This month, Hell Is For Hyphenates welcomes director Patrick Hughes as our next guest!
Following his 2008 short film/commercial Signs, Patrick made his feature film debut with the 2010 Australian action Western film Red Hill, starring Ryan Kwanten. Three years later, he was chosen by Sylvester Stallone to direct The Expendables 3 (2013), with a cast that included Stallone, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Harrison Ford, Mel Gibson, Antonio Bandares, Jet Li, Wesley Snipes, Dolph Lundgren and many more.
This month sees the release of his latest film The Hitman’s Bodyguard, an action comedy starring Ryan Reynolds, Samuel L Jackson, Gary Oldman, Salma Hayek and Richard E Grant. But, of course, none of this can be nearly is as thrilling for Patrick as his upcoming guest appearance on our show.
Which filmmaker will Patrick be chatting with us about?
None other than Australian director, writer, producer and all-round icon, Dr George Miller!
George Miller is best known for his phenomenal feature debut Mad Max (1979), a gritty action flick that was unlike anything Australia had made or even seen before. He went on to direct Mad Max 2 (1981), one of those rare sequels that is held in even higher regard than its predecessor. In 2015, Miller’s Mad Max: Fury Road proved his directorial chops were as sharp as they’d ever been; the film topped many a best-of-the-year list, earned a 97% on Rotten Tomatoes, and won six Oscars from ten nominations.
In between, Miller directed the Nightmare at 20 000 Feet segment of the science fiction fantasy anthology Twilight Zone: The Movie (1983), post-apocalyptic trilogy-capper Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome (1985), supernatural comedy The Witches of Eastwick (1987), drama biopic Lorenzo’s Oil (1992), family film Babe: Pig in the City (1998), and CGI penguin musicals Happy Feet (2006) and Happy Feet Two (2011). He also produced a number of films, including Ian Berry’s science fiction thriller Chain Reaction (1980), John Duigan’s coming-of-age drama The Year My Voice Broke (1987), and Phillip Noyce’s psychological thriller Dead Calm (1989).
To many, he’s always be the Mad Max guy, but as we’ll discover later this month, there are so many strings to Miller’s bow.
But what is it about his films that specifically appeals to Patrick – and to a bonus surprise guest who may be making an appearance at the end of the show? Join us on August 30 when we find out!
