Before our feature presentation, ACME would like to start the evening with another Porky Pig Looney Tunes cartoon, the 1938 Porky's Poppa, directed by Bob Clampett and Chuck Jones.
This is the final short where Chuck Jones was an assistant director; eventually he would become an official director after Frank Tashlin's departure later in 1938.
The staff ofThe ACME Eagle Hand Soap Radio Hour was wondering what our old pal Jon Stewart might have say about the past couple of days. Well let's watch, shall we:
We are all at the point where we don't know should we be laughing hysterically or weeping uncontrollably.
We’ve selected another entry from the excellent reference book 1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die, edited by Steven Jay Schneider. Today’s film is the 1979 dystopian sci-fi classic Mad Max, directed by George Miller and starring Mel Gibson, Joanne Samuel, Hugh Keays-Byrne, Steve Bisley, Tim Burns, and Roger Ward. Mad Max opened to mixed reviews but went on to earn more than $100 million worldwide and set a Guinness World Record for being one of the most profitable films. Mad Max had a shoestring budget of $1,419,674.84 (adjusted to 2022 dollars), and was shot in and around Melbourne. To raise money, George Miller continued working as an emergency room doctor. Because of the tight budget, decommissioned police cars were used in the film, and only Steve Bisley (Goose) wore genuine leather. The rest of the “leather-clad” police officers were stuck in vinyl outfits. The motorcycles - brand-new demonstration units - were donated by Kawasaki, and many of the bikers ended up keeping them after the shoot wrapped.
The original idea for Mad Max actually began with the tone of a documentary. One day, George Miller heard about a radio journalist who would follow emergency crews to car accidents and interview people about them. This sparked the thought that would evolve into Mad Max. The decision to set the story in the near future was partly due to budget constraints - it allowed filming in abandoned locations - and partly because the plot became so exaggerated it no longer made sense in a contemporary setting. Miller also wasn’t a fan of the modern Melbourne police uniforms and cars. By pushing the film into the “near future,” Miller and his team gained creative freedom to make the cars and uniforms more visually striking. So, please join us here at The ACME Eagle Hand Soap Radio Hour as we revisit this scrappy, low-budget, leather-and-vinyl-clad thriller - Mad Max!
The film’s famous “get-out-of-jail-free card” moment was also a little in-joke on set. The biker gang in the film was an actual motorcycle club, the Vigilantes. Because of the low budget, they had to ride to set in costume every day - often with their prop weapons proudly on display. Since the production expected them to get pulled over by the real police, each gang member carried a letter from the filmmakers explaining the unusual circumstances and begging for law enforcement’s patience.
Demand Euphoria!
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