Keanu A-Z News Reports
Sunday, August 25, 2002
It's a wrap for Keanu capers
[Sunday Telegraph [AUS] 25/08/2002]
Although there have been stories that Keanu Reeves likes to sit the bed and read the Bible with some of his dates, it's good to know that he also enjoys more red-blooded amusements.
One of Sydney's leading exotic dancers was recently thrilled when she started her performance at Joanna's restaurant in Surry Hills to discover that the audience consisted of Reeves and some of his mates.
The party was very enthusiastic, particularly during the entertainer's celebrated pole-dancing segment.
Meanwhile, Matrix's wrap party held during the week at Fox Studios was an unqualified success. Reeves was present, and the celebrations continued into the early hours of the morning at various Sydney locations.
With Reeves who is understood to have flown out of Sydney last week, left at least one Sydney woman, Mosman real estate agent Elissa Krajcer, disappointed but a tad relieved.
Apparently she is finding all the media attention focused on her a little hard to take. Besides, she can always visit him in the States.
Keanu's $77,000 farewell bash
[Sun Herald 25/08/02]
Having made close to $US50 million ($92 million) from his back-to-back roles in the next two Matrix movies. Hollywood actor Keanu Reeves was only too happy to fork out almost $77,000 for champagne at his farewell party last week.
Reeves left Australia on Friday after spending the past 11 months living here while shooting The Matrix Reloaded and The Matrix Revisited [I think they meant Matrix Revolutions]
Production on the two sequels concluded on Thursday and Reeves attended an exclusive wrap party at Tank nightclub in the city on Thursday night.
But, generous as ever, he ordered 29 cases of Dom Perignon for his farewell.
Chuffed by the extent of the order, Dom threw in an ice bucket and the offer of glasses for the party.
Reeves needed only 24 glasses. What a happy company of 24 must have been by night's end.
Lone rider - Sydney's wrapped in Matrix
[Daily Telegraph [AUS] 25/08/2002]
 |  | |  |
Famously reserved, Keanu Reeves has embraced Sydney in a big way - and the feeling's more than mutual
No limos. No minders. Just a black Harley Davidson and an open ticket to the city. Through his involvement with the Matrix films, Keanu Reeves has given plenty of joy to Sydney. The successful film franchise has brought big bikkies to the State and has cemented the city as a more than viable movie making alternative to Hollywood. But unlike any other big time film star who has temporarily called the Harbour city home, Reeves has made the most of it. Really made the most of it. He's enjoyed our food, our beer, our wine and our weather. He's even enjoyed the company of our women, even if that is nobody's business.
Cool, calm, collected Keanu fitted right in.
When production for The Matrix sequels wrapped in Sydney on Wednesday night, Keanu Reeves gave each crew member a bottle of vintage '93 Dom Perignon.
It was a typical act from a man known for his considerable generosity and kindness.
Reeves is not only one of the world's more bankable film stars, he's also one of its more enigmatic.
An international man of mystery, you could say.
He's wealthy enough to buy properties for friends and family but chooses to remain homeless, drifting between expensive hotel rooms as his career takes him all around the world.
In Reeves's world, there is no need for limousines or entourages the size of a footy team. Nor is he particular about what he keeps in his wardrobe.
That's why Sydney has been a great temporary home for the 37yearold. He's slipped right in -- not quite going unnoticed, but he's certainly been able to enjoy it on his lonesome.
For well over a year, he has made the most of the Harbour City, enjoying its restaurants, bars and general lifestyle.
``I've had a great time,'' he told The Sunday Telegraph last week. ``I've met some wonderful people and eaten at some great restaurants. It's been really nice to be in Sydney and experience part of Sydney.''
The actor has also made good use of the roads heading out of town -- putting his black HarleyDavidson through its paces on weekend afternoon trips to places such as Kangaroo Valley, on the South Coast.
Reeves has done his best to avoid celebrity traps such as Otto at Woolloomooloo but has been spotted at Double Bay's Arte e Cucina, Catalina, Wine Banc on a Thursday nights as well as the Italian hangs in Leichhardt.
He's also been seen visiting the odd city strip club. Everyone who has welcomed him or served him would agree he is a reserved, but polite customer.
A wine lover, he's searched the city for an elusive bottle (or three) of Grange Hermitage and was a friendly but challenging customer for sommeliers around town. But while he's not afraid to give his credit card a culinary workout, Reeves has shown he is just as comfortable -- if not more so -- sitting in the corner of pubs like the Old Fitzroy Hotel, in Woolloomooloo. Earlier this year a group of British tourists noticed Reeves sitting in a corner of the the pub, keeping company with a young woman, a schooner of VB and a pack of Marlboro.
They approached him for a chat and a photograph. Cool, sure thing. He then challenged them to a game of pool.
He's also played ball with the media, to a point, reluctantly posing for persistent paparazzi or simply ignoring them and letting them take their shots. Not once has he been seen delivering the onefinger salute.
The only time his love affair with Sydney has soured was when the media speculated about romance ... real or rumoured.
``There have been a few quite serious invasions of privacy,'' he said, saying it was inappropriate for the media to speculate about his relationships with women.
Tom Cruise's gift to Sydney was a terrible movie called Mission: Impossible II, which worked better as a tourism show reel. Reeves gift to Sydney has simply been him being a part of it.
Come back soon, dude.
