George Miller on making every film unique, from 'Furiosa' to 'Three Thousand Years of Longing'

As the follow-up to his groundbreaking "Mad Max: Fury Road," the high-energy desert chase action movie that won six Oscars, Australian filmmaker George Miller is set to surprise audiences again with "Three Thousand Years of Longing."

The film, which opens nationwide Friday, is adapted by Miller and his daughter Augusta Gore from A.S. Byatt's 1994 short story "The Djinn in the Nightingale's Eye." Tilda Swinton plays Alithea Binnie, a narratologist (she studies storytelling) who has traveled from her home in London to a conference in Istanbul. There she encounters a Djinn (Idris Elba), a magical being who tells her of his encounters across millennia. She is reluctant to use his power to grant her wishes, further complicating their dynamic.

For a recent interview, Miller was on a video call from his home in Sydney, Australia, where he was deep into production on the anticipated "Fury Road" prequel "Furiosa," in which Anya Taylor-Joy takes over the role originated by Charlize Theron. Making one movie while promoting another leads to the occasional confusion, such as when Miller accidentally referred to the main character of one movie by the name of the other.

"Sorry, I always mix up names, calling Alithea Furiosa," Miller said with a