Chris Hemsworth was reportedly “teary-eyed” by the rapturous applause that followed the premiere of Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga.
The latest in the Mad Max franchise, starring Anya Taylor-Joy as the titular protagonist and Hemsworth as the sadistic warlord Dementus, debuted at the Cannes Film Festival on Wednesday (15 May).
The French festival, which is known for its lengthy ovations, showered the cast of Furiosa for six minutes, according to outlets present at the premiere.
Variety reported that Hemsworth, whose turn in the film marks his return to acting after a short career break, grew emotional during the ovation. He was filmed kissing the director, George Miller, on the head.
“We worked very hard on this film, and it’ll be very interesting to see what you make of it,” Miller said ahead of the screening. “Thank you for having us.”
Furiosa acts as a prequel to Miller’s 2015 blockbuster, Mad Max: Fury Road, with Taylor-Joy playing a younger version of Charlize Theron’s character.
Fury Road made $380m at the global box office; though, its success was marred somewhat by reports of an on-set feud between lead actors Theron and Tom Hardy.
In the build-up to Furiosa’s release, Miller admitted there was “no excuse” for the fighting between the two actors.
“Tom has a damage to him but also a brilliance that comes with it, and whatever was going on with him at the time, he had to be coaxed out of his trailer,” said the director.
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“Whereas Charlize was incredibly disciplined – a dancer by training, which told in the precision of her performance – and always the first one on set.
“I’m an optimist, so I saw their behaviour as mirroring their characters, where they had to learn to co-operate in order to ensure mutual survival,” Miller added. “There’s no excuse for it, and I think there’s a tendency in this business to use great performances as an excuse for other disruption that could be avoided.”
Furiosa has received rave reviews from critics ahead of its release in cinemas on 24 May.
In his five-star review for The Independent, Geoffrey Macnab wrote: “This is a film made with purposeful savagery, and with considerable wit and lyricism, too.”
“... Furiosa reportedly cost around $170m (£134m) to produce, and it looks it, Miller unleashing sheer carnage at every turn. The wonder here, though, is that a film with so many bells and whistles also bears such an emotional kick.”
Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga is in cinemas from 24 May.
