User:Alientraveller/Matrix

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

1 Production
2 Cast
3 Release
4 References

[edit] Production

[edit] Development

The Wachowski brothers, Larry and Andy, grew up reading comic books and watching various films and anime. Their spec scripts and comics reflected these; "Our main goal with The Matrix was to make an intellectual action movie," explained Larry. "We like action movies, guns and kung fu, but we're tired of assembly-line action movies that are devoid of any intellectual content. We were determined to put as many ideas into the movie as we could, and purposefully set out to try to put images up on the screen that people haven't ever seen before." He added with the idea "every single fiber of reality is actually a simulation created in a digital universe" allowed one to "really push the boundaries of what may be humanly and visually possible". The story would be a "journey of consciousness", and is comparable to a superhero's origin story.^[1]

The Wachowskis pitched their script, but many studio executives did not understand it.^[1] In 1994, Warner Bros. chief executive officer Lorenzo di Bonaventura read the Wachowskis' script for Assassins and signed a three-picture deal with them. After directing Bound, the Wachowskis were interested in filming The Matrix. Both Bonaventura and Joel Silver loved the script; Bonaventura said "I knew if I was going to make a leap of faith, this was the one to make." In mid-1997, he announced a US$60 million budget and Australia as the shooting location for the film.^[2]

[edit] Design

The Wachowskis gathered colleagues from the comic book industry (including Geof Darrow) to spend a year creating concept art.^[2] Larry said "We don't really like the way conventional storyboards are done. Instead, we brought in some friends of ours to draw out every single action beat, visual moment and stylistic shot in the film. Then, for months, we pored over every frame, exploring how to attack each shot. This also allowed us to be very specific, in terms of the budgeting and visual-effects requirements."^[1]

Cinematographer Bill Pope (who shot Bound for the Wachowskis as they loved his work on the comic bookish Army of Darkness) believed he was hired as he was a comic book reader and understood styles they would be replicating. During their meeting, Pope noticed a copy of Frank Miller's Sin City, so he asked, "'Is that what you want the film to look like?' We were all impressed by Miller's use of high-contrast, jet-black areas in the frame to focus the eye, and his extreme stylization of reality. I had long wanted to do something that stylized on film." The Wachowskis made the Matrix and the real world distinct in coloring: the real world is blue-tinted, while the Matrix is green for unsettling effect. Pope used green filters and color grading to create this.^[1]

Yuen Woo-ping choreographed the action sequences because the Wachowskis love Hong Kong action cinema, and also find the wire fu safe, graceful and surreal — perfect for their vision. "[Hong Kong action is] miles ahead of American action films in terms of the kind of excitement that the action brings to the story," Larry said. "American filmmakers have gotten to the point where they create their fights in the editing room. [...] There's a bunch of quick cuts – bam! bam! bam! – and then it's over; the fighting never involves the audience on a story level. Hong Kong action directors actually bring narrative arcs into the fights, and tell a little story within the fighting." Wo Ping usually choses camera angles for his action scenes, so the Wachowskis allowed him to choreograph the action and camera angles with their own.^[1]

[edit] Filming

Warners did not object when the shooting schedule rose from 90 days to 118: after seeing eight minutes from the first month of filming, they increased the number of effects shots from 200 to 415, adding $4 million to the budget. "A lot of times studio executives get uptight because we don't understand why [the filmmakers] are doing something," said Bonaventura. "We understood."^[2]

Bill Pope found filming in Sydney difficult. "We were on this rooftop, and every day you'd have to get up [there]. It's not like L.A., where buildings have helicopter pads. There was just a single-file staircase and a narrow pathway and swinging cranes. It's raining, it's not raining, the wind is blowing in gale force, then it's not blowing. The logistics were incredible." Because of the special effects, it would take three weeks to film one scene. John Gaeta said, "You'd have these crazy rigs around [the actors], and then you have these three wires on each of them, and then the wire guys in fluorescent ninja suits so they blend into the screen."^[2]

[edit] Completion

Special effects work on the bullet time began in late 1997. After filming, the Wachowskis took a break, returned in November 1998, and edited the film until a week of its US release.^[2]

[edit] Cast

Casting began for the three leads in mid-1997, which was very difficult: few actors could fathom the storyline or agree to six months of gruelling training. The actors trained in Los Angeles, California in late 1997, and also spent the last two months of their rehearsals in Australia. They were also given special diets.^[2]

Keanu Reeves as Neo / Thomas A. Anderson: Before Reeves was approached in June 1997, Leonardo DiCaprio, Will Smith and Brad Pitt were among possibilities for the character.^[2] Smith felt he "would have messed it up",^[3] while Nicholas Cage had "family obligations".^[4] Casting Reeves was a risk for the project, as many felt the actor's star profile faded after Speed. Reeves identified with Neo as, "He feels something's wrong. He doesn't trust what's around him, so he removes himself from the world and is seeking his answer kind of monastically. I was working on those questions at the time." Reeves was paid US$10 million, and also given a share of the gross. Reeves began training with a neck brace following surgery for a herniated disc weeks beforehand.^[2]
Laurence Fishburne as Morpheus: Val Kilmer turned down the part.^[2]
Carrie Anne Moss as Trinity: She sprained her ankle while performing a cartwheel during the start of filming.^[2]
Hugo Weaving as Agent Smith: Weaving began experiencing hip pain after two days of training, and surgery was performed on it in January 1998. After recovering, Weaving hurt his wrist and cracked two ribs during filming. "At that point," he said, "I thought, 'Oh, who cares?'"^[2]
Joe Pantoliano as Cypher: Another freed by Morpheus, he betrays the Nebuchadnezzar's crew to the Agents to ensure his return to the Matrix because "Ignorance is bliss."
Julian Arahanga as Apoc: A freed human and crew member on the Nebuchadnezzar.
Anthony Ray Parker as Dozer: A "natural" human, with no plugs for the Matrix, and pilot of the Nebuchadnezzar.
Marcus Chong as Tank: Dozer's brother, operates the training simulation, also a "natural" human and operator of the Nebuchadnezzar.
Matt Doran as Mouse: A freed human and programmer on the Nebuchadnezzar.
Gloria Foster as the Oracle: Exiled program who still resides in the Matrix, helping the freed humans with her foresight and wisdom.
Belinda McClory as Switch: A human freed by Morpheus and crew member of the Nebuchadnezzar.
Paul Goddard as Agent Brown: One of two sentient "Agent" programs in the Matrix who work with Agent Smith to destroy Zion and stop humans escaping the system.
Robert Taylor as Agent Jones: Second sentient "Agent" program.

[edit] Release

Warners pushed forward the release date to avoid Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace. The filmmakers took advantage of the complex plot by using the tagline, "You can't be told what the Matrix is, you have to see it." The marketing was relatively large for a pre-May film, and it even involved moving the Nebuchanezzar set from Sydney to LA for press interviews.^[2]