July 1985 continues with space invaders and a trip to Thunderdome

Sorry that the move from Substack to Ghost has been more disruptive than I expected. I truly believe it will be worth it in the end.

At this point, Substack is completely turned off. Any subscriptions that were already underway are still underway, and for the same amount of time. When you renew, you’ll renew for this site automatically, and I appreciate you all making the move with me.

This installment is a continuation of July 1985, picking up with the second weekend of the month. We’ve got a couple of big studio movies, a tiny New Zealand import, a truly deranged Eric Roberts movie, and not only a new Mad Max film, but an absurdly silly Mad Max micro-budget ripoff at the same time. I really like two of these films and have a very mixed relationship with another, but it’s a great mix of titles for one issue, a real testament to how influential Australia and New Zealand were at this point in time.

We’re going to wrap up July 1985 soon, and then it’s back to 1981. We’re almost done with that year, which is exciting. I’ve talked to a publisher who likes the idea of doing book versions of each finished year of this project, which may affect the way we publish things, but for now, I’m going to keep alternating between material I’ve never covered and material that was covered during ‘80s All Over. I may also be doing a collaborative cross-over with one of my favorite podcasts to celebrate every year of the project that we finish.

Speaking of… did you know the full ‘80s All Over archives are now here on Ghost? Because they are. This is the new permanent home of as much of my online history as I can move here, and now that I’ve worked with Ghost a bit, I feel like it’s a really nice match for what I do with the newsletter form. I’m going to archive some older pieces I like since my online history has been shabbily cared for by the people who currently own the outlets I used to write for, and I figure now that I’m building DrewMcWeeny.com, I might as well use that to consolidate things into a single site where things are available. Past. Present. Future. I’m tired of leaving my online history in other people’s hands, since so much of it has now been erased through late-stage capitalism's peculiar blend of cruelty and ignorance.

Anyway, let’s jump right back in and pick it up on a Wednesday, then do the weekend as well.

JULY 10

Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome
Mel Gibson, Bruce Spence, Adam Cockburn, Tina Turner, Frank Thring, Angelo Rossitto, Paul Larsson, Angry Anderson, Robert Grubb, George Spartels, Edwin Hodgeman, Bob Hornery, Andrew Oh, Ollie Hall, Lee Rice, Max Worrall, Susan Leonard, Robert Simper, Virgina Wark, Geeling Ching, Ray Turnbull, Brian Ellison, Gerard Armstrong, Helen Buday, Mark Spain, Mark Kounnas, Rod Zuanic, Justine Clarke, Shane Tickner, Toni Allaylis, James Wingrove, Adam Scougall, Tom Jennings, Gerry D’Angelo, Travis Latter, Miguel Lopez, Paul Daniel, Tushka Bergen, Emily Stocker, Sandie Lillingston, Adam Willits, Ben Chesterman, Liam Nikkinen, Dan Chesterman, Christopher Norton, Katherine Cullen, Heilan Robertson, Gabriel Dilworth, Hugh Sands, Rebekah Elmaloglou, Marion Sands, Shari Flood, Kate Tatar, Rachael Graham, Pega Williams, Emma Howard, Tarah Williams, Joanna McCarroll, Daniel Willits, Toby Messiter, Tonya Wright, Charlie Kenney, Amanda Nikkinen, Flynn Kenney, Luke Panic, William Manning, James Robertson, Adam McCreadle, Sally Morton
cinematography by Dean Semler
music by Maurice Jarre
screenplay by Terry Hayes & George Miller
based on characters created by George Miller & Byron Kennedy
produced by George Miller and Doug Mitchell and Terry Hayes
directed by George Miller and George Ogilvie
Rated PG-13
1 hr 47 mins

The third story of Max in the Wasteland leads him to Bartertown, run by Auntie Entity, and into the lands beyond.

I can’t imagine trying to follow up The Road Warrior. I mean, I can’t imagine being able to make The Road Warrior in the first place, but then to have to follow that and somehow turn it up seems impossible.

Now, add to that pressure the loss of your closest friend and business partner, and you have some idea of what George Miller was up against trying to make this movie without Byron Kennedy by his side. Kennedy and Miller met in 1971 and started working together immediately. Kennedy Miller Productions was the company they started in 1975, and by 1979, they had their first international hit with Mad Max. That opened doors for them around the world, and two years later, The Road Warrior was an even bigger hit for them. They were developing a number of projects when Byron Kennedy was killed while piloting a helicopter at Warragamba Dam in New South Wales. He was just 33 years old, and the impact on his family and friends was cataclysmic.