George Miller Says Rain, Not Budget To Blame For Delayed Production On 'Mad Max'; Hugh Keays-Byrne To Return

When news broke late last week that George Miller's already delayed "Mad Max" films were going to be bumped once again, we began to get an uneasy feeling as the situation bore similarities to Miller's last major live-action attempt; his "Justice League" film for Warner Bros. which was scrapped at the final hurdle in 2008 and never recovered.

However, it appears that nothing more sinister than weather conditions are to blame for the delay with a forecast of rain hitting the desert forcing filmmakers to hold production until the Australian outback goes back to being hot, dry and dusty.

''Unfortunately for Mad Max, what was wasteland is now this wonderful flower garden,'' Miller said. And shooting elsewhere is not an option Miller seems to be too interested in. ''We've looked at every single nook and cranny in Australia for these specific locations. That's why Broken Hill has become such a base for outback films: you've got the infrastructure of the city itself and the treeless plains beyond."

''Obviously if we go to Namibia or Morocco or Chile it's a different kettle of fish, but we want to shoot it here," Miller said.

As for the budget issues, Miller states that financing is not an issue and that Warner Bros. is still behind the film. ''Warners are very, very committed to the film, as we are,'' he said. ''There is nothing like creative problems. It's not an issue of budget; we're covered on the Australian dollar rise.''

And finally, we have a bit more casting news. Hugh Keays-Byrne -- who played Toecutter in "Mad Max -- is returning though its not known if he's reprising his role (maybe as the father of the character he played?). Tom Hardy and Charlize Theron are expected to stick with the film with a new start date arriving as early as July 2011 but most likely September or October.

>>> George Miller Says Rain, Not Budget To Blame For Delayed Production On 'Mad Max'; Hugh Keays-Byrne To Return >>>

George Miller's 'Mad Max: Fury Road' Delayed Again, Not Expected To Shoot Until 2012

After having shooting plans pushed back earlier this year, George Miller's "Mad Max: Fury Road" has once again hit a snag and is set for yet another significant delay.

Key crew were reportedly informed this week that pre-production is not expected to begin until August or November of next year with shooting likely to begin around February of 2012 again in the Broken Hill Region of New South Wales, Australia. The delay comes very late in the game with some reports that pre-production was in fact already underway for its planned 2011 shoot — up to 130 cars and bikes were reportedly constructed and some second unit sequences already shot.

While no specific reason is given for the latest delay, the fact the Australian dollar is sky high at the moment looks to be playing a major part. Nearing parity with its U.S. counterpart, the strong dollar would probably increase costs by up to 20 percent compared to original plans; no doubt an unattractive prospect for American producers and financiers.

>>> George Miller's 'Mad Max: Fury Road' Delayed Again, Not Expected To Shoot Until 2012 >>>

Charlize Theron To Play Amputee In 'Mad Max,' Aussie Olympian Annabelle Williams Will Be Stunt Double

It looks like Charlize Theron's character in the forthcoming double bill of "Mad Max" films from director George Miller will be missing part of a limb.

In an interview with ABC (via Moviehole), Australian paralympic swimmer Annabelle Williams, whose left arm was amputated below the elbow, reveals that she will be a stunt double for Theron in the upcoming film.

"I got a phone call from one of the people at [the production company] and they said it's got a $200 million budget. My mum was sitting there and we were just like 'What?' Then they said that the lead actress was Charlize Theron and I nearly died. And then I thought to myself the resemblance (between Theron and myself) is striking." She laughed, adding: "Not at all. And she's about a foot taller than me."

Once she was given the thumbs up to be Theron's double in the film, she was put immediately into training to learn Muay Thai. She reveals about the action scenes in the film, "They are going to film me from a very long distance for the fighting so that they don't have to CGI out her arm. I will be her, but just not [in] the face."

The film(s), originally slated to begin filming this month, were pushed back to February as Miller builds his own 3D rigs and perfects the technology he's developing for the shoot. The two films -- with the rumored titles being "Mad Max: Fury Road" and "Mad Max: Furiosa" -- will star quite an array of talent including Tom Hardy (taking over Mel Gibson's iconic role), Nicholas Hoult, Riley Keough, Zoe Kravitz, Adelaide Clemens and Teresa Palmer.

No word on release dates yet but don't expect to see anything until 2012.

>>> Charlize Theron To Play Amputee In 'Mad Max,' Aussie Olympian Annabelle Williams Will Be Stunt Double >>>

Patton Oswalt & Patrick Wilson Set To Join Charlize Theron In Jason Reitman's 'Young Adult'

Things are picking up on Jason Reitman's next film, the Charlize Theron starring, Diablo Cody penned dark comedy "Young Adult." The LA Times reports that Patton Oswalt has signed on to the film with Patrick Wilson negotiating a deal to join the cast.

There's no word yet on what roles they will be slotting, but surely, Wilson must be in line to play the male lead, the idealized ex-high school boyfriend (previously linked to Josh Brolin) now married with kids who is pursued by our protagonist: a narcissistic, divorced 30-something author of teen fiction to be played by Theron. The remaining major role in the film then would be Theron's overweight and physically disabled mid-30-something friend not afraid to call her out on her shit: could this be Oswalt's part? If so, it will definitely be another acting stretch for the comedian, but as he showed with "Big Fan," his range is greater than people expect.

Our detailed but not overly spoiler-ish script review further describes the work as Cody's "most mature effort to date, largely dispensing with the annoying slang she's been tagged with [and] more complex and emotionally layered than 'crazy-bitch-stalks-her-old-bf'" logline. It's "a dark, and messed-up film that's quite dramatic," but "also sad and tragic, with a fairly desperate protagonist" that'll "likely fall under a type of twisted dramedy category." Needless to say, it's a project and material that we think has a great potential and we're excited to see what Reitman does with it.

Lensing is slated to begin this November with Reitman apparently already in the midst of pre-production.

>>> Patton Oswalt & Patrick Wilson Set To Join Charlize Theron In Jason Reitman's 'Young Adult' >>>

Charlize Theron's Production Company To Remake Dutch Horror 'Two Eyes Staring'

Charlize Theron has snatched up the rights to the Dutch horror, "Two Eyes Staring" ("Zwart Water") via her production company Denver & Delilah according to THR.

Directed by Elbert van Strien, the film centers on a nine year old girl who discovers her sinister new friend is the ghost of the dead twin of her mother (got that?). Her father also begins to suspect his wife of hiding a terrible secret, resulting in deadly consequences.

It honestly sounds rather rote, some recent festival reviews, aren't exactly glowing or very positive, and the trailer (below) doesn't do much convincing otherwise, but we like Theron, so we hope she knows what she's doing and will at least give her the half benefit of the doubt. There's no word whether she'll produce the picture, let alone act in it.

>>> Charlize Theron's Production Company To Remake Dutch Horror 'Two Eyes Staring' >>>