- Jun '01
- <Finding the set in sunny California>
- <Report>
- <VFX>
R-RATED FOR A REASON >Source: Empire Online
Joel Silver, the producer responsible for the Matrix sequels, yesterday promised that he wouldn't be softening the films' violent content to please Warner Bros. Speaking at yesterday's Swordfish press conference in London, Silver explained that 'there's greater freedom in an R-rated picture for doing the kind of movies we like to do.' 'These pictures are not for children,' Silver went on to say. 'The Matrix sequels are both R-rated and that's just the way that worked out...I'm proud that we do not make these pictures for children. These films are R-rated for a reason.'
FINDING THE SET IN SUNNY CALIFORNIA >Source: Contracostatimes
Vera H.C. Chan of the Contra Costa Times tries to find the 'Matrix' set in sunny California: The result, a great article!
Pictures can be found in the <pictures> section.
...I AM NOT the chosen one.
I had heard whispers of "The Matrix" II and III in late winter, if a casting call posted on craigslist.org for all the Bay Area to see could be called a whisper.
The posting mentioned something about hundreds of extras needed, tribal costumes and "tattoos a plus."
"'The Matrix' is coming," I confided during a meeting with the bosses. "Go find it," they confided back. Trained journalist that I am, I tried to go through legitimate channels: public relation firms, Warner Bros., city filming coordinators.
That's the paradox of "The Matrix." You have to go through the authorities, but they won't let you see it. "Closed set," they say. They deny everything. "There's no freeway," they say, even when a freeway ramp that goes nowhere juts out over the Bay waterfront, even when the casting call asks for extras to drive on this road, even when it makes the evening news.
Met with denial on all sides, I can only do one thing: Put it off. Immediately swamped with assignments, I put "The Matrix" aside.
I still hear whispers: It's in downtown Oakland. It's causing traffic jams. Whenever my thoughts turn to this hidden underworld, though, I am pelted with another assignment.
Finally, it is midsummer. Surely I can break free and get a glimpse before it picks up and leaves for Australia.
Someone passes me the project code name. "Burly Man," she whispers. "Look for the Burly Man." Of course, inveterate misspeller that she is, she tells me it's "burleyman," which I find out is a person who assists the local constable.
The day after I make my decision, I check my personal e-mail. A friend has blithely e-mailed me about shopping, and how the Webster Street/Posey Tube will be closed tonight because "The Matrix" will be filming there.
I read this e-mail on Saturday. The e-mail is dated Friday.
I grind my teeth. I will find "The Matrix."
I stop by the library to do an Internet search for "theburlyman," and find out fan sites already know the so-called secret project name. The Web connections stall and my time runs out.
I head to the former Alameda Naval Air Station, cruising through the unmanned gates. By now I'm determined to ferret out the hiding place in this former defense outpost. I'm not interested in spoiling plots or celebrity gossip. By now, I just want see "The Matrix," to verify its existence. I vow to uncover this subterranean underworld, to penetrate the veil of secrecy, to crack codes and ... suddenly a sign rises before me. "Zion Extras Parking," it reads.
I follow the arrows. "The Matrix," it appears, is ridiculously easy to find. I drive past another sign that reads "Eon Production offices" -- too obvious. Past the umpteenth "extras" posting, I see the "Burly gym" sign. At last, code words ... right across a fence with a handwritten warning, "Guests must be cleared by the production offices. No ID badges."
So much for subterfuge. It turns out that the parking lot is smack dab next to the city of Alameda's skateboard park. I park and ask skateboarders if they know about "The Matrix." They give me blank looks. I walk past the concrete slopes and circles and see, on the other side of a wire fence, police cars lined up in a row. At first I blank on what a police car looks like -- must be the wilting heat. A gray car riddled with bullet holes gives this location away.
I have found the parking lot of "The Matrix."
It's deserted. I loop around, trying to find an entrance that doesn't say "No trespassing." As I backtrack, I see a curiosity-seeker with two young sons quizzing three men who have driven inside the lot. "Are these cars going to be in 'The Matrix'?" the father asks.
"Yeah."
Are the answers that easy, I ponder. It must be how you ask.
The film crew guy from Los Angeles says all the outdoor filming has been finished. The fake freeway will be torn down and the cars crushed, even the nice Toyota Tacoma. The stage crew is now on the interior set, and he gestures to some vague direction behind me.
Unseen. Invisible. "The Matrix."
Before he leaves to jack up the gray bullet-perforated car, he tells me the best vantage point to see the faux freeway and a wreckage of cars is from aboard the Alameda ferry.
Good tip, but first, I head toward the seemingly abandoned buildings. Bells tinkle in the distance. The ice cream man! He must know -- the ice cream man always knows. Or is that the muffin man?
No matter. I order a vanilla sandwich. "Have you seen any of the filming here?" I ask the ice cream man. "No," he says, and takes my money.
At the building across the street, a sign to wardrobe is plastered on the wood door. Bolted shut. I decide to get in the car, which by now is a few degrees shy of molten lava, and do a little reconnaissance. The guys in the parking lot are gone, and no one is manning the entryway booth. I can see the fake freeway, tantalizing in its proximity.
I pull in, and the cell phone rings just as I find myself thwarted by neatly arrayed orange traffic cones. As I circle around, taking the call, a man emerges from nowhere. He approaches my car window, friendly but purposeful.
"Hi, sorry, I was taking a phone call and didn't want to be on the street," I say cheerily, hoping he will be impressed enough with my road safety that he won't see the silver-gray camera on the passenger seat. Very politely, he tells me that's good, because the last person who came on this lot was arrested.
I drive off meekly and park two blocks away in front of the production offices. I note a green SUV with a Lakers sticker is empty but has its engine running, so I pull a Good Samaritan and tell someone in the office, then wander out the back. The place is eerily silent. I see a sign directing extras to wardrobe on a door, but it's locked and the place looks deserted. Even a chair with a security guard jacket hanging off the back is unoccupied.
Garbage bags are taped over windows, but not enough to block off the ceiling lights overhead. Do I hear voices? I can't see over the taped bags.
I'm too short for "The Matrix."
I go back to the car and this time head for the ferry, if only to see the wreckage of "The Matrix's" powerful whirlwind force. The parking karma triumphs, but not punctuality: I've missed the boat by 20 minutes, and the next one isn't for two hours.
It's hot and the sugar spike from the ice cream is plummeting. I make one more round and head back toward the tunnel, letting "The Matrix" disappear in the darkness behind me...
IT'S A HARD KNOCK LIFE >Source: SF Gate
You might want to think twice before you sign up to be a 'Matrix' extra:
The "Matrix" team will pack up in the next few weeks, which means no more Keanu Reeves and Laurence Fishburne sightings at local hot spots. But the lives of extras have not been nearly as glamorous.
They were paid more to drive their cars on the faux freeway constructed for the movie in Alameda. When the extras were ordered to return to their "mark," they had to drive backward at 40 mph, a task they described as "a little scary." A loop was belatedly built to accommodate them. The extras also said it was distracting to motor along while all manner of crashes were enacted by stunt drivers on the other side of the freeway. Some extras took to wearing sunglasses. Must have been hard to tell them from the movie stars.
RESIDENTS OF ZION >Source: TNMC
Information on the set and residents of Zion in here:
'There were approximately 950 skimpily dressed extras (all youthful, beautiful, and diverse). All were citizens of "Zion," and most were "revelers," a few were "dancers," a few were "priestesses," and some were "warriors."
The revelers and dancers were dressed in beige, tan, cream, or light blue clothing. Silver and beaded jewelry in the same color scheme abounded. The priestesses wore a deep blue, almost indigo, and they carried around big baskets of bread and huge portabello mushrooms. (I guess if you live underground, mushrooms are a popular crop. That doesn't, however, explain the bread because wheat must be grown above ground.)
The warriors wore more military dark colors, with maroon wool patchwork vests. Some were equipped with hip looking dark colored fanny packs or satchels. About 10% of the extras were outfitted symmetrically with little metal round things on their arms, legs, torso, or up the spine, or one big one at the back of the head. I suppose they were the "unplugged" ex-Matrix people.'
SPECIAL LOCATION >Source: IGN Filmforce
IGN FilmForce reports on a specific location that's currently being scouted for The Matrix Reloaded.
The film's production company, Eon Enterprises, is in search of a French Chateaux to serve as a location in the film. Their current first choice is the Biltmore House in Asheville, North Carolina, but they're still shopping around a bit.
Here are some characteristics the production team requires of the location: The house must be very large and impressive with old-world craftsmanship; the manor must sit isolated on a mountaintop or hill; vegetation and trees should not shroud the house. The ideal house would be a French Chateaux on the edge of a mountain, overlooking a valley, without any trees blocking the view. The filming will involve a visual effects unit filming the exterior front, rear, and side facades of the house.
Here's a glimpse at the production's first choice, the Biltmore Estate in the Blue Ridge Mountains of North Carolina...
HANGAR REPORT >Source: Matrix Online
I currently work in Alameda, on the old Navy base where The Matrix 2 & 3 are being filmed. I was able to talk my way into Burley Man (the studios new name) Hanger, where I saw two different sets being built where some future scene of the Matrix 2 is going to be shot.
On one side of the hanger they have constructed a city street with a three story apartment building and it looks really good. On the other side, they built a cave or cavern set which Neo and the rest of the cast will use to get to Zion. These sets are built with a lot of detail. I should have some pictures available soon of these sets, until then."
TREY SMITH IS THE ONE! >Source: SunMedia
Jada Pinkett-Smith is the envy of her husband, Will Smith, and his son, Trey Smith.
"Both Will and Trey desperately want to be in one of the two Matrix sequels," says Pinkett-Smith, who is currently filming Matrix 2 and Matrix 3 in Australia. "Trey is a huge fan of The Matrix. For his eighth birthday last year, Will got him a movie camera and they filmed The Treytrix. Will shot it, directed it and starred in it with Trey."
Trey is Smith's son from his first marriage to model Sheree Zampino. "My two guys say if I can't get them into The Matrix, they'll be forced to make Treytrix 2 and Treytrix 3. "I'm so impressed with Trey. Both Will and I are pretty certain he'll be an actor. He has both the desire and the talent, so I'm looking for a picture for Trey and I to do together."
STUNTREPORT >Source: Corona
"... remember that elaborate freeway set the production made outside Alameda in San Fran? Well, in this chase scene Trinity is trying to stay one car length ahead of a big rig being driven by an agent. As the agent tries to overtake the freedom fighter he smashes indescriminently into other vehicles travelling down the freeway! Apparently there's one scene that blew away everyone watching it from the sidelines: during one moment in the chase, the agent-driven truck spins sharp into a U-turn, all while barreling down the road at 60 miles an hour! Our eyewitness says it was "the most spectacular thing he has ever seen." The truck had to be specially made. It has two independent axles, similar to the chassis for some firetrucks. Two drivers are required to operate this elaborate vehicle, with one front-and-center in the driver's position and the other hidden out-of-view behind the first.
REPORT >Source: Corona
As you probably know, what used to be the Alameda Naval Air Station, is currently being used for the 'Matrix' sequel filming. A huge stretch of highway was built for what promises to be a kick-ass fight sequence. Here's a report on what can be seen on set:
"I was cruising by the Alameda Naval Air Station today and I saw some pretty cool stuff. There was a very big sign saying 'Eon productions: 1st unit parking (left) 2nd unit parking (right)'. To the left was a big airplane hanger with Eon written on it and guarded by a cyclone fence and guard. (on a Saturday) And down the road to the right was the mock freeway, also guarded by a cyclone fence and guard. It was approximately 3 miles long and I couldn't see down it at all because it had twelve foot walls on either side of it. I did see the opening, which was right near a skate park, and it looked like a regular four lane freeway, then it curved 90 degrees and I could see no more. The far side, (the side I couldn't see) if it is open would have a clear view of the Bay Bridge and the San Francisco skyline. One funny thing I noticed was that near the hanger there was about four or five big rented semi trailers that were actually generators. Apparently the crew is preparing for rolling blackouts this summer."
VFX >Source: IGN filmforce
As you probably know, the original FX company who worked on the first Matrix, Manex, has pretty much closed shop. Many of Manex's former employees have moved to another special effects shop, ESC Entertainment. Therefore, WB has hired ESC Entertainment to create what we should expect to be dazzling effects for the sequels:
"Most of the original crew are back for the sequel. John Gaeta and Janek Sirrs, VFX Supervisor and Associate VFX Supervisor are back and employed directly by WB. As far as ESC Entertainment, the main people at ESC were the original part of the Matrix crew that dealt specifically with the hardest shots. Their technical expertise was the critical part of delivering the effects on the sequel." He continues, "The only critical person that is missing is Rodney Iwashina, the digital effects supervisor. He was the 'glue' of the 3D team and through his sheer determination, helped the team pull off the impossible.
Being a member of the original crew, I can say that what made the original so special was the dedication and amount of work the Manex team put into getting effects work done under a short time frame. It was absolutely insane the amount of time and sleepless nights the team had to get it done. Now, if this spirit is gone in the new company, then I can see why this person would feel this way. Otherwise, the sequels still have the right people on board to deliver the same cutting edge effects you saw in the first one."
Incidentally, the source adds that Manex has pretty much closed its doors except for some finishing work on Queen of the Damned being done in the LA offices. He also reminds us that the Matrix sequels have suspended production in Oakland – as part of their planned break in anticipation of the actors strike, and relates that a good portion of the effects crew are enjoying a break during the Summer months. Production will resume at Fox Studios Australia in September.
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
© 2001 Code 808 - All rights reserved