Cinematographer John Seale Talks Turning Down ‘Furiosa’ and Capping His Career With ‘Three Thousand Years of Longing’
J. Kim Murphy John Seale was considering retirement a decade ago — then fellow Australian George Miller convinced the cinematographer to shoot “Mad Max: Fury Road.” Now, their partnership continues with the fantastical romance “Three Thousand Years of Longing.” During production, Seale decided the two-hander, starring Idris Elba and Tilda Swinton, would be a “fascinating” film to cap his career, electing against reuniting with Miller for “Furiosa,” the filmmaker’s upcoming “Fury Road” prequel, which is currently in production. “It was one of the hardest things I’ve ever done,” Seale recalled. “George said, ‘Well, I’m not going to ask you to do it.’ I thought to myself, ‘Ah great, now I don’t have to go through it all.’ Then he said, ‘I’m going to invite you.’ That one word — ‘invite’ — changed the whole thing and made it even harder.”