Sam Neil with daughter Elana

Director and writer of the hit animated film Happy Feet, George Miller was honoured tonight at a dinner in his home town of Sydney by a group of his peers. Miller's major directing success began in the 1970's with the cult hit Mad Max films that also launched the career of Mel Gibson. He went on to produce diverse films like The Witches Of Eastwick and the runaway success Babe. Against all the odds and with fierce competition from the Disney Studios in the highly political voting atmosphere of the 2007 Oscars-Miller collected a gong for the best animated feature.  Conservative anti-climate change groups in the US attacked the all dancing, singing penguin saga Happy Feet as a propaganda film aimed at children to promote the perils of global warming. Film-goers voted with the feet-Happy Feet became the quickest grossing film within days of it's release in the US. Miller, who operates out of an old Art Deco converted cinema in Sydney's red-light district of Kings Cross is now working on the 4th Mad Max film-this time without Gibson in the starring role. At the dinner organised by AFTRS-Australia's major training facility for the film industry aspirants and the directors old alma mater, Miller received his accolade for excellence from Aussie actor Sam Neil. Said Miller-"in many ways, receiving an award from the place I trained at so long ago, is more precious than my Oscar "