20 years, 20 amazing facts about The Matrix



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The matrix
The Matrix was screened March 31, 1999.

Twenty years ago, on March 31, 1999, the Wachowski brothers released a film that gave Hollywood sci-fi a kind of whirlwind that had not been felt since the time of one's life. some Star Wars. The movie, of course, was The Matrix. Built around the conflict between humans and machines, the film came with a plot that few people can understand, but people from all over the world were still flocking to see the film and to watch action sequences and graphics of the genre. of those who had never been seen before. screen. From the evil agent Smith turning into different people to the hero Neo iconically avoiding a ball in slow motion, The Matrix set new standards for the cinema. The standards that many of his fans think are still not respected (CELA is another story), even by his own sequels.

As we celebrate twenty years of The Matrix, here are twenty facts about the epic of the Wachowski brothers that you may not know:

It was really comical

The idea of ​​The Matrix came to the Wachowski brothers when they thought of a series of comics, perhaps cartoons mixing martial arts and science fiction, around the mid-nineties . They wrote a script, but continued to tweak it until the moment of production.

Keanu Reeves was not elected …

Keanu Reeves might seem tailor-made for the role of Neo, the "One" who leads humanity's fight against his masters. But he was not the first choice for the role. Will Smith declined the role because he was not convinced by all the technology that surrounded him (he instead chose to play in Wild Wild West – Ouch!). Nicholas Cage, Brad Pitt, Leonardo di Caprio and Van Kilmer were also approached for the role, but they refused. In the end, it boiled down to Reeves and Johnny Depp, who was thought to be the choice of the Wachowski brothers. Reeves finally got the nod, or who knows, Depp might have been better known as Neo than Captain Jack Sparrow!

… and Carrie-Anne Moss either

Neo's romantic interest, Trinity, was one of the most intriguing characters in the film and had been performed by a stranger, Carrie-Anne Moss. But although, like Reeves, Moss created the role and the character herself, she was not the first choice for the role. The role was actually offered to Janet Jackson, the star of the pop star (and the sister of Michael Jackson), who refused because of scheduling problems. She actually referred to The Matrix in her Discipline album. Sandra Bullock and Gillian Anderson also declined the role. We left the best for last – remember how Will Smith refused the role of Neo? One of the actors who auditioned for the role of Trinity was the woman he would marry: Jada Pinkett Smith!

All for the Master Fight Master

The amazing action sequences of the Matrix come from the famous martial arts choreographer Woo-Ping Yuen. Although he liked the script, Woo did not want to work on the film. Thus, he cited exorbitant fees. To his surprise, this was accepted. He then insisted on having full control of the combat sequences and the training of the actors, hoping that this would be denied. This was not the case. And the rest is history!

You want to play? To read a lot

The actors in the film had to understand his concept very clearly. And for that, they had to read not only the script, but also the book "Simulacra and Simulation" by the French philosopher Jean Broudillard. Another book to read was Kevin Kelly's book "Out of Control: The New Biology of Machines, Social Systems and the Economic World". "Reeves and Lawrence Fishburne (who played Morpheus) obviously badimilated this reading easily, but Carrie-Anne Moss confessed that she had gone through difficult times. Incidentally, guess the hollow book in which Neo hides his illegal software in the movie? "Simulacra and Simulation"!

… and works really hard …

Doing all these stunts in the movie required a lot of workout. Four months were reserved for training and, despite this, there were many injuries. Reeves suffered a back injury that caused him partial paralysis of the legs and required surgery (which is why he does not give many shots in the movie!). Hugo Weaving (who played agent Smith) was injured at the hip and Carrie-Anne Moss was twisted ankle when firing. A number of stuntmen were also wounded in the shootout – Chad de Steves de Reeves's Chad, Chad Stahelski, had broken ribs, knees and a dislocated shoulder.

… Oh and lose weight (again)

Remember how Neo is emaciated when he escapes from Matrix and wakes up in a pod? Keanu Reeves had to lose fifteen pounds for that. For good measure, they also shaved his whole body!

The One does not always need liners

In the first part of the film, Keanu Reeves comes out of the 34th floor to escape Agent Smith, while talking with Morpheus. Reeves did the scene alone, without a stuntman,

The script, however, needs graphics …

It is obvious that the Wachowski brothers had the idea of ​​The Matrix for five and a half years and wrote up to fourteen drafts of the script. However, it seemed that studio executives could not really visualize the unfolding of the story. Undeterred, the brothers hired Steve Skorce and Geofrey Darrow to create storyboards illustrating the story. In all, more than six hundred storyboards have been made. It was worth it – the script was taken again!

… and explanatory dialogues

Storyboards may have made the script easier to visualize, but they still feared the audience would not understand it. This is why the studio has insisted on a lot of "explanatory dialogues". Many described the scenario as "a scenario that nobody understands".

Many visual effects

Visual effects are for many perhaps the most memorable part of Matrix. They should be. They represent almost a fifth of the film – yes, almost twenty percent of the film are visual effects!

Shot under … really

Almost the entire film was shot in Sydney, Australia. Many believe the film helped make New South Wales a leading film production center.

Administrators would have taken the blue pill

One of the key scenes in The Matrix is ​​where Morpheus gives Neo the choice between taking a red pill and a blue pill. The red pill would show the truth to Neo on Matrix, the blue pill would bring him back to his normal life. Neo takes the red pill. Interestingly, the Wachowski brothers said that if they had been offered the same option, they would have opted for blue!

Blind sunglbades (e)

The sunglbades worn by the main characters of the film have reached an almost cult status. They were designed by Blinde Design, a brand known for hand-made glbades. The brand defeated Ray-Ban and Arnette to win the sunglbades contract for the film.

Make a blue world by removing … well, blue

The matrix world has a very important green hue. It was obviously to give the world an impression of dust, sand, mechanical and unreal. And in particular, the blue color was largely suppressed as it was considered a "real world" color. Not surprisingly, blue was heavily used in the real part of the film.

No leather coat for Neo

That elegant coat that you see Neo wander? This was supposed to be leather. But the administrators wanted it to move and float. And the leather did not do it – not even when they placed a fan underneath (and you thought only Marilyn Monroe did that kind of thing?).

Need animals? Get a computer

All animals in the Matrix universe are digital. Yes, they are all computer generated, according to many people!

Need an epic fight sequence? Get rid of computers

Computers have been used in abundance to create special effects in The Matrix, especially in the breathtaking bullet bullet time sequence, where Neo avoids bullets in slow motion. However, there was hardly any computer magic needed in the film's most dramatic battle – when Trinity and Neo fought against a number of security guards in a lobby. Everything was convenient and it took about ten days to shoot!

This tile was NOT supposed to fall

At the end of the lobby battle, Neo and Trinity leave the lobby. And among all the debris left, a piece of marble tile falls and lands on the floor. This is one of the most memorable scenes in the film, a final touch to an epic showdown. The truth, however, is that this piece of marble was not supposed to fall at all. It happened by accident. And the filmmakers decided to keep it in the final. Good call!

… and there was also a touch of Loony Tunes!

The Matrix was originally a comic book idea, so it's a divine justice that one of his most memorable scenes actually rests on a comic book character. The scene was that of Neo hitting the ground and bouncing trying to jump through buildings such as Morpheus was based on the iconic Wile E. Coyote of the Loony Tunes Universe!

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