- Aug '01
- <Crewmembers extending sympathy>
- <Reloaded delayed till 2003>
- <The influence of the Matrix>
RECAST CANDIDATES >Source: FilmJerk/Cinecon
The recent death of singer/actress Aaliyah will not slow the production down terribly, as her primary scenes have not been shot yet. The part will be recast and candidates being discussed include Stacey Dash (TV's 'Clueless', who is much, much, much older than she looks), Brandy Norwood (TV's 'Moesha', and a hip-hop star like Aaliyah) and Eva Mendes ("Exit Wounds", "Urban Legends"). Apparently, Eva Mendes was one of the finalists for the role of Zee but lost it to Aaliyah.
CREWMEMBERS EXTENDING SYMPATHY >Source: Coming Soon
Producer Joel Silver and directors Larry and Andy Wachowski, currently preparing for the Australian portion of the second and third installments of "The Matrix" franchise, joined Warner Bros. Pictures today in extending their deepest sympathy to the family and friends of Aaliyah, who was the victim of a plane crash Saturday.
Joel Silver, who also worked with Aaliyah on her feature acting debut, last year's "Romeo Must Die," said today: "We are all deeply saddened by this tragedy. Aaliyah's acting career was just blossoming. She had remarkable talent and charisma and great potential. The Wachowskis and I, as well as the production executives at Warner Bros. Pictures, were looking forward to working with her in the two Matrix films as well as many other future projects. Her passing is a tremendous loss. Our hearts go out to her loved ones."
SYDNEY SHOOTING STARTED >Source: Dark Horizons
It appears that shooting has gotten underway in Australia on 'Reloaded'. A large sequence apparently took place today in Sydney's famous Entertainment Centre performing venue. Specific details are unknown though it has been found out some large scale stunts were involved, whilst some of the extras were dressed up in gear described as 'part robot'.
FREE MINDS ADVERTISEMENT >Source: Countingdown
ESCFX displayed this image at SIGGRAPH 2001 in their search for personnel. So if you want to work on the SFX of The Matrix: Reloaded, visit their website.
FUTURE MATRIX 2 DOUBTFUL? >Source: IGN Filmforce / Dark Horizons
According to IGN Filmforce: The tragic death of one of its stars has possibly thrown the future of the 2 Matrix sequels into doubt. The actress was to have been a major character in both films. There has not been any word from the Wachowskis or Warner Brothers concerning the fate of The Matrix Reloaded, which is said to be 80% complete.
Dark Horizon's Garth has contacted a rep from Village Roadshow Australia:
With Aaliyah's departure, now comes the question of how will it affect the various productions she has been involved in. I contacted a rep from Village Roadshow Australia who indicated there will likely be no delays as such with "The Matrix Reloaded" production that begins shooting in Sydney next month - therefore expect recasting news shortly.
MATRIX ANIME >Source: Variety
It's difficult to go on with the normal procedures of the website after this sort of shocking news, but I think you'll understand...
Andy and Larry Wachowski, big fans of Anime, have asked anime directors to provide episodes inspired by the 'Matrix'. ``Matrix Anime'' is being planned for a late 2002 or early 2003 video release.
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TRAGIC DEATH AALIYAH >Source: aaliyah2001.com
These are the kinds of things you don't want to post on your website. Very, very tragic indeed... I would like to give my condolences go to her family, friends and fans all over the world.
The official statement from Aaliyah's website:
Our beloved Aaliyah was killed in a plane crash on Saturday night along with eight others including our own Gina Smith, 29, of Blackground Records who lived in New Jersey, Eric Forman, 29, Keith Wallace, 49, Douglas Krantz, 28 of Virgin Records, Anthony Dodd, 32, all of Los Angeles, CA, Scott Gallin, 41, of Pompano Beach, FL, video producer, Christopher Maldonado, 34, of New York and the plane's pilot, identified only as L. Mareal.
The Cessna 402 was departing from the Marsh Harbour airport bound for Opa-locka, Florida, when it crashed shortly after takeoff at approximately 6:50pm, police say. The plane is said to have crashed approximately 200 feet from the end of the runway killing six people instantly. Three others died later due to their injuries.
Aaliyah had just completed filming of her video for "Rock The Boat", directed by Hype Williams, in which she took time off of her promotional tour to complete. The cause of the crash isn't known yet, but authorities suspect engine failure because the plane took off in good weather conditions. CNN is reporting that Gloria Knowles, who works for Abaco Air Ltd. at Marsh Harbor airport, said baggage handlers reported the plane was overloaded with suitcases, yet the plane was still allowed to depart at the insistence of the passengers.
It was only two weeks ago that Aaliyah completed filming of her "More Than A Woman" video and she was also scheduled to be a presenter at the 2001 MTV awards on Thursday, September 6th in New York City. Aaliyah had already completed the initial shooting for the Matrix II in Los Angeles last month and was scheduled to fly to Australia after the New Year to finish up principal photography for The Matrix II & III.
BOXER JOINS THE CAST >Source: Corona
More short news: Middleweight Boxer Roy Jones Jr. joins the cast of the Matrix 2. He will play a character called Captain Ballard.
SQUARE MAKES CGI PREQUEL >Source: Aint it cool
Square, the company that made FINAL FANTASY, is currently working DIRECTLY with the Wachowski Brothers on a 10 minute, totally CGI prequel to Matrix 2 (Reloaded...whatever it's called)
From what I understand, it's meant for some special internet release sometime in 2002 and also to go along with the DVD.
REVISITED DVD TRAILER >Source: Digital Bits
The link to a 2 minutes trailer of the Matrix: Revisited DVD in Real Player format can be found on the following site:
You can preorder the DVD <here>
MATRIX: REVISITED DVD >Source: Digital Bits
Warner Bros. is releasing The Matrix: Revisited on DVD on November 20th ($14.98). As near as we can tell, the new disc doesn't include the film - it's just a separate, behind-the-scenes disc with additional material on the making of the film. Here's an excerpt from Warner's press information:
"Been in The Matrix? Now take the next leap of understanding with The Matrix: Revisited. Experience the nuts, the bolts, the creative thunder of the cyberthriller that thrust moviemaking into an astonishing new dimension with never-before-seen footage from the original movie and exclusive reflections by those who lived it. Then go deeper with a look forward into the reality that is unfolding in real time: the sequels simmering to life at hidden locations around the world; an eye-popping first glace into The Matrix Anime - new dimensions that explain more about The Matrix. The Matrix: Revisited is the who, what, where, when and wow of a phenomenon that has just begun. It will make you dream in bullet time."
Specifically, here's what you'll get: What is to Come? (which takes you behind-the-scenes on Matrix 2), What is Animatrix? (anime preview), What is the Matrix.com? (preview of new website), The True Followers (interviews with hardcore fans), The Dance of the Master (fight choreography of Wu Ping), The Bathroom Fight and Wet Wall (scene study with behind-the-scenes footage), But Wait, There's More (music montage with never-before-seen footage from The Matrix) and 4 Easter eggs (Chase in the Alley, The Woman in Red, Gun Training and Juke Box-audio only). Interesting, no?
MOTION CAPTURE >Source: Variety
After over a decade of a lot of hype and little respect, the academic-sounding animation technique known as motion-capture may finally be ready for primetime.
"Mo-cap," as many of its proponents are fond of calling it, has been put to use in some high-profile projects in the past two years (this summer's "Final Fantasy" and "The Mummy Returns," 1999's "Star Wars: Episode 1," the upcoming sequel and the next two installments of "The Matrix." As with just about any new digital technology) computer generated images for film, streaming media on the Web or wireless communications, the vastly increased power of computers has transformed mo-cap from niche player to the mainstream.
In this case, from a version of cheap rotoscoping to a real-time, high-definition film tool. "It has become a new form," says Jeff Light, motion capture supervisor at Industrial Light and Magic. "It won't replace 'Toy Story'-type technology or live-action mind you, but motion-capture based projects will become a film genre of its own."
The technology is a process of capturing the movement of a real person (or animal or object) in a defined performance space and mapping it onto a computer generated image. Rotoscoping is a decades-old animation technique where artists draw and paint over a filmed human performance frame-by-frame as in Ralph Bakshi's 1978 "Lord of the Rings."
It is much more expensive and time consuming than mo-cap. The trade-off so far has been that rotoscoping looked better. That has changed. Among other things, the tracking hardware and processing software is accurate enough now to capture subtleties of movement not possible five years ago.
"Depending on the power of the computer, one can achieve near-realism with motion-capture," says Dr. Wayne Carlson, professor of design technology at Ohio State University. The acad's advanced computing center for arts and design has been at the forefront of mo-cap since its inception. Former student Light recently returned to his alma mater to capture a performance of legendary French mime artist Marcel Marceau.
Now that the original heavy mo-cap suits and wires have been replaced with light-weight wireless gear, mapping 77-year-old Marceau's moves for posterity was not a problem. "The equipment is at least five times more accurate than it was in the late 1990s," Light says.
In some cases, depending on the number of cameras used and the volume of performance space (the smaller, the more accurate) that level of precision is increased ten-fold. It's not just juggernauts like ILM that are able to deliver high-end product for the film biz.
Two-year-old, Los Angeles-based Spectrum Studios may not exactly be Skywalker Ranch but it is playing with the big boys near Marina del Rey. Among other things, Spectrum is in the middle of generating images and data to be used in " Matrix 2" and "Matrix 3." Where once a motion capture stage could only be eight feet by eight feet with four or five cameras, Spectrum's stage is half the size of a basketball court, ringed with 28 cameras.
Recently company computer boffins and animators managed to capture the performance of 17 actors simultaneously, a feat hitherto impossible. "Our capabilities have tripled in the past eight months," says Stephen Brain, Spectrum's chief operating officer. At a recent demonstration, animators were able to capture a performance of two martial artists and produce an animated version of it in minutes.
"The road blocks are gone," says Susan Van Baerle, a Minneapolis-based animation consultant. "Not only has the technology improved drastically so has the skill-level of the people using it." That, say the experts, will change yet again come this fall. With existing systems, the analog signals from its cameras have to be converted to digital files. Santa Rosa-Motion Analysis Corp. plans to unveil a new system that's digital from image capture to image rendering. "It will eliminate the need for a lot of costly hardware," Brain says.
RELOADED DELAYED TILL 2003 >Source: SciFi Wire
Producer Joel Silver told SCI FI Wire that the release of the first sequel, "The Matrix Reloaded," likely won't happen until 2003. "It's going to be summer now, summer 2003," Silver said. Previously it was believed that the sequel would open as soon as Christmas 2002. This would also mean that "The Matrix 3's" release, which was the summer of 2003, will be pushed back. On that account, Silver added, "You'll see."
So what are the reasons for the extra time needed to complete the project? "It's just it's an enormous project," Silver said. "It's a staggering project. There's so much dealing with it, it's unbelievable, and they just need time to finish both movies, because we're shooting them as one big movie. It's not back-to-back. It's one movie, so they'll finish shooting it, and then they'll take the time to finish the movies."
MARTIAL ARTS TO THE LIMIT >Source: USA Today
By Claudia Puig, USA TODAY
Where do action movies go, when all The Matrix moves are maxed out? Some go back to the basics. "I felt it was already passé," says Simon West, director of Lara Croft: Tomb Raider. "I deliberately chose a style of fighting that is not martial arts. It's street fighting. I thought it was more interesting for a woman to be a down-and-dirty street fighter and not balletic."
No one will deny that The Matrix, the 1999 Oscar-winning sci-fi action blockbuster starring Keanu Reeves, broke ground. Written and directed by the Wachowski brothers, its cutting-edge special effects set the standard for action films, and the innovative style made its way into comedies (Scary Movie 2) and kids' films (Spy Kids, Shrek).
"It took people somewhere they had never been before," says Paul Dergarabedian of box office tracking firm Exhibitor Relations. And the timing was right.
"The Matrix was the first movie that actually used martial arts plus advanced technology," says Corey Yuen, choreographer of The One, a sci-fi thriller, out Nov. 2, that pits martial arts expert Jet Li against a clone of himself.
"Matrix was basically a sci-fi action film, but it defied characterization because of its innovative images," Dergarabedian says. "The genre was taken to a new level, and that excited audiences."
It excited audiences to the tune of $171.4 million, which in turn excited Hollywood studio executives. "Movies must provide a new visual experience because there's so much competition with video games, television and computers," says Tom Rothman, president of 20th Century Fox.
"There's a search for that 'Wow!' And The Matrix showed the audience was ready for new visual excitement."
Ultimately, dazzling martial-arts moves and high-tech wizardry are simply modes of transporting viewers into a fantasy world. "It's another way of showing Superman without the cape and the costume," says The One director James Wong. "And without having to explain kryptonite. It's a different superhero that's more grounded and with-it. Superman wasn't cool, he was earnest. This has a cool sensibility. Kids watch these movies and say, 'Wow! It would be great to move like that!' "
But even those directly involved in staging martial-arts scenes emphasize that kicks, leaps and karate chops have their limits. "The drama comes first," says Yuen, who also directs films in his native Hong Kong. "If you just want to watch action for action's sake, watch a martial-arts tournament." But the style could easily become overused. "It's a total compliment to the filmmakers of The Matrix that it's been so widely emulated," Dergarabedian says. "But if every movie starts using those type of images to portray a kung fu fight, they better be careful, because it can wear out its welcome."
EXPENSIVE AUSTRALIA >Source: Yahoo UK
Australia's appeal as a production centre for international films is under severe threat after the Australian Tax Office (ATO) denied a tax break for the Australian investors who bankrolled "Moulin Rouge." The agency's decision knocks out a financing avenue that has been used to fund U.S.-backed films such as "The Matrix" and "Dark City."
It's feared the ruling could impact several films that recently shot Down Under, including the Jerry Bruckheimer-produced "Down and Under," Warner Bros.' "Scooby Doo" and the WB/Village Roadshow Pictures co-production "Queen of the Damned."
WB was aiming to use the same funding mechanism -- division 10B of the Tax Act -- for the second and third editions of "The Matrix." Wednesday night, Australian TV program "Lateline" revealed that the ATO had refused a product ruling for "Moulin Rouge," which means the Australian investors who funded the $53 million (37 million pounds) picture are not entitled to a tax deduction.
The coin was raised from several large institutions, Daily Variety has learned. Typically, the investors chip in 20%-30% of the budget and borrow the rest from banks, enabling them to claim the entire amount as a tax write-off. A spokesman for the investors said they are considering federal court action to appeal the ruling.
THE INFLUENCE OF THE MATRIX >Source: USA Today
The influence of the 'Matrix'explained by Jackie Chan:
In Rush Hour 2, which opens Friday, Jackie Chan takes on a formidable foe, Zhang Ziyi of Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon fame. The pair tussle, martial-arts style, with high kicks and rapid-fire karate chops, their limbs thrusting and attacking simultaneously.
Many action movies these days are bending over backward to pull off such extravagant action scenes. You could even say American films have been Matrix-ed.
It was that landmark 1999 sci-fi film that made graceful martial artistry and gravity-defying leaps the hottest moviemaking trend in Hollywood and spurred a much-emulated formula: merging traditional martial arts with the latest computerized film technology.
Some recent movies influenced by The Matrix include:
> Cats & Dogs, which features ninja-garbed cats leaping and kicking with kung fu expertise.
> The Mummy Returns, which shows a reincarnated Nefertiti and another Egyptian princess engaging in combat using sais, or swordlike weapons.
> Osmosis Jones, opening Aug. 10, in which a white blood cell and an evil virus duel in a midair battle.
"Right now everybody is the same: Fly up to the sky for 20 takes and 100 punches," Chan says. "When I saw The Matrix, I said, 'Whoa, it's about time I retire.' ... Studios spend $20 million to hire Keanu Reeves, who doesn't know martial arts, but it doesn't matter because the special effects can make everybody an action star."
Even Madonna has gotten in on the action. In her world tour, she transforms herself into a geisha who vanquishes a group of tormentors in a martial-arts-inspired routine. TV shows such as The Simpsons and upcoming fall action dramas such as Alias and Thieves feature women kicking butt — performing martial arts, that is.
Matrix-style fight sequences may be just the ticket for studios under fire from the government for excessive violence in youth-oriented films. The stylized violence of this genre makes it easier for some films to get the coveted PG-13 rating. "It's less brutal, sort of a step back from reality," says James Wong, who directs Jet Li in the fall sci-fi action film The One. "It's a little more fantastic and entertaining than the grittier style where people actually get hurt."
Martial arts in movies is not new. "It's always been there and always will be there," says Rush Hour 2 producer Arthur Sarkissian. "It's how one introduces it, either through a star or some sort of new style, which Matrix did. The next person who comes along and adds a new twist to it keeps it alive."
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