"What is the Matrix?""Have you ever had a dream, Neo, that you were so sure was real? What if you were unable to wake from that dream, Neo? How would you know the difference between the dream world and the real world?"
Neo (KEANU REEVES) has spent most of his life searching for the answer to that question. It tortures him like a splinter in his mind, threatening to drive him mad. Neo believes that Morpheus (LAURENCE FISHBURNE), someone he knows only through legend, an elusive figure considered to be the most dangerous man alive, can give him the answer. Neo is contacted by Trinity (CARRIE-ANNE MOSS), a beautiful stranger who leads him into another world, an underworld where at last he meets Morpheus. There, Neo, Morpheus and Trinity fight a brutal battle for their lives against a cadre of viciously intelligent secret agents. Every move, every second, every thought is crucial once Neo learns the truth about The Matrix. It is a truth that could cost Neo something more precious than his life.
KEANU REEVES, LAURENCE FISHBURNE and CARRIE-ANNE MOSS star in the futuristic action thriller "The Matrix," produced by JOEL SILVER and written and directed by ANDY & LARRY WACHOWSKI. The executive producers are BARRIE M. OSBORNE, ANDREW MASON and LARRY & ANDY WACHOWSKI. Supporting roles are played by JOE PANTOLIANO and HUGO WEAVING. The film is in production in Sydney, Australia, for APOC Productions, Inc. Film Worldwide, and will be distributed by Warner Bros. worldwide.
About the Production…
Larry and Andy Wachowski first gained public attention with their dark romantic heist thriller, "Bound," starring Gina Gershon and Jennifer Tilly. The Wachowski brothers wrote and made their directing debuts with the movie, which won accolades on the independent-film circuit. But even before they began working on "Bound," they had already scripted "The Matrix."
The Wachowskis sent their script to producer Joel Silver, who has explored alternative futures in such hit movies as "Predator" and "Demolition Man." He was immediately fascinated and acquired the property.
Comments Silver, "'The Matrix' is a very complex story; it takes place in the future but is told in the present – it's a mind-twister to explain! Larry and Andy have spent years perfecting the script so the audience can accept and understand this story."
Respond the Wachowskis, "We began with the premise that every single thing we believe in today and every single physical item is actually a total fabrication created by an electronic universe. Once you start dealing with an electronic reality you can really push the boundaries of what might be humanly possible. So if characters in 'The Matrix' can have instantaneous information downloaded into their heads, they should, for example, be able to be as good a kung-fu master as Jackie Chan."
This idea offered the Wachowski brothers an opportunity to work in another area of their particular interest – the fight choreography seen in Hong Kong action films. "We've always wanted to bring Hong Kong fight sensibilities into our Western story ideas. This was the perfect opportunity," they said.
The brothers have long admired the work of Yuen Wo Ping – one of the top Hong Kong stunt specialists in both kung fu and wire-stunt stunt work. Executive producer Barrie Osborne explains, "Most American stunt work uses rams or pneumatic to project a person through the air at a certain speed. With wire stunt work, the stunts are far more controlled and very stylized. It's almost like puppeteering, but using a real person. It takes tremendous skill and finesse."
Wo Ping agreed to work with the Wachowskis under only one condition: they would have to guarantee that their cast would train long hours to learn kung fu and how to work with the wires.
Say Larry and Andy Wachowski, "That's a big request: how do you tell an actor that they're going to have to spend four months training and learning kung fu when they could make another movie in that same time? That's what impressed us about Keanu. He understood why it was necessary and the dedication it required. In fact, the whole cast has amazed us with their dedication to the training regime – it's been incredibly rigorous."
The cast trained with Wo Ping and his team for three months in Los Angeles before moving to the movie's Sydney, Australia, location for another month of training before filming began. During principal photography, two months are being spent shooting on Sydney's streets and rooftops and in warehouses.
Joel Silver enthuses about using Sydney as a location for the production. "Filmmaking expertise, competitive costs and a new willingness to embrace location filming all enhanced Sydney's appeal. We also liked the diversity of the city's architecture and its general geography; it's an ideal city in which to shoot the picture."
About the Cast…
KEANU REEVES (Neo) is best known for his starring role in the box-office mega-hit "Speed." Reeves co-starred with Denzel Washington, Emma Thompson, Michael Keaton and Kenneth Branagh in "Much Ado About Nothing." Previously he was seen in "Bram Stoker's Dracula," directed by Francis Ford Coppola; "My Own Private Idaho," directed by Gus Van Sant; Kathryn Bigelow's action-adventure, "Point Break"; "Bill & Ted's Bogus Journey," the sequel to the very popular "Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure"; and, as Prince Siddhartha, in Miramax's "Little Buddha," directed by Bernardo Bertolucci.
Raised in Toronto, Reeves performed in various local theater productions and on television before relocating to Los Angeles. His first widely acclaimed role was in Tim Hunter's "River's Edge." He then starred in Marisa Silver's "Permanent Record" and with Amy Madigan and Fred Ward in "The Prince Of Pennsylvania." He was next cast as the innocent Danceny in Stephen Frears' highly praised "Dangerous Liaisons" alongside Glenn Close, John Malkovich and Michelle Pfeiffer; in Ron Howard's comedy "Parenthood"; and in Lawrence Kasdan's "I Love You To Death."
Audiences saw Reeves for the first time as a romantic lead opposite Barbara Hershey in Jon Amiel's "Tune In Tomorrow," also starring Peter Falk. His other credits include the science-fiction thriller "Johnny Mnemonic" and Alfonso Arau's period drama "A Walk In The Clouds."
Reeves most recently starred in "The Devil's Advocate" opposite Al Pacino; Andrew Davis' action film "Chain Reaction"; the dark comedy "Feeling Minnesota," directed by Steve Baigelman; and the film about Beat writer Neil Cassady, "Last Time I Committed Suicide."
LAURENCE FISHBURNE (Morpheus), honored for his work on the stage and screen, earned an Academy Award nomination for his searing portrayal of Ike Turner in the hit biopic "What's Love Got To Do With It?"
Fishburne, who began acting at the age of 10, was only 15 years old when he won the role of a young G.I. in Francis Ford Coppola's Vietnam War epic "Apocalypse Now." He went on to work with Coppola on "Rumble Fish," "Gardens Of Stone" and "The Cotton Club."
Fishburne has collaborated twice with noted director John Singleton, on "Boyz N The Hood" and "Higher Learning," earning an NAACP Image Award for Best Actor for the former. His other credits include "Othello," "Searching For Bobby Fischer," "Just Cause," "Bad Company," "Class Action," "Deep Cover," "Fled," "Cadence," "King Of New York," "Red Heat," "Band Of The Hand," Spike Lee's "School Daze," Steven Spielberg's "The Color Purple" and, most recently, "Hoodlum" and "Event Horizon."
On the small screen, Fishburne received nominations for the Emmy, Golden Globe and CableACE Awards and won an NAACP Image Award for his performance in the HBO Movie "The Tuskegee Airmen," the story of America's first black combat pilots. He also won an Emmy Award for his role in the premiere episode of Robert De Niro's series "Tribeca." In 1997, Fishburne received an Emmy nomination for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Miniseries or Special for his starring role in the HBO drama "Miss Evers' Boys," which he executive produced. "Miss Evers' Boys" was awarded five Emmys, including the coveted President's Award, which honors a program that illuminates a social or educational issue.
Fishburne's other television credits include the critically acclaimed telefilms "A Rumor of War," "For Us the Living" and "Decoration Day".
In 1992, Fishburne received the Tony Award, a Drama Desk Award, an Outer Critics Circle Award and a Theater World Award for his work in the Broadway production of August Wilson's "Two Trains Running," in which he reprised the role of Sterling Johnson that he originated at the Yale Repertory Theatre.
CARRIE-ANNE MOSS (Trinity) was born in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. She began her career as a model and moved to Europe, modeling in Japan and in Spain. While working in Spain, she landed a regular role in the television series "Dark Justice," which was produced in Barcelona for its first season. Moss moved to Los Angeles the following year when the series switched locations.
In the six years since her acting career began, Moss has appeared in more than 60 hours of television as well as two television series prior to her present role in "The Matrix." For her work in "Due South" in 1996, she was nominated for a Gemini Award for the Best Performance by an Actress in a Guest Role in a Dramatic Series. Her film credits include starring roles in "Sabotage" and "The Secret Life Of Algernon."
In addition to film and television, Moss recently appeared at the Hudson Theater in Los Angeles in "Outward Bound."
JOE PANTOLIANO (Cypher) recently starred with Tommy Lee Jones and Wesley Snipes in "U.S. Marshals," reprising the role of Cosmo Renfro that he first played in the Academy Award-nominated hit thriller "The Fugitive." He will soon be seen in "Taxman," co-starring Elizabeth Berkley, which Pantoliano also associate produced. His other credits include "Bound," directed by Larry and Andy Wachowski; Taylor Hackford's "Idolmaker"; "The Final Terror"; "Eddie And The Cruisers"; "Risky Business"; "The Mean Season"; "Goonies"; "Running Scared"; "La Bamba"; Steven Spielberg's "Empire Of The Sun"; "Used People"; Martin Brest's "Midnight Run"; "Baby's Day Out"; "The Fugitive"; "Bad Boys"; and "Congo".
Born in Hoboken, New Jersey, Pantoliano landed his first professional role in 1972 when he played Billy Bibbit in the national touring company of "One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest." He worked in regional theater and has appeared in more than 40 Off-Broadway productions, including "Vision Of Kerouac" at the Lion Theatre, "The Death Star" at the Theatre of St. Clements and "The Off-Season" at the New Dramatist's Guild.
In 1976, Pantoliano moved to Hollywood and appeared in the ABC series "McNamara's Band" and in "Free Country," starring Rob Reiner and directed by James Burrows. Burrows then cast Pantoliano in the role of Maggio, originally played by Frank Sinatra, in the NBC miniseries "From Here To Eternity". Pantoliano was later nominated for a CableACE Award for an episode of HBO's "Tales From The Crypt," directed by Richard Donner.
Pantoliano is the winner of a Dramalogue Award and a Drama Critics Circle Award for Best Actor in "Orphans." His second Dramalogue Award for Best Actor was received for "Italian American Reconciliation," written by John Patrick Shanley.
HUGO WEAVING (Agent Smith) is one of Australia's most acclaimed actors. He graduated from the National Institute of Dramatic Art in 1981 and has since worked extensively in film, television and theater.
In 1991 Weaving won an Australian Film Institute Award for Best Actor for his work in "Proof," directed by Jocelyn Moorhouse. He also received an AFI Award nomination in 1994 for "The Adventures Of Priscilla, Queen Of The Desert," directed by Stephen Elliot.
Weaving's other film credits include the recently completed "Bedrooms And Hallways" and "The Interview," the critically acclaimed "True Love And Chaos," Stephen Elliot's "Frauds," "The Custodian," Paul Cox's "Exile," "Reckless Kelly," "Wendy Cracked A Walnut," "The Right Hand Man," "For Love Alone" and "The City's Edge."
His television credits include the acclaimed miniseries "Bodyline"; the Australian series "Halifax f.p.," the telefilm "The Bite," "Naked - Coral Island," the miniseries "Bangkok Hilton" (co-starring Nicole Kidman), "The Dirtwater Dynasty," "Barlow And Chambers - A Long Way From Home" and "Melba."
His numerous theater credits include the Sydney Theatre Company's "Macbeth," "The Perfectionist," "The Cherry Orchard" and "Arcadia." He has also starred in "Much Ado About Nothing" and "The Taming Of The Shrew" for the Melbourne Theatre Company and "Julius Caesar," "Ring Around The Moon" and "Private Lives" for the State Theatre Company of South Australia.
About the Filmmakers…
LARRY & ANDY WACHOWSKI (Writers/Directors) have been working together for 30 years. The Wachowskis wrote "Plastic Man" for Amblin Entertainment. Their most recent feature film, "Bound," which they wrote and directed, stars Gina Gershon, Jennifer Tilly and Joe Pantoliano.
JOEL SILVER (Producer) is one of the most successful producers in the motion picture industry today, with the combined gross of his films at nearly $3 billion. With the recent release of "Lethal Weapon 4," starring Mel Gibson, Danny Glover, Joe pesci, Rene Russo and jet Li, 13 of Silver's films have each earned worldwide box-office totals of more than $100 million.
Silver began his career at Lawrence Gordon Productions, where he soon became President of Motion Pictures. He associate produced "The Warriors" and, with Gordon, produced "48 HRS.," "Streets of Fire" and "Brewster's Millions."
Silver's first independent production under his Silver Pictures banner was "Commando," followed by "Jumpin' Jack Flash" and "Predator." Silver then produced (with Richard Donner) "Lethal Weapon," "Lethal Weapon 2" and "Lethal Weapon 3" (all directed by Donner), as well as "Die Hard," "Die Hard 2: Die Harder," "The Last Boy Scout," "Demolition Man," "The Hudsucker Proxy," "Richie Rich," "Assassins" and "Conspiracy Theory" (the last two with Donner, who also directed). Silver also executive produced, with Richard Donner, two "Tales From the Crypt" films: "Demon Knight" and "Bordello of Blood."
Executive Producer BARRIE M. OSBORNE most recently produced "Face/Off," starring John Travolta and Nicholas Cage, directed by John Woo. Prior to that, he executive produced Tony Scott's "The Fan," which starred Robert De Niro and Wesley Snipes, and "Dick Tracy," "Child's Play," "Wilder Napalm" and "Rapa Nui." He also produced "China Moon."
Accepted into the trainee program of the Director's Guild of America, Osborne worked under the tutelage of directors such as Francis Ford Coppola, Alan Pakula and Sydney Pollack on films which included "The Godfather Part II," "Three Days Of The Condor" and "All The President's Men." He subsequently worked on a number of films in various capacities; these include "Apocalypse Now," "The Big Chill," "King Of Comedy," "The Cotton Club," "Peggy Sue Got Married," "Cutter's Way" and "Fandango."
During a two-year tenure as Vice President for Feature Production at Walt Disney Pictures, Osborne oversaw 15 motion pictures including "Ruthless People," "The Color Of Money," "Tin Men," "Three Men And A Baby," "Tough Guys," "Outrageous Fortune," "Who Framed Roger Rabbit?" and "Good Morning, Vietnam."
Executive Producer ANDREW MASON most recently produced the science-fiction thriller "Dark City," starring William Hurt, Keifer Sutherland and Rufus Sewell, directed by Alex Proyas and filmed in Australia.
Mason began his career in the early 1970s as a film editor in documentaries and commercials. Within a couple of years he was producing and headed a highly successful commercial production company. He then ran a large Sydney film laboratory for two years before forming Australia's first visual-effects company. He worked as visual-effects supervisor on such Australian films as "Playing Beattie Bow," "One Night Stand," "Burke And Wills" and "The Time Guardian," and as optical-effects supervisor on Vincent Ward's "Navigator."
He returned to producing and, in 1990, joined forces with Alex Proyas at Meaningful Eye Contact, producing numerous music videos and commercials directed by Proyas. In 1993 Mason served as visual-effects supervisor and second-unit director on "The Crow," directed by Proyas. Later, Mason and Proyas formed Mystery Clock Cinema; "Dark City" was the company's first feature production.
Director of Photography BILL POPE was born in Kentucky and graduated from New York University with a master's degree in Fine Arts. During his time there he shot the film "The Sixth Week," which won an Academy Award for Best Student Documentary. After school he worked in music videos and commercials, winning awards in both categories. For Sting's "We'll Be Together Tonight" he won MTV's award for Best Cinematography.
Pope's first feature was Sam Raimi's "Darkman," which he and Raimi followed up with "Army Of Darkness." Other features include "Fire In The Sky"; the hit comedy "Clueless," starring Alicia Silverstone for Amy Heckerling; "Bound," written and directed by Larry and Andy Wachowksi; "Gridlock'd," directed by Vondie Curtis-Hall, starring Tim Roth and Tupac Shakur; and "Zero Effect," starring Bull Pullman and Ben Stiller, directed by Jake Kasdan.
Editor ZACH STAENBERG, a graduate of the University of Wisconsin at Madison with a degree in communications, began his film career as a production assistant on Brian De Palma's "The Fury." On his next feature, "The Omen II," he became an apprentice editor and, from that experience, decided to concentrate on editing.
Among his film credits are "Police Academy," "The Tender" (starring John Travolta), "Nowhere To Run" (starring Jean Claude Van Damme and Rosanna Arquette), "Eyes Of An Angel" (starring John Travolta), "Blackout," "Stripped To Kill" and "Once Upon A Time In America," starring Robert De Niro and James Woods for director Sergio Leone.
Most recently Staenberg edited "Bound" for directors Larry and Andy Wachowski and "Phoenix," starring Ray Liotta and Angelica Huston for director Danny Cannon.
His television credits include the 1997 Robert Harmon feature "Gotti" for HBO, for which he was nominated for an American Cinema Editors Eddie Award and a CableACE Award; "Weapons Of Mass Distraction," starring Gabriel Byrne and Ben Kingsley; "Cisco Kid" and "Connagher" for TNT; and "La Pastorela" for PBS.
Production Designer OWEN PATERSON's credits include Stephen Elliott's "The Adventures Of Priscilla, Queen Of The Desert," for which he won an Australian Film Institute Award for Best Production Design; Stephen Elliott's "Welcome To Woop Woop"; "Race The Sun"; "Minnamurra"; and "Travelling North." Paterson also worked as art director on the Australian features "Bliss" and "The Coolangatta Gold."
His television credits include "Beast," the telefilm "The Riddle Of The Stinson" and "Heartbreak High" for ABC TV.
Costume Designer KYM BARRETT's credits include Baz Luhrmann's "Romeo + Juliet," for which she received a Saturn Nomination; "Zero Effect," directed by Jake Kasdan, starring Ben Stiller and Bill Pullman; and the upcoming animated feature "Planet Ice," directed by Art Vitelloo.
Her Australian theater credits include "The Alchemist," starring Geoffrey Rush, directed by Neil Armfield; "Henry V"; "Falsettos" for the Sydney Theatre Company; "Lady Bracknell's Confinement" for the Melbourne Festival; and "Aftershock" and "A Little Like Drowning" for the Belvoir Street Theatre.
Hong Kong Fight Coordinator YUEN WO PING was born in Guangzhan in 1945, one of 12 children. He studied Peking Opera and kung fu under the tutelage of his illustrious father, Yuen Siu Tin, who was also a father figure to the young Jackie Chan.
Yuen Siu Tin brought his eldest son to the attention of the "Wong Fei Hung" series producers and Wo Ping worked on some of their films during the 1960s. He subsequently worked as a kung fu fighter and stuntman at Shaw Brothers and can be seen in films such as Wang Yu's "The Chinese Boxer."
In 1971 he received his first credit as a choreographer on "Mad Killer," directed by Ng See Yuen. Yuen Wo Ping choreographed most of Ng's early kung fu hits, including "Bloody Fists" and "Secret Rivals 2." For Shaw Brothers, Wo Ping arranged the fights for Chu Yuan's films "The Lizard" and "The Bastard."
He made his directorial debut for Ng See Yuen's newly formed Seasonal Films in 1978 with the hugely successful and influential "Snake in the Eagle's Shadow," followed by "Drunken Master," also starring Jackie Chan, and "Dance of the Drunk Mantis," starring his brother, Sunny Yuen. Wo Ping also worked for Golden Harvest, directing the Wong Fei Hung films "Magnificent Butcher" and "Dreadnought."
He formed his own company in 1979 and produced and choreographed Tsai Siu Ming's "Buddhist Fist" the following year. He directed his protégé, Donnie Yen, in "Drunken Tai Chi," followed by "Tiger Cage," "In the Line of Duty 4" and "Tiger Cage 2."
The revival of traditional kung-fu movies saw Wo Ping work on the fight sequences of Tsui Hark's "Once Upon A Time In China" films with Jet Li, and on Wong Ching's "Last Hero In China." His other credits include the kung fu epics "Tai Chi Master" and "Wing Chun." In 1993, Wo Ping directed one of his finest films, "Iron Monkey," again starring Donnie Yen, and in 1994 he was fight choreographer on the film "Fist of Legend." It was his work on this film that caught the attention of the Wachowski brothers.
-wb-