THE blossoming desert at Broken Hill has forced the filming of the new Mad Max movie to be postponed again - possibly for a year.

In a blow to the New South Wales film industry, director George Miller said rain had forced the planned February shoot for the Warner Bros production to be delayed for a second time. The new start date would be July at the earliest and more likely September-October.

But despite the high value of the Australian dollar, which has made Australia an uneconomic location for Hollywood-backed movies, the Oscar-winning director of Happy Feet said Fury Road would ''definitely'' be made.

''Warners are very, very committed to the film, as we are,'' he said. ''There is nothing like creative problems. It's not an issue of budget; we're covered on the Australian dollar rise.''

Miller confirmed that British actor Tom Hardy, from Bronson and Inception, would take over from Mel Gibson as Mad Max, and Charlize Theron and Hugh Keays-Byrne, who played Toecutter in the first Mad Max, would also star.

''Unfortunately for Mad Max, what was wasteland is now this wonderful flower garden,'' Miller said. Finding an alternative desert location elsewhere in Australia was not possible.

''We've looked at every single nook and cranny in Australia for these specific locations,'' Miller said.

''That's why Broken Hill has become such a base for outback films: you've got the infrastructure of the city itself and the treeless plains beyond.

''Obviously if we go to Namibia or Morocco or Chile it's a different kettle of fish, but we want to shoot it here.''

Miller flagged concerns about the high value of the dollar for the industry.

''Governments are working incredibly hard to bring these productions in,'' he said.

''They're so sought after around the world because they infuse a massive amount of foreign cash into the economy and create a lot of jobs.

''Everyone's competing for that and right now it's no more expensive to shoot in America than it is in Australia.''