The one scene that took Anya Taylor-Joy 11 weeks to shoot
Anya Taylor-Joy has evolved significantly since her breakout role alongside James McAvoy in Split. The actor, known for her intriguingly unique accent, seamlessly moves between intimate dramas and major blockbusters. Whether it’s Robert Eggers’ The Witch, Edgar Wright’s Last Night in Soho, or the billion-dollar Super Mario Bros Movie, Taylor-Joy consistently delivers standout performances that captivate audiences.
She recently added to her mainstream credentials with Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga. Playing a younger version of Charlize Theron’s character from Mad Max: Fury Road, Taylor-Joy roamed the post-apocalyptic wasteland, fighting off various strains of petrol-headed lunatics whilst attempting to seek revenge on the man who snatched her from her home, Chris Hemsworth’s brilliantly deranged Dementus.
Despite infamously underperforming at the box office – making $174million against a $168m budget – Furiosa went down well amongst fans of George Miller’s Wasteland. It was clear that a lot of time and effort had gone into making the Australian director’s dream a reality. However, according to Taylor-Joy herself, more time went into one particular scene than she would have liked.
Speaking with Collider, the star spoke of the ‘Stowaway’ scene, in which Dementus’ raiders attack Immortan Joe’s War Rig. “We shot that for 78 days,” she revealed. “And so day 35, you’re like, ‘Where am I?’ Like, I remember, as a circled day, it was the day that I finally got to get behind the cowcatcher and I could stop being under the truck or on the side of the truck. I was like, ‘I’ve made it to standing. Yes!’”
The sequence, which became known as ‘Stairway to Nowhere’ on set, is about 15 minutes long. It was filmed in the town of Hay in the Australian territory of New South Wales, which contributed to an economic boom there. According to ABC, the settlement recieved a “a much-needed economic boost” following the Covid-19 pandemic and a severe drought.
Producer Doug Mitchell confirmed the 78-day shoot to Total Film, saying that while the scene might have been a pain in the backside to make, it was “very important” to understanding the title character. “George and I would have these big conversations about why this particular set-piece was so long,” Taylor-Joy told the publication. “It’s because you see an accumulation of skills over the course of a battle, and that’s very important for understanding how resourceful Furiosa is, but also her grit. It’s the longest sequence any of us have ever shot. On the day we finished, everybody got a ‘Stowaway To Nowhere’ wine!”
In the Collider interview, Taylor-Joy’s co-star Hemsworth revealed that he was curious about how Miller would film the movie’s climactic confrontation. “There’s probably a five or six-page back-and-forth dialogue scene,” he said, referring to the tense conversation between Furiosa and Dementus that comes at the end of the film. “I thought equally, ‘How the hell are we gonna do that,’ as much as, ‘Oh, I’m excited about that’. We had to really stick that moment. It was months of rehearsal by the time we got there, and many discussions, and the scene took on many different shapes in the lead-up, even while shooting for three or four days. So, it was quite satisfying.”
Owing to Furiosa’s poor box office results, a planned follow-up, Mad Max: The Wasteland, has been thrown into doubt. As it stands, the movie is not confirmed, but never say never when it comes to Mr Rockatansky.
