Chapter 705: What It Means to Be Strong

As a renowned industry art director and a two-time winner of the Golden Statuette for Best Art Direction, Hannah Serena received a solemn task from Duke: build at least 150 motor vehicles that perfectly fit the Wasteland and its savage, sunscreen-slathered rulers.

"Make them cool, or I'll kill you."

Motivated—or rather, threatened—by Duke's "terrifying remarks," Hannah Serena led her design team through three grueling weeks to finally complete the first draft.

Aside from possessing a mad and surreal aesthetic, every design in the first draft factored in how to achieve the best possible explosion effects while driving at high speeds through the New Mexico desert.

These designs required Duke's approval before they could be built. Hannah Serena had the prop department make a batch of models and then sought Duke out.

Inside a soundstage at Warner Studios, the first batch of finished models sat on display shelves. Duke gave them a quick once-over before examining them one by one as Hannah Serena introduced them.

Placed in the most prominent spot on the shelves was, of course, the vehicle driven by the female lead, Furiosa—the War Machine.

However, it was currently just a model a little over a foot long.

Hannah Serena stood before the miniature yet intimidating model and explained, "This is the War Machine, Furiosa's dedicated war rig. It consists of a tanker truck towing another fuel trailer. The prototype is a Czech Tatra. We're using a 1983 Tatra T815 truck as the vanguard cab. The cockpit has been shifted entirely toward the rear, enlarging the space under the front hood to house twin V8 engines with both 6-wheel and 18-wheel drive!"

Duke was quite satisfied with its appearance, but he didn't know much about cars. "It doesn't look much like a Tatra," he said.

"Our mechanics are going to expand the space in the front engine compartment," Hannah Serena said, pointing to the War Machine's long nose. "The scope of the modifications is pretty massive, which is why it's hard to recognize."

"Works for me!" Duke approved the design. "As long as it doesn't affect its use."

"Don't worry," Hannah Serena said. "We have automotive experts on the design team."

The two then turned to the vehicle of the main villain boss, Immortan Joe. Hannah Serena had named the design model the Gigahorse.

"I felt the spikes and rocket tail would give it a very unique vibe, so we stacked two 1959 'Golden Empire' Cadillacs on top of a monster truck chassis to create this behemoth. Not counting the rear fins and flags, this vehicle stands four meters tall."

She shrugged, even joking to Schwartzman as he walked past, "Either way, John won't be able to climb up there."

Afterward, Duke carefully examined the other custom vehicle models under Hannah Serena's guidance.

The car for the War Boy Nux was modified from a 1932 Ford-Chevrolet super-powered coupe, outfitted with nitrous oxide, steel plating, a V8 engine, fully canted wheels, and swooping exhaust pipes.

The Vulture Tribe's "Spiked Classic Car" was modified from a 1937 Plymouth sedan.

"Make no mistake. The steel spikes on the body will absolutely tear opponents apart in combat," Hannah Serena said. "The design inspiration came from the Australian echidna."

The most eye-catching character in Fury Road was bound to be the guitarist in the villain's convoy, but looking from the side, Duke couldn't even tell what the base model of his ride was supposed to be.

"The Doof Wagon. The original model is a German MAN Group MAN KAT A1 8x8 off-road truck. I think this will be one of the coolest scenes in the movie."

Hannah Serena clearly had strong feelings about this vehicle. "It's equipped with giant speakers and several taiko drummers standing at the rear, paired with the electric warrior's double-neck flamethrower guitar to drive the convoy forward. This vehicle is absolute madness. It's a mobile stage piled high with all kinds of speakers, but the fire-breathing guitar you suggested is the biggest highlight."

After looking them over one by one, Duke's biggest takeaway was just how crazy and chaotic Americans were when it came to modifying cars—these models were proof enough of that.

Duke was an absolute layman when it came to vehicles. His only demand was that these custom cars be cool enough, and Hannah Serena's designs fundamentally met his expectations.

After viewing the custom car models, Duke headed over to the stunt department. The film would utilize a massive number of stunt performers, and they had specifically hired a veteran acrobat with thirty years of circus experience. Many of the stunts relied on practical on-location filming, which meant that in addition to the performers' physical skills, specialized equipment was also being prepared.

In the finalized shooting script, one scene required the custom vehicles to display spectacular collision effects. The stunt crew needed to find the safest way to flip the vehicles.

To solve this problem, the stunt team fabricated a flat steel plate to install underneath the cars. It could retract after striking the ground, allowing the stunt driver to maintain control of the vehicle as it rolled.

This entirely new method made filming the vehicle rollovers remarkably safe. During testing, a stunt driver named Gary Norris managed to roll a car eight and a half times.

"He probably broke the film industry's world record," Hannah Serena, who had accompanied him, remarked to Duke.

Another one of the script's signature stunts involved using tall poles to vault attackers from one speeding vehicle onto another.

Sebastian Dickins was a stunt performer with thirty years of acrobatics and gymnastics experience, and he was the expert specifically hired by the crew. In his words, executing these pole stunts felt like "playing on a swing, except instead of swinging feet down, you're swinging upside down."

The stunt department also conducted specialized designs and tests for this. The vaulting poles were made of a special steel that combined toughness with elasticity. Some of the poles were fixed onto hydraulic bearings, with crew members operating counterweights to complete the swing, achieving a much more natural range of motion.

Computer-generated visual effects had been booming in film production over recent years, and Duke was the most representative figure in this field. Yet, for the filming of Fury Road, he chose old-school practical stunts.

Duke's idea was to shoot a film that relied heavily on visual expression, allowing audiences in Japan to understand it even without subtitles. This didn't mean endlessly cutting down the characters' dialogue, but rather transcending the barriers of native languages and cultures by using cross-cultural symbolism that moviegoers could intuitively understand.

Building upon a traditional screenplay, Duke also collaborated with several illustrators on the team to produce over a thousand storyboards and up to three thousand concept art frames. These sketches served as the final script.

The cast and crew would need to constantly communicate with him as the director throughout the entire filming process.

Fury Road was a massive project requiring at least 1,700 crew members. That included over 200 stunt performers, stunt drivers, and cinematographers, as well as snake wranglers to clear the set of lethal rattlesnakes and highly venomous lizards.

Although Duke expected ninety percent of the stunts to be performed practically, they still needed the visual effects team from Industrial Light and Magic to produce roughly 1,500 VFX shots for the film.

A large part of the film's charm was owed to the sheer unbridled imagination behind the villainous factions. All of these designs were meant to flesh out Duke's crazed vision of this post-apocalyptic world. Duke also gave his team members total freedom of imagination. As long as a character or element had a backstory relevant to this sci-fi world, they were welcome to come and pitch their suggestions to him as the director.

For example, John Schwartzman believed the crew should build a fully functional, fire-breathing electric guitar for the film.

Duke had someone do exactly that. If the film generated enough impact, perhaps it could even be mass-produced as merchandise?

Amidst all this busy work, Duke also frequently met with Charlize Theron and Tom Cruise, constantly discussing the characters and the film.

When October rolled around, Charlize Theron reappeared on set and gave him a massive surprise.

"Is it that weird?"

Walking into Duke's office, Charlize Theron casually took off her hat, hung it on the coat rack, and shook her head—which was now reduced to a short buzz cut. She sat down opposite Duke's desk. "If I didn't cut it now, I'd have to cut it later anyway. By cutting it early, I can get used to it sooner."

Leaning back in his high-backed chair, Duke crossed one arm over his chest and rested his chin in his other hand. He looked at Charlize's shaved head and said, "It would have even more of the right feel if you smeared some motor oil on your forehead."

"The right feel?" Charlize suddenly curled her lips into a smirk. Staring intently at Duke, she asked, "What kind of feel? I seem to remember you always preferring long blonde hair. When did your tastes change?"

Duke shrugged, too lazy to answer a question like that.

Charlize Theron withdrew her slightly aggressive gaze and added, "Good thing I don't endorse any shampoo brands, or I'd be sued for breach of contract."

"Are you still endorsing Dior?" Duke asked casually.

For many years, Charlize Theron had been Dior's spokesperson.

"Yeah, no other brands want me." Making herself right at home, she grabbed a glass from the side, picked up the water pitcher on the desk, and poured herself a drink. She took a sip before continuing, "If I don't have another box-office hit soon, I'm afraid even Dior will cancel my contract."

"Alright, let's talk about the character." Duke steered the topic back to the movie. "Where did we leave off last time?"

"The relationship between Furiosa and the people she saves," Charlize reminded him. "You said everyone's potential is still there, but their paths will be different, and Furiosa is the one who changes their paths."

She asked Duke, "She's a hero, right?"

Duke didn't answer. Instead, he asked, "What do you think?"

"Furiosa is exactly the kind of hero I want to see. Even though it's not mentioned in the script, if you think about it carefully, her path couldn't have been smooth sailing." Charlize had clearly put a lot of effort into figuring out the character. "She was kidnapped at a young age and grew up in a society where women are only treated as milk cows. To fight her way to the top and become a commander, the price she paid was absolutely not as simple as just losing an arm."

"Her combat skills are incredible!" Charlize Theron added. "Therefore, she's a hero."

Duke shook his head. "What makes Furiosa truly powerful isn't her combat skills."