What a lovely day! So begins another story about Mad Max: Fury Road writer and director George Miller, who has experienced a bit of a resurgence thanks to that film’s success last year. The latest bit of news to break concerning the Australian auteur is that he will be heading up the jury at Cannes Film Festival this year as Jury President. He’ll be the first Australian to do so.
The Guardian reports that Miller’s response to the news was expectedly jubilant, saying, “What an unmitigated delight! Such an honor. I’ll be there with bells on!”
Miller burst onto the cinema scene in 1979 with the original Mad Max, which is the sole reason Mel Gibson is a name anyone bothers to continue knowing. He’s also directed Happy Feet, The Witches of Eastwick, and Babe: Pig in the City.
As one could guess, the honor of Jury President is highly prestigious, and was held last year by Joel and Ethan Coen. Prior to that, Jane Campion was president. Others include Steven Spielberg, Robert De Niro, Tim Burton, Sean Penn, Wong Kar-wai, and Emir Kusturica.
The 2016 Cannes Film Festival runs May 11-22.