Keanu A-Z News Reports
Friday, September 26, 2003
Long-gone microchipped cat finds owner
[THE ASSOCIATED PRESS 25/09/2003]
SAN CARLOS, Calif. -- Call it Ted's excellent adventure, with a high-tech twist: A cat with an ID microchip implanted under his skin was returned to his owner 10 years after he jumped out a window and vanished.
Chris Inglis' sleek, black feline, Ted, was fitted with the chip back when the technology was still new in the early 1990s. But he was gone without a trace for a full decade before someone found him this week.
Ted - named for Keanu Reeves' character in "Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure" - was brought to the Peninsula Humane Society's animal shelter, which tracked down Inglis despite outdated information on the chip. The cat was found about 13 miles south of where Inglis used to live in Burlingame.
When the pair reunited Wednesday, the cat "rubbed his face on my hand, climbed right up and started purring," Inglis said. "It's pretty monumental. It's almost surreal."
Where Ted spent all those years remains a mystery, but it appeared someone had been taking care of him.
Inglis remembers that one of the things he and Ted liked to do was cruise around in his car. On their way home from the shelter, Inglis said Ted "put his front paws on the dashboard," just like in the old days.
Thursday, September 25, 2003
TheMatrix.com: Breaking News
OK, we've got TV spots. How close are we until the release of the theatrical trailer? You can see it in theaters this weekend.
Any sooner? Television gets it tomorrow.
Will it be at the official site? Yes.
Will it be high res? Of course. We're encoding from 2K source files, which is the resolution of the trailer in theaters; in short, we're drawing on as clear and high resolution an image as exists.
What is the length? Longer than the three TV spots combined.
Want more? The latest batch of photos, here.
Love handles and all
[The Age.com 26/09/2003
Technological advances have taken cinema into unexplored territories, but one region that film has not yet traversed without coyness or cosmetic interference is the human body. Flesh is routinely bared for the camera only when it has been aerobicised beyond all resemblance to the human form - only when it is as without blemish as Keanu Reeves' complexion in The Matrix Reloaded.
Mel's hell, claims Kate
[Megastar [UK] 25/09/2003
Brain-ache brekkie telly fluff Kate Lawler has dissed former All Saint Melanie Blatt as the most unfriendly person she's ever met.
Innit.
The bumbling, pin-flashing autocutie from the doomed (and - mercy! - soon to be axed) RI:SE also has a beef about dead-pan Matrix raincoat Keanu Reeves, whom she claims was monosyllabic (our word, not hers) in another so-called interview.
That means he gave ONE WORD ANSWERS, by the way - for any fellow products of the Kent education system.
Matrix Revolutions Trailer Description!
[Matrix Fans 25/09/2003]
This Matrix Revolutions Trailer Description was posted in our forums, written by user "Kailem." Excellent work!
OK, since I posted this piece-by-piece across various posts in the "ri:se" thread I figured it would be good to get it all together so you wouldn't have to go reading it post-by-post. And for those who didn't read that thread, the trailer was shown earlier this morning on UK TV. Here's the full shot-by-shot description of what it contains:
It starts off with a long tracking shot, the camera flying along 3 huge powerlines in the desert of the real which seem to go on forever, before finally going over a rise as we see that they extend for many more miles beyond. Cut to the shot of Neo looking at that huge machine overlord orb-thing that we see in the "Control" spot, only we get more of the start of it, which actually shows that Neo is standing on the edge of some huge ledge or something, looking out over one of the "growing field" as the orb rises up infront of him and says "SPEAK!"
Fade to black, voiceover by Neo "The program Smith has grown beyond your control. You cannot stop him, but I can" various shots of Smith are played over the end of this, including the one of Smith stepping into the middle of the long raining street we've seen in the teasers, plus one of him that I'm 99% sure is him sitting at a table with the Oracle (although we don't actually see her), as well as a couple more shots of Smith and Neo standing in the rain that we've seen before.
"And if you fail?" the booming voice asks, which now appears to have a "face" of sorts. Cut to the shot of Smith flying through the wall and Neo jumping over him that we've all seen before, then back to Neo, his eyes covered in bandages, the same angle as he says the "Smith" bit before in the "Control" spot. "I won't" he replies, after which we see a "jack spike" enter his head, indicating that he jacks into the Matrix immediately after making this 'deal' with the machines.
The green WB/Village Roadshow logos appear, then we get the shot of Trinity from "Help" saying "Do you know what happened to Neo?", then we get a shot of Neo against the white wall of the train station, followed by the one of that huge war machine from the teasers.
Oracle voiceover: "He is trapped in a place between this world and the machine world." As she says this we get a shot of Neo sitting up on the train station with the white wall behind him, the little girl (Rama's daughter from the newly released pictures) standing by his side, followed by the first ever shot of 01, standing like a giant castle in the desert of the real, surrounded by growing fields. It looks as though it's made up of huge cylinders, all blueish-red in tone, and appears to be absolutely massive.
Fade to white: the shot of Trinity, Morpheus and Seraph descending the stairs into Club Hel that's been shown in many of the teasers plays next and a voiceover by the Merovingian begins. He says "Bring me the eyes of the Oracle and I will give you back your....'saviour'." As he says this we see a new shot of the exiles surrounding Trinity, guns drawn. Then we see Neo standing by a train with Rama and his wife and daughter next to him, the long-haired "Train Man" infront. The Train Man punches Neo in the chest as the family look on, and he goes flying backwards, smashing into the white wall, which breaks on impact (the voiceover is still going on).
Cut to the Merovingian sitting on a sofa/seat talking (so the voiceover technically ends here as we see him speaking the res of it), holding a glass of wine very casually, then to Neo on his hands looking to his side (still in the train station, so obviously looking at the Train Man after having been laid into).
Lots of Matrix code then flies out from the screen, before cutting to, basically, the exact same opening as the "Enemy" TV spot, with Neo having a jack plug pulled from his head, Smith saying "Mr Anderson" (voiceover the shot of Bane waking up that we've seen before instead of the WB/VR logos though like in the TV spot), then Neo saying "Who are you?!" and which a bloodied Bane/Smith replies "Look past the flesh...(cut to 'burning Smith face')...and see your enemy."
Neo - "It's impossible!" then the shot of the dozens of Smith's walking through (we assume) the Oracle's door, before cutting back to Bane with the voice over from him saying "Not impossible - INEVITABLE!" before we once again see the shot of Smith laughing like crazy that we've all seen many times now.
Next we get the shot of the APU's (Zion mechs) walking across the dock that we saw in the International Trailer, followed by the two shots of that huge drill falling down and smashing into the ground in Zion from a couple of the new TV spots. While this is happening we hear another voiceover from Commander Lock saying "In less than 12 hours the machines will breach the dock walls", after which we get a low-angle shot of the Zion docks, which are absolutely gigantic, far, far, far larger than we ever saw in Reloaded, and from the very top we can make rubble falling down as the machines try to smash their way through.
Cut to a shot of Sentinels swarming through a tunnel towards the camera (one we've seen before in some of the TV spots) and a voiceover from Mifune, who says "If we have to give our lives, WE'LL GIVE 'EM HELL BEFORE WE DO!!!" we cut back to his face as he says the last part and we can see just how determined he is as he defiantly shouts to his men, who we cut to next, all assembled infront of him in their APU's, all cheering and raising their right gun arms up in the air much like the people did after Morpheus' speech in Reloaded.
Then we go back to Neo and the shot in which he says "Can Zion be saved?" which, again we've seen recently in the TV spots (can't remember which exactly but you know the shot I mean). Then a shot from behind one of the APU's as it slings it's arms/guns behind it's back, locks in two ammo-belts from its back then brings them round to the front again, followed by a few shots of many other APU's all raising their guns high to the ceiling, ready to open up on whatever is about to break through (the last of which shows Mifune again).
Yet another voice over accompanies this, this one again from the Oracle who say "Tonight the future of both worlds will be in your hands; or in his." After the APU's shots are done we see the one of Link and Zee embracing in a huge cavern in Zion that's been shown before, followed by the ones of Smith and Neo on the raining street both clenching their fists, Neo walking along the rows of Multi-Smiths, and that familiar couple of shots; "Mr Anderson welcome back! We missed you." - "It ends tonight."
Again the footage we've all seen many times now of the two of them running towards each other at full-force, this time to a new, pounding beat getting faster and faster as they get closer and closer until BOOM! The new trailer music starts. It's sort of like Tarawa in that it's choral and dramatic, but it's definitely nothing we've heard in any of the teasers of TV spots until now.
It plays over Neo flipping backwards then kicking off the wall which creates a circular "shockwave"-type effect on the wall, the same couple of shots from the ETM teaser, followed by a shot of Neo and Smith hitting each other in mid-air with a huge bubble-like shockwave emanating out around them and going up the skyscrapers around them (the same shot that's in "Future") and then the "door with loads of dead Sentinels getting blown off its hinges" shot.
Cut to a new shot of Neo and Bane grappling over a "lightening gun", swinging it past the camera so that the electricity goes just under the screen followed by the opening shot of "Future" which shows a Club Hel guard flipping upside down in slow-motion onto the ceiling, and after that we see the slo-mo shot of the gun flying up in mid-air over the Merovingian's balcony that's also in "Help", and finally the shot of the Train Man jumping across infront of the "Loop" train.
Then we see Morpheus in the real world who says "You've never believed in The One", then to Niobe (also in the real world) saying "I still don't; I believe in him" and then to a shot of Neo hugging Morpheus, which almost looks like a "goodbye" sort of moment to me. A couple more shots of Sentinels swarming through pipelines then a shot of a Zion operator (although not inside a ship) frantically saying "THE DOCK IS BREACHED!", then to Morpheus saying "Here they come."
From here it's all-out carnage, loads of shots of APU's blasting away at dozens and dozens of Sentinels which have burst into the Zion docks, a couple of which we've seen in some of the TV spots but mostly new stuff (including a woman firing a double rocket-launcher at some of them), and it all looks very intense indeed and incredibly action-packed. My anticipation for The Siege just went up several more notches I know that!
As those shots end a Morpheus voiceover begins saying "Neo is doing what he believes he must do" over a shot from behind Neo of him walking along an all-orange corridor which appears to be part of 01 (leading to the machine overlord?). The final part of the voiceover is said as a shot of Morpheus (in the real world) appears, thus technically ending the voiceover.
Cut to a shot of the huge "Maser Cannon" (seen in "Future") blasting away, another shot of Sentinels approaching the camera, then to Trinity in a hovercraft holding Neo's hand (we also see Neo looking at her, without his blindfold or bloodied eyes) saying "If you tell me we'll make it I'll believe you." We then get a shot from outside said hovercraft where we can see it's following the three powerlines towards 01, or what we assume is 01 (it doesn't look like the same citadel we see earlier in the trailer, it's what we all *thought* was 01 in the TV spots).
While that shot is showing Neo is saying "We'll make it; we have to."
The rest of Morpheus' voiceover then begins again, this time over several shots that we've seen before in many of the TV spots of Neo, blindfolded, reaching out his hand and blowing up some of the Sentinel-like flying machines, with lots of explosions around his hovercraft. Morpheus says: "I don't know what he can do to save us, but I do know that as long as there is a single breath in his body he'll never give up; and neither can we."
Something of note in this section is that we can clearly see that it is NOT 01 exploding in a massive fireball as some had speculated, but rather all the machines that were flying towards Neo and Trinity's hovercraft that are blowing up, as Neo reaches out his hand to destroy them. We even see a shot from directly above the craft as it flie through the explosion with lightening or electricity of some sort shooting out from the cockpit and zapping any machines in the way, thus clearing a path through the explosions.
Then (while Morpheus' voicover is still going on) we get 2 new shots of The Superbrawl, which show Neo and Smith grappling with each other, twisting and spinning in mid-air against the backdrop of skyscrapers, much like the shot we saw of them grappling in the TV spots but from different angles. After that we see the shot of the Sentinel apparently slamming straight into the cockpit of Neo and Trinity's craft followed by the one of the "orange ghost Sentinel" flying into/through Neo, then a shot of Neo giving the "just bring it" hand motion, the picture for which was released not long ago.
And this point Morpheus has reached "he will never give up" and we cut back to him to finish his voiceover off as he says "and neither can we."
Finally we have a quick montage of various shots, in this order: The shot of something in the real world exploding (not sure what it is though, we've seen in various teasers before, it's the thing that's blowing up right when "Absurd" starts to play in the ETM teaser), a close-up shot of Trinity hugging Neo, the shot of Smith apparently taking over the Oracle seen as Matrix code, the shot of Smith lifting Neo up inside the crater reaching back to punch him and lastly the infamous "Logos against the blue sky" shot.
The title then descends onto the screen in green code, "The Matrix Revolutions" and the trailer ends
Looking for the Revolutions Trailer on the Big Screen?
[Matrix Fans 25/09/2003]
Patrick Sauriol at Cinescape scooped where we'll be able to catch the Matrix Revolutions trailer. So, this thursday, keep your eyes on Entertainment Tonight and Access Hollywood for the trailer. It just might be on!
"The Magic 8-Ball" returns once again to inform us of trailer news. Shipping this week to all prints of The Rock's new action film THE RUNDOWN will be the new trailer for THE MATRIX REVOLUTIONS. Warner Bros. has given the OK for news and entertainment shows to broadcast the trailer the day before THE RUNDOWN opens, Thursday the 25th.
Expect the trailer to appear online shortly thereafter.
9 Hottest Costumes for Adults
[Bhg.com 25/09/2003]
Check out these fun costumes for Halloween or a masquerade party.
"Matrix" characters like Neo and Trinity
3. Fans of the movie The Matrix and its sequel Matrix: Reloaded -- which hit theaters in May -- will be flocking to their local costume stores to snap up character costumes including Neo, Trinity, Morpheus, and the Twins. The easiest costumes for do-it-yourselfers: Black-clad Neo for guys and Trinity for gals. Turn yourself into hero Neo with a long-sleeved black robe, black shoes, and black sunglasses. Channel Trinity with a long, black coat or robe (leather or a leather-looking material is best), black boots, black gloves, and a sexy pair of black shades. With this chic look, you'll be ready to save the world!
Photo credit: Party City
Wednesday, September 24, 2003
InTouch Mag/MB @ Reeves Drive: ?Kim Catrall, Burning the Candle at Both Ends?
Sept 22nd issue Page 49,
.....who shelled out $7,000 for an annual membership to the private dining Restaurant Club in New York, which also boats members like Keanu Reeves and Bill Clinton.
Available October 14 From Warner Home Video: ``The Matrix Reloaded''
[Business Wire 24/09/2003]
BURBANK, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Sept. 24, 2003--Warner Home Video: -- Reload before the Revolution Begins!
-- $700 Million Worldwide Box-Office Phenomenon
-- Hours of Bonus Features on Fully Loaded DVD Release Delve Deeper Into the World of The Matrix
Prepare to be blown away on October 14 with the highly anticipated DVD and VHS release of the record-breaking $700 million worldwide box-office smash hit "The Matrix Reloaded."
Written and directed by the Wachowski Brothers and produced by Joel Silver, "The Matrix Reloaded" is the second chapter in the Wachowskis' groundbreaking action film trilogy that explores the nature of reality and the search for truth. In addition to the return of original "Matrix" stars Keanu Reeves, Laurence Fishburne, Carrie-Anne Moss and Hugo Weaving, "The Matrix Reloaded" features such new cast members as Jada Pinkett Smith and Monica Bellucci.
Premiering October 14 on DVD and VHS from Warner Home Video Inc. (WHV) and Village Roadshow Pictures, "The Matrix Reloaded" is timed for release three weeks prior to the theatrical opening of "The Matrix Revolutions," the final film in the futuristic series. "The Matrix Reloaded" will be priced to own at $29.95 SRP for DVD and $22.99 SRP for VHS.
DVD ELEMENTS
The two-disc DVD release includes an explosion of mind-freeing bonus features:
-- Preload - Get a behind-the-scenes overview of "The Matrix Reloaded" with on-location footage and interviews with cast and crew.
-- The Freeway Chase - Behind-the-scenes footage shows the viewer how the mind-blowing scene was captured on film.
-- What is "The Animatrix?" - A glimpse into the history and the intrigue of "The Animatrix."
-- "Enter The Matrix" - Making of the best-seller video game and the groundbreaking technology used to create it. Your exclusive opportunity to step inside the world of "Enter the Matrix."
-- "The Matrix Unfolds" - A review of "The Matrix" phenomenon and its amazing cultural impact.
-- "2003 MTV Movie Awards Matrix Reloaded" parody
-- "Get Me An Exit" - "Matrix"-inspired advertising.
-- Weblinks to the official "Matrix" website.
SYNOPSIS
In the powerful second chapter of the Matrix trilogy, Neo (Keanu Reeves), Trinity (Moss) and Morpheus (Fishburne) lead the revolt against the Machine Army as it attacks Zion, the last human city on Earth, unleashing their arsenal of extraordinary skills and weaponry against the systematic forces of repression and exploitation. In their quest to save the human race from extinction, they gain greater insight into the construct of The Matrix and Neo's pivotal role in the fate of mankind.
What is The Matrix? The question is not yet fully answered. And it leads to another: Who created The Matrix? The answers lead to more worlds of bold possibility -- and to a destiny that passes from revelations to Revolutions.
BASICS
DVD - $29.95 SRP
VHS - $22.99 SRP
Street Date: October 14
Running time: 138 mins.
Rating: R (for sci-fi violence and some sexuality)
DVD Widescreen (16:9 Transfer) Catalog #28648
DVD Standard (4:3 Transfer) Catalog #21851
VHS Catalog #21851
Spanish-Subtitled VHS Catalog #6876
With operations in 78 international territories, Warner Home Video, a Warner Bros. Entertainment Company, commands the largest distribution infrastructure in the global video marketplace. Warner Home Video's film library is the largest of any studio, offering top quality new and vintage titles from the repertoires of Warner Bros. Pictures, Turner Entertainment, Castle Rock Entertainment, HBO Home Video and New Line Home Entertainment.
The machines are taking over
[The Colorado State Collegian September 24, 2003] snippet
Many of you out there already know about the automated traffic enforcement systems Fort Collins has, like the camera on the light at College Avenue and Drake Road. If you haven't, you'll probably be a victim soon enough. But what many of you don't know is that these cameras are the beginning of the end for humanity.
It always starts in little ways - we've learned this from historical documentaries such as "The Terminator" and "The Matrix." We give the machines control over something small, like a traffic light or a strategic missile defense system, and before you know it, Keanu Reeves knows kung fu. And I don't want to live in a world like that.
Tuesday, September 23, 2003
Stars still glow in local memories
[The News Tribune 23/09/2003]
Actor River Phoenix sits at the Bob's Java Jive bar, owned by the late Bob Radonich, during filming of 'I Love You to Death' in 1989. Radonich was typecast as a bartender by director Lawrence Kasdan in a scene filmed in the coffeepot-shaped Tacoma landmark.
Whenever folks show up in the South Sound to make films, they make memories, too. Here's a sampling of recollections from area residents:
Danette Staatz
Kevin Kline, River Phoenix, William Hurt, Keanu Reeves, Tracey Ullman and the rest of the cast from "I Love You To Death" were spotted all over town in 1989, and Bob's Java Jive became a favorite hangout for Phoenix and Reeves. Director Lawrence Kasdan even filmed a scene in the coffeepot-shaped landmark.
Owner Danette Staatz remembers a night when Phoenix had had a bit too much to drink. Actually, a lot too much. "He got pretty lit and was coming across the parking lot when he stopped and relieved himself on the back quarter panel of my dad's old Ford." Not long afterward, her father, Jive owner Bob Radonich, sold the car for $200. When Danette found out, she gave him a piece of her mind: "My God, Dad, you could have gotten 10 times that much. All you had to do was write on that quarter panel, "River Phoenix peed here.'"
Reeves apparently liked the funky atmosphere of the Java Jive so much that he tried to buy the place, Staatz said. She turned him down flat.
Why? "He wanted to move it to Hawaii. And I said no way in the world would I let him take this place to Hawaii. It's a Tacoma landmark, and it's not leaving Tacoma."
But Reeves persisted. Years later, he returned to Tacoma to renew his offer. Staatz learned he was coming and instructed her staff to keep him away from her father, who, starstruck (Kasdan had had him play the bartender in the scene shot at the Jive), might have agreed to sell. Reeves knew Radonich's office was in the back of the Jive and tried to talk his way past a wary bartender by telling her he wanted to use the restroom, which was also in the back. But the bartender knew exactly what he was up to, Staatz said. "She told him, 'You're not going past this point. We've got a parking lot, and you can pee on my Porsche.'
"He was so humiliated he never came back."
Jill Johnson Setera
Jill Johnson Setera was a student at Pierce College when Kline & Co. came to town to shoot "I Love You To Death." She got hired as an extra and quickly learned that the job was anything but glamorous. "There were a lot of hours waiting and watching take after take," she said, via e-mail.
"The only time we were able to be around stars was at lunch. One day as I was eating my lunch, Kevin Kline and his visiting wife, Phoebe Cates, sat down across from me. Mr. Kline asked me where a good place in Washington would be for them to spend a romantic weekend. Being only 19 at the time, I hadn't had any romantic weekends myself, but I suggested a bed-and-breakfast in the San Juan Islands I had heard good things about. To my delight, they singled me out the following Monday morning to say 'thank you' and that they had a wonderful time. I may have only been seen for a half a second in that movie, but the memory of my encounter with the famous couple will be with me forever."
Pat O'Malley
"I Love You To Death" wasn't the only movie shot in Tacoma in 1989. Another was "Nowhere Man," a thriller starring Watergate figure G. Gordon Liddy. Tacoma police detective Pat O'Malley worked security for the film. Now retired and living in Nevada, O'Malley remembers Liddy as being "very bright, very steely" with piercing eyes. "He was an imposing character." And one with a bawdy sense of humor.
On the day he finished work on the picture, cast and crew gathered to say goodbye. O'Malley remembers Liddy saying to the assembled throng, "Here's a parting thought for you guys." Whereupon, "he recited the dirtiest series of limericks I had ever heard ... beautiful, ridiculously filthy limericks. They all applauded, everybody laughed and laughed."
And then Liddy left, leaving them laughing.
As for "Nowhere Man," it went ... nowhere. Not to theaters. Not to video. Lost in cinematic limbo. So who's laughing now?
ET's 'Matrix Revolutions' Exclusive!
[Entertainment Tonight 22/09/2003]
Keanu returns for the final installment of the 'Matrix' trilogy.
Are you ready for 'The Matrix Revolutions'? "Everything has a beginning and an end," and as ET counts down to the November premiere of the final chapter in the blockbuster 'Matrix' trilogy, our own BOB GOEN was exclusively in Australia to catch all the behind-the-scenes action with JADA PINKETT SMITH and the rest of the Matrix crew!
Bob joined Jada in the cockpit set of Niobe's ship for some rocking action -- literally -- as the two were bounced around on a movable set for some simulated flying.
"You gotta make sure you're strapped in tight," Jada warned Bob before the behemoth started bucking. "We get some real movement going here. This thing rocks and rolls."
"Start rockin' this sucker!" yelled Bob, who almost fell out of his seat once things really got jumping. "This is like a rodeo, here. You ever barf in this thing?"
Produced by action maestro JOEL SILVER and directed by LARRY and ANDY WACHOWSKI, 'The Matrix Reloaded' pulled in over $700 million worldwide, eclipsing the original's box office and providing the biggest cliffhanger this summer. Now comes the incredible conclusion to the man vs. machines saga, promising more action in the real world and an attack-on-Zion finale that makes the "burly brawl" look like a dainty tea break.
Plot-wise, the straight shooting 'Revolutions' aims to wrap up all those 'Reloaded' loose ends with plenty of new surprises and revelations. As expected, KEANU REEVES ("Neo"), LAURENCE FISHBURNE ("Morpheus"), CARRIE-ANNE MOSS ("Trinity") and HUGO WEAVING ("Agent Smith") are all back for the big finale.
'The Matrix Revolutions' invades theaters nationwide Nov. 5.
Tarantino On Kill Bill 2
[Empire 23/09/2003]
'It really ain't gonna end pretty'
Seems that Quentin Tarantino's become something of a reactionary (or should we say purist?) in his old age. Interviewed in the November issue of Empire magazine (out on 26 September 2003) Quentin got all riled up about The Matrix and the use of evil CGI in movies. This new-found hatred was apparently triggered when director Luc Besson brought Keanu Reeves to an early screening of Kill Bill.
'I watched Keanu watching and I suddenly felt it,' explains Tarantino. [Warning: what follows is definitely an 18 rating verbal explosion] 'You know, my guys are all real. There's no computer fucking around. I'm sick to death of all that shit. This is old school with fucking cameras. If i'd wanted all that computer game bullshit, I'd have gone home and stuck my dick in my Nintendo.
Really warming to his theme, Tarantino continues; 'This CGI bullshit is the death knell of cinema. Movies are far too fucking expensive at the moment and it's killing the fucking art form. The way it's going, in ten year's time it will officially be killed.'
Later on in the interview, Tarantino lets slip a couple of morsels on what we can expect from Kill Bill 2. 'Vol 2 is out February 20. Vol 1 is a pure burst of adrenaline. Two we slow it down a little bit, you get to know the characters more, especally Bill; he's in every other fucking frame. Two's more like my other movies, the dialogue comes to the fore, and it's more chronologically fucked. And it really ain't gonna end pretty.'
You can read the full interview with Quentin Tarantino in the November issue of Empire magazine out on 26 September 2003. Alternatively - to make sure you never miss out on your issue, click here to subscribe and you'll get a free DVD for your trouble.
Britain's "cyborg scientist" spreads cyber-gospel
[The Star Online 23/09/2003]
SINGAPORE (AP) - Humans will increasingly embed technology into their bodies, bringing Hollywood-style cyborgs closer to reality, says a British robotics expert.
Kevin Warwick, 49, the first man to implant himself with a microchip that tracked his whereabouts and allowed him to communicate with a remote computer, is traveling across Asia on a British government-sponsored tour aimed at promoting robotics education at all levels.
Warwick hopes his research will someday assist the physically impaired, help parents make sure their children are safe, and allow people to solve complex mathematical problems at computer speeds.
"I am excited about the possibility of man merging with machines and us becoming super intelligent beings,'' said Warwick, who teaches cybernetics at Britain's Reading University.
Becoming like Keanu Reaves' character "Neo'' from the "The Matrix'' and Arnold Schwarzenegger's killer cyborg in the "Terminator'' trilogy is close to becoming possible, Warwick told a group of 300 enthralled schoolchildren in Singapore on Monday.
His next appearance will be at the Universiti of Teknologi Malaysia in Johor on Thursday.
Demonstrating his collection of robots, Warwick predicted that in the future people will harness technology to evolve into beings whose brains will work in concert with computers.
Students shrieked as a video showed his bleeding left arm after surgeons fed wires through it in August 1998.
They clapped and cheered when they saw footage of the scientist opening doors and switched on lights with a flick of his finger days after the operation.
He removed the wires after concluding nine days of experiments. However, last year he inserted a new implant, resembling a tiny brush, into the nerve endings in his left wrist, he said.
A similar device was attached to his wife's wrist. The microchips were removed three months later.
The implants grew into the tissue and were difficult to remove, he said. Neither he or his wife suffered any infections.
Warwick's experiments attracted the interest of British parents' groups who view his microchip implants as a way of monitoring their children's whereabouts following a series of highly publicised kidnappings.
"Parents were concerned about abductions in the UK. The device would be able to track down missing children,'' said Warwick.
However, the physically impaired could benefit the most from new technology, Warwick said.
"Like bats, the blind will be able to sense objects around them, using ultrasonic sensors, and people with spine injuries or multiple sclerosis will have implants to help them move ... wheelchairs can be driven by using brain signals,'' Warwick said.
Within 10 to 15 years microchips planted in the brain will pave the way for speechless communication, Warwick said.
"In future, man will communicate with one another simply by thinking,'' said Warwick, who is planning to have a microchip in his brain when he turns 60. - AP
REVOLUTIONS ALERT
[Entertainment Tonight 23/09/2003]
All this week, Entertainment Tonight will be featuring behind the scenes footage and interviews from the Matrix Revolutions set!
Check your local listings as to when it will be on, but for me on the East Coast, it is on NBC at 7:00 p.m.
Also, next Sunday, the show "Hot Ticket" will be previewing upcoming Fall movies, and one of those movies is "Something's Gotta Give", with Keanu and Jack Nicholson. It airs on NBC, the time, once again, you will have to check your local listings. Here, it is shown from 11:30-Noon.
And don't forget that Matrix: Reloaded will be out on video and DVD October 14.
Thanks Kelly
Oldies But Goodies
[Tucson Weekly 23/09/2003] snippet
The Loft's 'Cinematheque' offers classic films that were meant to be seen on the big screen.
Lord knows, there's nothing I love more than whatever movie Keanu Reeves, Ashton Kutcher and/or Hilary Duff just squirted onto our beloved movie screens. As my friend Muffy used to say, "Why should we watch boring old films when there's so many good new ones?" Why indeed, Muffy, why indeed? Well, for starters, movies with Keanu Reeves, Ashton Kutcher and/or Hilary Duff, as much as we love them (and I believe that it would be un-American to criticize any such films, and that anyone criticizing American movies should be excoriated on Fox News), occasionally fail to fully satisfy us, because, in spite of their greatness and Americanosity, such films usually suck harder than a black hole.
Monday, September 22, 2003
The Matrix Reloaded:Neo Realism
Cinefex #95 October 2003
28 pages article by Joe Fordham
Delivering the first of two sequels to their 1999 hit, The Matrix, which took audiences by storm with its tale of alternate realities, the Wachowski Brothers are back with The Matrix Reloaded. This time, returning visual effects supervisor John Gaeta and an international array of visual effects vendors -- led by ESC Entertainment -- advanced synthetic imaging techniques and motion capture technology. The results are virtual-world visuals that defy description and action scenes whose complex choreography and camera work reflect a total liberation from real-world constraints.
Keanu fans who are looking for lots of hardcore detail about the making of The Matrix Reloaded should check out the current issue of Cinefex magazine, due to hit newsstands and bookstores next week. The special effects journal features a 38-page cover story on The Matrix Reloaded, with lots of juicy detail about the making of the film, including interviews with visual effects supervisor John Gaeta, and key artists from a host of other companies -- both in the U.S. and abroad -- responsible for the dazzling fight scenes and virtual-world imagery. The article is accompanied by more than 40 color photographs documenting the work, including frame-clips and behind-the-scenes shots. For more information, visit the Cinefex website at: www.cinefex.com.
Sunday, September 21, 2003
Keanu: Hollywood Hobo
[US Magazine 29/09/2003]
He's not and sexy and one of the highest-paid actors in the world - so why does Keanu Reeves 39, love to look so ragamuffin?
Aww! Li'l Tramp
Bag man Reeves has mastered the retro "tramp clown" look popularised by 1950s hobo-fashion icon Emmett Kelly.
Sidewalk vs. Mansion: Sidewalk Wins!
Reeves, who purchased a Hollywood Hills home this summer for close to $5 million, looked down and our in Beverly Hills.
Get Keanu's Hobo Look
Patchy beard...the torn shirt worn in November 1999...the shoe fixed with duct tape...
Matrix 3 to Premiere at New Walt Disney Concert Hall
[AZReporter.com 20/09/2003]
Matrix Revolutions, the Final Chapter in the Matrix Trilogy
BURBANK, CA -- On Monday, October 27, Warner Bros. Pictures and Village Roadshow Pictures will unveil The Matrix Revolutions, the final chapter in the phenomenal Matrix trilogy, at the Los Angeles Music Center's new home for the L.A. Philharmonic, the Walt Disney Concert Hall. The highly anticipated event marks the first-ever film premiere at the stunning new venue.
Designed by master architecht Frank Gehry and sheathed in shimmering stainless steel, the soaring 2,265-seat Disney Hall was recently praised by Newsweek magazine as "a masterpiece even greater than [Gehry's] spectacular Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao, Spain."
"We're thrilled to be staging the world premiere of The Matrix Revolutions, at Disney Hall," said Joel Silver, producer of the Matrix trilogy. "The Wachowski Brothers feel that at the heart of these films is the hope of integration; the synthesis of our finite knowledge of what is with our infinite beliefs of what might be. The architecture and design of this incredible facility represent the same inspiring aesthetic."
What Is The Matrix Revolutions?
Neo, Morpheus, Trinity, and the rest of their crew continue to battle the machines that have enslaved the human race in the Matrix.
Written and directed by the Wachowski Brothers, The Matrix Revolutions stars Keanu Reeves, Laurence Fishburne, Carrie-Anne Moss, Hugo Weaving and Jada Pinkett Smith.
The Matrix Revolutions will be released worldwide on November 5 by Warner Bros. Pictures, a Warner Bros. Entertaniment Company, and in select territories by Village Roadshow Pictures.
Walt Disney Concert Hall Project History
In 1987, Lillian Disney made an initial gift of $50 million to build a world-class performance venue as a gift to the people of Los Angeles and a tribute to Walt Disney's devotion to the arts. Since then, other gifts and accumulated interest bring the Disney family's total contribution to the project to more than $100 million. The County of Los Angeles agreed to provide the land and significant additional funding to finance Walt Disney Concert Hall's six-level subterranean parking garage.
Frank Gehry was selected as the architect in 1988, and the final design was announced in 1991. Construction on the concert hall garage began in 1992 and was completed in 1996. Construction of the hall began in November 1999. The erection of the dramatic structural steel was completed in the summer of 2001, the stainless steel cladding at the beginning of 2003 and the planting of the trees in March.
Beginning in 1996, a campaign led by Eli Broad and co-chaired by Los Angeles Mayor Richard J. Riordan and Music Center Chair Andrea Van de Kamp, raised the remaining funds necessary to construct the hall. Many corporate, foundation, and individual partners, along with the State of California, contributed generously to the campaign. The Los Angeles Philharmonic provided additional funding for the core project and full funding for the Los Angeles Philharmonic Association Center. The total cost of the project is $274 million.
New film season sails into theaters
[Denver Post 21/09/2003]
Some movies chart a course toward the Academy Awards
"The Matrix Revolutions"
Has it only been four months since last we saw the One deciding between his love for Trinity and his duty to Zion? Keanu Reeves, Carrie-Anne Moss and Laurence Fishburne return for the final battle between gritty reality and the Matrix's pristine lie.
Buzz: Didn't the filmmakers shoot their buzz for "Reloaded"?
Buzz Kill: Like he did for "Reloaded," F/X hog John Gaeta is already branding the next Agent Smith vs. Neo showdown. This time, he's calling it the "Superbrawl." Hmm. Makes us nostalgic for the Bud Bowl.
Opens: Nov. 5
It's Matrix Revolutions Week on Entertainment Tonight!
[ComingSoon 21/09/2003]
The Matrix Revolutions will receive a lot of hype on Entertainment Tonight every day this week.
I don't know if you guys saw this yet, but I just saw an ad for Entertainment Tonight and they are having a week of behind the scenes and new footage from THE MATRIX REVOLUTIONS beginning Monday, September 22. The ad featured alot of the footage that was leaked in those 5 TV-Spots earlier this week. I guess this will be an exciting week for Matrix fans!
You bet it will be. Will we see the new trailer this week as well? Stay tuned...
Saturday, September 20, 2003
KEANU'S BELOVED BOOTS
[Contactmusic 20/09/2003]
THE MATRIX star KEANU REEVES is so in love with a battered old pair of boots, he's stick them together with tape rather than toss them away.
The Lebanon-born actor, who's earned a reported $30 million (GBP18.7 million) plus 15 per cent of the box office gross from the Matrix series, has taken to wearing a beloved pair of boots with duct tape around one foot.
And rather than keep his budgeting a secret, Reeves wore the tattered footwear when he appeared on THE SHARON OSBOURNE SHOW yesterday morning (17SEP03) and performed with the band BECKY.
Once he and bandmates REBECCA LORD, PAULIE KOSTA and ROB MAILHOUSE had finished playing OBLIVIOUS, host Sharon immediately asked about his taped shoe.
Keanu replied, "What happened is, I really love these shoes. They're kinda coming off. This one was really a nightmare so I've just taped them on for the past couple of days. It's so torn that the glue won't work."
MOVIE PREVIEW: MATRIX REVOLUTIONS ***POSSIBLE SPOILERS***
[Widescreen [Ger] October 2003] thanks Petra!
On 5 November the LAST PART the MATRIX TRILOGIE ONES comes into the German cinemas. We already now throw a view of the revolution happening.
FILMFACTS
German kind of filming: 5. November 2003
Premiere: 5. November 2003, world-wide
Direction: The Wachowski brothers
Actor: Keanu Reeves, Laurence Fishburne, Carrie Anne Moss, Monica Bellucci, Hugo Weaving, Jada pin-chain Smith u.v.a.
At the end the second part of matrix we were left with more questions than answers. Neo had an ability to see similarly as the Oracle into the future and recognized and used this power in order to save - against all expectations - Trinitys life. Thus it threw at the same time the plan of The Architect over the heap to stabilize The Matrix. The realization that Neo's existence served only as lightning conductor of The Matrix for the imponderability of the human spirit, destroyed the faith Morpheus in The Prophecy as the signpost/guide of his life. It was a small comfort that Neo seemed to have now also power over the machines in the material world, because he fell into a coma. The destruction of the Nebuchadnezzar made the small rebel troop homeless, it found protection on Niobe's ship The Logos. Zion was finally more vulnerable than before due to the ambush for the machines. Commander Lock's planned failed - probably by betrayal , the destruction by the machinee of The Architect continues to run off with deadly efficiency and one of the rebels carries without their knowledge Smith as Saboteur in its spirit.
Which is over Matrix: Revolution already admits? A large part of the action takes place on the surface of the destroyed earth, in particular the action is finally enough. On the 17-minute final sequence producer Joel Silver spent 40 million dollars. In this part of the film finally over to be or not its of mankind is decided.
It is likewise clear that again within the matrix on arguments is to be counted. Thus it comes to a decisive encounter between Neo and Smith, in order to hold Smith to assimilate with his viral abilities the entire Matrix and to kill thus each attached human. That is however a fight, which is also in the interest of the machines and free programs - here possibilities for improbable alliances open. Morpheus, Trinity and the Bodyguard of the Oracle, Seraph, fight together against opponents within The Matrix and penetrate into the SM club "bright", which is operated by the Merovingian. There it comes to a violent fight, at whose end Trinity sets her pistol for the Merovingian on his forehead. It's best information, which is crucial for surviving Neo. So crucial that Trinity would give her life for him. Zion experiences meanwhile a devastating attack on the hangar range. The air-locks are blown up from the outside, strong explosions destroy the Gespinst from bridges in the city. LOCK, the military leader of the rebels, fights to Battle mechanical one a desperate Kamp in one against the penetrating machines.
Since the Wachowskis guard the surprises of The Matrix: Revolutions strictly, still much area for speculations remains despite these confirmed information.
Armin Spring
"We could tell it to you, but then we would have to kill you."
Neal and Adrian Rayment spirits in Reloaded as bodyless Twins by The Matrix. Whether they emerge in Revolutions, for the time being remains a secret. WIDESCREEN met the two actors in Los Angeles.
The actors, close-in engagement expert and Stunt professional Neal and Adrian Rayment play a ghostly twin pair, obsolete programs of The Matrix, which are used of the Merovingian as bodyguards and wage killers in The Matrix Reloaded. Neal and Adrian compare their figures with skirt star, which move outside of neither standard. But in real life the Rayments everything else is fear- exciting as. With their sticking on smile, their dry humor and their youngful charm they affect first attempt pleasantly. May they tell at all something over the next film? Adrian looks at me over the edge of his sunglasses "if you ask something, on which we are cannot answer, you'll see a red point on your chest. That is the laser beam of the device's aim ."
To their passion, the martial-art kind, came early to them, because the two already from children with each another flogged themselves. Adrian: "As we are brothers, we always had the perfect training partner." They practiced Judo and later also various other kinds of combat as well as handling close-range weapons. Adrian: "the Chinese kinds of combat require very much and are very difficult."
Already in recent years the twins wanted to be in showbusiness , because their uncle, who earned himself as Alfred Hitchcock Imitated his roles, had always impressed them. Their first appearances had Neal and Adrian Rayment in English TV serials. It took only few years, until a casting file made it's way onto the desk of the Wachowskis. That the brothers Larry and Andy Wachowski calculated a twin pair in the roles of the killers, is no coincidence, because they are fascinated with the topic. In the mass scenes of The Matrix are a large part of the extras were also brothers and sisters. Subconsciously the spectator feels that corresponds to the standard somewhat not completely. If one freezes the picture, one sees that many extras doubly emerge.
How did it feel for the twins to also be with Matrix thereby? Neal: "very pleasant. That was a very pleasant feeling. We made a TV serial in England at the time. The series was to be extended. But we did not alreadywant to get into American films so early along-play to make we anything in the future, most films, which world sees, are mostly USA produced. When they called us because of the series, we said: 'we can't come unfortunately'. We make Matrix.' If an opportunity is offered such as Matrix, one does not say no."
The Rayments obviously enjoyed training for months with renowned Qu-Xiu-Artisten together. Adrian: "we worked with authentic weapons. And the movements are unbelievably beautiful. By training one finds out, where their own strengths and weaknesses lie." Neal: "we did a lot of Kickboxing, what is very low-grade. And suddenly we trained with something, which demanded tremendous elegance."
Does the Wachowskis work really so accurately, how one after-says to them? Neal: "the Wachowskis have everything on storyboards. Each individual attitude is available as a storyboard. One can exactly see, how the film will finally look. The film exists already before as a kind of rotation completely in their heads."
With the request to demonstrate one their Stunts the two must smile . After a short discussion they decide to demonstrate a Karate Kick. Both rise, loosen their muscles around each other around we boxer. Then they measure their distance and take their position their fists go upward. Neal's leg go up quick and abruptly high and comes only few centimeters before Adrian's larynx to the style conditions. In this position they remain few second. Adrian put back on his sunglasses.
Will they also be in Revolutions? Adrian grins. "there it is again, the red point."
Neal makes clear to me unmistakably: They could tell it to me. But then they would have to kill me.
Emanuel Miner
BORING QUESTIONS... AND ONE POSSIBLE ANSWER
MORPHEUS BECOMESTHE TRAITOR DURING THE REBELLION?
His disappointment over the falsehood of the prophecy and the loss of his ship could make him susceptible to infecttion by Smith. In an interview Laurence Fishburne, he said had with the role of the Morpheus the chance, "to be Skywalker and Darth Vader at the same time".
IS NEO IMPRISONED IN REALITY IN AN ILLUSION WITHIN THE MATRIX?
It suggests that Neo can notice and affect the machines. So far it did not have such forces outside of the matrix. For this theory it speaks that Trinity brings the Merovingian into his force. It could help to release Neo from the fictitious material world before Smith brings the matrix to a collapse.
IS ZION DESTROYED AND THUS THE-LARGEST PART OF FREE MANKIND?
The fact that the fight takes place on the surface assume the city falls, but a surviving number of rebels remain . The military leader of the rebels, LOCK, participates in the defense with his mechanical battle one at foremost front also.
DO NEO AND TRINITY DIE, WHILST SAVING MANKIND?
In a film scene Neo and Trinity in a Hovercraft become suicidally directly on a Sentinel, which wraps then on impact. Afterwards a violent explosion takes place. Happens on the way after 01, the capital of the machines?
IS NEO A PRISONER OF THE MEROVINGIAN?
The kiss between Persephone and Neo could have transferred a virus of the Merowingers to him, the curse and benediction at the same time is: Power over the machines outside of the matrix and at the same time chains. The Merovingian has a strong interest in the stability of the matrix and Neo is the only weapon against Smith and its catastrophic propagation.
DOES SMITH TAKE OVER THE ORACLE THEREBY RUINING THE PEACE PLAN?
In one the first Trailers seen, Smith is in the kitchen in the Oracle's dwelling and obviously something is very pleasing to him. Does hist concern thereby the plan of the Oracle to reach assistance Neos a peace between machines and humans surviving both species permitted?
HOW IMPORTANT IS THE ROLE PLAYED BY "THE KID"? Attentive Animatrix fans know that "The Kid" is the only human nature, which it created from own strength for breaking out of The Matrix. The only one? Who remembers exactly part of 1, knows from a discussion between Neo and Morpheus of another person, to who that succeeded. Here the key for the dissolution of the entire action could lie.
WHO DIES, WHO SURVIVES?
We set our money on a bitter-sweet happy ending. Our prognosis: Free mankind is saved and occurs an armistice with the machines. Both groups work together on a re-establishment of the habitat earth. The pleased heroes will again create their survivors love in the matrix as programs, let themselves again be attached.
Like an author: Madonna grows 'English Roses'
[The Oregonian 20/09/2003]
The queen adjusted her trend-watching goggles. Hmm. "Finding Nemo" and its friendly fish out-earned Keanu Reeves and his brooding, black-leather-clad kung-fu fighters in "The Matrix Reloaded." Moms and daughters were flocking to "Freaky Friday." Hey, didn't its star, Jamie Lee Curtis, also write books for children? It all made sense. Family. Friendly. Wholesome. Out with the black leather. Bring on the kids.
Friday, September 19, 2003
'Ghost' on "The Matrix Revolutions"
[MatrixFans 19/09/2003]
Moviehole sent us this news about The Matrix Revolutions:
Anthony Wong, who plays “Ghost” in “The Matrix Revolutions”, talked to WhatDVD about the upcoming final chapter. “[It is] Bigger, Better Faster”, he laughs. “The Matrix Revolutions really does show you why Matrix as a story was conceived as a trilogy.
Because it really does deliver the powerful philosophical message that the Wachowskis wanted to bring to the world through this sort of high action, science fiction movie. Also you are going to see some very interesting things happen”. He adds, “I can just say that it totally pays off for the fans of the first two movies”. Wong also commented on some of the bad feedback “Matrix Reloaded” received. “I have heard about that criticism and that’s why I say that Matrix Revolutions will really answer any of the critics of the second movie. Because the second and third movies are like one story divided in half, the third one really does wrap up a lot of the loose ends. The second Matrix does pose a lot of questions that people walk out going, wow, gosh, what does that mean? I don’t understand it. Well Matrix Revolutions really does answer those and wrap up the story”.
'Underworld' vamps 'Matrix' look, formula
[Boston Globe 19/09/2003] snippets
"Underworld" is a sepulchral vampires-vs.-werewolves soap opera. All the white dudes have damp, longish coifs, and look as if they could front the German metal outfit of their choice. The baldish black dudes seem like bouncers. And Kate Beckinsale trudges through each damp, crypto-European set in swirling dusters and tight, rubberized pants as though she really wanted to play Carrie-Anne Moss's part in "The Matrix."
They think they've found their solution in a miraculous young doctor. He's called Michael, presumably because The One was taken. He's played by Scott Speedman, a swimmer type who's even more passive than Keanu Reeves.
Film flood
[Vancouver Sun 19/09/2003]
The Sun's Marke Andrews steers a course through the torrent of movies coming this fall
NOVEMBER
Matrix: Revolutions completes the wildly successful Matrix trilogy. What will Keanu Reeves do without special effects?
DECEMBER
In Something's Gotta Give, Jack Nicholson plays an aging playboy who, in the middle of an affair with a younger woman, suffers health problems and begins to notice a woman closer to his own age.
Nancy Meyers (What Women Want) directs a formidable cast which includes Diane Keaton, Keanu Reeves, Amanda Peet and Frances McDormand. (Dec. 12).
Spirituality gets lost in this 'Translation'
[Sunspot.net 19/09/2003]
There are sour satiric sketches. When Murray and his wife talk over the phone from L.A., she's more obsessed with the interior decoration of their house than with the interior of his heart and mind. When Johansson and Ribisi run into one of his photo-shoot acquaintances (possibly a former bedmate), it's a bimbo starlet who has just made a movie with Keanu Reeves and is eager to trumpet the value of the latest internal-cleansing craze.
'Underworld': The horrors of war
[Seattlepi.com 19/09/2003]
At the center of all this mayhem, Beckinsale makes a most stunning focus. With her flowing black coat and steely Taoist confidence, she may be a bit too obviously a female version of Keanu Reeves' Neo, but she's poetry in motion and she projects an exquisitely soothing intelligence and determination.
Gunplay and Black Leather in a War Between Monsters
[NY Times: 19/09/2003]
Vampires and werewolves are, for some reason, at war. Some, including the vampire warrior Selene (Kate Beckinsale, impersonating Lara Flynn Boyle), are wearing long black leather coats like Keanu Reeves's in "The Matrix." You'd expect a lot more neck-piercing, blood-sucking and general mauling, but instead the combatants seem to enjoy doing choreographed battle with big, boxy semiautomatic weapons in both hands.
The Matrix Revolutions TV Campaign Kicks-Off
[Coming Soon 18/09/2003]
'Andrew H' tells us that tonight was the launch of the first TV spot for The Matrix Revolutions during the new season premiere of Survivor: Pearl Islands. The 30 second clip was similar to one of the spots that turned up online earlier this week, but then were pulled.
Sweet on Swinton
[Lavender Magazine 19/09/2003]
Tilda Swinton, Orlando's gender-shifter and The Deep End's avenging mama, is set to join the cast of Constantine, a big-budget Keanu Reeves action movie based on the DC-Vertigo comic book Hellblazer.
Why, you ask, did they change the name to something that sounds like a wig-and-corset flick? Maybe the original title was too close for comfort to the schlock Hellraiser.
Reeves plays Constantine, an occult-obsessed man who joins forces with a female police officer (Rachel Weisz) to kick evildoer ass. Swinton's character is a rogue angel named Gabriel whose job is to kick back.
The movie's in preproduction now, so you have a while to wait. But you can bet that the über-cool Swinton will have us all rooting for the dark side to win.
Thursday, September 18, 2003
Hollywood hacks impress experts
[Mercury News 18/09/2003]
IRVINE - In the sequel to the movie ``The Matrix,'' the svelte heroine's return to the futuristic world had a group of security consultants from Irvine's Rainbow Technologies ogling the raven-haired computer whiz.
But not just because Trinity looked hot in skin-tight black leather.
Trinity, played by actor Carrie-Anne Moss, uses genuine hacking tools to help Neo, played by Keanu Reeves, rescue humankind -- she uses ``Nmap'' software to scan the computer ports, finds the electrical control system's Internet protocol address and, voila, zaps the power.
``We were actually impressed,'' said Bernie Cowens, Rainbow's vice president of security services, who took his staff of ``fairly jaded'' technologists to a matinee on opening day.
``They are pretty hard to please when it comes to realism in the movies,'' he said. ``They all commented favorably.''
In the past, Hollywood's depiction of computer breaches left most security experts groaning in disbelief. Cracking a password in 60 seconds?
Impossible, they say. Computer screens covered with animated images of spreading viruses? Never happens. Zooming in on video recorded by a generic security camera? Ha!
But now, although Hollywood continues to exaggerate technology to make movies more exciting, hacking in films is becoming more realistic, computer experts say.
For example, this summer's ``The Italian Job'' showed a credible situation of how hackers might get into the Los Angeles transportation computer system to create the city's largest traffic jam.
And, while movie critics have panned ``The Matrix Reloaded,'' many computer-security professionals loved it and are eagerly awaiting the November release of the next movie in the Matrix trilogy, ``The Matrix Revolutions.''
``There's a new generation of filmmakers growing up with technology,'' Cowens said. ``They're acknowledging that the public is more (computer) savvy. It makes it more believable.''
At home, many people have learned not to open e-mail attachments from people they don't know. They know that, if they ignore that warning, the computer could stop working or slow down because a computer virus is sending itself to everyone in their address book.
They know that colorful images of viruses eating files don't really appear on the computer screen, as in the 1995 movie ``Hackers.'' They know, and were reminded by the Blaster worm attack on Windows XP and Windows 2000 systems, that breaking into a computer isn't as tricky as somersaulting across a pressure-sensitive floor to install a snooping device, as in ``Charlie's Angels 2000.''
``What seemed like science-fiction 10 years ago, people now know it exists,'' said Steve Gibson, head of the security consultants Gibson Research in Laguna Hills. ``Hollywood can now have someone lament about a computer having a virus. . . . You don't have to explain it anymore.''
Close to the hearts of many a security expert is ``WarGames,'' from 1983. ``That was one of the turning points (in hacker movies),'' said Riley Hassell, a security researcher with eEye Digital Security, an Aliso Viejo security-software company.
In that movie, Matthew Broderick, who plays a teenage hacker trying to access unreleased computer games, skips school for a week to research the life of a man who designed the ultimate computer game. His goal is to discover a secret password that will get him through the ``backdoor,'' a shortcut that programmers often add to software code so they can bypass security.
``That was pretty realistic,'' said Barnaby Jack, also a security researcher at eEye. `` `WarGames' was what got a lot of people into the hacking scene.''
Another highly rated movie among security-industry professionals was ``Sneakers,'' which was written by the same folks who wrote ``WarGames.'' The movie revolves around a ragtag team of hackers who were once on the other side of the law but are now in business to help companies find flaws in their security.
``That's what I wanted to do,'' Hassell said.
And that's what he does.
Hollywood enjoys the drama of hackers guessing passwords quickly and at the very last second, as in the 2001 movie ``Swordfish,'' which is about a hacker who double-crosses a crime lord by adding super-strong encryption to a bank's computer system. Of course, he's forced to break back in -- in less than 60 seconds.
`` `Swordfish' is a horrible, horrible example,'' said Chris Prosise, vice president of professional services with security firm Foundstone in Mission Viejo. ``The guy supposedly cracked the algorithm within a few seconds. But that's impossible.''
In reality, cracking passwords takes at least a few minutes, and much more if the word isn't in the dictionary, said Steve ``Rex'' Frank, chief technology officer of Alvaka Networks in Huntington Beach.
``If there's a dollar sign or something else, it could take a hundred hours,'' said Frank, a professional ``white hat'' hacker, which means he uses his computer skills for good.
Hacking a password is usually slow and methodical, he said.
``The password-cracking programs I use -- it literally will try A, A1, A2. Eventually, it will get any password.''
Sometimes Hollywood's knack for exaggeration misleads the movie-going public, Gibson said.
``I actually had one of my field agent contacts tell me that FBI management is upset because they can't track down hackers like they do in the movies,'' Gibson said.
Perhaps the biggest flaw in Hollywood's depiction of hackers is the portrayal of their lifestyle.
In ``Hackers,'' for example, the troupe of teenage computer geeks -- which included sexy Angelina Jolie -- go clubbing at night, in-line skate and throw parties attended by crowds of hipsters.
Hassell says he can attest that the hackers he knows aren't the most sociable or fashionable creatures.
``None of them are attractive people,'' Hassell said. ``These guys are big `Star Trek' fans. They eat chips and drink beer.''
Gibson tries not to think about inaccuracies in movies. He goes to be entertained.
``There is definitely a trade-off between accuracy and entertainment,'' he said. ``This isn't a computer seminar.''
Get inside 'The Matrix'
[al.com 18/09/2003]
IMAX version to take viewers to new heights, as well as Space Center
Here's the first thing you'll experience after watching the IMAX version of "The Matrix Reloaded," which starts Friday at the U.S. Space and Rocket Center:
Dizziness.
Have you been on "Superman," "Batman" or any of those turn-you-upside-down roller coaster rides at Six Flags over Georgia?
No? Well, have you thrown down a margarita or two at a Mexican restaurant lately?
That's sort of what you'll feel like after leaving "The Matrix Reloaded," the second part of the sci-fi trilogy that, in the simplest terms - and this movie is complicated and deep - is man against machines.
It's mind-boggling, captivating, exhausting and exciting - two hours of action so intense your palms and whole body are sweating and your head is spinning after watching the movie on a screen eight stories high and 120 feet wide.
You feel like you're right there riding on Trinity's (Carrie-Anne Moss) motorcycle as it flies off an 18-wheeler and then heads the wrong way on the freeway at over 100 mph during rush hour.
Or with Neo (Keanu Reeves) as he does his Superman thing, flying at breakneck speed up through the heavens or through the city streets.
Or right there as Neo, Trinity and Morpheus (Laurence Fishburne) do all sorts of kicks, somersaults and moves in ground-breaking "bullet-time" special effects, where the characters' movements are slowed down - almost frozen - at a moment's notice.
And, if you like this second part of "The Matrix" trilogy, you'll get to see the conclusion in IMAX in two months. The Space Center is hosting the "The Matrix Revolutions" when it premieres around the country Nov. 5 - a first for the space museum.
Get this - the Space Center is hosting a midnight showing then, making Huntsville one of the first spots in the world to see the movie's final installment.
"The Matrix Revolutions: The IMAX Experience" will mark the first time a live-action Hollywood event film is released concurrently in 35 mm and IMAX formats. It's also the first time the Space Center has shown a film rated R - for sci-fi violence and sexuality. "Matrix Reloaded" includes profanity and one sort of blurred, non-graphic sex scene.
Al Whitaker, head of media relations for the Space and Rocket Center, said IMAX is trying to tap into more theater films. In the past, it has focused more on documentaries, exploring such things as Africa, Antarctica, Mount Everest, even helicopters, in films no longer than 60 minutes.
The Space Center had success with the last two "Star Wars" movies, "Episode I" and "II," Whitaker said, sometimes turning away people from the 275-seat Spacedome Theater, but didn't have quite the same crowds for "Apollo 13." Of course, "Apollo 13" was released in 1995.
The center expects to get the new IMAX NASCAR movie in March 2004, which will put viewers in the seat of cars going more than 200 mph, Whitaker said.
If you go
What: "The Matrix Reloaded" and "The Matrix Revolutions" IMAX films
When: "The Matrix Reloaded" starts Friday and runs through Nov. 4: Friday and Saturday, 7:30 p.m., Sunday, 4 p.m.; "The Matrix Revolutions" starts at midnight Nov. 4, times to be announced
Where: U.S. Space and Rocket Center, Governors Drive and Bob Wallace Avenue, I-565 Exit 15
How much? Adults $10, children $9, combo ticket for movie and museum, $20.95 for adults, $15.95 for children.
Smith, Neo and Gaeta on The Matrix Revolutions Source: Premiere
[Coming Soon Wednesday, September 17, 2003]
Premiere magazine talked to the cast and crew of The Matrix Revolutions about just how big the final film will be. Spoilers ahead...
The stage is set for the final confrontation between man and machine, as well as the climactic round between Neo's flying superman and his archenemy Smith (Weaving)—a fight that's been dubbed by the filmmakers as "the Superbrawl" and that takes place both in the skies above the Matrix and on the ground where the rogue agent’s clones have reached epidemic proportions. "He's taking over," Weaving says. And if you thought the conclusion of Reloaded was startling, this is where you should really expect the unexpected. Such as a main character dying. Maybe. As well as a new Oracle (Mary Alice Smith). Despite its massive opening weekend and over $272 million gross, some fans and critics felt Reloaded didn't quite live up to the prerelease hype, but Reeves assures us that "the third part should be the most exciting. That's where it all happens. That's the climax. And in this piece I feel that happens."
But wait till you hear about the climax. Visual effects supervisor John Gaeta gives the scoop...
"[It] turns into a whole different type of science fiction animal. We really explode outside [into the real world] in this one." The climax alone, featuring an army of machines attacking Zion, was created at a cost of $40 million (two-thirds of the original's entire budget), and Gaeta promises "a volume of science fiction creature action that hasn't been around since Alien."
And November 5 can't come soon enough!
BECKY CD TO DEBUT AT ART EXHIBITION
[beckyband.com 18/09/2003]
From Paulie
hi! ... Friday Night September 19th, 2003 at 6:00pm ... Art Show opening
featuring the paintings of Kirtland Ash with the newly added listening party
featuring the new 9 song cd from "becky"! ...
"BYOWAC" ... Bring your own wine and cheese! ... C'mon down and see the most incredible paintings and
listen to the sounds of the new "becky" cd! ...
The address is 821 Mated Ave. Los Angeles, CA 90021 ... for those of you who aren't familiar this is a downtown address ... use mapquest to find the location! ... http://www.mapquest.com/directions/ ...
It is going to be a great time so we'll see ya there! ... : )
Daily Recaps
[Sharon Osbourne Show 18/09/2003]
 | Becky The band Becky has been one of LA's best-kept secrets – until now! The members of the band, Rebecca Lord, Paulie Kosta, Keanu Reeves and Rob Mailhouse, set up shop to rock Sharon"s living room with their song, "Oblivious." Quick Clicks: For show dates and info on the band, check out the website at: www.beckyband.com |
Kelly Slater's Pro Surfer: Surf's up, dude!
[PE.com 17/09/2003]
Surfers take a lot of punishment: the unpredictable surf, the off-the-radar media attitude (unless it's shark season) and the less-than-intelligent Keanu Reeves stereotypes. They've also been on the second string of sports video games -- until now. Kelly Slater's Pro Surfer from Activision brings home the wiley world of long boards, barrel rides and body suits in a style all its own.
Wednesday, September 17, 2003
The Matrix Revolutions
[Premiere 17/09/2003]
Release Date: November 5, 2003
Starring: Keanu Reeves, Carrie-Anne Moss, Laurence Fishburne, Jada Pinkett-Smith, Monica Bellucci, Hugo Weaving
Directed by: Andy Wachowski, Larry Wachowski
And so it ends. With a bang. And a fight, inevitably. Having walked out on the Architect (Helmut Bakaitis) toward the end of The Matrix Reloaded in order to save Trinity (Moss), Neo (Reeves) has set up a chain of events that could culminate in the destruction of the Matrix. Meaning . . . the stage is set for the final confrontation between man and machine, as well as the climactic round between Neo’s flying superman and his archenemy Smith (Weaving)—a fight that’s been dubbed by the filmmakers as “the Superbrawl” and that takes place both in the skies above the Matrix and on the ground where the rogue agent’s clones have reached epidemic proportions.
“He’s taking over,” Weaving says. And if you thought the conclusion of Reloaded was startling, this is where you should really expect the unexpected. Such as a main character dying. Maybe. As well as a new Oracle (Mary Alice Smith). Despite its massive opening weekend and over $272 million gross, some fans and critics felt Reloaded didn’t quite live up to the prerelease hype, but Reeves assures us that “the third part should be the most exciting. That’s where it all happens. That’s the climax. And in this piece I feel that happens.”
ZIONIC BOOMS: Revolutions, says visual-effects supervisor John Gaeta, “turns into a whole different type of science fiction animal. We really explode outside [into the real world] in this one.” The climax alone, featuring an army of machines attacking Zion, was created at a cost of $40 million (two-thirds of the original’s entire budget), and Gaeta promises “a volume of science fiction creature action that hasn’t been around since Alien.”
Keanu Reeves Calls Revolutions "most exciting"
[Counting Down 17/09/2003]
Keanu Reeves told Premiere Magazine that The Matrix Revolutions will live up to the hype:
"The third part should be the most exciting. That's where it all happens. That's the climax. And in this piece I feel that happens.
Sharon Osbourne: Wynonna? Never Heard of Her
[Fox News 17/09/2003]
The very bad "Sharon Osbourne Show" got off to a rocky start yesterday with negative reviews and a puzzled host.
According to set insiders, Osbourne had no idea who her lead guest would be when producers pitched the great singer Wynonna Judd at a meeting.
"Who is she?" Osbourne demanded.
"The No. 1 country superstar," responded a staffer.
"Oh, please!" exclaimed Osbourne, rolling her eyes.
Nevertheless, Wynonna made it onto the debut show yesterday, along with a taped piece on Justin Timberlake and a segment on orphans that had reviewers gagging.
Osbourne's bookers, according to insiders, are having trouble getting A-list guests. This week the show features a pop act called Becky.
Who is she, or they? I have no idea. She's not exactly Madonna, who Oprah featured yesterday, or Sharon Stone, who popped up on the extremely ingratiating new "Ellen DeGeneres Show."
Sharon Osbourne is also using up her personal problems quickly. Yesterday she ran a piece on gastric-bypass surgery. On Thursday, Sharon makes her own son�Jack relate the story of his drug rehab. Sometime soon we will hear about her rotten neighbors. In New York, where "The Sharon Osbourne Show" runs at 1 p.m., you'll hear better topics on "All My Children."
'There's No 'E' in Micky'
[East Side Boxing News 17/09/2003]
Think 'Speed' the movie with Keanu Reeves and Sandra Bullock. Remember the bus that couldn't go under a certain speed limit or it blows to smithereens? Ward - Burton were fighting like two guys whom, if they stopped throwing hooks, crosses or uppercuts, would be detached from the sport for life. Hell, the punch stats guy needed an 'Enswell' for his fingers the way these two were going at it. It was a 'lump in the throat' advertisement for the sport, and both were praised from the turnbuckles, many calling for 'better pay' or a title shot.
COMING SOON [excerpts]
[The News Record 17/09/2003]
Autumn movie season holds many surprises
Et Cetera Editor Fall's bleak movie outlook leaves much to be desired. It is already tricky enough to decide which movies are good and which are bad, but with famed celebrities donning the screen, it often makes it even more difficult.
This autumn's movie celebs include Ben Stiller, Catherine Zeta-Jones, Cuba Gooding Jr., Keanu Reeves and Julia Roberts. The list goes on.
Such distinguished names often mark some of the year's best hits, but in other cases, it leads to wide-spread disappointment.
This uncertain predicament is the case for many of this fall's movies, including Duplex, which stars Stiller and Drew Barrymore. The film centers on a couple finding their dream home; the house, however, is a duplex.
With moving in, the couple takes on more than they can bear with an upstairs elderly neighbor. The film has a lot going for it, not only with the leading actors, but also with its director Danny DeVito. However, the trailer leaves the viewer wondering if the writing itself is up to the actors usual standards.
Continuing on the horror film pattern, Scary Movie 3 hits theaters in October. The film seems to have run out of scary movies to mock. It now ridicules such movies as 8 Mile and The Matrix. With few funny antics, the bottom line is not to waste your money this Halloween.
Speaking of The Matrix, the third and final installment, The Matrix Revolutions, hits theaters Nov. 5. Following this year's disappointing sequel, the Wachowski brothers better have some tricks up their sleeves to save their trilogy. However, no matter what the brothers have in store for fans, crowds will be lining up outside the theaters to catch the action.
Although the really good movies this fall are few and far between, there should be something to satisfy every taste.
International Box Office Update
[Hollywood Reporter 17/09/2003]
It hasn't exactly been an easy year for overseas distributors. In fact, after weathering an estimated 5% drop in foreign admissions, a SARS outbreak in Hong Kong and parts of Southeast Asia, a deadly heat wave in Europe and an economic crisis in Latin America, one might expect to see wailing executives wringing their hands in despair over balance sheets awash with red ink.
Miraculously, though, major U.S. companies have overcome the onslaught of adversity and managed robust returns. Although admissions were relatively flat, and a few highly touted films
failed to live up to their prerelease hype this year, the exchange rate has buoyed business and a majority of films have fared quite well amid the turbulent social landscape. Now, with the final tallies pouring in, distribution chiefs are analyzing just how well their films did perform with an eye toward maintaining a solid pace throughout the rest of the year into the always-competitive holiday season.
At the end of the summer -- specifically, the period from Jan. 1-Aug. 31 -- Warner Bros. Pictures and Buena Vista International (the Walt Disney Co.'s overseas distribution arm) have hurdled the coveted industry benchmark of $1 billion in offshore boxoffice gross. (Note for the record books: It was the ninth consecutive year that the Disney division has reached that benchmark.)
Placing third and fourth, respectively, in the heated race is Sony's overseas unit, Columbia TriStar Film Distributors International, which checked in with $694 million, and 20th Century Fox International, with $654.5 million.
But with such successes as "The Matrix Reloaded" ($451.6 million), "Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets" ($137.9 million) and "Two Weeks Notice" ($108.6 million), Warners clearly had the advantage.
On July 22, the studio announced that it had amassed $1.012 billion at the international boxoffice; by Aug. 31, the total
stretched to $1.079 billion.
The studio is looking to retain its stranglehold on the international market heading into the rest of the year as well.
During the next few months, scheduled Warner Bros. releases include the third installment in its powerhouse "Matrix" sci-fi trilogy, "The Matrix Revolutions," and the family picture "Looney Tunes: Back in Action." Additionally, awards season hopefuls "Matchstick Men" and "Mystic River" will debut, along with the Tom Cruise historical epic "The Last Samurai," which will bow in Japan and North America in December and open worldwide the following month.
"We're feeling very good about the lineup," Warner Bros. president of international theatrical distribution Veronika Kwan-Rubinek says. "We're hoping to pass our record of last year ($1.6 billion)."
BVI, too, is looking to break records. Coming off a superlative summer -- "Bruce Almighty" grossed $177.4 million, "Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl" stole $143.8 million, "The Jungle Book 2" pulled in $86.9 million and "Finding Nemo" found $70.6 million -- the distributor is looking to "Pirates" and "Nemo" to carry it into the holiday season. "Nemo" is set for holiday runs in Europe and Japan after playing Asia and Latin America during the summer.
"Going into the summer, we had an average year," BVI executive vp distribution and acquisitions Anthony Marcoly says. "But coming out, we had the best summer in the history of the company. I think by the end of the year, we'll be above our best year ever ($1.3 billion)."
BVI reported a $987.3 million gross as of Aug. 31, and just a few days later, it passed the $1 billion marker.
Coming up for the distributor is the period horse-racing drama
"Seabiscuit," which will open in limited October-November engagements, as well as the family-friendly "Freaky Friday" and "Brother Bear," a new Disney animated entry that will invade Latin America and Asia in time for Christmas.
For CTFDI, hyperbolic action is the order of the day. "Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines" took in $173.6 million, while "Charlie's
Angels: Full Throttle" raked in $147.6 million; upcoming are "Bad Boys II" and "S.W.A.T.," which got off to top business in parts of Asia. Continued runs of "Daddy Day Care" and "Identity" round out the fall slate.
"I've done the numbers in my head," CTFDI senior executive vp Mark Zucker says. "I think our chances are really good. It makes me feel pretty confident that we'll do a billion (by year's end)."
Fox's entry into this year's billionaire club depends largely on the success of such upcoming releases as "The League of
Extraordinary Gentlemen" and the Russell Crowe period piece "Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World." So far, the studio, which also distributes MGM titles overseas, has done well with a pair of blockbusters -- "X2: X-Men United" brought in $190.9 million, while "Die Another Day" made $101.3 million -- as well as two smaller releases, "Phone Booth" and the thriller "28 Days Later."
"We're excited by the prospects of 'League,' and with 'Master and Commander' coming up in November, we feel we have a good chance of hitting a billion," says Paul Hanneman, senior vp sales and strategic planning for Fox's international theatrical division.
Given that United International Pictures distributes films for Paramount, Universal and DreamWorks, in addition to acquiring outside titles of its own, it's hardly surprising that the company's boxoffice take totaled a tidy $1.1 billion at the end of August.
Tuesday, September 16, 2003
18 movies watched, and none of them porn
[The Tartan Online 16/08/2003]
Anyone who knows me knows I love movies, even ones that are not considered "adult." There's something about the smell of the overpriced popcorn or the look in the eye of a 16 year-old employee who acts like I am the problem in his life. Anyway, I saw a bunch of movies this summer, and like everything else in my life, I have opinions about them.
For the second year in a row, this summer was filled with sequels no one asked for. It was the attack of the sequels part II. The REAL summer movie review is here. Let's get to the fun stuff.
Matrix Reloaded: The movie I have been waiting for since the first one came out. It's full of the action sequences that were a trademark of the first one. But for the most part, the fight scenes were just too long. How long can you watch Keanu Reeves beat a bunch of clones with a pole before it gets tedious? However, this movie did what I doubted it could; it blew my mind as much as the first one did.
In this town, it's who you know
[LA Times 16/09/2003]
Producer Joel Silver managed to pull some strings and snag a spot in the booked-up Disney Hall to premiere the latest 'Matrix' film.
Although many performers and presenters would love to command the stage of L.A.'s celebrated new venue, the landlord of the Walt Disney Concert Hall says there won't be much room, at least for a while, for events and performances that haven't already been booked by the hall's two main tenants, the Los Angeles Philharmonic and the Los Angeles Master Chorale.
"We get inquiries, but we're trying to be cautious in the first season," Howard Sherman, vice president of operations for the Music Center of Los Angeles County, said Thursday. "It's a new building, it's a complicated building, and we all need to learn it."
The idea, he said, is to leave ample down time so that any unforeseen maintenance or repair to the hall can be accomplished without squeezing or disrupting the 179 performances, plus rehearsals, scheduled from the hall's Oct. 23 opening through the end of May.
One exception, however, is Keanu Reeves. Sandwiched between the Schubert and Liszt of Evgeny Kissin's piano recital Oct. 26 and the Mozart, Beethoven and Bach that the Baroque orchestra Academy of St. Martin in the Fields will perform Oct. 28 will be the premiere of "The Matrix Revolutions." The films is the final installment in the slambang science fiction action triology that stars Reeves as Neo, futuristic savior of humanity enslaved by machines.
Agents for acoustically oriented pop acts and sponsors of corporate events are among those interested in filling gaps in the hall's schedule whom Sherman says have been told be patient.
But Reeves and company had a special in: Joel Silver, producer of the "Matrix" series, is a friend of the building's architect, Frank O. Gehry.
Gehry was shepherding the producer on a tour of Disney Hall last spring when Silver mused that it would a great place to premiere "The Matrix Revolutions."
"He immediately jumped on the idea as something he could make happen." Silver said Thursday. "We just lucked out. It's such a maze of activity with so many performances and rehearsals scheduled in there."
Gehry's curving, futuristic-looking stainless-steel-clad building - designed using advanced computer technology - is a good fit for a sci-fi picture like "The Matrix Revolutions," Silver said. About 1,800 premiere-goers will watch the film on a screen hung in front of the pipe organ built into the hall's back wall.
The hall was designed for natural acoustic sounds, but Silver said that for the premiere, Gehry plans to put up some sound-absorbing drapery to make it less reverberant and more suitable for the Warner Bros. film's soundtrack.
"He said, 'We've got to hang some schmattes.'"
Sherman said he's happy to have "The Matrix" premiere at Disney Hall, continuing the link to Hollywood established when its older sister venue, the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion, regularly was the site of the Academy Awards. (Those ceremonies decamped to the new Kodak Theatre in Hollywood in 2002.)
Sherman said the Music Center hasn't even set rental fees for Disney Hall; charges and other logistical details for the "matrix Revolutions" premiere remain to be worked out in discussions with studio representatives. The basic nightly rental at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion is $3,500, he said - not counting fees for personnel and other extras.
"We're trying to set a rate structure for Disney Hall that makes it very available," Sherman said - once it is properly broken in.
Source Reeves Drive
Ducati to Launch the Limited Edition Ducati 998 Matrix and the Monster Matrix 620i.e.
[Business Wire 16/09/2003]
Ducati Motor Holding, a leading manufacturer of high performance motorcycles, is teaming up with Warner Bros. Consumer Products to produce a limited edition Ducati 998 (pictured) and Ducati Monster 620i.e., each inspired by The Matrix Reloaded. The motorcycles will be on display at the Ducati stand at the Milano trade show, EICMA (September 16-21), and available for model year 2004 at Ducati Stores and other Ducati dealerships around the world.
Ducati Motor Holding, a leading manufacturer of high performance motorcycles, is teaming up with Warner Bros. Consumer Products to produce a limited edition Ducati 998 (pictured) and Ducati Monster 620i.e., each inspired by The Matrix Reloaded. The motorcycles will be on display at the Ducati stand at the Milano trade show, EICMA (September 16-21), and available for model year 2004 at Ducati Stores and other Ducati dealerships around the world.
BOLOGNA, Italy--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Sept. 16, 2003--Ducati Motor Holding S.p.A. (NYSE:DMH)(Borsa Italiana S.p.A:DMH), a leading manufacturer of high performance motorcycles, today announced that it is teaming up with Warner Bros. Consumer Products to produce a limited edition Ducati 998 and Ducati Monster 620i.e., each inspired by "The Matrix Reloaded." The motorcycles will be on display at the Ducati stand at the Milano trade show, EICMA (September 16-21), and available for model year 2004 at Ducati Stores and other Ducati dealerships around the world. Warner Bros. Pictures' and Village Roadshow Pictures' action blockbuster "The Matrix Reloaded" is the second chapter in the Wachowski Brothers' revolutionary film trilogy. The worldwide blockbuster features a dramatic road chase on a Ducati Superbike.
The Ducati Superbike is celebrated for its design in countless museums and for its performance on racetracks all over the world. In its various versions, The Ducati Superbike has won more Superbike Championship races than the competition combined. The Ducati Monster has become a cult bike that invented a whole class of motorcycle: the sport naked bike. The Ducati Monster Matrix 620 tweaks the category with a spectacular "Matrix" livery, special paint and graphics. It is instantly the most desirable urban street fighter around.
"Ducati is thrilled to be a part of this hugely exciting film franchise," said David Gross, Ducati Creative Director. "The Matrix Superbike and the Monster Matrix 620 capture all of the thrill of high performance sport motorcycling and the spirit of `The Matrix.' Sport bikes and blockbuster movies just don't get any bigger than this."
"We were pleased to use Ducati Superbikes in creating the unprecedented Freeway Chase sequence in `The Matrix Reloaded', and we're even more excited that two Ducati motorcycles inspired by the film will now be available to our fans," said Joel Silver, producer of the "Matrix" trilogy. "Like the visionary action and visceral storytelling that power the Wachowski Brothers' trilogy, Ducati motorcycles represent innovation, singular style and cutting-edge performance."
This fall, Ducati will celebrate the launch of the Ducati Matrix motorcycles and "The Matrix Reloaded" DVD with a series of global events. In the Netherlands, the retailer Bijenkorf, the leading specialty retailer in Holland, will display the Ducati Matrix 998 at their flagship location in Amsterdam at DAM Square, across from the Palace. Ducati France will launch "The Matrix" night during the week of the Paris Motor Show from the 25th of September to the 5th of October. 400,000 visitors are expected.
October 14 marks the highly anticipated DVD release of the record-shattering blockbuster "The Matrix Reloaded," which has earned over $770 million in worldwide box office to date. Warner Home Video's October 14 street date makes "The Matrix Reloaded" available to fans three weeks before the theatrical release of the final explosive chapter in the phenomenal "Matrix" trilogy, "The Matrix Revolutions," on November 5.
Founded in 1926, Ducati builds racing-inspired motorcycles characterized by unique engine features, innovative design, advanced engineering and overall technical excellence. Ducati has won eleven of the last thirteen World Superbike Championship titles and more individual victories than the competition put together. The Company produces motorcycles in four market segments which vary in their technical and design features and intended customers: Superbike, Supersport; Monster, Sport Touring and Multistrada. The Company's motorcycles are sold in more than 40 countries worldwide, with a primary focus in the Western European and North American markets. For more information about the Company, please visit our web site at http://www.ducati.com.
This press release contains statements that are forward-looking and are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those anticipated, as described in documents previously filed by the Company with CONSOB and with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.
"Matrix," characters, names and all related indicia are trademarks of and (C) Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc.
Keanu Spends Birthday Alone
[Internet Movie Database (US) - 16/092003]
Movie hunk Keanu Reeves turned down six gorgeous glamor models who offered to help him celebrate his 39th birthday - in favor of dining alone. The Matrix actor preferred his own company as he dined on pasta at Dan Tana's restaurant in Los Angeles on September 2, and Keanu didn't regret his decision to ignore the bevy of beauties. He said, "No thanks, I'm happy spending the big day alone."
Cavalcade of Whimsy: A few shots at Hook'em
[Fox Sports 16/09/2003]
We're now on day 15 of the "I love my wife, but darn it, she'd have to let this one go just like I'd have to accept it if Keanu Reeves had the hots for her" infatuation with Sam Ryan.
Hasbro to Bring G.I. JOE to the Big Screen in Full-Length, Live-Action Movie; Film Producer Lorenzo di Bonaventura to Develop And Produce
[Business Wire 16/09/2003]
While at Warner Brothers, di Bonaventura oversaw production of the Harry Potter series of films, the Matrix series, and Scooby-Doo, among many others. He is currently producing the Warner Brothers feature film Constantine, starring Keanu Reeves, and based on the comic book Hellblazer.
No Keanu on fall TV
[Nola.com 14/09/2003]
I heard that there are plans for a TV series based on the "Matrix" movies. It may be set to be a midseason replacement on Fox. Who will star as "Neo" and will they keep any of the other main characters? I hope they do the special effects right since we have been spoiled by the movies.
-- Dan Murray, Kenner
We think you're confusing ABC's new fall series "Threat Matrix" with the Keanu Reeves movies. Read our critic's take on it in the Fall Preview pullout section beginning on Page 25 of this issue. It will air Thursdays at 7 p.m. on WGNO-Channel 26.
Monday, September 15, 2003
Casting Call for Keanu Reeves Film "Constantine"
[Theatre Careers 04/09/2003]
Casting Call casting_call_ at hotmail.com
"Constantine" (Warner Brothers) - Casting Call
A film adaptation of the classic Vertigo comic book "Hellblazer".
"Constantine" will star Keanu Reeves as John Constantine, a world-traveling,
mage-like misfit who investigates supernatural mysteries, walking a thin
line between evil and good. He teams up with a female police detective
named Angela Dodson, who seeks Constantine's help while investigating the
suicide-like death of her twin sister Isabel.
The investigation takes Constantine and Angela through the world of demons
and angels that exists just beneath the landscape of contemporary Los
Angeles.
Production will begin on September 22, 2003.
CAST MEMBERS: Keanu Reeves, Rachel Weisz
PRODUCERS: Lauren Shuler Donner ("X-Men") and Richard Donner ("Lethal
Weapon")
DIRECTOR: Francis Lawrence
EMAIL FOR MORE INFO: Auditions at rapidreply.net
The film's casting directors are looking to fill a wide variety of principal
and background roles.
MALE ROLES FOR THIS FILM:
[Chaz], Caucasian, 20s - 30s. A tough, shadowy L.A. cab driver and one of
John Constantine's oldest friends. Chaz has some ties to illegal activitiy,
but is making an effort to stay out of crime. Even though his wife does not
like Constantine, Chaz and Constantine are very close. They would do almost
anything for one another in a crisis.
PRINCIPAL ROLE
[Beeman], Caucasian, 20s. A highly intelligent, offbeat young guy who
assists Constantine with special information and occult artifacts. He's a
bit skinny and unimposing, but makes up for it with his mind. Beeman reads
to Constatine and Angela from an ancient scroll, which explains what
supernatural troubles they must save the world from. This character has
been described as a "Seth Green type".
PRINCIPAL ROLE
[Morgue Security Guard], any ethnicity, 30s - 40s. An eccentric, reclusive
man who works at night. Nervous and high-strung.
[Balthazar], any ethnicity, 30s - 40s. One of the three emperors of Hell
who Constantine discovers is behind a series of crimes being committed
around the world. Balthazar is one of the main villains of the film.
[Criminal], Middle Eastern, 20s - 30s. He escapes from a Turkish prison.
Slight, muscular, lean, not scruffy. He possesses the relic of the spear.
He tries to kill Angela and gets in a fight with Constantine.
[Father Garret], Caucasian, 40s - 60s. Angela's highly spiritual and kind
priest. He is seen in confession with Angela and again at the theological
society where Angela asks for her twin sister Isabel to get a proper
Catholic burial.
PRINCIPAL ROLE
[Busboy], any ethnicity, 20s - 30s. Hard-working, clean-cut young busboy at
a restaurant.
[Korean Man], 30s.
FEMALE ROLES FOR THIS FILM:
[Ellie], Caucasian, 20s - 30s. An alluring and seductive woman known as a
"Succubus", a female demon that seduces men while they sleep. She is the
only Succubus to ever mate with an angel. She is pretty and vulnerable yet
can also be volatile. Ellie has a love-hate relationship with John
Constantine (Reeves).
PRINCIPAL ROLE
[Crazed Woman], any ethnicity, 20s - 30s. A neurotic, loud woman who
becomes the victim of supernatural forces. Constantine tries to help her.
[Attractive Girl], any ethnicity, 18 - 20s. Glamorous, flirtatious L.A.
model type.
[Church Attendant], any ethnicity, 30s - 40s. Old-fashioned, quiet,
level-headed, down-to-earth woman.
[Filipino Mother], Filipino, 30s - 40s.
For casting details, send email by September 6th to
Auditions at rapidreply.net.
Paychecks reloaded
[The Beacon Journal 15/09/2003]
If you're already jealous of rich, pampered movie stars, this will fry you:
According to Playboy, those $20 million-per-flick salaries scored by Jim Carrey, Chris Tucker and Cameron Diaz are chump change compared with the mega-paydays that fine-print-savvy stars can engineer. And it gives examples:
��Keanu Reeves -- For the Matrix trilogy, he'll rake in anywhere from $148 million to $330 million because he got up to $15 mil per movie and up to 15 percent of the gross, including a slice of the video games spawned by Matrix.
Beyond Comics, the Graphic Novel
[NYTimes.com 15/09/2003]
Ghosts and glories stalk the halls of DC Comics. But while Superman and Batman - inescapable pop culture icons who have held court for more than 60 years - define DC's past, Karen Berger and her Vertigo imprint just might define its future and that of the comic book industry.
This week, Vertigo and Ms. Berger, its creator and executive editor as well as a rarity in the superhero-fueled boys club of comic book editors, will celebrate the imprint's 10th anniversary by publishing the hardcover graphic novel "The Sandman: Endless Nights" by the best-selling fiction writer Neil Gaiman. "The Sandman," a work of dark fantasy, has received a first printing of 100,000 copies, the biggest of any DC or Vertigo offering.
For Vertigo, the release is more than an expensive bet on a single graphic novel; it is a crucial marketing gambit to introduce prospective readers to the rest of its line.
Vertigo represents the graphic novel of ideas, if such a thing can exist: comics aimed at an older, broader audience. With nary a superhero in sight, Vertigo's books range from up-to-date fairy tales ("Fables"), to the dystopian ("Transmetropolitan"), to grit-in-your-mouth crime fiction ("100 Bullets"). Unusual in comics, Vertigo has a healthy backlist - there are millions of Mr. Gaiman's "Sandman" graphic novels in print - and it is also a breeding ground of ideas for the movie division of DC's parent, AOL Time Warner.
In a visual medium, Vertigo focuses on writers first. "We've raised the profile of the writer," said Ms. Berger, who, if she were a comic book character, would be the smarter older sister of Betty from the "Archie" series. "It's the stories that drive the books."
Or, as the writer Grant Morrison said of his most recent Vertigo project, "'The Filth' is everything I can't do in a mainstream comic like 'X-Men.'"
Graphic novels or comic books in book form are one of the few growing segments in a stagnant book business. According to ICv2, which covers pop culture for retailers via the Web and print, they accounted for $100 million in retail sales in 2002, up 33 percent from 2001, with sales split between bookstores and comic book shops. ICv2 estimates sales of $120 million this year, with $65 million going to bookstores - a 30 percent increase from 2002. (Despite the rapid growth, graphic novels still represent less than 1 percent of the total consumer book market.)
As a result, placement in the stores is getting better, says Micha Hershman, a Borders book buyer who specializes in science fiction, graphic novels and role-playing games. Mr. Hershman is excited about "Endless Nights," which features seven internationally known comics artists.
"'Endless Nights' will be the hottest traditional comics title in years," Mr. Hershman said in a telephone interview. "I expect sales to be 5 to 10 times bigger than anything in recent history."
Mr. Hershman could not give specific figures, but said he bought about the same numbers of copies of "Endless Nights" as he did for the latest from best-selling writers like James Lee Burke.
Vertigo and Mr. Gaiman are considered cornerstones in the growth of the graphic novel. "Vertigo was the first to market trade paperbacks to an adult, literate, sophisticated audience," Mr. Hershman said. "They lured a new readership, largely adult, significantly female, into the section."
Ms. Berger said her gender had helped immeasurably in reaching that audience. "Being a woman brings a different perspective to the material we produce, and the kind of reader we attract," she said. "I didn't grow up reading comics, so I didn't come to the field with any preconceived notions. Basically, I wanted to edit books that I wanted to read."
Then, throwing down the metaphorical gauntlet, Ms. Berger added: "I also think that female editors are braver than men. We're more likely to take chances and push the creative envelope."
Still, Vertigo does have its critics. Fans of the small, independent presses say Vertigo is too mainstream, tainted by being part of DC. Superhero fans meanwhile accuse Vertigo of being too avant-garde.
"It's regarded with suspicion by both sides of the river," Mr. Gaiman said of Vertigo. "I like to think of it as a bridge across."
When asked about the critics, Ms. Berger shrugged. "We're doing fiction," she said.
One crucial thing Ms. Berger did, even before Vertigo's creation, was cultivate British writers like Mr. Gaiman, Mr. Morrison and Peter Milligan, touching off the comics industry's own British invasion. She first met Mr. Gaiman on a talent-scouting trip in 1987, when he was a journalist dabbling in comics.
"I found their sensibility and point of view to be refreshingly different, edgier and smarter," Ms. Berger said. "The British writers broke open comics and took the medium to a new level of maturity."
So now, Ms. Berger, who started in comics in 1979 fresh from Brooklyn College, has become, of all things, an honest-to-goodness book editor. She nurtures writers. She nurtures a backlist (older works still in print), unheard of in the traditionally month-to-month world of comics. Vertigo titles like "Sandman," "Preacher" and "Transmetropolitan" are doing better as backlist graphic novels than they ever did as monthlies, and that is the direction Ms. Berger wants to pursue.
She also runs an imprint that reinforces DC's role as an idea incubator for the rest of the company. For example, shooting is scheduled to begin this fall on the Warner Brothers movie "Constantine," starring Keanu Reeves and based on Vertigo's "Hellblazer."
Ms. Berger said she also wanted to expand Vertigo's graphic novels "into a full line of multifaceted genre fiction" and to have the form be respected as literature.
"If countries like Japan and France have graphic novels lined side by side with books, then we should be there, too," she said.
Bernie wants more VIPs
[Grand Prix.com 15/09/2003]
Bernie Ecclestone has told the Formula 1 teams that he wants more celebrities at races to help to give Formula 1 a more glamorous image. Ecclestone enjoyed the coverage that F1 got from the recent visit of Arnold Schwarzenegger and now wants more A List film stars and fewer B List "celebrities". At Monza the crowd in the paddock on Sunday included Hollywood actor Jeremy Irons, who was a guest of Williams. Keanu Reeves was due to turn up but called off at the last minute.
Names in the Game [snippet]
[Boston.com 14/09/2003]
MONZA, Italy (AP) Dennis Hopper was on a bike again, though the scene was far tamer than during his ''Easy Rider'' movie days from the 1960s.
Still, the actor and his latest biker gang drew a crowd when they arrived in Monza for the Italian Grand Prix.
Hopper and a cast of fellow movie stars including Keanu Reeves, Lawrence Fishburne and Jeremy Irons biked from Germany to Monza courtesy of the BMW-Williams team.
The motorcycles they used were, naturally, BMWs.
Sunday, September 14, 2003
MATRIX STARS COULD GIVE HOLLYWOOD GIG THE FLICK
[Syndney Morning Herald 14/09/2003]
A big effort is being made to secure the stars of The Matrix for the Sydney premiere of the trilogy's last instalment, due to open at local cinemas on November 6.
There were plenty of disappointed Matrix fans earlier this year, when the only folk to be found walking the red carpert at Fox Studios for the premiere of The Matrix Reloaded were the usual tragic array of local soapie stars and professional partygoers.
Where was Keanu Reeves? Where was Larry - sorry - Laurence Fishburne, and Carrie-Anne Moss? And what about Hugo Weaving? He even lives here, for goodness sake.
Turns out the big four were required for the Hollywood premiere at the Mann Village Theatre, which took place only days before the Sydney shindig.
A similar conflict is shapin up this time, with the US release date for The Matrix Revolutions being November 5.
Because all three films were shot in Sydney, however, there's a strong possibility Hollywood will get the shove and our four stars will be on a first-class flight from LAX to make the opening of Revolutions one of the don't miss events of the year.
[Thanks to kaz for the scan]
KEANU'S A LIKELY CUP FAVOURITE
[Sydney Morning Herald 14/09/2003]
Now that Elle MacPherson's no longer playing a key role at this year's Melbourne Cup, one person who may be seen strolling around the emerald green lawns of Flemington is none other than Keanu Reeves.
The word is that one of Hollywood's most accessible stars might soon be winging his way to Australia again, where he not only has a couple of girlfriends but also the respect of countless restauranteurs and sommeliers because of his refined taste.
Now those behind the Emirates marquee (which last year was voted the most chic and splendid in the Birdcage area) are hoping that Reeves will following Rob Lowe, who partied with Emerates in Sydney last autumn, to join in the fun.
Thanks to kaz for the scan
Keanu Skips Out On A "Play" Date
[US Weekly 22/09/2003]
While most men would jump at the chance to celebrate their birthday with one gorgeous woman-let alone a bunch of buxom blonde Playboy Bunnies-don't count Keanu Reeves among them. On September 2, the reclusive Matrix star spent his 39th birthday by himself, dining on pasta in a booth at Los Angeles's famed Dan Tana's resturant. "Hugh Hefner, who was seated close by, sent one of his Playmates to invite Keanu to join them, " a source tells Us. Alas, the dinner parties didn't merge. "Keanu said he was happy to spend his big day alone."
Source Club Keanu
Constantine
[Dark Horizons 14/09/2003]
The Garth Ennis storyline with the three lords of Hell seems to be the basis for the "Hellblazer" adaptation according to recent casting notes.
'Frome' work
[Times Union 12/09/2003]
Shakespeare & Co. actress is a whirl on stage and off
"I'm toast, I am just toast."Elizabeth Aspenlieder isn't describing her latest role, although she could be. She has, after all, played a dancing tomato, an angry deli clerk and a deliberately bad actress -- and those were just her industrial gigs.
Aspenlieder is an actress at Shakespeare & Company in Lenox, Mass. She's also the company's public relations director. And she's in charge of selling ads for the troupe's playbill, too.
She does all of these jobs well, perhaps too well for her own good.
"I started exceeding my advertising goal a couple of years ago," she laughs, "and now every year they want me to break my old record."
This month, Aspenlieder reprises her role as Mattie Silver in Dennis Krausnick's gripping adaptation of Edith Wharton's "Ethan Frome" at the company's Founders' Theatre.
The sheer, grim weight of the play -- a tale of adultery even bleaker than the new England midwinter it takes place in -- could toast anyone. But as she spoke on the phone one morning last week, Aspenlieder had other reasons for being crispy.
In addition to her desk-bound duties, she spent the summer playing Margaret in "Much Ado About Nothing" and Regan in an epic, nearly four-hour "King Lear."
Those roles were performed in repertory, which meant that some days she was flouncing around in a romantic comedy for three hours; winding down for all of 45 minutes while she changed costumes; and then, quite literally, helping her husband tear the eyes out of less fortunate folk's heads in the world's greatest tragedy.
On this morning, Aspenlieder was juggling an unexpected visit from a local public-access TV crew before tackling her own interview and a long "Frome" rehearsal. All on just a few hours of sleep.
Aspenlieder isn't alone: She says this sort of schedule is a pretty average day for many of the artist/managers at Shakespeare & Company, where the work ethic and the artistic sensibility are tightly intertwined.
She'll blush about it, but Aspenlieder was on the inside track to stardom in her native Canada in the early '90s, before she "ran away with the circus" to spend her time at Shakespeare & Company.
The theater bug bit very early, in the basement of a crowded house in tiny Sharon, Ontario.
Six-year-old Aspenlieder and her sister, Chris, would don their mother's vintage clothes and produce spontaneous plays for the neighbors.
"My sister and I would go down to the little five-and-dime store at the end of our street, and we would only have enough money to buy one pack of Wrigley's gum," Aspenlieder says. "So we would cut the sticks of gum in half and sell them before the show we did downstairs."
Not long after completing a theater program at Toronto's Humber College, she landed a plum role with a touring production of "The Ontario Bicentennial Celebration."
She then juggled temp work with whatever roles she could find, including gigs doing advertising spots, voice-overs for animated shows, and even playing a character in a popular Canadian TV sitcom, "Hanging In."
Then she heard about Shakespeare & Company.
After first seeing S&C's Artistic Director Tina Packer at a 1993 weekend workshop in Toronto, Aspenlieder attended one of the company's monthlong "intensives" -- which star alumni such as Keanu Reeves and Alicia Silverstone have lovingly dubbed "Shakespeare boot camp."
The intensives stress principles developed by Packer and pioneering voice instructor Kristin Linklater, including deep focus on text, breathing and meaning.
At the end of the program Aspenlieder was, well, toast -- but she was also exhilarated enough to ask if she could join the company.
"It was like getting on a runaway train," she says. "It was exciting and illuminating, and ... I just wanted more."
At the end of the workshop, Packer told her, "You've been through a lot, but don't quit your job, don't leave your husband and don't do anything drastic."
"The message," Aspenlieder says, "was don't do any life-altering things until you let this settle."
But that advice didn't take hold for very long.
In 1995, Krausnick, a founding member of the company, came to Toronto to teach another weekend workshop. Aspenlieder was by then "making tons of money" doing industrial trade shows as a spokesmodel, in addition to stage and film work. She arranged for Krausnick to stay at her apartment instead of at a hotel.
She picked him up at the airport -- where she had to rescue him from customs detention because Krausnick had forgotten to bring proper identification -- and the two spent the weekend discussing everything about the craft of acting.
It was somewhere around that time that Aspenlieder decided to get divorced, quit her day job and leave home.
She came to the company full time later that year, taking on work in the publicity office because she had enjoyed doing similar work for some of her industrial clients.
"When I did the trade shows in Canada, I used to hire everybody and organize everything, and I thought I was pretty good at it," she says.
Actor and Memphis native Dan McCleary was running the office at the time. Aspenlieder took his job when he was promoted to marketing director, and then took his hand in marriage. Such stories are not unusual at the tightly knit company.
Aspenlieder says the whirlwind of the past few years will inform her portrayal of Silver in "Ethan Frome."
She first assayed the role in the fall of 1996, and has returned to it twice since then.
"Hopefully, I'm a lot wiser now. All the experiences I've had at Shakespeare & Company, all the different opportunities I've been given, all the roles I've been cast in -- all of that I can bring into this role now."
Never one to sit still for long, Aspenlieder has also been making trips outside of Lenox lately, with busman's holidays to Boston and Springfield, Mass.
"A couple of artistic directors came out to shows at Shakespeare & Company this summer, and they've asked me to send photos and resumes."
All of it -- the late hours, the work and the life changes -- is worth it. "I will always be dazzled by the theater," she says.
CHEATIN' HEARTS
"ETHAN FROME"
When: In previews. Opens 8 p.m. Saturday
Where: Founders' Theatre, Shakespeare & Company, 70 Kemble St., Lenox, Mass.
Continues: In repertory through Oct. 26; call for details.
Tickets: $10-$45
Information: (413) 637-3353
Web site: http://www. shakespeare.org
Breaking the (dress) code of silence
[North Shore 12/09/2003]
Granted, my daughter is only 4, but I'd have to be an idiot not to see her teenage years bearing down on us like a raging hormone train. After all, nine years is like nothing - for instance, it feels like just yesterday that "Speed" came out. I still sometimes wake up in cold sweats with visions of Keanu Reeves in a crewcut.
CORRECTING and REPLACING ``The Matrix Revolutions,'' the Explosive Conclusion to the Blockbuster ``Matrix'' Trilogy, to World Premiere at New Walt Disney Concert Hall
[Business Wire 13/09/2003]
��
CORRECTION...by Warner Bros. Pictures
BURBANK, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Sept. 12, 2003--In BW5754 (CA-WARNER-BROS/MATRIX) ``The Matrix Revolutions,'' the Explosive Conclusion to the Blockbuster ``Matrix'' Trilogy, to World Premiere at New Walt Disney Concert Hall, third graph, second & third sentences should read xxx "The Wachowski Brothers feel that at the heart of these films is the hope of integration; the synthesis of our finite knowledge of what is with our infinite beliefs of what might be. The architecture and design of this incredible facility represent the same inspiring aesthetic." The corrected release reads:
``THE MATRIX REVOLUTIONS,'' THE EXPLOSIVE CONCLUSION TO THE BLOCKBUSTER ``MATRIX'' TRILOGY, TO WORLD PREMIERE AT NEW WALT DISNEY CONCERT HALL; HIGHLY ANTICIPATED EVENT MARKS THE FIRST-EVER FILM PREMIERE AT THE ELEGANT NEW HOME OF THE LOS ANGELES PHILHARMONIC
On Monday, October 27, Warner Bros. Pictures and Village Roadshow Pictures will unveil "The Matrix Revolutions," the final chapter in the phenomenal "Matrix" trilogy, at the Los Angeles Music Center's new home for the L.A. Philharmonic, the Walt Disney Concert Hall. The highly anticipated event marks the first-ever film premiere at the stunning new venue.
Designed by master architect Frank Gehry and sheathed in shimmering stainless steel, the soaring 2,265-seat Disney Hall was recently praised by Newsweek magazine as "a masterpiece even greater than (Gehry's) spectacular Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao, Spain."
"We're thrilled to be staging the world premiere of `The Matrix Revolutions' at Disney Hall," said Joel Silver, producer of the "Matrix" trilogy. "The Wachowski Brothers feel that at the heart of these films is the hope of integration; the synthesis of our finite knowledge of what is with our infinite beliefs of what might be. The architecture and design of this incredible facility represent the same inspiring aesthetic."
Written and directed by the Wachowski Brothers, "The Matrix Revolutions" stars Keanu Reeves, Laurence Fishburne, Carrie-Anne Moss, Hugo Weaving and Jada Pinkett Smith.
"The Matrix Revolutions" will be released worldwide on November 5 by Warner Bros. Pictures, a Warner Bros. Entertainment Company, and in select territories by Village Roadshow Pictures.
Friday, September 12, 2003
Matrix plugs in at IMU
[idsnews.com 12/08/2003]
Sophomore Matt Crawford spent $58 on his favorite new movie during five trips to the theater this summer. And that doesn't include what he spent at the concession stands. The theater was Kerasotes, the food was popcorn, and the movie was "Matrix: Reloaded."
"I dressed up in a coat and sunglasses," said Crawford, a recent transfer to IU. "But I had to take (the glasses) off so I could see the screen."
Freshman Kyle Brown was ecstatic to learn that "Matrix: Reloaded," the sequel to the popular classic, "The Matrix," would be playing in the Whittenberger Auditorium in the Indiana Memorial Union this weekend. Students were even more excited to learn that the showings, scheduled for 8 and 11 p.m., Sept. 11 to 13, are free to IU students.
"I saw the sign for it when I was studying one day," Brown said. "The flier was way across the room, but I was like, 'Boom, that's the Matrix.' It was one of the most exciting moments I've had here. It's definitely a must-see."
Crawford said the film will be the highlight of his weekend.
"I might miss a party tomorrow night to go see it, or I'll at least leave early with some of my fraternity brothers," he said.
Crawford and Brown are just two of the many that are expected to turn out for the showings of "Matrix: Reloaded," which grossed over $270 million domestically.
While few students can match their enthusiasm, others, like senior Mike Raney, plan to turn out just to catch a glimpse of a good summer blockbuster.
"I like 'The Matrix' because it draws a lot from real scientific and philosophical problems," Raney said. "It's a good sci-fi plot, and doesn't insult the intelligence, but I still don't like Keanu Reeves as Neo. He looks the part, but even after all the posturing and special effects, it's still just that guy from 'Bill and Ted' in a black overcoat and shades."
This weekend's screenings, presented by the Union Board, are part of the country's longest-running collegiate film series, started at IU in 1914. A different film is scheduled to show at the IMU each week of the school year.
"We have a really great film base in Bloomington," Union Board Films Committee Director Ryan O'Connell said. "It's great because these are free films."
O'Connell, a senior, said the Union Board movies average about 750 people per week. This weekend's presentation of the, "Matrix: Reloaded," is expected to draw more than the average number, O'Connell said.
"The first 'Matrix' movie was a cult classic as soon as it was released on DVD, so the next two sequels will be highly anticipated," he said.
This weekend could be a case when students are turned away from a completely packed Whittenberger Auditorium, which seats 432 people, a situation faced last year when "My Big Fat Greek Wedding" and the sneak previews of "Old School" and "Red Dragon" were shown.
"We're expecting maximum capacity," O'Connell said. "People should probably come early to guarantee a seat."
Brown is prepared to do just that.
"I'll try to make it for four of the showings," he said. "I've cleared my schedule, and I'll be sure to get there at least an hour early or two."
Killer season
[Charlotte.com 08/09/2003]
This fall look forward to an eargerly anticipated Tarantino offering and the final pieces of two popular trilogies
NOV. 5
The Matrix Revolutions: Neo, Morpheus, Trinity and the rest of mankind make their final stand against the machines that . . . yaaawn. OK, so after the disappointment of The Matrix Reloaded, we're not exactly counting the days until this one. But those lowered expectations may be just the thing that allows writer-directors Larry and Andy Wachowski to silence all the naysayers and bring their sci-fi trilogy to a smashing close. As usual, plot details are being kept under wraps, although the film is rumored to include a prolonged helicopter chase that rivals the freeway chase from Reloaded, as well as a climactic fisticuffs between Neo (Keanu Reeves) and Agent Smith (Hugo Weaving) that takes an entire city block with it. Bring it on!
Hack job: mixing movies and computer-security technology
[The Orange County Register Sept. 12, 2003 12:00 AM]
IRVINE, Calif. - In the sequel to the movie "The Matrix," the svelte heroine's return to the futuristic world had a group of security consultants from Irvine's Rainbow Technologies ogling the raven-haired computer whiz.But not just because Trinity looked hot in skin-tight black leather.
Trinity, played by actor Carrie-Anne Moss, uses genuine hacking tools to help Neo, played by Keanu Reeves, rescue humankind - she uses "Nmap" software to scan the computer ports, finds the electrical control system's Internet protocol address and, voila, zaps the power.
"We were actually impressed," said Bernie Cowens, Rainbow's vice president of security services, who took his staff of "fairly jaded" technologists to a matinee on opening day.
"They are pretty hard to please when it comes to realism in the movies," he said. "They all commented favorably."
In the past, Hollywood's depiction of computer breaches left most security experts groaning in disbelief. Cracking a password in 60 seconds?
Impossible, they say. Computer screens covered with animated images of spreading viruses? Never happens. Zooming in on video recorded by a generic security camera? Ha!
But now, although Hollywood continues to exaggerate technology to make movies more exciting, hacking in films is becoming more realistic, computer experts say.
For example, this summer's "The Italian Job" showed a credible situation of how hackers might get into the Los Angeles transportation computer system to create the city's largest traffic jam.
And, while movie critics have panned "The Matrix Reloaded," many computer-security professionals loved it and are eagerly awaiting the November release of the next movie in the Matrix trilogy, "The Matrix Revolutions."
"There's a new generation of filmmakers growing up with technology," Cowens said. "They're acknowledging that the public is more (computer) savvy. It makes it more believable."
At home, many people have learned not to open e-mail attachments from people they don't know. They know that, if they ignore that warning, the computer could stop working or slow down because a computer virus is sending itself to everyone in their address book.
They know that colorful images of viruses eating files don't really appear on the computer screen, as in the 1995 movie "Hackers." They know, and were reminded by this week's Blaster worm attack on Windows XP and Windows 2000 systems, that breaking into a computer isn't as tricky as somersaulting across a pressure-sensitive floor to install a snooping device, as in "Charlie's Angels 2000."
"What seemed like science-fiction 10 years ago, people now know it exists," said Steve Gibson, head of the security consultants Gibson Research Corp. in Laguna Hills, Calif. "Hollywood can now have someone lament about a computer having a virus. ... You don't have to explain it anymore."
Close to the hearts of many a security expert is "WarGames," from 1983. "That was one of the turning points (in hacker movies)," said Riley Hassell, a security researcher with eEye Digital Security, an Aliso Viejo security-software company.
In that movie, Matthew Broderick, who plays a teenage hacker trying to access unreleased computer games, skips school for a week to research the life of a man who designed the ultimate computer game. His goal is to discover a secret password that will get him through the "backdoor," a shortcut that programmers often add to software code so they can bypass security.
"That was pretty realistic," said Barnaby Jack, also a security researcher at eEye. "'WarGames' was what got a lot of people into the hacking scene."
Another highly rated movie among security-industry professionals was "Sneakers," which was written by the same folks who wrote "WarGames." The movie revolves around a ragtag team of hackers who were once on the other side of the law but are now in business to help companies find flaws in their security.
"That's what I wanted to do," Hassell said.
And that's what he does.
Hollywood enjoys the drama of hackers guessing passwords quickly and at the very last second, as in the 2001 movie "Swordfish," which is about a hacker who double-crosses a crime lord by adding super-strong encryption to a bank's computer system. Of course, he's forced to break back in - in less than 60 seconds.
"'Swordfish' is a horrible, horrible example," said Chris Prosise, vice president of professional services with security firm Foundstone Inc. in Mission Viejo, Calif. "The guy supposedly cracked the algorithm within a few seconds. But that's impossible."
In reality, cracking passwords takes at least a few minutes, and much more if the word isn't in the dictionary, said Steve "Rex" Frank, chief technology officer of Alvaka Networks in Huntington Beach.
"If there's a dollar sign or something else, it could take a hundred hours," said Frank, a professional "white hat" hacker, which means he uses his computer skills for good.
Hacking a password is usually slow and methodical, he said.
"The password-cracking programs I use - it literally will try A, A1, A2. Eventually, it will get any password."
Sometimes Hollywood's knack for exaggeration misleads the movie-going public, Gibson said.
"I actually had one of my field agent contacts tell me that FBI management is upset because they can't track down hackers like they do in the movies," Gibson said.
Perhaps the biggest flaw in Hollywood's depiction of hackers is the portrayal of their lifestyle.
In "Hackers," for example, the troupe of teenage computer geeks - which included sexy Angelina Jolie - go clubbing at night, in-line skate and throw parties attended by crowds of hipsters.
Hassell says he can attest that the hackers he knows aren't the most sociable or fashionable creatures.
"None of them are attractive people," Hassell said. "These guys are big 'Star Trek' fans. They eat chips and drink beer."
Gibson tries not to think about inaccuracies in movies. He goes to be entertained.
"There is definitely a tradeoff between accuracy and entertainment," he said. "This isn't a computer seminar."
Aaron Higbee, a Foundstone consultant, agrees. He even says that a realistic screenplay of his life as an authentic white-hat hacker would look something like this:
Setting - a black screen with green text.Hacker: "It didn't work. It didn't work. It didn't work. It didn't work. It didn't work. It didn't work.(Goes on for days)."
Hacker: "It worked."
(Hacker writes his report and goes home.)
End of movie.
``The Matrix Revolutions,'' the Explosive Conclusion to the Blockbuster ``Matrix'' Trilogy, to World Premiere at New Walt Disney Concert Hall
[BURBANK, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Sept. 12, 2003--�]
Highly Anticipated Event Marks the First-Ever Film Premiere at the Elegant New Home of the Los Angeles Philharmonic
�
On Monday, October 27, Warner Bros. Pictures and Village Roadshow Pictures will unveil "The Matrix Revolutions," the final chapter in the phenomenal "Matrix" trilogy, at the Los Angeles Music Center's new home for the L.A. Philharmonic, the Walt Disney Concert Hall. The highly anticipated event marks the first-ever film premiere at the stunning new venue.
Designed by master architect Frank Gehry and sheathed in shimmering stainless steel, the soaring 2,265-seat Disney Hall was recently praised by Newsweek magazine as "a masterpiece even greater than (Gehry's) spectacular Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao, Spain."
"We're thrilled to be staging the world premiere of `The Matrix Revolutions' at Disney Hall," said Joel Silver, producer of the "Matrix" trilogy. "The movie is a celebration of the triumph of the human spirit, and the architecture and design of this incredible facility represent the same viscerally inspiring aesthetic."
Written and directed by the Wachowski Brothers, "The Matrix Revolutions" stars Keanu Reeves, Laurence Fishburne, Carrie-Anne Moss, Hugo Weaving and Jada Pinkett Smith.
"The Matrix Revolutions" will be released worldwide on November 5 by Warner Bros. Pictures, a Warner Bros. Entertainment Company, and in select territories by Village Roadshow Pictures.
Thursday, September 11, 2003
The Matrix Revolutions
[DonDavis.com]
"Neodämmerung" text (from the Upanisads)
| Brhadaranyaka Upanisad 1.3.28 asato ma sad gamaya tamaso ma jyotir gamaya mrtyor mamrtam gamaya Isa Upanisad 11 vidyam cavidyam ca yas tad vedobhayam saha avidyaya mrtyum tirtva vidyayamrtam asnute Mundaka Upanisad 2.2.5 yasmin dyauh prthivi cantariksam otam manah saha pranais ca sarvaih tam evaikam janatha atmanam anya vacah vimuncatha amrtasya esah setuh Katha Upanisad 6.7 indriyebhyah param mano manasah sattvam uttamam sattvad adhi mahan atma mahato vyaktam uttamam Katha Upanisad 6.10 yada pancavatisthante jnanani manasa saha buddhis ca na vicestate tam ahuh paramam gati Ya ya ya ya yada yadaya Ya ya ya ya yada yada yada yada Yada yada yada yada yada Mundaka Upanisad 2.2.8 bhidyate hrdayagranthis chidyante sarvasamsayah ksiyante casya karmani tasmin drste paravare | From delusion lead me to truth From darkness lead me to light From death lead me to immortality. He who knows both knowledge and action, with action overcomes death and with knowledge reaches immortality. In him are woven the sky and the earth and all the regions of the air, and in him rest the mind and all the powers of life. Know him as the ONE and leave aside all other words. He is the bridge of immortality. Beyond the senses is the mind, and beyond the mind is reason, its essence. Beyond reason is the Spirit in man, and beyond this is the Spirit of the Universe, the evolver of all. When the five senses and the mind are still, and reason itself rests in silence, then begins the Path supreme. And when he is seen in his immanence and transcendence, then the ties that have bound the heart are unloosenend, the doubts of the mind vanish, and the law of Karma works no more. |
Wednesday, September 10, 2003
KEANU’S NEO-CLASSICAL COOL LIGHTENS OVERLOADED MATRIX
[The Observer by Andrew Sarris 09/09/2003]
Andy and Larry Wachowski’s The Matrix Reloaded has opened with so much cult-driven advance fervor online that a reviewer who presumes to evaluate the film would seem to require degrees in philosophy, theology, cosmology, computer science and metaphysical cybernetics—or is it cybernetical metaphysics? I’m tempted to dismiss what some of my esteemed colleagues regard as drivel with a remark that Alfred Hitchcock delivered to a sobbing Ingrid Bergman on the set: "It’s only a movie, Ingrid."
Still, I must give the Wachowski Brothers more than a little credit for expanding an innovative sci-fi conceit into a three-film franchise bonanza that somehow resonates more strongly in 2003 than it did in 1999. Back then, their commercially untested film crept into our consciousness, as well as into the hallowed halls of academe, though no one at the time anticipated how provocative and how profitable a venture it would turn out to be.
As it happens, I haven’t the time, space or inclination to follow all the speculations unleashed by the two Matrix movies, from Plato’s Cave to the Book of Daniel and beyond. To begin on a less cosmic plane, one of the more miraculous achievements of The Matrix Reloaded is the critical resurrection of Keanu Reeves, playing the Christ-like figure of the computer programmer Neo. Since his admirably stoic performance in Speed (1994), Mr. Reeves has constantly been ridiculed for his perceived underacting and gawking lack of expression. I belong to the tiny minority of critical opinion who sees in Mr. Reeves some of the potent minimalism once deplored in Robert Mitchum (by James Agee, no less) as unacceptable somnolence—and reinforced, of course, by Mitchum’s 1948 arrest for marijuana possession. Clint Eastwood was similarly dismissed by Pauline Kael for not being juicily and Methodically ethnic enough. How times have changed: One of Mitchum’s most admired roles is once more on view in the revived Jacques Tourneur classic, Out of the Past (1947), and Mr. Eastwood has likewise been revisited in Sergio Leone’s recently restored and re-released The Good, the Bad and the Ugly (1966). This is not to say that a Keanu Reeves retrospective is looming anywhere on the horizon.
The point is that there are so many potentially embarrassing traps for a less restrained actor in The Matrix Reloaded that I was happy Mr. Reeves was on the premises. For example, there’s a grotesquely pseudo-biblical tableau of primitively costumed extras delivering assorted goodies to Neo’s doorstep—Neo being the "chosen one" that Morpheus (Laurence Fishburne) has designated as the savior of humanity from the life-sapping embrace of the Matrix and its nonhuman creators. Mr. Reeves turns away from this unwanted worship with a slight but not excessive expression of embarrassment. It is just right for this level of shameless allegory.
And it’s all that Mr. Reeves can do to keep a straight face when the marvelously malignant Agent Smith (Hugo Weaving) materializes again and again to perform duels of balletic levitation. The Wachowskis are not the subtlest satirists around, and if it wasn’t for their rowdy but sound instinct for pacing, one could say that they were hopelessly out of their depth in illustrating their ideas. What good pacing does in this movie is to keep the audience from thinking too much about all the gaps—what we don’t see of the two worlds at war with each other.
Curiously, what seems to be the biggest influence upon the Matrix movies has seldom been remarked upon: Fritz Lang’s Metropolis (1927), with its dreamy urban skylines, though the Matrix movies lack Lang’s class-conscious dialectics pitting capital against labor. Marxist critics at the time blamed Lang’s second wife and co-scenarist, Thea von Harbou, for the "silly" resolution of the conflict through the power of Love. The Wachowski Brothers never quite explain what the heroically unprogrammed inhabitants of Zion are doing with their "freedom" besides indulging in the occasional rock-concert-like mass orgy—a scene more appropriate to Cecil B. DeMille’s cautionary depiction of Sodom and Gomorrah. Neo’s passion for Trinity (Carrie-Ann Moss) is a union of martial equals, though one not lacking in erotic consummation. Yet it isn’t Love that can save Neo, Trinity, Morpheus and the rest of Zion, but essentially terroristic acts against the Matrix, the reigning superpower on the face of the earth. The Matrix Reloaded even includes a fleeting picture of George Bush to hammer the point home.
Ultimately, there can be no reconciliation between Zion and the Matrix: Humankind must choose between living in freedom or in a program of artificial reality provided by its masters. At the moment, as much as it may feel like we’re being programmed by our ever-more-intrusive media, we are still confronted with the more problematic chasm between life and death—a chasm the Wachowski Brothers sidestep by making their lead characters seemingly indestructible and thereby immortal. This is what makes the Matrix continuum a minor entertainment, despite its arresting images and conceits. I liked this movie and can recommend it with a clear critical conscience, but it never moved me even half as much as Steven Spielberg’s A.I. (2001), a film in roughly the same genre.
Matrix Reloaded at the IMAX
[kamera.co.uk 10/09/2003]
This is the way The Matrix Reloaded was meant to be seen. The BFI's IMAX cinema boasts seats stacked high enough to induce vertigo, forcing the viewer to hold onto the rail for dear life as they make their way up the stairs to the thinning air on the back row; a screen the size of four tennis courts; crystal clear image and ear-drum shattering sound.For the stats geeks among you, the 138 minute film forced the BFI to specially modify their projection rooms (most IMAX films are forty minutes long), arrived on 40 reels of 15/70mm film (three times the size of regular 35mm film), took six hours to assemble and powers out 12,000 watts of digital sound. Quite the stage for the sequel to one of the most exciting and interesting sci-fi films of recent years, it's just a shame that the film doesn't live up to expectations.
The Matrix Reloaded suffers from the narrative muddiness that comes from a sequel trying to outdo its already innovative predecessor. By attempting to improve on The Matrix's successful combination of effects and storyline, Reloaded features elaborately long fight scenes (that actually become boring), slaps a complex plot around a series of action sequences and then piles on its tedious pseudo-philosophy.
Not that Reloaded is lacking in sass, style, new surprises or the all-important leather-clad heroes. It simply cannot equal its illustrious predecessor, nor can it be sufficiently judged until Matrix Revolutions ties up the numerous loose ends it leaves.
Neo (Keanu Reeves) has graduated from trainee messiah to full-on super-hero, using the Matrix as his personal plaything and taking on Agents with one hand behind his back. He's also plagued by dreams of Trinity's (Carrie-Anne Moss) death and, when he discovers he has the gift to see into the future, is understandably concerned. Meanwhile, the machines have assembled an army of 250,000 sentinels (seek-and-destroy techno-octopi) to rip apart Zion and its inhabitants. Morpheus (Laurence Fishburne), following a computer-predicted prophesy, believes Neo (or 'the One') can avert the attack via the Matrix, while Zion rests its hopes on a beleaguered defence force.
Agent Smith is back with a vengeance. Supposedly destroyed by Neo in the first film, he was instead set free and has developed an ability to duplicate himself. This leads to one of the unforgivably bad scenes in Reloaded, where a vastly outnumbered Neo has to fight an army of Smiths by pulling off a splendorous display of acrobatic kung-fu tricks. The CGI becomes a bit ropey at this stage and it looks less state of the art and more PS2. The other howler of a scene is the pre-attack 'rave' in Zion, which looks like the cast of Stomp performing to an overenthusiastic audience on the set of Journey to the Centre of the Earth (1959).
Still, it features one of the best car chases in recent cinema, trouncing the likes of 2 Fast 2 Furious (2003), some witty French smut and a plethora of new baddies. So lower your expectations away from second coming and look more towards intelligent blockbuster and you might just enjoy Matrix Reloaded. Roll on Revolutions.
SGI InfiniteStorage Provides Solution for Revolutions SFX
[Counting Down 10/09/2003]
Tippett Studio has purchased a Silicon Graphics storage device that made SFX work on Revolutions go faster:
"The beauty of the SGI InfiniteStorage system is that it enables us to utilize our legacy storage as well as provide a very flexible system that allows us to scale the amount of storage that's on the SAN," said Dan McNamara, head of operations, Tippett Studio. "We can also scale the number of SGI CXFS clients on the SAN. So, if we are bound in terms of the number of the NFS ops the servers can handle, then we can also scale those up appropriately. We're working on a couple of specific sequences for The Matrix: Revolutions that are entirely computer graphics-generated with a very high level of detail. That's pretty hard on a production pipeline, but SGI CXFS easily performs the heavy lifting and improves production speeds admirably."
Read more here.
Smells Like Teen Spirit
[Smartmoney.com September 9, 2003]
IT WAS JUST A few years ago that old Navy was all the rage among the high school and college crowd. With its unpretentious, basic style and its kitschy commercials featuring the late fashion editor Carrie Donovan in her signature bug-eyed glasses and a dog named Magic, the Gap's discount sister had managed to tap into a cheap-chic zeitgeist, becoming the first apparel retailer to reach $1 billion in annual sales in less than four years.
And so it goes for clothing retailers selling to the fickle Generation Y market. One minute you're in; the next, you're "so five minutes ago." Sometimes, all it takes is a new band, TV show, you name it, to start a new wave. Moviegoers watched Keanu Reeves don a pair of pitch-black wraparound shades in The Matrix, and presto, a fashion trend was born. "The question is, what happens 12 months from now when kids move on to the next thing?" says Joe Grabowski, a retail analyst with Strong Capital Management. "Sometimes these things can go cold as fast as they go hot."
Making the cut
[The Straits Times 10/09/2003]
To meet classification guidelines under the new recommendations on film censorship, distributors are being asked to edit the film themselves. What does the new movie ratings system mean for distributors, consumers and the Board of Film Censors?
Dual rating may not make dollars and sense
YOU are above age 21 and want to watch action blockbuster The Matrix Reloaded - with the lovemaking scenes intact.
New censorship guidelines permitting a film to be released twice in cinemas under two ratings will allow both you and the 12-year-old in the seat next to you a chance to watch it at a level suitable for you.
Distributors welcome the dual rating as another option they can exercise, but say this will not make much of a difference in terms of revenue.
As one distributor, who declines to be named, says: 'Most films do much poorer at the box office the second time around.'
The Matrix Reloaded was rated PG with cuts when shown in cinemas here in May, leading some adult fans to complain.
When the uncut 70mm Imax version was released at Golden Village Grand cinema in June under the NC16 rating, it did brisk business, running for eight weeks.
Now, regular 35mm movies can be released under two ratings, with one targeted at older audiences. The only condition is that the two versions are not screened simultaneously, so as not to confuse audiences.
But Lighthouse Pictures' director Thomas Chia notes that The Matrix Reloaded was an exception rather than the norm, because the movie had a cult following and the furore surrounding the cuts had generated a lot of publicity.
Golden Village's managing director Kenneth Tan also describes the practice of dual rating - which is rarely practised in other countries - as 'operationally tricky'.
Another industry insider, who declines to be named, says that a film, screened under two ratings, would incur additional marketing costs because of the different release dates and cinema venues.
He also notes that with the very crowded schedule of film releases here, such as summer blockbusters opening islandwide on over 20 screens, cinema operators are likely to relegate re-releases to smaller halls and screen them at fewer time slots.
However, if dual rating is practised, distributors generally agree they would release a film under a lower rating first to draw a mass audience, before showing it under a higher rating.
B is for Rebecca
[Lab Productions Music Magazine 09/09/2003]
After checking out Becky live at L.A.'s infamous Viper Room, I got a chance to sit down with Rebecca Lord, the band's lead singer. Here is what she had to say to me on July 18th, 2003, three full weeks before California caught recall fever and Arnold actually became a viable candidate for governor. Pay close attention to her predictions - they may turn out to be quite prescient. Also note how little of the conversation is about the band's bassist, Keanu Reeves. How did we do it? Journalistic integrity. A commitment to focusing exclusively on the facts. Not being star-fuckers. Hell, I don't know - just check out the interview.
Okay, there's one thing I want to get straight before we go any further. Do you prefer to be called "Rebecca" or "Becky"? I couldn't quite figure it out. And we have to get that right, you know - professionalism and all that.
Becky: Well, my name is Rebecca. I guess ever since the band became Becky, they've kind of renamed me. I prefer to be called Rebecca, but it doesn't really bother me.
I just don't like to piss people off by calling them the wrong name.
Becky: No, no… actually, all my friends call me Becky now too. The band name came up because we couldn't think of one. I had ideas, and no one liked them. It's hard to find a good name! My mom calls me Becky, and I always hated it, but then Robert, the drummer, started calling me Becky, and it became a running joke because I don't like it. Then everyone was like, "That's such a great name!" Our guitarist said, "Well, that's the name for the band, 'Becky.' It's a great name because it's so easy!" So we didn't have another name for our first show, and we just went with that.
It seems like you guys are doing pretty well so far.
Becky: Yeah, we're doing really well. We're playing a showcase next week at SIR. It's this recording studio - it's a really awesome place. It's amazing; it has the most high tech sound system! We're playing there for our label. Yeah, I'd say we're doing pretty well. We're productive. We're actually rehearsing in about 30 minutes.
So far, have you guys been playing shows around the Los Angeles area mostly, or have you toured?
Becky: Yeah, we play the Viper Room mostly. We've played there like four times. We've only played like seven shows - we've been doing a lot of recording. We played the Roxy and the Troubador…
Pretty much playing the Sunset Strip?
Becky: Yeah, but we're gonna get back to playing shows in Silverlake now, that's my goal. We don't go to Hollywood ever, so why go there to play? Plus, it's hard because our friends don't get in, which is a bummer. Our guest list people didn't even get in Monday night. I think we're going to start playing at Silverlake Lounge and Spaceland. I love Spaceland - that's my favorite club. I've never played there, but I've always wanted to.
You're originally from Virginia, is that right?
Becky: Yeah, I'm from Richmond, Virginia, and I went the University of Virginia.
Talk a little bit about how you wound up out here in the La Brea tar pits.
Becky: In the La Brea tar pits?
That's what I call Los Angeles, because it seems to me like once you move here, it's like a revolving door - you might leave, but you'll always come back, and I think it's because the tar pits are right in the center of Los Angeles. It's kind of a metaphor for what happens to people who move here.
Becky: Actually, I lived remarkably close to them. I used to live in the La Brea Park area, so I was about a block from the tar pits.
Oh, wow! So see, my metaphor works!
Becky: Yeah, exactly - it's very fitting. I spent my senior year in Italy, and that's when I decided that I definitely wanted to pursue art as a career, as opposed to academia. I did one of those reality shows, and I was like, "You know what? I have money now, and I'm going to just try to get something going." I moved to New York for a year and a half, and I made a solo record, kind of a pop record. I didn't love it, and I didn't really tour to support it, because I couldn't really have a good live show with that sort of music. It's good - I don't think the songs are bad - it's just not really the type of music I like to perform live, and it's no fun to perform songs you don't like to do live. I didn't have a band, but then I met a woman who was going to manage me. She had managed Jewel, and she lived in Los Angeles. She was like, "Well, it's a lot easier to get things going in L.A.," which I stand by - I do believe that. So I moved to Los Angeles, and I've been here for, I guess, two years now.
Do you like living here?
Becky: Yeah. I mean, I'm an East-coaster at heart, and I always will be, but there are definite advantages to living here. It's cheaper than New York, and there are artists everywhere, especially in Silverlake. Everyone's got some sort of artistic thing, which is cool. People have a really open mind, and different lifestyles. You can really live an alternative lifestyle - not meaning sexually - but you can do a lot that's not generally possible in a lot of areas. You can't really support yourself on the arts anywhere else, unless you're really fortunate. I do well here, and I like it because of the work. Even if (the work) is off and on, it's lucrative when it's on, so it's nice. It's still not my favorite place, but I think it's hard to find a balance between work and home - you can't always be happy in your home and your work. You generally have to find a compromise between the two. I mean, I love my house, and I'm really happy with what I'm doing now. It's about keeping balance, you know? Getting balanced. If I'm feeling out of whack, I go to Maine or something.
Right. To see the trees!
Becky: Yeah, I do that a lot. I go to Northern California all the time, because I'm not a city person in general. I like to be in nature.
Sure. L.A. is kind of just one big parking lot - the cement never ends. So you do have to get away to nature every once in a while.
Becky: And I find that where I live is very healthy, in the sense of just getting away. I live in a Spanish-style house, and it's sort of a compound, with a little garden and a fountain, and it's very isolated. And the neighborhood is very laid-back. The bars are good - I like to go to the more low-key places.
What was the sequence of events that brought you all together?
Becky: I first met Robert in January of 2001 at the gym, which is really funny, because we don't go that often. We just started hanging out, because we were both musicians. So we kind of just got together, and he played keyboards, and I sang, which is fun - we were just screwing around with it. And everyone in our band is a really big hockey player.
Really?
Becky: Yeah. So Robert knew Keanu - he was in a band with Keanu called Dogstar for like twelve years. They met through hockey. I guess they both had hockey jerseys on, and they started talking about hockey or something. So we just started writing music, and then one day this goalie came over from a pick-up hockey game that Robert played, and he was a guitarist. We were at the studio in the house, and we just all started playing and singing and stuff. Robert played drums, and Paulie played guitar, and it sounded really interesting. It was a different type of music than I've ever done, but I liked it.
And so Paulie was the goalie, right?
Becky: Yeah.
Because he looks like a goalie.
Becky: Well, he's got every personality trait of a goalie. Okay, so Keanu was away - he was in Australia doing the Matrixes - but he came back about four months after we had started jamming, and he just fit like a glove. It was great.
That's cool. So, how does the songwriting process usually work for you guys?
Becky: I write the melodies and the lyrics, and Paulie writes the guitar, Keanu writes the bass - everyone writes their own parts, except that I write the melody.
Which comes first when you write - the chicken or the egg?
Becky: I do them simultaneously. I'll hear something, and then come up with a melody. We're really fast songwriters - I don't know if that's a good thing or a bad thing, but we can usually write two or three songs in an evening. Obviously, they're not all going to be perfect, but we've come up with a lot of our favorite songs that way. It's simplistic writing, but I like it. I'm happy with the songs.
I know that most artists hate to be compared to anybody, but I'm going to take a risk here and say that, from what I've heard, I think you have a wide range of vocal styles, all the way from a Hope Sandoval type sweet sound all the way down to a Courtney Love kind of gravelly growl.
Becky: Yeah, I like doing that. I think it's an interesting mix. I think it covers a lot wider range. I actually love being raspy and coarse - I think in my mind, I'm a lot tougher than I actually am. I don't want to be Courtney Love, by any means, but I like the idea of a woman with strength in her vocals - I like that. It's fun. And I like combining that with the sweet thing, because it's not done enough. It's not often done like that. I think it's interesting.
Yeah, I would definitely agree with you. That's one of the things that struck me at the show - I was very taken by the fact that you could move back and forth between those two extremes, as well as a couple of places in between.
Becky: It's hard, but it's actually fun, because it's really kind of an emotional roller-coaster. I don't mean that in a dramatic way, but it's really interesting to delve into that, even as a writer - just going through the gamut of emotions. We have a song now on our second demo called "I Adore You," which I wrote some time ago. It's the only song that we actually play that the band didn't really write all together. Well, I guess Paulie added some stuff, but almost all of it was written beforehand. I remember when we were recording it, it just kind of shifted. It was a love song, and it became really dark. It's really hard to perform a sappy love song live - it's just like "yuck, jeez!" But then you can make it really interesting by adding a different element. So you have the guy die in the bridge or something, so there's more of a dichotomy, and it's not so cookie cutter - you can be raspy and like "AAAH!" and the rage comes out. I think it's just a matter of choice. But I like that angsty feeling - I think a lot of people feel like that. I don't know. I guess I like the dark side.
Talk for just a few minutes about your experiences singing, from when you started singing to when you started taking it seriously to today.
Becky: Well, I sang in high school, and I loved it. I've always loved singing. My brother used to punch me all the time to shut me up. I sang in college a little bit. I think my influences have been any guitarist that's been around me, because I just kind of followed them with writing - if they played something a certain way, I would write songs over that. So if they played folky stuff, I'd write more folky stuff. And I think that was generally my influence until I really came into my own, like "Okay, this is what I like, this is what I want." But it takes years to figure out what your thing is, and I still haven't fully found out what my thing is. At first it was kind of folky, and then after that I moved to Italy, and it got a lot more poppy. Uh, not really comfortable performing the poppy or the folky. Then I started doing more solo stuff, but not really loving it. Then when I started doing the more aggressive rock stuff, I loved it! It was like getting into a warm bath - it was like "Aaah, this is nice!" All of a sudden, I was able to perform better and I was more confident. I felt like we had more depth, because it wasn't so predictable.
To kind of follow up a little bit on that earlier Courtney Love/Hole comparison… thank you, by the way, for being so gracious about that. I know most people, even if they don't mind being compared to other artists, if you're not a huge Courtney Love fan it may not be the best thing to hear…
Becky: Oh, I don't mind. I don't really know her at all. I know that she's sort of an exhibitionist, and that's definitely not what I'm going for. But I don't mind comparisons; it's always interesting.
It sounds to me like a lot of the stuff that you guys have written so far - at least the stuff I've heard - has a pretty solid connection to a punk sound, and a lot of the riffs remind me of early Hole stuff, especially with those power-pop chords. Can you pinpoint the origin of that punk influence? I mean, I can hear it, and if I'm wrong you can tell me. Are you guys all pretty big fans of punk?
Becky: Oh, I love punk music. Robert's not as much… but he loves the Clash. Paulie - it's kind of funny, because a lot of the bands he loves, I'm not really into - loves Blink 182 and Green Day. But I love the Kinks. And I feel like a lot of the things we do have a good Kinks-ish sound. I love the Sex Pistols, and the Clash, and I like a lot of the mod bands. I love Joy Division. And Keanu has remarkably similar tastes to mine - almost identical, which is cool, because his melodies inspire a lot of my writing. He's a really gifted melodic writer, and he writes a lot of melancholy stuff that I love, and it's an interesting marriage with all these pop chords. But all of our influences are very similar.
I was going to say, too, you've got the harder, faster songs, and then there are songs like "Evangeline" that are a lot more mellow…
Becky: See, that's more like what I used to do - more slow songs. But I've tried to put something into all those mellow songs that's more angsty, and I've tried to develop them more. And I used to be so tentative about playing those. The show you saw had more slow songs… we'd never played slow songs in a show. We just hadn't done it yet. And we just took it and experimented to see if it would work. I don't know if it did, because I'm not in the crowd, but it's interesting. Usually, Keanu and I are vehemently opposed to playing them, because it brings everything down a lot. But Robert and Paulie are fans of doing something a little more dramatic. I just try to put some power behind them. I like slow songs - I usually just like to listen to them, not necessarily to play them. But there are some songs - like "Evangeline," which was inspired by a woman that passed away this year - that I love, you know. And so when I sing that, I don't really mind, because on some level it doesn't bore me. We're all over the place with that, but I think that's okay, because it all comes together at some level.
Keanu's obviously an actor in addition to being the bassist for Becky, and I understand that Robert is an actor as well. In fact, at the show, I recognized Robert from an episode of Melrose Place, believe it or not.
Becky: Oh yeah? He probably did do one of those, I have no idea.
Are you an actor as well?
Becky: No, I'm not. Well, I did one reality show, but I don't consider myself an actor, by any means.
I meant to ask you - which reality show did you do?
Becky: I did "Real World Seattle" and the "Real World/Road Rules Challenge" or something like that.
What about Paulie?
Becky: No, he's not an actor.
Any other entertainment connections? Theater? Comedy? Ice shows?
Becky: No, everyone's really into hockey and music… no, everyone's really a musician at heart. Reeves obviously has a lot of things he's doing, but he's actually a musician at heart, too - he's a great musician.
I noticed at the show on Monday that Keanu wasn't playing with you guys.
Becky: Yeah, he was away - he's coming over in like ten minutes, but he just got back at about 3:00.
How hectic is scheduling for you guys?
Becky: It's okay, because we're not adamant about playing out until we have a record. And it's nice to play locally. He's actually really good about playing whenever he has time. We do have to do a lot around him, but we still play when he's not here. So we don't base our band around him, by any means.
How do you usually deal with that - do you have a back-up bassist?
Becky: Yeah, the back-up played the other night. He's a really good friend from New York, and that was the first time we've ever needed him.
Does he practice with you guys to learn the songs and everything?
Becky: Well, he has been since Keanu's been gone, but normally Keanu is around enough that he practices with us.
Very quickly - what are your three favorite bands at the moment?
Becky: Interpol, Coldplay… and I'm going to have to say Joy Division.
Your forecast: Will George Bush be reelected in 2004?
Becky: Unfortunately.
Will Gray Davis be recalled?
Becky: No.
Will Arnold actually become governor?
Becky: Is that legal?
Yeah, he can become governor. He can't become president, but he can be governor.
Becky: That would be a very sad day.
Do you guys have plans to release an album?
Becky: We're shopping right now. We've got a lot of interest, which is great, and we're showcasing, and we just finished our demo. We'd like to have an album out, but we're not rushing to anything.
Okay, last question then: If you had to characterize the state of the U.S. right now, would you say "Stupor" or "Super"?
Becky: Stupor.
You can learn more about Becky (and hear a bunch of their songs) by visiting their official website: beckyband.com
CARRIE-ANNE PUTS THE MA IN MATRIX
[Daily Record Sep 9 2003 By Lee-Ann Fullerton]
MATRIX star Carrie-Anne Moss has exchanged her sexy catsuits for a more mumsy look.
The 35-year-old, who plays motorcycle babe Trinity in the hit science fiction films, gave birth to her first child just days ago.
Carrie-Anne and her husband Steven Roy are now taking time off from acting to enjoy their new baby at their home in Hollywood.
The actress was catapulted to stardom for her part in the tough futuristic thriller and its sequel, Reloaded. But after thefinal film in the trilogy, Matrix Revolutions, is released later this year, the former model will be saying goodbye to Trinity's slinky Matrix costumes She said: ``I'll never be in another movie like The Matrix and I will never be away from home that long again. It's too much work, too physically difficult and too hard on your body.
``Eventually, I want to be a full-time mother who works occasionally -and being an actor you have that freedom.''
Deep Inside Hollywood
[Windy City Media Group (9/10/2003)]
Sweet on Swinton
Tilda Swinton, Orlando’s gender-shifter and The Deep End’s avenging mama, is set to join the cast of Constantine, a big-budget Keanu Reeves action movie based on the DC-Vertigo comic book Hellblazer. (Why, you ask, did they change the name to something that sounds like a wig-and-corset flick? Maybe the original title was too close for comfort to the shlocky Hellraiser.) Reeves plays Constantine, an occult-obsessed man who joins forces with a female police officer (Rachel Weisz) to kick evil-doer ass. Swinton’s character is a rogue angel named Gabriel whose job is to kick back. The movie’s in pre-production now, so you have a while to wait. But you can bet that the uber-cool Swinton will have us all rooting for the dark side to win.
State will offer cash to lure filmmakers
[The Oregonian 09/10/03 SHAWN LEVY]
When the producers of "Thumbsucker," the feature movie that finished shooting in Oregon earlier this summer, were shopping around for a place to film their story about a fractured American suburban family, their financial backers were pretty cutthroat about where they wanted the film to be made.
"Romania," producer Anthony Bregman recalled recently. "They didn't want to go to British Columbia, which is where we usually go to save money. They wanted to go to Romania! For a film filled with shots of American suburbs!"
Instead, "Thumbsucker" -- and a cast that included Keanu Reeves, Benjamin Bratt, Vincent D'Onofrio and Tilda Swinton -- was lured to Oregon by a grant made by Gov. Ted Kulongoski from the state's Strategic Reserve Fund, a discretionary, lottery-financed fund used for unplanned economic development opportunities. The production was given a rebate of 10 percent of the money it spent in Oregon, up to a ceiling of $100,000, with the stipulation that the filmmakers provide proof they'd spent at least $1 million on goods, services and salaries in the state. BREGMAN
192: STAR QUALITY
[Daily Record [Scotland] Aug 29 2003]
CAUGHT DOING WHAT?
You would think Keanu Reeves could afford new shoes. To many, he's a heart-throb; to others, a cult movie hero who has made millions thanks to The Matrix. But there he was driving about Los Angeles on his motorbike with his boot strapped with white tape. Maybe he likes them, but surely on his wages he could go back to the shop and buy a dozen pairs? It's what Simon Cowell does.
Tuesday, September 09, 2003
Warning: 'Matrix' Spoilers Ahead (Well, One of Them Might Be Right, Anyway)
[NY Times 09/09/2003]
Here, on the surface of the Information Highway, the movie "The Matrix Reloaded" is a subject either closed or on hold until the Nov. 5 release of the final film in Larry and Andy Wachowski's trilogy, "The Matrix Revolutions." A few layers down, though, in the rushing magma of the Internet, predictions of coming plot twists abound. We're talking about millions of words — a phenomenon akin to a self-replicating computer virus. "Matrix" zealots argue in head-swimming detail over "Reloaded," over the collection of linked short films, "The Animatrix," and over the computer game "Enter the Matrix." In this universe, storytelling that struck some of us as inept is regarded as purposefully ambiguous, while dialogue that thudded like a rain of squishy frogs is rich in veiled meaning.
Here are some predictions I've encountered in my visits to the "Matrix" underworld. Read no further if you want to ensure your surprise in November: in the tradition of monkeys and typewriters, it's possible that one or more will turn out to be prophetic.
1. Neo is a computer program that thinks that it's human.
2. Trinity is a computer program.
3. Everyone is a machine in a simulation devised by humans.
4. Neo is the only human in a machine-devised experiment to study love.
5. Neo is not "the One" but (a) a bystander; (b) a link in a chain that leads to the One; (c) a space alien or (d) the Antichrist.
6. Neo will die, Christlike, and merge with the Matrix to save humanity.
7. The One is really (a) the kid who escaped from the Matrix or (b) Agent Smith, now a virus.
8. Smith was once Neo. Or the Merovingian was once Neo. Or the Architect was once Neo — and Neo will be the next Architect.
9. Smith and Neo will merge to fight the machines.
10. The Oracle is the real villain and/or the mother of Persephone.
11. Persephone transmitted code in her kiss that allowed Neo to stop the sentinels (a k a "squiddies").
12. Zion, the city for unplugged humans, is another Matrix, which is why Neo could stop the squiddies.
13. Neo will wake up at the desk in his office: that was some mindblowing dream.
14. We are all in the Matrix. The Wachowskis will end "Revolutions" by unplugging us.
Cybersecurity expert warns of post-9/11 vulnerability [excerpt]
[Post-Gazette.com Tuesday, September 09, 2003]
But Clarke maintained yesterday, in an interview, that U.S. companies and the federal government are spending more money on cybersecurity and that the viruses that plagued computers this summer are forcing CEOs to pay more attention to the problem. Clarke, during his speech yesterday at CMU, even expressed confidence that this issue is making its way into pop culture, citing the recent movies "Terminator 3" and "Matrix Reloaded."
In the latter, Keanu Reeves' character Neo takes a tour of Zion, the last human city to survive outside the computer-generated Matrix, and is told that Zion's citizens do not think about the machines that power the city until the machines stop working.
Paraphrasing Neo, Clarke said, "People need machines. But, machines need people, too."
Monday, September 08, 2003
If the shoe fits
[In Touch Magazine 08/09/2003]
Some people just can't let go of an old pair of shoes. Keanu Reeves opts to tape up his sneakers to ride around Beverly Hills on his Harley-Davidson Motorcyle.
Pic courtesy of Club Keanu
Dude, where's my agent?
[The SF Examiner 25/08/2003]
Comic caper
"The Mummy" star Rachel Weisz is in talks to play Keanu Reeves' love interest in yet another big-screen comic-book adaptation. "Constantine," an occult thriller, is based on a DC-Vertigo comic called "Hellblazer" about a female police officer looking for answers after her twin sister turns up dead.
Shia LaBeouf is Keanu's Sidekick in Constantine
[SuperHeroHype Source: Production Weekly Monday, September 8, 2003]
In addition to the casting of Djimon Hounsou as Papa Midnite and Gavin Rossdale as nemesis Balthazar, actor Shia LaBeouf has been cast as Chaz, a sidekick to Constantine.
LaBeouf recently starred in Project Greenlight's "The Battle of Shaker Heights" and "Holes". He's got "I, Robot" coming up with Will Smith next year.
The Warner Bros. adaptation of the DC-Vertigo comic book "Hellblazer" is directed by Francis Lawrence. Keanu Reeves stars with Rachel Weisz and Tilda Swinton. Set in the occult world, the film centers on John Constantine (Reeves), a man who dabbles in the occult and teams with a female police officer (Weisz) to fight evil forces.
Toronto: Anton Sirius on I LOVE YOUR WORK, MAYOR OF SUNSET STRIP, ALEXANDRA'S PROJECT, CYPHER and HEARTS OF DARKNESS!!!
[AICN 06/09/2003]
Hey folks, Harry here with the latest from Toronto by the stunningly beautiful Anton Sirius! As he continues to sashshay his delectable hips around that Northern territory getting the nitty and gritty on what is debuting. ALEXANDRA'S PROJECT sounds pretty dang cool. I'm a bit disappointed on the word about I LOVE YOUR WORK, I was actually pulling for that one. Here's Anton...
Fest Report, Days One & Two
I've got to dash, but here's a couple of quick bits of news:
- mark Lost in Translation down for the People's Choice Award now. The buzz is off the charts on this one. And hand Scarlet Johansson her Belle of the Ball award now too -- I didn't bother listing the Vegas odds this year because Johansson was the prohibitive fave (Chloe Sevigny was the only other lass under 10-1) and apparently rightfully so. In about five to ten years we might be calling Francis Ford Coppola Sofia's dad, not the other way around.
- speaking of Coppola, I chatted with George Hickenlooper, the director of Mayor of the Sunset Strip and co-director of Hearts of Darkness (the brilliant Apocalypse Now doc), at the Sunset Strip after-party. About a month ago he was talking with Francis about a DVD release of Hearts of Darkness -- the sticking point is the infamous Martin Sheen heart attack scene. Coppola wants a bit of narration added to the beginning of the sequence to further clarify exactly what he means when he goes on his "Martin Sheen isn't dead until I say he's dead!" rant.
Now, it's not my place to tell Francis Ford Coppola what he should do, but I think it's an unnecessary and somewhat futile step. The film, as is, gives plenty of context for the rant -- Coppola is clearly pissed at his staff for going behind his back and telling the studio about Sheen's condition before Coppola had figured out how he was going to handle the situation, not railing against God and trying to shout back the specter of Death or something. And further narration won't dispel the urban legend that's grown up around that interpretation, just as Sting telling people 10 years later that he was pulling Bob Geldof's leg with that tantric nonsense is going to change the way the general public sees him. That moment has become part of the mythology of Francis Ford Coppola, for better or worse, and delaying the release of Hearts of Darkness won't rewrite it.
- I've got one more interview, with those merry pranksters the Yes Men. Anyone who takes on the World Bank and, well, not wins maybe but at least avoids prison and a lifetime of audits, counts as a hero in my book. The Toni Collette interview might be off though due to scheduling conflicts
-- I'll keep you posted.
Mayor of the Sunset Strip (2003, directed by George Hickenlooper)
We all need to believe we can be greater than we are.
The Mayor of the Sunset Strip is a film about Rodney Bingenheimer. Who, you ask? He's an LA DJ who spends his time basking in the limelight of others, yet at the same time the shadow he himself casts over the American music scene is massive. He's not quite a groupie, and nothing like a svengali, yet somehow he ended up as the arbiter of pop success, the man who introduced Bowie and the Ramones and the Go-Gos and Oasis and countless others to the American charts. He's the guy who knows the man -- Rodney is friends with so many stars, and has appeared casually in the background of so many photos and film clips over the years, that he makes Zelig look like Thomas Pynchon.
The tale the doc tells is fascinating enough but, like the music industry itself, the film isn't above using Rodney's unique status to send its own message (like any healthy Hollywood relationship, Rodney uses the film right back.) Rodney is a mirror held up to the idea of celebrity itself. He's the ultimate social misfit who can only glow when standing next to a bonfire, whose pure love of music is possibly only exceeded by his need to feel that he has a place among giants, an exile from an unhappy childhood who makes a surrogate family for himself one backstage party at a time...
...except of course in the end that isn't the whole story either. Just as those photos on the wall can't possibly reveal the whole picture about his relationship with Elvis or Cher or Courtney Love, the movie makes clear that behind it all is a human being just like any other -- not an empty mirror catching fleeting fragments of reality but a person who, just like you and me, needs love and acceptance and a horizon just out of reach.
Like all the best pop songs, Rodney's story is sad and sweet, something that seems inconsequential and yet leaves you changed forever after you hear it. His turn in the spotlight has finally arrived, and now it's our turn to be the guy who knows the man. He brought us this far -- I hope we prove as worthy of the role as Rodney has been.
Watch out it's Keanu heaves
[The Sun 19/05/2003 ]
Feeling rough ... Keanu
OUCH — here is heart-throb KEANU REEVES following another night on the tiles in the South of France yesterday morning.
The Matrix Reloaded star clings to the balcony of his Antibes hotel after choking down a stomach remedy.
He then clutches his face and guts while a female assistant watches in sympathy.
But after recharging his batteries he looked back on form when he caught up with co-star JADA PINKETT SMITH, wife of WILL SMITH.
Keanu has been boozing every night since Thursday’s premiere.
Festival sources say he was partying until 6am on Saturday and even kept a Press conference waiting three hours.
Keanu Won't Foot the Bill
[NW [AUS] 08/09/2003]
Just what Keanu Reeves is doing with his countless millions is anyone's guess, but he's certainly not spending it on shoes. Perhaps the Matrix star, pictured here in Beverly Hills, thought it best to wear a helmet to stop himself causing injury to his most prized possession...his brain.
Source Reeves Drive
Films to look for in November
[Toledo Blade September 05, 2003]
- November is back-loaded, with the big-biggies happening the last two weeks of the month, but "Looney Tunes: Back in Action" (Nov. 14) is some kind of proof that studios have patience.
5. "The Matrix Revolutions" (Nov. 5). Starring Keanu Reeves, Lawrence Fishburne. Directed by the Wachowski brothers.
Why You Should Care: Hard to say after seeing "The Matrix Takes Philosophy 101" - I mean, "The Matrix Reloaded," a monster hit few people still seem especially excited about. But my guess is "Reloaded" was a typical middle-film, all setup; and "Revolutions" will deliver big-time man-vs.-machine finale fireworks. But I'm an optimist.
'Return' of 'The Matrix'
[The News-Dispatch 07/09/2003]
Final chapters in popular trilogies most anticipated films of fall season
Am I the only one who thought "The Matrix Reloaded" stank?
Each year brings with it an "event" movie that strikes a chord with audiences, yet leaves me unimpressed.
"The Matrix Reloaded," probably the most anticipated sci-fi sequel since "Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace," was such a picture.
Several News-Dispatch readers - all male, including two next-door neighbors of mine - advised me to see it again, to not dwell on the inconsistencies.
An atypically busy, and noisy summer of movies prevented that from happening. So for now, "The Matrix Reloaded" will remain for me a film with one brilliant chase sequence, jawdropping shots of Zion, but a dense, relentlessly talky first half and a hurried, baffling resolution.
Which leads to the question at hand: Will the final entry in the trilogy, "Revolutions," be this fall's most eagerly awaited film?
Ironically, the answer is yes ... or, at least, one of them.
"The Matrix Revolutions," set for an early November release, carries with it the burden of resolving all those unanswered questions from "Reloaded," particularly if Keanu Reeves' Neo is, indeed, the chosen one. Brothers Andy and Larry Wachowski, certainly incomparable talents, must provide a sense of closure, or fans will feel cheated, having waited too long for the equivalent of an extended tease.
The true heavyweight of the season has to be "Lord of the Rings: Return of the King," set for a mid-December release. The question isn't whether director Peter Jackson can pull it off - he and his co-stars already say the film is their favorite in the series - but if he'll finally be rewarded with an Oscar.
Think about it. New Line Cinema greenlighted an unprecedented $300 million to produce all three films - "The Fellowship of the Ring," "The Two Towers," "Return of the King" - leaving most industry insiders to forecast certain doom for Jackson.
The domestic gross of the first picture, alone, recouped costs for the entire series. Now, with almost 20 Oscar nominations and six wins, the "Lord of the Rings" trilogy seems destined to stand the test of time, to be cherished as a genuine classic.
Academy voters, if "Return of the King" is, indeed, as strong as advance buzz suggests, need pay Jackson the respect he deserves.
"The Matrix Revolutions," "Return of the King" and October's "Scary Movie 3" reflect the only major sequels of the season.
After a summer of admirable successes - "X2: X-Men United," "Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines" - but many disappointments - "Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle," "2 Fast 2 Furious," "Lara Croft Tomb Raider: The Cradle of Life" - Hollywood is turning to prestige pictures and literary adaptations to coax audiences back into theaters.
Some, in fact, represent pictures by Hollywood's most acclaimed directors.
Quentin Tarantino ("Pulp Fiction"), absent from moviemaking since 1997's "Jackie Brown," finally will unveil his long-awaited "Kill Bill" ... but in installments. Not wanting to shorten his three-hour epic, Tarantino will release Volume One in October and Volume Two sometime next year, both at 90-minute lengths. The movie focuses on a revenge-fueled hitwoman (Uma Thurman), a part Tarantino wrote specifically for his "Pulp Fiction" leading lady. The challenge for Tarantino is whether he can sustain the dramatic momentum of his tale by splitting in half.
Woody Allen's latest, "Anything Else" starring Jason Biggs ("American Pie") and Christina Ricci ("The Opposite of Sex"), arrives in theaters this month and poses a local moviegoer's dilemma: Will the presence of two young stars deem the picture suitable for Michigan City theaters? Not one Woody Allen movie has played here since I joined The News-Dispatch nearly six years ago.
Anthony Minghella ("The English Patient"), who hasn't directed a film since 1999's "The Talented Mr. Ripley," helms the big-screen adaptation of Charles Frazier's acclaimed Civil War novel, which stars Jude Law, Nicole Kidman and Renée Zellweger.
The film reflects the most distributor Miramax has spent on a film - $83 million - and will be released in the heart of December, along with other Oscar bait, including Tom Cruise's "The Last Samurai," directed by Ed Zwick ("Glory"); "The Alamo," once attached to director Ron Howard and Russell Crowe, but now starring Billy Bob Thornton and Dennis Quaid; "The Missing," directed by Howard and starring Cate Blanchett as a frontier mother trying to rescue her daughter from cultists; "Peter Pan," yet-another adaptation of J.M. Barrie's classic; and "Stuck on You," another Farrelly brothers gross-out comedy, this one starring Matt Damon and Greg Kinnear as conjoined twins.
More compelling fare, however, arrives in the next few months.
Director Ridley Scott ("Gladiator," "Black Hawk Down") has two upcoming projects. The first is "Matchstick Men," with Nicolas Cage returning to his off-kilter roots as a con-man thrown for a loop by the presence of his teen daughter ("White Oleander's" Alison Lohman). The film enters theaters this month, followed by a Halloween release of "Alien: The Director's Cut." Scott's 1979 classic has been digitally remastered and contains new footage, most notably a scene of the alien's nest, fleshing out the fate of two of its victims.
The Coen brothers ("Fargo," "The Man Who Wasn't There"), who rarely stumble when creating original comedies, take a crack at their first big-budget studio picture, "Intolerable Cruelty," which features a killer cast, including George Clooney and Catherine Zeta-Jones.
Another stellar ensemble populates "Runaway Jury," the first big-screen adaptation of a John Grisham novel since 1997's "The Rainmaker." The film, which features John Cusack, Gene Hackman, Dustin Hoffman and Rachel Weisz, arrives in theaters Oct. 17 and focuses on an assortment of characters united by an explosive trial.
Another literary adaptation arrives in November with Russell Crowe's "Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World," based on Patrick O'Brian's beloved novels and directed by Peter Weir ("Witness," "The Truman Show").
Smaller pictures may pack just as much punch as mainstream studio efforts.
"Secondhand Lions," which arrives this month, features Haley Joel Osment's first onscreen performance since Steven Spielberg's "A.I. Artificial Intelligence" and co-stars none other than Robert Duvall and Michael Caine.
With the success of "Freddy vs. Jason" and "Jeepers Creepers 2," horror movies won't be in short supply, the most anticipated being:
€ September's "Underworld," about a war between vampires and werewolves.
€ October's "Gothika," starring Oscar-winner Halle Berry, about a psychiatrist accusing of murdering her husband, and the remake of Tobe Hooper's "The Texas Chainsaw Massacre," whose dynamite trailer suggests one sweaty, claustrophobic, potentially horrifying picture.
Disney, still cashing in on the success of this summer's "Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl," hopes to score with another theme park-inspired tale, Thanksgiving's "The Haunted Mansion" starring Eddie Murphy. Mike Myers plays the title character in another November release: "Dr. Seuss' The Cat in the Hat." The last big-screen take on a Seuss character, 2000's "The Grinch," gave Jim Carrey his highest-grossing film ever, yet was brutally savaged by critics. I consider the picture charming, and "The Cat in the Hat" looks to mimic that film's light-as-a-feather approach and cheery color schemes.
Critics usually look to the fall to flesh out their end-of-the-year top 10 lists, and 2003 is no exception. However, looking back on the first part of the year, I already count at least five movies that deserve mention on such a list: a rarity, for me, at least.
With more original fare just on the horizon, completing that list should be no problem.
Constantine Cast Grows
[Sci-Fi Newswire 08/09/2003]
Rock star Gavin Rossdale and actor Djimon Hounsou are poised to join Warner Brothers' Constantine, based on the DC/Vertigo comic series Hellblazer, for director Francis Lawrence, according to The Hollywood Reporter. Keanu Reeves, Rachel Weisz and Tilda Swinton star.
The film centers on John Constantine (Reeves), a man who dabbles in the occult and teams with a female police officer (Weisz) to fight evil forces, the trade paper reported. Rossdale will play Balthazar, a nemesis of Reeves' character; Hounsou will star as Papa Midnite, the owner of an occult club who was once a demon fighter like Constantine, but is now trying to get out of the business, the trade paper reported. Kevin Brodbin wrote the original script, with a rewrite by Mark Bomback and Frank Cappello.
Rossdale is frontman of the rock band Bush. Hounsou starred opposite Angelina Jolie in Lara Croft Tomb Raider: The Cradle of Life and recently signed on to join ABC's Alias in a recurring role.
Sunday, September 07, 2003
Paying cash to avoid contrition
[SFGate.com 07/09/2003]
Lastly: Want to high-five Arnold Schwarzenegger? Well, the big guy himself may be busy on the campaign trail, but his hand print is still on display outside the now-defunct Planet Hollywood restaurant near San Francisco's Union Square.
Other celebrity imprints are there, too -- Bruce Willis, Demi Moore, Keanu Reeves. But Arnold's hand (surprisingly small) is clearly the favorite, judging from how his print is grimier than anyone else's.
Warner Bros. Movie World to launch The Official MATRIX Exhibit!
[TLFC.com 2/09/2003]
See Original Sets, Props and Costumes!
Sets, props and costumes from The Matrix Trilogy to be displayed in a world first experience at Warner Bros. Movie World.
Warner Bros. Movie World has announced the launch of The Official Matrix Exhibit due to open for the September Holidays 2003.
In a world first, and unique to Warner Bros. Movie World, a variety of original sets, props and costumes will be housed in The Official MATRIX Exhibit, allowing guests to become acquainted with the world of the Matrix.
The Official MATRIX Exhibit will bring to life the continuing story of Neo (Keanu Reeves), Trinity (Carrie-Anne Moss) and Morpheus (Laurence Fishburne) in the ongoing struggle against the machines and Agent Smith (Hugo Weaving).
The Official MATRIX Exhibit will be a walk through experience allowing guests to immerse themselves in the world of the Matrix, brought to life through a mind bending display of original sets, props and artifacts. Warner Bros. Movie World is also working closely with Atari, distributors of the official Matrix game ‘Enter the Matrix’, for the possible addition of interactive elements to enhance the experience.
Mr. Ken Minnikin, Director of Marketing for Warner Village Theme Parks said that securing the Official Matrix Exhibit for Warner Bros. Movie World was a real coup and something that will leave guests and Matrix fans awestruck.
“We are thrilled to house The Official MATRIX Exhibit at Warner Bros. Movie World which will bring to life the world of the Matrix,” Mr. Minnikin said.
“Guests will get to experience an array of the sets, props and artifacts from the Matrix trilogy ensuring an experience that is unrivalled anywhere else in the world.”
All of the original sets and props, originally made in Australia, will be reassembled by Mark Gatt who was a steel foreman on the set of The Matrix Reloaded and The Matrix Revolutions.
Brandi Exhibitions based at Geebung in Brisbane will be working in close consultation with Warner Bros. Movie World on the design, building and construction of The Official MATRIX Exhibit.
Released in Australia on Friday, May 16 The Matrix Reloaded feature film has grossed over $33 million and can still be seen in cinemas around Australia.
For further media information contact:
Wendy Calder
Publicity and Promotions Manager
Warner Bros. Movie World
P: +61 7 5573 3999
E: Wendy.Calder@wvtp.com.au
This batch of fall films doesn't go by the book
[Charlotte.com 05/09/2003 LAWRENCE TOPPMAN Movie Critic]
Hey, not all immortal fall pictures come from books: "Dude, Where's My Car" had no literary antecedents. So here's a list of 12 upcoming flicks with, ummm, a little less conversation and more likelihood of raising the roof:
"THE MATRIX: Revolutions"
"Everything will be clear in the last installment," confused filmgoers have been told since "Reloaded" left everything hanging in May. We know Neo and Agent Smith (Keanu Reeves and Hugo Weaving) finally battle for supremacy, and Jada Pinkett-Smith gets a beefed-up part as a war hero. The rest is mainly speculation. (11/5)
Caddy Gets into “Matrix”
[The Car Connection by Paul A. Eisenstein� 2003-05-26]
The inside story of Hollywood’s hottest car chase.
2004 Cadillac XLR by Paul A. Eisenstein (5/26/2003)
A new lease on sportscar life for GM’s rapid social climber.�
�
Bullets fly, cars launch into the air, and in the audience, hearts pound during what’s being described as the most intense car chase scene ever filmed. The nearly 15-minute pursuit may be the most memorable part of Matrix: Reloaded, the Summer blockbuster and sequel to the cult classic 1999 sci-fi adventure.
Part two in a planned trilogy, Reloaded is a computer-generated extravaganza, featuring the latest in digital special effects. Yet when it comes to the chase, the filmmakers chose to do things the old-fashioned way. More than 400 very human extras, along with 56 stunt men and women took to the highway during the carefully choreographed filming. By the time they were done, 54 vehicles were being carted off to the junkyard.
As Neo, Morpheus and the rest of the characters in Reloaded realize, nothing is what it seems in the Matrix, a world created by evil, artificial intelligence to keep humanity enslaved. But the same can be said for the film itself.
Enter the Matrix
Take the freeway where much of the big chase takes place. It actually was created by walling in a 1.5-mile section of the runway at Alameda Naval Base, across the bay from San Francisco. Designed to simulate an inner-city highway, it was surrounded by 19-foot walls. There were two working overpasses. (And if you look closely at the signs on the freeway, you’ll see that the upcoming “exits” are named for family and friends of Larry and Andy Wachowski, the two brothers who wrote and directed the Matrix trilogy.)
Hollywood producers know there’s always a big risk when you invest in an unknown. So, when planning work began for Matrix: Reloaded, they made sure to stock the film with some bankable talent, including the original movie’s biggest stars: Keanu Reeves, Lawrence Fishburne and Carrie-Anne Moss. But in an effort to give the film a slightly futuristic frame, they put out a casting call that also netted a new star.
When filming began in 2000, the edgy Cadillac CTS sedan was still a year away from introduction. But the car’s knife-sharp design fit the image the brothers Wachowski had in mind. Cadillac, meanwhile, was looking for a way to shift its image from seniors pro golf to something more young and hip. So it offered the filmmakers 24 cars for primary stunt work, including 14 CTS prototypes and 10 big Escalade SUVs. GM came up with another 50 vehicles for background use.
The car’s the star
It’s not unusual for an automaker to seek out a high-profile presence in a major film. Most manufacturers employ special agents to peddle their wares to the film industry. Indeed, as the blockbusters hit the silver screen this summer, it’s starting to look the cars are often the real stars. The all-new Mazda RX-8 comes to the rescue of Wolverine and his mutant pals in another summer smash, X2.� Videogame heroine Lara Croft drove a Land Rover in her original screen showing.� Now she’s back with a Jeep Wrangler, while Arnold Schwarzenegger’s Terminator sequel makes prominent use of a Toyota pickup. But none of those films boasts anything to match the Matrix chase.
Since Cadillac was still hoping to maintain some secrecy about its new car, stuntwoman Debby Evans didn’t get to check out the CTS she’d be driving until the morning film work began, when she’d have to launch one out of a downtown Oakland, Calif., parking structure – the scene that starts the pulse-pounding chase.
To play it safe, the special effects director said “We’ll fix it in the computer,” stunt driving coordinator Rocky Capella recalls. “That was a slap in the face. We said we’d do it” the way it was supposed to look. And so Evans launched her car off a ramp, flying several feet into the air, before slamming into the street, yanking the wheel and taking off through downtown Oakland.
To make it easier to film – and to keep things safe – most chase scenes are shot at speeds of only 30 or 40 miles per hour, notes Evans, one of Hollywood’s top women stunt drivers and, in the Reloaded chase, the double for Carrie-Anne Moss. But for the Matrix, speeds got up to 80 mph, creating some serious risks when you’re slamming cars into one another and launching others into the air.
Virtual reality
“All the crashes were real,” Evans says, clearly proud of the challenge. Not only were they real, but the cautious Wachowski brothers insisted that every single scene be filmed twice, a process that ultimately took three months to complete.
Over the years, both Evans and Capella concede they have each suffered a variety of real wounds while creating cinematic special effects. A former Olympic boxing hopeful, Capella quickly runs down a list of injuries large and small, including a vertebrae in his back that still sticks out sideways. But needless risk is not something stunt drivers willing accept. So the cars involved in the stunts were equipped with a variety of safety devices, ranging from rollover cages to leak-resistant fuel tanks.
This isn’t bumper cars, and there’s no way to be absolutely safe. At one point, a broken mirror flew in through the window of the CTS Evans was driving, hitting her in the face. In another scene, her car was rammed by an Escalade so hard, “I saw stars for awhile.” Still, while “There were some bumps and bruises,” Capella boasts, “nobody spent any hospital time.”
The 15-minute sequence was choreographed with the care of a ballet, critical when you have as many as a dozen cars flipping over almost simultaneously in one scene.
Behind the magic
While virtually everything you see is real, it does take plenty of Hollywood magic to send cars spinning through the air, peel a roof off of a CTS as it races down the road, or simply blast bullet holes into a fender.
Special “cannons” underneath stunt cars were used to blast those vehicles into the air. And holes were drilled ahead of time into the CTS’s sheet metal, then filled with explosive “squibs,” and set off by remote control to simulate the effect of a machine gun.
Complicating the “shoot” was the presence of several key cast members during the filming of the stunts. Fishburne was in the passenger seat during a number of driving scenes. (He was accompanied by a cameraman using handheld gear for in-car close-ups.) Meanwhile, Moss had to do some of her own driving, including the scene when she exits the freeway and screeches the CTS to a halt, no easy task with blown-out tires.
About halfway through the chase, Moss’s character is forced to abandon the heavily damaged Cadillac. She then takes her charge, the man known as the “Keymaster,” on an equally harrowing motorcycle ride. That was actually the easy part for stuntwoman Evans. She began racing motorcycles at the age of eight, eventually landing a regular gig in Hollywood.
Capella began his stunt career a bit later, after being knocked out of the Olympic boxing trials 20 years ago. He may be one of the best stunt drivers in Hollywood, but that’s only made him more nervous about what he drives home at the end of the day. He admits he will try to schedule his stunts so it gives him time to be at home whenever his kids have to go somewhere. “I won’t let anyone else drive them,” Capella says.
One son already hints he’d like to follow in his father’s footsteps – or tire tracks, if you prefer. “I’m trying to encourage him to do something else,” Capella, says with a sigh.
Reeling through Fall
[The Star Ledger Sunday, September 07, 2003]
Here are 10 Fall films worth checking out.
NOV. 5
"THE MATRIX REVOLUTIONS" -- The Wachowski trilogy reaches Apocalypse Neo. Maximum chaos with minimum facial expression. Zion King Keanu Reeves and crew don their death-dealing shades to undo the damage caused by Hugo Weaving's cybercops and the script of "The Matrix: Reloaded." Their mission: Regain control over multiple realities and a mangled storyline. Zion's existence and Neo's Messiah status face a final assault by hordes of tunneling "Sentinels" and almost as many Weavings. This witty grad of the Jack Webb Acting School has become a cast of thousands in himself. Expect four-dimensional flying fight scenes, visionary violence, cascading pseudo-ideas and supercool streetwear. The key question is whether the Wachowski Brothers can rediscover the first film's originality.
Warner's dirty laundry
[NY TIMES NEWS SERVICE Sunday, Sep 07, 2003,Page 12 ]
The movie-making giant has learned that a back-stabbing management culture can sometimes be a good thing when it leads to a content working atmosphere, even if it chases away great talent
By Laura M. Holson
It does not get any more glamorous here than the premiere last May of The Matrix Reloaded, the sequel to the wildly successful 1999 hit that turned actor Keanu Reeves into a cult hero.
"Oh God, turn around!" screamed a young woman at Reeves as he posed for more than 200 photographers who were lining the black carpet. Will Smith, who did his own star turn in Bad Boys II, waved at fans seated six deep on metal bleachers. Even David Geffen, the billionaire and DreamWorks SKG partner, showed up, quietly slipping into the theater lobby.
Of course, the Warner Brothers Entertainment chairman, Barry M. Meyer, and the president, Alan Horn, were there, too. The two took over the entertainment unit in 1999 after Terry Semel and Robert A. Daly left at the end of a successful 19-year run. Under Horn, Warner Brothers Pictures has continued to dominate Hollywood, churning out blockbusters like the Harry Potter series, Scooby-Doo and Ocean's Eleven. The division had its best year in 2001, with US$1.3 billion at the domestic box office. And the last two years have been among its most profitable.
"Our perspective is not a short-term one ... We are not driven by competition and what appears to be hot."
But as Horn accepted congratulations that night, some attendees remarked that two people who had played a big part in the studio's success no longer worked there: Lorenzo di Bonaventura, a longtime production executive in the film division who oversaw development of the Matrix series, and Warren Lieberfarb, who had been at Time Warner for 27 years and had turned the company's DVD unit into a profit juggernaut. Their departures spoke volumes about the changes at Warner Brothers.
Warner Brothers had long been regarded as a place where the fine art of corporate back-stabbing was as prized as a good table at Spago. Division presidents rarely talked to one another, let alone shared information, and fiercely defended their turf. In fact, it wasn't enough to have a great quarterly report; your rivals in, say, distribution or marketing had to have a bad one.
Even in such a milieu, di Bonaventura and Lieberfarb stood out as world-class corporate infighters, according to former AOL Time Warner executives.
Now, four years into Horn's tenure, the chill at the studio is beginning to thaw. According to people who work there, the atmosphere is more open, with diverse story suggestions sought and heard. When the studio was deciding which of two Superman scripts to make into a movie last year, Horn asked for suggestions from all departments -- marketing, production, even consumer products -- something unheard of three years ago. Different opinions are tolerated, and conversations are more polite.
But the bigger surprise to many is that Horn, 60, may end up the smartest corporate survivor of all. He endured a power struggle with di Bonaventura that had all the intrigue of a Hollywood thriller.
Amid the upheaval at the studio's parent, AOL Time Warner, Horn has also managed to keep his employees motivated, even though many of their stock options are now nearly worthless. And he deftly handled the situation after Castle Rock Entertainment, of which he was a founder, produced a series of box-office bombs.
"I don't want to sound like some kind of schmo," said Joel Silver, the producer of the Matrix series, who has had a production deal with Warner Brothers since 1987. "But Alan has made the process better. He's not just saying yes to movies. They allow you to get involved in the decision making."
Gung Ho for feel-good
Horn concedes that when he joined the studio, he felt more comfortable running it than one might have expected. But his confidence was perhaps understandable. In 1987, Horn, who attended Harvard Business School and was also a captain in the Air Force, helped start Castle Rock, the maker of blockbusters like When Harry Met Sally and A Few Good Men. Castle Rock was sold in 1993 to the Turner Broadcasting System, which was acquired by Warner three years later.
According to two former Warner executives, Daly, then a co-chairman of Warner Brothers Entertainment, chose Horn over di Bonaventura to become president, giving him sole authority to approve movies. The two have markedly different tastes: Horn practices karate; di Bonaventura is a rock climber and hiker. Horn prefers earnest, feel-good movies while di Bonaventura likes darker comedies and more violent fare.
Many people in Hollywood, even executives at Warner Brothers, agree that di Bonaventura is talented and hard-working. At Warner, where he started in 1989, he was the go-to guy who shepherded the Matrix series and the first two Harry Potter movies to the screen. He was a favorite of filmmakers, including George Clooney, who has a production deal with Warner. But di Bonaventura did not always see eye-to-eye with Horn, according to several people who know both.
One entertainment executive who has worked with them recalled a black-tie Hollywood event where the two were discussing politics with colleagues. When Horn walked away, the executive said, di Bonaventura rolled his eyes and said, "This is the guy I have to work for."
For his part, di Bonaventura declined to discuss his tenure at Warner, and Horn declined to disclose the details of di Bonaventura's departure. But in an interview last June, Horn said: "Lorenzo was very experienced and talented. But there are lots of talented people here."
Soon after he arrived, Horn embarked on a strategy to make about 25 movies a year, four or five of them big-budget event movies like those of the Potter series. About a third of the 25 would be financed solely by Warner. Another third would be financed with a partner, often Village Roadshow Pictures. The remaining would be rent-a-studio deals in which a production company would pay Warner a fee to market and distribute its movies.
"Terry Semel wasn't afraid to take the big shots, and Alan has more than embraced that philosophy in building his program," said Bruce Berman, who was president of production at Warner Brothers Pictures from 1984 to 1989 and now runs Village Roadshow.
But last year, an attempt to develop some big films stalled. In particular, the studio wanted to make a movie based on the Superman character that would be released as early as this year. But that project fell apart because executives could not come up with a reasonable budget, an actor and a script they liked.
That, Horn contends, was not a bad thing. He said the studio was more apt to send a script back for a rewrite or wait for the right actor. "Our perspective is not a short-term one," Horn said. "We are not driven by competition and what appears to be hot."
Flops
Horn also had other challenges. Warner's sister company, Castle Rock, despite some successes, was coming off a string of box-office flops, including The Adventures of Pluto Nash, a much-maligned film with Eddie Murphy. Combined, those films lost more than US$75 million, according to industry estimates.
That proved nettlesome on two counts for Horn. First, he had approved the movies. Second, he had to cut the overhead at his old company. After a review, he turned over duplicative functions, like the marketing of movies, to Warner Brothers.
"These were my friends," he said. "But for me, without quantifying it, it was the right thing to do."
In July 2002, di Bonaventura was promoted to the corporate position of executive vice president of worldwide motion pictures, still under Horn. But even that did not quell what appeared to be continuing discontent. While Horn has told colleagues that di Bonaventura's political wrangling had little impact on him, many people who dealt with Warner Brothers said it was beginning to affect the staff.
The next month, di Bonaventura, according to three people with knowledge of the incident, met in New York with Richard D. Parsons, the chief executive of AOL Time Warner, and Jeffrey Bewkes, the new chairman of the company's entertainment and network group, and discussed what was then described as philosophical differences with the way the studio was being run. In particular, he was critical of Castle Rock, two of these people said.
Horn heard about the meetings but had planned to seek di Bonaventura's departure before then, the two people said. When di Bonaventura returned to Los Angeles, Horn asked him to leave. Last December he became a producer at Paramount Pictures, but he still has projects at Warner.
Impressionable replacement
With di Bonaventura gone, Horn began to work more closely with Jeff Robinov, a young executive who was promoted to president of production. Robinov, a former talent agent, is considered to be as much of a go-getter as di Bonaventura but is still untested as a studio executive.
Robinov says he spends as much as two hours a day with Horn in marketing and distribution meetings, planning budgets and discussing important projects. He has also developed a close relationship with Dawn Taubin, a longtime Warner employee and president of domestic marketing with whom he often talks on the telephone. "Alan lets people run their groups," he said. "But he's not distant. He knows what's going on."
In the case of Warren Lieberfarb, there was a limit to how much autonomy his bosses were willing to grant.
Lieberfarb, as the former president of Warner Home Video, was largely responsible for the explosion in AOL Time Warner's DVD business.
He reported to Meyer, who was also a longtime Warner employee and a friend. But like many employees, Lieberfarb was upset with the plunge in AOL Time Warner's stock and, with it, the value of his retirement savings.
At the same time, he aggressively advocated that the theatrical, video and television distribution of movies be managed under a single profit center with one executive, preferably him, in charge. Currently, they are overseen separately.
Such a change might also have given Lieberfarb more authority. Lieberfarb brought up the notion of the study in a meeting in November with Bewkes, Meyer and Horn, according to two people with knowledge of the incident; Horn asked to discuss it later, but Lieberfarb pressed the issue. The executives, the two people said, were displeased with Lieberfarb's reaction.
In December, Meyer went to the Four Seasons Hotel in New York, where Lieberfarb was staying, and asked him to leave the company, according to three people with knowledge of the situation.
Surprise `Adieu'
Many in the entertainment industry were shocked when Lieberfarb's exit was announced. But according to Silver, the producer, "The notion of fiefdoms had to dissipate; Alan and Barry made that happen."
Lieberfarb declined to discuss his departure, except to say that he had retained a lawyer and was considering entering into arbitration. Of his time at Warner, he said: "I do not think it was fiefdoms. There was a unique level of collegiality and camaraderie to pull for the whole company."
Neither Horn nor Meyer would comment on the specifics of Lieberfarb's exit. But in an interview, while commenting generally on the company, Meyer said: "Loyalty is an interesting thing. No one has to take an oath. But we want executives not to think about what is best for themselves, but what is best for the company. That is a changed perspective."
This summer, The Matrix Reloaded has taken in US$732 million at the worldwide box office, and the studio is eager for the release of The Matrix Revolutions on Nov. 5. And Horn has assembled a slate of what he hopes will be blockbusters. Among the movies are Looney Tunes: Back in Action and The Last Samurai, with Tom Cruise. Next year, the studio is releasing three sequels, Scooby-Doo 2, Ocean's Twelve and the third Potter movie, as well as Troy and the animated Polar Express.
Horn said he could not be happier. "Comfort and trust and stuff like that are important concepts in a work environment," he said. "To the extent there are politics involved in any company it doesn't further advance the ball, the work of the studio. I have maintained that all these people who have left are talented and made valuable contributions. But at some point it's got to be about the team."
KEANU'S SHOE HURTS
[Voici 1/09/2003]
What do you do when you have nice shoes (which you want to keep perhaps due to sentimental reasons) and you don't want to wear them out while changing speeds on your motorcycle?� Keanu Reeves has found a very� simple and "chic" solution: tape. Unless he was distracted (oh! those artists...)� and forgot to remove his shoe to attend to one of his toes.
Saturday, September 06, 2003
Whoa Dude
[People Magazine 09/03]
Beverly Hills 26/08/2003. Keanu Reeves was well-suited for a ride on his Harley-Davidson after a cigarette break (inset).
The Matrix Revolutions hits theatres Nov.5)
[Scan courtesy of Club Keanu]
Charlize Theron's Girlish Memories
[TV Guide 06/09/2003]
V Guide Online: When you were a girl did you ever dream that you'd grow up to be a famous actress who gets paid to kiss Johnny Depp, Keanu Reeves...
Theron: Well... (Fake laughs)
Suleman on fraud charges after luxury loan attempt
[The Age.com 06/09/2003]
Mr Suleman, who has mentioned film star Keanu Reeves and singer Kylie Minogue during court appearances and reportedly took former US president Bill Clinton on a tour of Sydney, was released on bail. The matter will next be before the courts on September 12.
Change the clothes, Keanu
[The Sun 05/09/2003]
NOW you’d think super-rich Keanu Reeves could afford a change of clothes — especially a new pair of shoes. The picture above shows the scruff on a phone in Beverly Hills last Thursday dressed in purple suit, red T-shirt, sunglasses and taped-up shoe.
The picture belowï?½was taken in Los Angeles on Tuesday — the actor’s 39th birthday — with him wearing the same outfit.
Keanu, who earned ï?½150million as Neo in The Matrix movies, also shocked onlookers by using a payphone.
Keanu, don’t tell us you’ve lost that famous Matrix mobile?
Friday, September 05, 2003
Thursday, September 04, 2003
UNTITLED DRAMEDY
[Backstage.com 04/09/2003]
Nicolette Gallagher (dir.) is accepting submissions for an untitled digital character-driven dramedy. Shoot starts Oct. Copy and credit provided. There is no pay.
Breakdown--
Brunette: female, 30-40, to play actress; Two studio execs: male, one 25-30 and one 50-60; Soap star: male, 30-35; Blonde: female, 30-35, to play actress; Waitress: 60s; Waiter: 30s; Actor: male, 28-35; Actor #2: male, 50s; Actor #3: 30-35, Keanu Reeves type; Guitarist, Keyboardist, and Drummer: 28+, music skills not required.
Send pix & resume by Sept. 16 to Soaring Art Entertainment, Inc., 400 S. Beverly Dr., Ste. 214, Beverly Hills, CA 90212, attn: Caroline. INTENDED CONTRACT: SAG EXPERIMENTAL.
But who invented the word Dramedy.......huh! ;)
Action! Thrills! Your kids run amok!
[Albuquerque Tribune 04/09/2003]
"The Matrix Reloaded." Man-against-machine sequel with Keanu Reeves as "Neo" (not to be confused with "Nemo") and Laurence Fishburne as "Morpheus," named that because he puts you to sleep, explaining what's happening. Also stars a female lead called "Trinity" because she weighs only three pounds. Parental warning: Will make children demand black clothes.
Akiva Goldsman Doing Constantine Script Revisions
[Superhero Hype 03/09/2003]
Superhero Hype! has learned that Akiva Goldsman (Batman Forever, Batman & Robin, "A Beautiful Mind") is doing revisions to the Constantine script, originally written by Kevin Brodbin.
Production on the Hellblazer adaptation will begin this month. The Warner Bros. project stars Keanu Reeves as John Constantine, a man who dabbles in the occult and teams with a female police officer to fight evil forces. Rachel Weisz will play Angela, the cop who becomes involved with Constantine when her twin sister dies in a mysterious suicide. Swinton plays Gabriel, a rogue angel battling Constantine.
The feature is directed by Francis Lawrence. It was previously reported that Mark Bomback and Frank Cappello did rewrites of Brodbin's script, though our source did not indicate if those drafts would be used.
Stars of the fall
[News Review.com 28/08/2003]
10. The Matrix Revolutions: The first sequel, Reloaded, was a supreme letdown. Here's to the Wachowski Brothers and Keanu coming together and making something that plays well, as opposed to the over-polished, self-important junk that was the second film in the series. Really, the effects were just awful looking. No more rave scenes!
9. Something's Gotta Give: Until this week, I really could not have cared less about this Nancy Meyers' project starring Jack Nicholson, Diane Keaton and Keanu Reeves. After seeing a preview trailer, I can't wait. Nicholson seems to have found a comedy that boasts his best traits, and Keaton gets a role in which she is worshipped by men young and old, something she most certainly deserves.
Celebrity Profiles
[NY Daily News 04/09/2003]
Keanu Reeves (Sept. 2, 1964) is a Virgo perfectionist with great patience, which was applied to learning intricate martial-arts moves for the making of all three "Matrix" films. This attention to detail makes Reeves the perfect candidate to work with computer animation, as his consistency of motion makes it easier for programmers to predict his action and build around it. Reeves could take a long vacation from stress this month and write poetry that could be published in later years.
Tough guy Bronson was one of the best
[Daily Trojan 04/09/2003]
Arnold, Sly, Van Damme, Keanu and any other action star you can think of owe a bit of their success to Charles Bronson, one of the genre's originals who made action movies into something more than just a bunch of guys shooting each other up. He added some dignity and warmth to his roles, which is something considering a lot of them could be described as "a man with a gun who seeks revenge."
Wednesday, September 03, 2003
Hollywood goes on warpath in battle-heavy fall lineup
[Utusan Online 31/08/2003]
LOS ANGELES Aug 31 - They'll be fighting on land, on sea, in space, in Middle-earth. Their weapons will include cannons, flamethrowers, swords of all sorts and a guitar case full of guns.
Hollywood goes to war this fall with a bombardment of historical battle epics, contemporary action flicks and sci-fi and fantasy combat, led by the final chapters of two trilogies, ``The Matrix Revolutions'' and ``The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King.''
Brothers Andy and Larry Wachowski shot both sequels to their 1999 hit ``The Matrix'' at the same time, continuing their saga of a group of freedom fighters (Keanu Reeves, Carrie-Anne Moss and Laurence Fishburne) battling computers that have enslaved humanity.
``The Matrix Revolutions'' hits theaters in early November, just six months after ``The Matrix Reloaded.''
``The thing that's kind of neat is that it feels like an event,'' Moss said. ``If I wasn't in it, I'd be kind of psyched about the movies myself as a fan.''
Jack Nicholson and Diane Keaton in ``Something's Gotta Give,'' a comedy about a 60-something playboy with a taste for young women, who finally meets his romantic match with someone in his own age range.
``My movie's definitely about people that need their glasses to read,'' said ``Something's Gotta Give'' writer-director Nancy Meyers (``What Women Want''). It's really about being the age you are and feeling it and accepting it, and being in love. Because people do fall in love after the age of 35.'' - AP
The stars of "Thumb- sucker," on the set in Tualatin, call Oregon burbs "exotic"
[Oregon Live 19/08/03 SHAWN LEVY]
Ah, Hollywood! The stars! The glamour! The bright lights! The . . . rock quarries?
On a toasty Saturday, the director and stars of "Thumbsucker," the independent movie that has been shooting in Beaverton and select Oregon locales throughout the summer, sat in an idle Tualatin rock quarry to talk about their experience shooting the film.
The day's work, which was to commence later in the afternoon, involved the staging of a TV show-within-the-movie about the adventures of the border patrol in the Southwestern United States -- hence the need for a dusty, rocky background that resembled the Grand Canyon and not an old-growth forest.
So in a setting that seemed more appropriate for an update on the war in Iraq than the promotion of even a low-budget film, director Mike Mills and stars Tilda Swinton, Vincent D'Onofrio and Lou Taylor Pucci sat on folding chairs under white tents and entertained reporters and each other with tales of their lives and hard times in the Portland suburbs.
"I love that we've all come to sit in a quarry," exclaimed Swinton, the tall British actress best-known in America as the immortal courtier of metamorphosing gender in the 1992 adaptation of Virginia Woolf's "Orlando." Accompanied by her children, who nibbled on blackberries with a nanny while their mother chatted with the press, she described life in a Washington County condo as a decided change from her family's usual stomping grounds above Inverness in Scotland.
"Beaverton's really exotic for them," she said of her twins. "We went up to Trillium Lake, and they finally breathed. It's what they're used to."
D'Onofrio, a hard-boiled actor known for his starring role on TV's "Law and Order: Criminal Intent" as well as such films as "The Cell," "Men in Black" and his stunning debut as Private Pyle in "Full Metal Jacket," concurred that suburban life isn't his particular cup of tea. "Beaverton suits the movie," he joked about the black comedy concerning a dysfunctional family. "That's why I'm staying in Portland."
With a couple days' growth of beard and a black-on-black outfit, worrying a cigarette and box of matches without ever quite lighting up, D'Onofrio is the picture of Pearl District chic, and it's no surprise to learn that he's enamored of Bluehour, one of that neighborhood's smartest dining spots. He admits that he's been only partly successful, though, in luring his director to join him on the downtown side of the West Hills.
"Mike finally came to dinner with us one night in P
ortland," and it was like the uncomfortable dining scene in "Apocalypse Now Redux," he said.
Mills, a spry, ginger-haired fellow bedecked in shirt and tie and a battered straw hat, laughs at this account of his absorption in his first feature film. "I'm totally wrapped up," he admitted. "Once I was driving along the Sunset Highway and my cell phone battery died and I realized I was out of touch. It felt like the scene in '2001' when the guy floats away from the pod."
As the four bantered, it became clear that there's real truth to the old saw that a crew making a film on location becomes like a family. "You're so isolated from your routine and your family," Mills said. "You're in a bubble. It's full-immersion sociological filmmaking."
Indeed, the three actors really are playing a family, the Cobbs, whose lives are disrupted by the troubles that the eldest boy, Justin (Pucci), has when he tries to kick the nasty habit of sucking his thumb. Before the press conference, the trio hunkered at a table in easy familiarity, and now and again as they answered questions they jokingly lapsed into character, calling each other by their fictional names and teasingly referring to their characters' flaws and habits.
This camaraderie, Mills said, was key to the film, and he helped to instill it in his cast by asking them early in the production to improvise in character in the Beaverton house that was rented to "play" their home. That trained veterans Swinton and D'Onofrio were able to perform the exercise would be expected, but this is virtually Pucci's first speaking role in front of the camera. There were no guarantees that he would rise to the level set by his colleagues.
Not to worry, D'Onofrio said. "When I was Lou's age I was still bumping into walls and drooling," he says. "But from the first day, he was neck and neck in improvs right with us."
Mills, gratefully, agreed. Calling his young star "a total gift from God," he said, "He came in on the last day of casting after we looked at 150 people -- conservatively. A lot of people are very good at pretending, but Lou is this magical chameleon."
Magical is, in fact, an apt word. Pucci is an actual aspiring magician with the stage name Loudini who has enjoyed digging around in Callin's House of Magic in Portland during his stay in Oregon. (He also gives a thumb-up to Nonna Emilia's Ristorante in Aloha, where he, the cast and crew and members of his family who flew in from New Jersey congregated to celebrate his 18th birthday at the end of July.)
Having his folks on hand was nice, Pucci said, because so much of his experience in making "Thumbsucker" has been new and strange. Chatty with nervous energy, he reveals that his first airplane ride was to audition for the film and his second was to come to Oregon to make it. And, yes, this press conference marked the first time he'd ever sat with reporters to talk about his work. "I just keep saying to myself, 'I've never done this before, but it's normal,' " he says with a laugh.
He'll get used to it. When he leaves Oregon later this week, he'll spend a sole day at home before heading to Maine to set to work on "Empire Falls," an adaptation of Richard Russo's acclaimed novel, starring Paul Newman, Joanne Woodward, Ed Harris, Philip Seymour Hoffman and Helen Hunt.
One gets the distinct feeling that, before too long, young Mr. Pucci will have the press conference routine down cold. Even if he never again has the creature comforts of a rock quarry to fall back on. Shawn Levy: 503-221-8332; shawnlevy@news.oregonian.com
New Images from The Matrix Revolutions Uncovered! Source: Animation Magazine
[Coming Soon Tuesday, September 2, 2003]
The Matrix Revolutions will again take over the box office on November 5 as moviegoers will be eager to see just how deep the rabbit hole goes. To prepare, Animation magazine has published a great feature article on the third film and included new pictures as well. You can check out the four pics by clicking on the cover image below...
New Revolutions Trailer Attached to Ridley Scott's Matchstick Men
[Counting Down SUBMITTED BY Scooby]
August 16, 2003 — According to Coming Attractions at Cinescape, a new Revolutions trailer will be released in theaters on September 12 most likely to Ridley Scott's Matchstick Men.
Don't expect a lot of new material, however.
Giving Us Something We Can Feel
[Seattle Weekly 03/09/2003]
The best thing local theater can do this fall is let us discover our own emotions.
Even productions that are just supposed to be irreverent larks come down on you like eagle-eyed hawks. Take last month’s Point Break, the latest in a long line of Seattle fringe pieces that seem to think they can get by on attitude alone. It had a ripe comic idea: Take Kathryn Bigelow’s 1991 escapist flick—in which Zen surfer Patrick Swayze shows FBI agent Keanu Reeves the thrill of robbing banks—and stage it as a movie-in-progress, each night featuring a completely unprepared audience member standing in for Reeves. Trouble was, everyone else onstage looked unprepared, too, and seemed to be daring the rest of us to call them on it. The friends of the Keanu stand-in were howling their knowing asses off the evening I attended, while the surrounding people were laughing in that forced, uncertain way that suggests they didn’t want to be seen as traveling without a hip passport. The tone of the evening, from its almost 20-minute-late start to its ill-conceived end, was simply this: You’ve got no right not to find this funny because, hey, we think it’s bullshit, too! Well, thanks, kids. The show came with an audience- participation bag—phony money to give the bank robbers, a used disposable raincoat to survive the water guns, etc.—but little else of tangible fun.
Time to return to the trenches
[Telegraph [UK] 02/09/2003]
This autumn, designers celebrate the trench coat's enduring appeal with exciting new versions of a classic. Clare Coulson reports
The trench makes numerous appearances in the autumn catwalk collections, too. Tom Ford's interpretation for Gucci is black with an oversized collar. Accessorised with dramatic, ruched leather gloves, it looks like body armour, and seems to have been inspired by the futuristic black coat that Keanu Reeves wears in The Matrix - ideal for Bond Street battles.
Zionism reloaded
The sequel to "The Matrix" is the most powerful Zionist movie since "Cast a Giant Shadow" and "Operation Thunderbolt." Take it with a grain of seriousness.
[Jewish Week by Reuven Koret July 24, 2003]
IS THIS KRAV MAGA?: Keanu Reeves fights for his life in The Matrix Reloaded.
PREQUEL
I saw "The Matrix: Reloaded" in Israel before leaving on an extended visit to the United States. Just before returning, I had the pleasure of experiencing the gigantic and thunderous IMAX version in New York City. The special effects are superb, there are fantastic chase and fight scenes, and some parts are truly funny. But there is much philosophical pretense, and the overall effect is blurred and ambiguous.
At times it seems a B-movie. A very expensive B-movie. Perhaps I need to see it a third time, or wait for Part Three.
And yet one thing appears clear: the latest film, intentionally or not, is the most powerful pro-Israel movie since "Cast a Giant Shadow" -- the story of the Independence War -- and "Operation Thunderbolt" -- the story of the Entebbe rescue. Not that Israel itself is even mentioned.
ACT ONE
The movie is, from start to finish, about struggling for the survival of "Zion" -- described in the first film as "the last human city. The only place we have left" -- against the machines that control the rest of enslaved, zombie-like humanity, used as their power source. More optimistically, it is said that "If the war was over tomorrow, Zion's where the party would be." Although in this case Zion has been relocated deep beneath the Earth's surface.
The sequel depicts the efforts of the messiah-like Neo, anagram of the One, played by Keanu Reeves, to lead his fellow Zionists in a last-ditch effort to repel the invasion of their nation. His comrade, Commander Morpheus, optimistically believes that the prophesied end-times have come and the end of the hundred-year-war against Zion is at hand.
At an assembly of all Zion, at "The Temple," he assures his people that because they have survived, they will prevail: "I remember that for 100 years we have fought these machines. I remember that for 100 years they have sent their armies to destroy us. And after a century of war, I remember that which matters most. We are still here!"
He calls on them to be of good cheer and remind the machines who they are dealing with. "Tonight, let us make them remember. This is Zion! And we are not afraid!"
Morpheus actually draws comfort from the approaching climactic battle, believing that it signifies the end of the wars that Zion has faced: "All of our lives we have fought this war. Tonight I believe we can end it. Tonight is not an accident. There are no accidents. We have not come here by chance?. I believe it is our fate to be here. It is our destiny. I believe this night holds for each and every one of us the very meaning of our lives."
ACT TWO
Neo -- part man, part Superman -- is the key actor in this battle, using combat training that the first flick describes, without a wink, as "Jujitsu." This technique eventually takes him into a control room where he confronts The Architect, creator of the Matrix, an icy god-as-geek who has been trying to perfect the computer program that he has developed to control the world.
The Architect tells Neo that he represents an "anomaly" -- a bug in the system -- for only he, and others like him, represented one percent of the human population that refused to accept the prevailing will of the Matrix, and instead insisted on exercising their free will. As Neo puts it, that tiny minority consciously decided to think otherwise and thus stand apart from the majority: "Choice. The problem is choice."
The Zionists were the obstacle to the smooth functioning of the Matrix, and thus endangered its future. The Architect explains: "those that refused the program, while a minority, if unchecked, would constitute an escalating probability of disaster." Neo responds: This is about Zion.
More precisely, it is about Zion's imminent destruction. The Architect tells him: You are here because Zion is about to be destroyed - its every living inhabitant terminated, its entire existence eradicated." While Neo denies this possibility, the Architect tells him that it would not be the first time: "Denial is the most predictable of all human responses, but rest assured, this will be the sixth time we have destroyed it, and we have become exceedingly efficient at it."
Indeed, Neo is invited by the Architect to make the choice to be a kind of modern-day Noah, recreating the species -- again -- on a virtual ark.
ACT THREE
The film is filled with Biblical references to those who have conspired in history to kill the Jews: Nebuchadnezzar, the Babylonian King who destroyed the Temple in Jerusalem, killing or enslaving its inhabitants, is the name of Neo's space ship. Haman, the extermination-minded evil councilor in the Purim story, is a sympathetic veteran Zionist councilor. Here the enemies of the Jews are transformed into allies and vehicles for Zion's defense.
The distinction of Zion -- its very existence representing an affront to the majority program -- is to have consciously chosen to be aware of "divine choice" and to set itself apart -- physically and spiritually -- from all those plugged into the Matrix. Its self-declared status as a kind of anomalous Chosen People -- not better than the others, but consciously distinct and thus freer to choose -- is what represents an intolerable affront to the powers that be.
Neo -- with his Superman-like powers -- may not exactly fit either the Jewish or Christian mold of the expected Messiah. And yet there is something in his strong but vulnerable essence that captures something of the heroic yet healing spirit embodied in the shared Biblical tradition.
Together with the battle-scarred yet believing Morpheus and his girlfriend Trinity, Neo and his fellow Zionists make standing apart from the Machine the cool and right thing to do. The choice he makes -- to choose love of and loyalty to his friends in Zion under siege -- has a high price, but it represents the moral and human thing to do. Even if it means sacrificing the human race.
Hey, it was just a movie. Maybe not even a good one. But the allegorical Zionist seeds that it planted will be digested by hundreds of millions of people. Bon appetit.
CAUGHT IN THE ACT
Of course, the brothers Wachowski may have been playing one big joke on all of us with all the high falutin' philosophy and religious allegory. Even as they rake in the big bucks.
And it is perhaps even more ridiculous for me to read deep meaning into a sci-fi action flick, or to draw from it a pretentious commentary on Zionism, or anything else for that matter. And for no big bucks.
But even if it is a joke, it is perhaps a Jewish sort of humor. Although apparently the Egyptians, who banned the movie, reportedly because of its frequent references to Zion, weren't amused.
Some will laugh at it, some with it. Some may even take it seriously. But that doesn't mean that we can't enjoy the punchline.
We can turn the attacks of our enemies into a source of power, and humor. Turn their hatred into a reason to love and celebrate Zion. After all, when the war ends, tomorrow, here's where the party will be.
We should love, and laugh, in the face of adversity, even as we fight, young and old, for our survival. Ideology may be dead, but we are here. Let's just say it's a kind of Jujitsu.
Call it Neo-Zionism.
Halle Voted Hollywood's Most Accident-Prone
[WOKR TV 03/09/2003]
Oscar-winning actress Halle Berry has been handed an unwanted award - Hollywood's most accident-prone celebrity.
The "Monster's Ball" beauty, 37, has incurred a vast array of injuries while making movies and going about her daily life, encountering two car accidents, one broken arm and one eye wound.
While playing Jinx in the James Bond film "Die Another Day" with Pierce Brosnan last year, Berry was shooting a fight scene when debris from a smoke grenade lodged in her left eye. She was rushed to hospital to remove the fragment. Later, during a steamy love scene with Brosnan, Berry choked on a piece of fruit.
Brosnan recalls, "She was gagging and waving her arms. I banged her back, and put my arms around her to do the Heimlich, and somehow she expelled the fruit."
In May, Berry broke her right arm while filming a violent scene in "Gothika," delaying shooting while she recovered.
Three years ago, the actress suffered a deep gash to her forehead requiring 22 stitches when she crashed her car into another vehicle. And in 1998, she was sued by a motorist who claimed she'd rammed her car into his vehicle in Hollywood. Luckily, she escaped injury.
In Touch magazine's full top 10 of accident-prone celebrities is as follows
:
1. HALLE BERRY
2. MATTHEW PERRY
3. MICHAEL JACKSON
4. KELLY OSBOURNE
5. MADONNA
6. HARRISON FORD
7. JENNIFER LOVE HEWITT
8. JASON PRIESTLEY
9. KEANU REEVES
10. JENNIFER ANISTON
Tuesday, September 02, 2003
The films of fall
[Toledo Blade.com 31/08/2003]
There are so many this year that you can't hope to see them all
5. The Matrix Revolutions (Nov. 5). Starring: Keanu Reeves, Lawrence Fishburne. Directed By: the Wachowski Brothers. Why You Should Care: Hard to say after seeing The Matrix Takes Philosophy 101 - I mean The Matrix Reloaded, a monster hit few people still seem especially excited about. But my guess is Reloaded was a typical middle-film, all set-up; and Revolutions will deliver big-time man-vs.-machine finale fireworks. But I'm an optimist.
List of fall films includes Oscar contenders
[The Associated Press 02/09/2003]
Here are highlights of Hollywood's fall film lineup (release times may change, and some films play in limited release):
The Matrix Revolutions: Once more unto the breach as Keanu Reeves, Carrie-Anne Moss and Laurence Fishburne have their final showdown with Earth's machine rulers.
"Reloaded" with visuals, philosophies and more galore
3.5 stars to 'The Matrix Reloaded'
[Noeh Nazareno State Hornet May 15, 2003]
"The Beat Goes On." Sonny and Cher. Great song by simplicity. Usually I like to put song titles as my e-mails out to people, as if to symbolize that my words mean something, and that it isn't some stupid forward to inspire their day with.
This "Reloaded" Matrix is by far the most complex sci-fi movie I have seen. The world of "Star Wars" by comparison is still far more expansive, but the plotting of the "Matrix" series is like trying to do some sort of mathematical equation. It's like trying to figure out your own life by way of every philosophy you've ever known, whether you agree with them or not. It's not hard to see that there's a few at work in the world and the story itself.
But that's not to say "Reloaded" isn't a whole lot of fun. Because for all that braining and philosophizing is, it's about as much fun you can have with a Keanu Reeves flick as when simpler times gave us "Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure."
Neo (Reeves) has joined the freedom fighters of Zion, and for the last six months have freed more minds than the last six years. But the machines are closing in on the last human city near the Earth's core and it's their hours that are numbered, not their days.
While defenses are in position, Morpheus (Laurence Fishburne of the unfortunate "Biker Boyz"), Neo, Trinity (Carrie-Anne Moss) and new operator Link (Harold Perrineau Jr.) venture to more dangerous parts of the Matrix to contact the Oracle (the late Gloria Foster) once again, discover and walk the path of destiny towards human triumph over the machines.
Symbolism and word play is still the name of the game, but even more so. Double entendres usually require a general understanding of pop culture (and a dirty mind), but double meanings that aren't so thinly veiled run rampant in "Reloaded." It's not a sequel title to be ignored, they really packed this one with immense detail.
There isn't much to say about the acting of the returning cast, other than the usual bad line of sci-fi here and there. Although as a new supporting member, Harry Lennix as Commander Lock is one superfluously angry dude. Get this man to some direct-to-video projects or some other wake-up call. He sticks out like a sore thumb as much as the orgy rave scene.
Seriously, there are people dancing around, getting their freak on in ways I've only seen in a girls-only private school social. It's not at all amusing, and it's outright useless.
There isn't much to reveal that you shouldn't see for yourself in theaters. Almost every bit of dialogue counts for something in its 2+ hour running time, and every plot point and character is essential. Even Lock, ugh.
If they can be called as such, this is really one of the three best sci-fi series we have continuing in today's cinema (the other two being "Lord of the Rings" and "Harry Potter"). Layers upon layers, making for fun and intelligent banter, whether sober at a restaurant or drunk in a tavern. Though probably not the best conversation to make if you want to pick up girls. It will certainly keep audiences craving desperately for November's "Revolutions."
Monday, September 01, 2003
Film wonders & blunders
[Daily News 01/09/2003]
The summer movie season is officially over.So this is a good time to take a look at which big-screen stars were hot — and which ones were not — over the past three months.
Sure, we know it was a great summer for Johnny Depp the pirate and Terminator candidate Arnold Schwarzenegger and a fish called Nemo, who swam his way into our hearts.
And that things got a bit, well, chilly for lovebirds Ben and J.Lo. — who achieved a kind of Hollywood infamy with the unpronounceable (and unwatchable) "Gigli."
But sometimes being a summer superstar is about more than simply having a hit film. You can bomb at the box office — and still generate enough heat to get your picture on every magazine cover in America.
Just ask Ashton and Demi...
Keanu Reeves: It doesn't matter that "Matrix" fans were largely indifferent to this summer's sequel. That was no slacker "Bill and Ted" deal he made off tie-ins, and the back-end and opening-weekend percentages. With Matrices 2 and 3, Reeves becomes the highest-paid actor in Hollywood, and the one least likely to toss the money away on Hollywood froufrou.
