George Miller (producer)
Encyclopedia
George Miller is an Australian film director, screenwriter, producer, and former medical doctor. He is most well known for his work on the Mad Max movies
, but has been involved in a wide range of projects, including the Oscar-winning Happy Feet
and "Babe
" family films.
Miller is the older brother of producer Bill Miller
.
He is also co-founder of the production houses Dr. D Studios and Kennedy-Miller Mitchell Films formerly known as Kennedy-Miller Productions.
immigrant parents: Dimitri (Jim) Castrisios Miliotis and Angela Balson. Dimitri Miliotis was from the Greek island of Kythira
and he anglicised his surname to Miller when he emigrated to Australia; the Balson family were Greek refugees from Anatolia
. The couple married and settled in Chinchilla
and had four sons. The first two were the non-identical twin
s George and John, and later, Chris and Bill Miller arrived.
George attended Ipswich Grammar School
and later Sydney Boys High School
, 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 a one minute short film that won them first prize in a student competition. In 1971, George attended a Film Workshop at Melbourne University where he met fellow student, Byron Kennedy
, with whom he formed a lasting friendship. In 1972, Miller completed his residency at Sydney's St Vincent's Hospital, spending his time-off crewing on short experimental film
s. The pair subsequently collaborated on numerous works.
Millers background in medicine is reflected in the main character in his Mad Max movies, Max Rockatansky. This is a reference to Baron Carl von Rokitansky, who developed the most common procedure used to remove the internal organs at autopsy, still called the "Rokitansky procedure".
Miller wrote and directed the Mad Max
movies starring Mel Gibson
(Mad Max
, Mad Max 2 (known in the United States as The Road Warrior), and Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome
); co-wrote Babe
and wrote and directed its sequel
; and co-wrote (with Nick Enright
) and directed Lorenzo's Oil. He also directed The Witches of Eastwick
, starring Jack Nicholson
, Susan Sarandon
, Cher
and Michelle Pfeiffer
.
Miller co-produced and co-directed many acclaimed miniseries
for Australian television including The Dismissal
(1983) and The Cowra Breakout
(1984).
Miller's role as producer of Flirting
, Dead Calm
and the TV mini-series Bangkok Hilton
and Vietnam, all starring Nicole Kidman
, was instrumental in the early development of her career.
Miller was also the creator of Happy Feet
, a musical epic about the life of penguin
s in Antarctica. The Warner Bros.
produced film was released in November 2006. As well as being a runaway box office success, Happy Feet
has also brought Miller his third Academy Award nomination, and his first win in the category of Best Animated Feature.
Miller is the Patron of the Australian Film Institute and the BIFF (the Brisbane International Film Festival) and a co-patron of the Sydney Film Festival.
He is currently working as director for the upcoming film Happy Feet 2
. On 24 October 2009, Miller also confirmed that his next project will be the highly-anticipated fourth Mad Max
sequel, currently titled Mad Max: Fury Road
.
, as Kennedy-Miller Films. While the production company has been Miller's main imprint since his earliest films, beginning Mad Max
and Mad Max 2, it wasn't until 1998, during the release of Babe: Pig in the City
, when it formally adopted the moniker of Kennedy-Miller Productions. In 2009, George Miller and Doug Mitchell renamed the company Kennedy-Miller Mitchell.
and Mad Max: Fury Road
with Village Roadshow Pictures
.
Mad Max (franchise)
The Mad Max franchise refers to a series of futuristic films, taking place in the "Mad Max Universe", that tell a story of breakdown of society, murder, and vengeance. The first Mad Max was an Australian action film directed by George Miller and written by Miller and Byron Kennedy, released in 1979...
, but has been involved in a wide range of projects, including the Oscar-winning Happy Feet
Happy Feet
Happy Feet is a 2006 American-Australian computer-animated family film with music, directed and co-written by George Miller. It was produced at Sydney-based visual effects and animation studio Animal Logic for Warner Bros., Village Roadshow Pictures and Kingdom Feature Productions and was released...
and "Babe
Babe (film)
Babe is a 1995 Australian-American film directed by Chris Noonan. It is an adaptation of the 1983 novel The Sheep-Pig, also known as Babe: The Gallant Pig in the United States, by Dick King-Smith and tells the story of a pig who wants to be a sheepdog...
" family films.
Miller is the older brother of producer Bill Miller
Bill Miller (film producer)
-Life and career:Bill Miller was born in -Life and career:Bill Miller was born in -Life and career:Bill Miller was born in [[Queensland]and, like his older brother [[George Miller |George Miller]], who gave up practicing medicine to become a [[film director]], Bill, a successful arts and...
.
He is also co-founder of the production houses Dr. D Studios and Kennedy-Miller Mitchell Films formerly known as Kennedy-Miller Productions.
Biography
Miller was born in Brisbane, Queensland, to GreekGreeks
The Greeks, also known as the Hellenes , are a nation and ethnic group native to Greece, Cyprus and neighboring regions. They also form a significant diaspora, with Greek communities established around the world....
immigrant parents: Dimitri (Jim) Castrisios Miliotis and Angela Balson. Dimitri Miliotis was from the Greek island of Kythira
Kythira
Cythera is an island in Greece, once part of the Ionian Islands. It lies opposite the south-eastern tip of the Peloponnese peninsula. It is administratively part of the Islands regional unit, which is part of the Attica region , Greece.For many centuries, while naval travel was the only means...
and he anglicised his surname to Miller when he emigrated to Australia; the Balson family were Greek refugees from Anatolia
Anatolia
Anatolia is a geographic and historical term denoting the westernmost protrusion of Asia, comprising the majority of the Republic of Turkey...
. The couple married and settled in Chinchilla
Chinchilla, Queensland
Chinchilla is a town in the Darling Downs region of Queensland, Australia. At the 2006 census, Chinchilla had a population of 3,681.The town was established in 1877...
and had four sons. The first two were the non-identical twin
Twin
A twin is one of two offspring produced in the same pregnancy. Twins can either be monozygotic , meaning that they develop from one zygote that splits and forms two embryos, or dizygotic because they develop from two separate eggs that are fertilized by two separate sperm.In contrast, a fetus...
s George and John, and later, Chris and Bill Miller arrived.
George attended Ipswich Grammar School
Ipswich Grammar School
Ipswich Grammar School is an independent, non-denominational, day and boarding school for boys, located in Ipswich, a city situated on the Bremer River in South East Queensland, Australia...
and later Sydney Boys High School
Sydney Boys High School
Sydney Boys High School is an academically selective public secondary school for boys, located in the City of Sydney, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, with 1,180 students, from years 7 to 12...
, then studied medicine at the University of New South Wales
University of New South Wales
The University of New South Wales , is a research-focused university based in Kensington, a suburb in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia...
with his twin brother John. While in his final year at medical school (1971), George and his younger brother Chris made a one minute short film that won them first prize in a student competition. In 1971, George attended a Film Workshop at Melbourne University where he met fellow student, Byron Kennedy
Byron Kennedy
Byron Eric Kennedy Born Melbourne was an Australian film producer best known for the Mad Max series of films....
, with whom he formed a lasting friendship. In 1972, Miller completed his residency at Sydney's St Vincent's Hospital, spending his time-off crewing on short experimental film
Experimental film
Experimental film or experimental cinema is a type of cinema. Experimental film is an artistic practice relieving both of visual arts and cinema. Its origins can be found in European avant-garde movements of the twenties. Experimental cinema has built its history through the texts of theoreticians...
s. The pair subsequently collaborated on numerous works.
Millers background in medicine is reflected in the main character in his Mad Max movies, Max Rockatansky. This is a reference to Baron Carl von Rokitansky, who developed the most common procedure used to remove the internal organs at autopsy, still called the "Rokitansky procedure".
Miller wrote and directed the Mad Max
Mad Max (franchise)
The Mad Max franchise refers to a series of futuristic films, taking place in the "Mad Max Universe", that tell a story of breakdown of society, murder, and vengeance. The first Mad Max was an Australian action film directed by George Miller and written by Miller and Byron Kennedy, released in 1979...
movies starring Mel Gibson
Mel Gibson
Mel Colm-Cille Gerard Gibson, AO is an American actor, film director, producer and screenwriter. Born in Peekskill, New York, Gibson moved with his parents to Sydney, Australia when he was 12 years old and later studied acting at the Australian National Institute of Dramatic Art.After appearing in...
(Mad Max
Mad Max
Mad Max is a 1979 Australian dystopian action film directed by George Miller and revised by Miller and Byron Kennedy over the original script by James McCausland. The film stars Mel Gibson, who was unknown at the time. Its narrative based around the traditional western genre, Mad Max tells a story...
, Mad Max 2 (known in the United States as The Road Warrior), and Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome
Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome
Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome is a 1985 Australian post-apocalyptic film directed by George Miller and George Ogilvie, written by Miller, Doug Mitchell and Terry Hayes, and starring Mel Gibson and Tina Turner. It is the third installment in the action movie Mad Max franchise...
); co-wrote Babe
Babe (film)
Babe is a 1995 Australian-American film directed by Chris Noonan. It is an adaptation of the 1983 novel The Sheep-Pig, also known as Babe: The Gallant Pig in the United States, by Dick King-Smith and tells the story of a pig who wants to be a sheepdog...
and wrote and directed its sequel
Babe: Pig in the City
Babe: Pig in the City is a 1998 sequel to the 1995 film Babe. It occurs in the fictional city of Metropolis. Due to the unexpected darker and more mature subject matter , the film was not received as well as the first Babe film was, as it flopped at the box office and reviews were generally...
; and co-wrote (with Nick Enright
Nick Enright
-Life:He was drama captain of St Ignatius' College, Riverview in 1964, where, like Gerard Windsor and Justin Fleming, he was taught by Melvyn Morrow. At that school, he won the 1sts Debating Premiership in both 1966 and 1967....
) and directed Lorenzo's Oil. He also directed The Witches of Eastwick
The Witches of Eastwick (film)
The Witches of Eastwick is a 1987 American horror comedy based on John Updike's novel of the same name. Directed by George Miller, the film stars Jack Nicholson as Daryl Van Horne, alongside Cher, Susan Sarandon, and Michelle Pfeiffer as the eponymous witches...
, starring Jack Nicholson
Jack Nicholson
John Joseph "Jack" Nicholson is an American actor, film director, producer and writer. He is renowned for his often dark portrayals of neurotic characters. Nicholson has been nominated for an Academy Award twelve times, and has won the Academy Award for Best Actor twice: for One Flew Over the...
, Susan Sarandon
Susan Sarandon
Susan Sarandon is an American actress. She has worked in films and television since 1969, and won an Academy Award for Best Actress for her performance in the 1995 film Dead Man Walking. She had also been nominated for the award for four films before that and has received other recognition for her...
, Cher
Cher
Cher is an American recording artist, television personality, actress, director, record producer and philanthropist. Referred to as the Goddess of Pop, she has won an Academy Award, a Grammy Award, an Emmy Award, three Golden Globes and a Cannes Film Festival Award among others for her work in...
and Michelle Pfeiffer
Michelle Pfeiffer
Michelle Marie Pfeiffer is an American actress. She made her film debut in 1980 in The Hollywood Knights, but first garnered mainstream attention with her performance in Brian De Palma's Scarface . Pfeiffer has won numerous awards for her work...
.
Miller co-produced and co-directed many acclaimed miniseries
Miniseries
A miniseries , in a serial storytelling medium, is a television show production which tells a story in a limited number of episodes. The exact number is open to interpretation; however, they are usually limited to fewer than a whole season. The term "miniseries" is generally a North American term...
for Australian television including The Dismissal
The Dismissal (TV miniseries)
The Dismissal is an Australian television miniseries, first screened in 1983, that dramatised the events of the 1975 Australian constitutional crisis....
(1983) and The Cowra Breakout
Cowra breakout
During World War II, a prisoner of war camp near the town of Cowra in New South Wales, Australia was the site of one of the largest prison escapes of the war, on 5 August 1944. At least 545 Japanese POWs were involved in the breakout.-The camp:...
(1984).
Miller's role as producer of Flirting
Flirting (film)
Flirting is a 1991 Australian coming of age film about a romance between two teenagers, written and directed by John Duigan. It stars Noah Taylor, who appears again as Danny Embling, a character from Duigan's 1987 film The Year My Voice Broke. It also stars Thandie Newton and Nicole Kidman....
, Dead Calm
Dead Calm (film)
Dead Calm is a 1989 thriller film starring Sam Neill, Nicole Kidman and Billy Zane. It was based on the 1963 novel of the same name by Charles Williams...
and the TV mini-series Bangkok Hilton
Bangkok Hilton
Bangkok Hilton is a three-part Australian mini-series, made in 1989 by Kennedy Miller Productions and directed by Ken Cameron. The title of the mini-series is, in the story, the nickname of a fictional Bangkok prison in which the protagonist is imprisoned.-Plot:Bangkok Hilton begins as Hal Stanton...
and Vietnam, all starring Nicole Kidman
Nicole Kidman
Nicole Mary Kidman, AC is an American-born Australian actress, singer, film producer, spokesmodel, and humanitarian. After starring in a number of small Australian films and TV shows, Kidman's breakthrough was in the 1989 thriller Dead Calm...
, was instrumental in the early development of her career.
Miller was also the creator of Happy Feet
Happy Feet
Happy Feet is a 2006 American-Australian computer-animated family film with music, directed and co-written by George Miller. It was produced at Sydney-based visual effects and animation studio Animal Logic for Warner Bros., Village Roadshow Pictures and Kingdom Feature Productions and was released...
, a musical epic about the life of penguin
Emperor Penguin
The Emperor Penguin is the tallest and heaviest of all living penguin species and is endemic to Antarctica. The male and female are similar in plumage and size, reaching in height and weighing anywhere from . The dorsal side and head are black and sharply delineated from the white belly,...
s in Antarctica. The Warner Bros.
Warner Bros.
Warner Bros. Entertainment, Inc., also known as Warner Bros. Pictures or simply Warner Bros. , is an American producer of film and television entertainment.One of the major film studios, it is a subsidiary of Time Warner, with its headquarters in Burbank,...
produced film was released in November 2006. As well as being a runaway box office success, Happy Feet
Happy Feet
Happy Feet is a 2006 American-Australian computer-animated family film with music, directed and co-written by George Miller. It was produced at Sydney-based visual effects and animation studio Animal Logic for Warner Bros., Village Roadshow Pictures and Kingdom Feature Productions and was released...
has also brought Miller his third Academy Award nomination, and his first win in the category of Best Animated Feature.
Miller is the Patron of the Australian Film Institute and the BIFF (the Brisbane International Film Festival) and a co-patron of the Sydney Film Festival.
He is currently working as director for the upcoming film Happy Feet 2
Happy Feet 2
Happy Feet Two is a 3D computer-animated family film film directed by George Miller, who co-directed the original film Happy Feet. The film is a sequel to Happy Feet and stars Elijah Wood, Robin Williams, Pink, E.G. Daily, Sofía Vergara and Common. Dr...
. On 24 October 2009, Miller also confirmed that his next project will be the highly-anticipated fourth Mad Max
Mad Max
Mad Max is a 1979 Australian dystopian action film directed by George Miller and revised by Miller and Byron Kennedy over the original script by James McCausland. The film stars Mel Gibson, who was unknown at the time. Its narrative based around the traditional western genre, Mad Max tells a story...
sequel, currently titled Mad Max: Fury Road
Mad Max (franchise)
The Mad Max franchise refers to a series of futuristic films, taking place in the "Mad Max Universe", that tell a story of breakdown of society, murder, and vengeance. The first Mad Max was an Australian action film directed by George Miller and written by Miller and Byron Kennedy, released in 1979...
.
Filmography
| Year | Film | Credit |
|---|---|---|
| 1979 | Mad Max Mad Max Mad Max is a 1979 Australian dystopian action film directed by George Miller and revised by Miller and Byron Kennedy over the original script by James McCausland. The film stars Mel Gibson, who was unknown at the time. Its narrative based around the traditional western genre, Mad Max tells a story... |
Director, Writer, Producer |
| 1980 | The Chain Reaction The Chain Reaction The Chain Reaction is a 1980 Australian independent action/disaster/thriller film directed and written by Ian Barry. The film stars Steve Bisley, also starring in the film Mad Max and Arna-Maria Winchester. The film's plot is about an engineer badly injured in an accident caused by an earthquake... |
Director (car chase sequences), Associate Producer |
| 1981 | Mad Max 2 | Director, Writer, Producer, Additional Editor |
| 1983 | Nightmare At 20,000 Feet Twilight Zone: The Movie Twilight Zone: The Movie is a 1983 science fiction horror film produced by Steven Spielberg and John Landis as a theatrical version of The Twilight Zone, a 1959 and '60s TV series created by Rod Serling. Those starring in the film are: Dan Aykroyd, Albert Brooks, Vic Morrow, Scatman Crothers,... |
Co-Director, Writer, Producer |
| 1983 | The Dismissal The Dismissal (TV miniseries) The Dismissal is an Australian television miniseries, first screened in 1983, that dramatised the events of the 1975 Australian constitutional crisis.... (TV) |
Director, Writer, Producer |
| 1985 | Anzacs (TV series) | Director |
| 1985 | Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome is a 1985 Australian post-apocalyptic film directed by George Miller and George Ogilvie, written by Miller, Doug Mitchell and Terry Hayes, and starring Mel Gibson and Tina Turner. It is the third installment in the action movie Mad Max franchise... |
Director, Writer, Producer |
| 1987 | The Witches of Eastwick The Witches of Eastwick (film) The Witches of Eastwick is a 1987 American horror comedy based on John Updike's novel of the same name. Directed by George Miller, the film stars Jack Nicholson as Daryl Van Horne, alongside Cher, Susan Sarandon, and Michelle Pfeiffer as the eponymous witches... |
Director, Writer, Executive Producer |
| 1987 | The Year My Voice Broke The Year My Voice Broke The Year My Voice Broke is a 1987 coming of age story by director John Duigan, starring Noah Taylor, Loene Carmen, and Ben Mendelsohn. Set in 1962 in the rural Southern Tablelands of New South Wales, it was the first in a projected trilogy of films centred around the experiences of an awkward... |
Producer |
| 1988 | Goodbye, Miss 4th of July | Director |
| 1989 | Dead Calm Dead Calm (film) Dead Calm is a 1989 thriller film starring Sam Neill, Nicole Kidman and Billy Zane. It was based on the 1963 novel of the same name by Charles Williams... |
Producer |
| 1991 | Flirting Flirting (film) Flirting is a 1991 Australian coming of age film about a romance between two teenagers, written and directed by John Duigan. It stars Noah Taylor, who appears again as Danny Embling, a character from Duigan's 1987 film The Year My Voice Broke. It also stars Thandie Newton and Nicole Kidman.... |
Producer |
| 1992 | Lorenzo's Oil Lorenzo's Oil Lorenzo's Oil is a 1992 drama film directed by George Miller. It is based on a true story of Augusto and Michaela Odone, two parents in a relentless search for a cure for their son Lorenzo's adrenoleukodystrophy... |
Director, Writer, Producer |
| 1994 | Andre Andre (film) Andre is a 1994 feature film starring Tina Majorino about a child's encounter with a seal. The film is an adaptation of the book A Seal Called Andre, which in turn was based on a true story.-Plot:... |
Director |
| 1995 | Babe Babe (film) Babe is a 1995 Australian-American film directed by Chris Noonan. It is an adaptation of the 1983 novel The Sheep-Pig, also known as Babe: The Gallant Pig in the United States, by Dick King-Smith and tells the story of a pig who wants to be a sheepdog... |
Writer, Producer |
| 1997 | 40,000 Years of Dreaming 40,000 Years of Dreaming 40,000 Years of Dreaming is an hour-long documentary film presented by George Miller and produced by the British Film Institute, as part of their Century of Cinema series.... |
Director, Writer, Presenter |
| 1998 | Babe: Pig In the City Babe: Pig in the City Babe: Pig in the City is a 1998 sequel to the 1995 film Babe. It occurs in the fictional city of Metropolis. Due to the unexpected darker and more mature subject matter , the film was not received as well as the first Babe film was, as it flopped at the box office and reviews were generally... |
Director, Writer, Producer |
| 2006 | Happy Feet Happy Feet Happy Feet is a 2006 American-Australian computer-animated family film with music, directed and co-written by George Miller. It was produced at Sydney-based visual effects and animation studio Animal Logic for Warner Bros., Village Roadshow Pictures and Kingdom Feature Productions and was released... |
Director, Writer, Producer |
| 2011 | Happy Feet 2 Happy Feet 2 Happy Feet Two is a 3D computer-animated family film film directed by George Miller, who co-directed the original film Happy Feet. The film is a sequel to Happy Feet and stars Elijah Wood, Robin Williams, Pink, E.G. Daily, Sofía Vergara and Common. Dr... |
Director, Producer, Writer |
Awards and recognition
- 1982: Won Australian Film Institute Award for Mad Max 2, Best Director and Best Film Editing (shared with others)
- 1987: Won Australian Film Institute Award for The Year My Voice BrokeThe Year My Voice BrokeThe Year My Voice Broke is a 1987 coming of age story by director John Duigan, starring Noah Taylor, Loene Carmen, and Ben Mendelsohn. Set in 1962 in the rural Southern Tablelands of New South Wales, it was the first in a projected trilogy of films centred around the experiences of an awkward...
, Best Picture (as producer), shared with Doug Mitchell and Terry Hayes - 1990: Won Australian Film Institute Award for FlirtingFlirting (film)Flirting is a 1991 Australian coming of age film about a romance between two teenagers, written and directed by John Duigan. It stars Noah Taylor, who appears again as Danny Embling, a character from Duigan's 1987 film The Year My Voice Broke. It also stars Thandie Newton and Nicole Kidman....
, Best Picture (as producer), shared with Doug Mitchell and Terry Hayes - 1993: Academy Award nomination for Lorenzo's OilLorenzo's OilLorenzo's Oil is a 1992 drama film directed by George Miller. It is based on a true story of Augusto and Michaela Odone, two parents in a relentless search for a cure for their son Lorenzo's adrenoleukodystrophy...
, Best Screenplay Written Directly for the Screen, shared with co-writer Nick Enright - 1996: Two Academy Award nominations for BabeBabe (film)Babe is a 1995 Australian-American film directed by Chris Noonan. It is an adaptation of the 1983 novel The Sheep-Pig, also known as Babe: The Gallant Pig in the United States, by Dick King-Smith and tells the story of a pig who wants to be a sheepdog...
, Best Picture (as producer) and Best Screenplay Based on Material Previously Published, shared with co-writer Chris Noonan - 1999: Received an honorary Doctor of Letters from the University of New South WalesUniversity of New South WalesThe University of New South Wales , is a research-focused university based in Kensington, a suburb in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia...
- 2007: Won Academy Award for Happy FeetHappy FeetHappy Feet is a 2006 American-Australian computer-animated family film with music, directed and co-written by George Miller. It was produced at Sydney-based visual effects and animation studio Animal Logic for Warner Bros., Village Roadshow Pictures and Kingdom Feature Productions and was released...
, Best Animated Feature - 2007: Won BAFTA Award for Happy FeetHappy FeetHappy Feet is a 2006 American-Australian computer-animated family film with music, directed and co-written by George Miller. It was produced at Sydney-based visual effects and animation studio Animal Logic for Warner Bros., Village Roadshow Pictures and Kingdom Feature Productions and was released...
, Best Animated Feature - 2007: Received The Queensland – United States Personal Achievement Award at the Queensland Expatriate AwardsQueensland Expatriate AwardsThe Queensland Expatriate Awards, are the most prominent awards to expatriates from the state of Queensland Australia who are living around the world....
at the Rainbow RoomRainbow RoomThe Rainbow Room was an upscale restaurant and nightclub on the 65th floor of the GE Building in Rockefeller Center, Midtown Manhattan, New York City.-Cuisine:...
in New York - 2007: Received the FIAPF AwardFIAPF AwardThe FIAPF Award is awarded by the International Federation of Film Producers Associations for an outstanding achievement in film in the Asia-Pacific region. The winners of this award are...
for Outstanding Achievement in Film at the Asia Pacific Screen AwardsAsia Pacific Screen AwardsThe Asia Pacific Screen Awards is an international cultural initiative of the State Government of Queensland, Australia, through Events Queensland, to honour and promote the films, actors, directors, and cultures of Asia-Pacific to a global audience and to realise the objectives of UNESCO to...
. - 2007 (April): Awarded an honorary Master of Arts degree by the Australian Film Television and Radio SchoolAustralian Film Television and Radio SchoolThe Australian Film, Television and Radio School is the Australian national centre for professional education and advanced training in film, television, radio and digital media. The School is an Australian Commonwealth government statutory authority...
. - 2007: Received the AFIAmerican Film InstituteThe American Film Institute is an independent non-profit organization created by the National Endowment for the Arts, which was established in 1967 when President Lyndon B. Johnson signed the National Foundation on the Arts and the Humanities Act...
Global Achievement Award - 2008: Awarded an honorary Doctorate from the Griffith University.
- 2009: Awarded the French Order of the Arts and LettersOrdre des Arts et des LettresThe Ordre des Arts et des Lettres is an Order of France, established on 2 May 1957 by the Minister of Culture, and confirmed as part of the Ordre national du Mérite by President Charles de Gaulle in 1963...
. - 2010: First non-US Filmmaker to be awarded "honorary member" status among the VESVisual Effects SocietyThe Visual Effects Society is the entertainment industry's only organization representing the full breadth of visual effects practitioners including artists, animators, technologists, model makers, educators, studio leaders, supervisors, PR/marketing specialists and producers in all areas of...
.
Kennedy-Miller Mitchell
Kennedy-Miller Mitchell Films is an Australian film production company founded in 1973 by George Miller and producer Byron KennedyByron Kennedy
Byron Eric Kennedy Born Melbourne was an Australian film producer best known for the Mad Max series of films....
, as Kennedy-Miller Films. While the production company has been Miller's main imprint since his earliest films, beginning Mad Max
Mad Max
Mad Max is a 1979 Australian dystopian action film directed by George Miller and revised by Miller and Byron Kennedy over the original script by James McCausland. The film stars Mel Gibson, who was unknown at the time. Its narrative based around the traditional western genre, Mad Max tells a story...
and Mad Max 2, it wasn't until 1998, during the release of Babe: Pig in the City
Babe: Pig in the City
Babe: Pig in the City is a 1998 sequel to the 1995 film Babe. It occurs in the fictional city of Metropolis. Due to the unexpected darker and more mature subject matter , the film was not received as well as the first Babe film was, as it flopped at the box office and reviews were generally...
, when it formally adopted the moniker of Kennedy-Miller Productions. In 2009, George Miller and Doug Mitchell renamed the company Kennedy-Miller Mitchell.
Dr. D Studios
Dr. D Studios is a new state-of-the-art production company founded by George Miller and Doug Mitchell. Dr.D Studios is located in Sydney and is currently working projects like Happy Feet 2 in 3DHappy Feet 2
Happy Feet Two is a 3D computer-animated family film film directed by George Miller, who co-directed the original film Happy Feet. The film is a sequel to Happy Feet and stars Elijah Wood, Robin Williams, Pink, E.G. Daily, Sofía Vergara and Common. Dr...
and Mad Max: Fury Road
Mad Max (franchise)
The Mad Max franchise refers to a series of futuristic films, taking place in the "Mad Max Universe", that tell a story of breakdown of society, murder, and vengeance. The first Mad Max was an Australian action film directed by George Miller and written by Miller and Byron Kennedy, released in 1979...
with Village Roadshow Pictures
Village Roadshow Pictures
Village Roadshow Pictures is an Australian motion picture production company. It is a subsidiary of Village Roadshow Entertainment Group, an Australian entertainment company. Most of its films are co-produced in partnership with Warner Bros. and New Line Cinema...
.
Further reading
- L.A. Weekly (2006) 'International Man of Myths' by Scott Foundus in L.A. Weekly, 23 November 2006.