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YOU THOUGHT MATRIX WAS SF, THINK AGAIN
Source: <Yahoo>
Thanks to: <The Matrix Online>

Reality Is A Lie -- We're All Living In The Matrix!

By MICHAEL FORSYTH

NEW HAVEN, Conn. . . . Whoa, dudes, turns out Keanu Reeves was right. We really are living in a totally bogus computer simulation, just like in the hit sci-fi movie The Matrix!

Many top experts have now come to that mind-bending conclusion . . . including a leading professor of philosophy at Yale University. Dr. Nick Bostrom makes a case for the frightening theory in a paper he posted on the Internet, entitled, "Are You Living in a Computer Simulation?"
Dr. Bostrom theorizes that everything you see, hear, smell and touch is merely part of an elaborate illusion crafted by cunning computer programmers. "You think you have a cozy home full of nice furniture, a loving family, friendly neighbors, perhaps a loyal pet . . . but all of that's a computer-generated illusion," says computer scientist Clive Faxton of London, who agrees with Dr. Bostrom.

"In all likelihood, your whole world is no more 'real' than a black-and-white rerun of Leave it to Beaver. You are actually languishing alone somewhere in a barren room . . . if you even have a physical body at all." And Faxton's findings echo those of the Yale professor. "We are almost certainly living in a computer simulation," Dr. Bostrom writes.

If the experts are right, everything you see is a lie, just like in The Matrix, in which all humans are really asleep in a giant chamber, hooked up to wires. And the only time we ever see the "real world" is by getting occasional glimpses of reality in our dreams. "Did you ever have a dream that was so lifelike, you swore it was real? Maybe it was . . . and the whole time you think you're awake is actually a computer simulation," offers Faxton.

He adds, "It's possible that the homeless people we see walking around talking gibberish are the ones who've learned the mind-blowing truth, and were so devastated mentally they could no longer continue to function. "Think about it. Could you go on if you found out that everything you know is a lie? That's why whoever's behind this is keeping it a secret . . . most people can't handle the truth."

Dr. Bostrom says it's probable we don't have physical bodies at all . . . because like everything around us, we're computer-generated too, much like the simulated family in the popular computer game The Sims, but with conscious minds. "While you think you were born in a hospital, you were actually born in the cold, calculating supercomputer," says Faxton. "You think you've got a body, but it's a simulation made of lifelike digital images. You think you have control over your own destiny but the fact is you have no free will at all. "You are an imaginary plaything whose antics serve to amuse some high-tech programmers.
"But the most alarming thought is this: Whenever these futuristic puppet masters get bored, they can simply hit a button and erase any one of us." .

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TRINITY'S WARDROBE
Source: <CountingDown>

Jewelry designer Dana Schneider's goth-inspired wardrobe will be worn by Trinity (Carrie-Anne Moss) in The Matrix sequels. Dana talks about this new trend among female movie characters: "All the Gucci goth stuff is not that Victorian sit-in-the-back-row-of-the-opera sort of thing," she says. "It's about very empowered females, and that's what I'm seeing with the movies I've been working on."

She describes Carrie Ann Moss in the Matrix films as representative of a new breed of strong yet feminine women who fight for good while wearing the kind of black clothing traditionally associated with evil. She also says black has broken free of its origins, which she traces back to Queen Victoria's time, when the youthfully widowed queen wore mourning attire the remainder of her life, causing court ladies and the public to follow suit.

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KEANU AND HIS V-ROD
Source: Sunday Herald Sun
Thanks to: <CountingDown>

Sunday Herald Sun reports on the Harley Davidson that Keanu Reeves will ride in Reloaded, and gives us the promo blurb:

In The Matrix Reloaded, the yet-to-be-released Matrix sequel with the promo blurb: "Be afraid of the future", Keanu Reeves pursues a computer-simulated reality aboard a $32,000 V-Rod. An anodised aluminium performance custom cruiser, the V-rod was developed in co-operation with Porsche and was released last year. Keanu loves Harleys so much, he shipped his own in from California during filming in Sydney.

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SIX NEW POSTERS
Source: <Killer Movies>
Thanks to: Chris

Killermovies posted these posters for The Matrix Reloaded. They're not on the official site (yet), but they certainly don't look fake. They're kinda cool actually. At last some different action-flick posters! But then again, The Matrix isn't your average action-flick.

Niobe & Morpheus >>>


Neo & Trinity >>>


Agent Smith & The Twins >>>


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SOUNDTRACK RELEASE DATE
Source: <MTV>
Thanks to: Sub7

If you're already freaking out about next summer's "The Matrix Reloaded," go ahead and take another little red chill pill, because the soundtrack to the sci-fi flick will be out of this world as well.

Among the acts producers are reaching out to for the companion album are Linkin Park, System of a Down, Disturbed, Deftones, Prodigy and former Rage Against the Machine singer Zack de la Rocha, according to a source at Maverick Records. They are among the artists who will be asked to watch clips of the movie for musical inspiration in the next month or so, the source said.

The movie, already tagged as one of next year's potential blockbusters, opens on May 15, with the LP slated to hit stores on May 6. The album's music supervisor is DJ/remixer Jason Bentley. A separate soundtrack to the third movie in the trilogy, "The Matrix Revolutions," will be compiled to coincide with that film's opening in November 2003.

The soundtrack to 1999's "The Matrix" featured songs from Marilyn Manson, Rage, Deftones, Rob Zombie, Prodigy, Monster Magnet, Ministry and Rammstein.

—Gil Kaufman

We also know that Paul Oakenfold has written four songs for the soundtrack of a Matrix sequel, probably Revolutions then... - Code 808

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JOEL SILVER TALKS CLIFFHANGER
Source: <Zap2it>
Thanks to: <Matrix Fans.net>

Zap2it talked with Joel Silver about the Cliffhanger of the Matrix Reloaded:

Joel Silver, producer of the next two "Matrix" movies, says that the cliffhanger between the first and second parts of the next installments is so compelling that people will be desperate to see the next film. "I think we won't even have to advertise the third film, we'll just tell people the date, and they'll come," Silver tells Zap2it in an interview over the weekend.

"The story is so fantastic." Silver says "The Matrix Reloaded" is set for release next May 15, and the third part, "The Matrix Revolutions" will be out in October. (The official release date is still November 7th - Code 808) "You're not going to want to wait for the next movie, so we want to release them as close as we can together," says Silver. "The cliffhanger is so substantial you will want to see it soon, and we're aware of that."

Originally the films were supposed to be spread out over two years, the first screened in 2002 and the third installment in 2003. But, the special effects needed on both movies delayed the project until 2003.

Directors Larry and Andy Wachowski originally conceived the movies starring Keanu Reeves, Lawrence Fishburne and Carrie-Anne Moss, as one, and filmed them together in Australia. When seeing the nearly-completed projects, they realized that they couldn't wait a year between releases of the films.
"The boys (the Wachowski's) wanted to release both of them in the same summer, but we won't have them both ready," Silver explains. "So, we'll have one in May and the next a few months later." They would release the films closer together, but the effects team may not be ready for the third part until later in the year.

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AUSTRALIAN SFX SPECIALISTS
Source: <CNN>

An article from the CNN website on Australian special effect studios. They seem to lure Hollywood directors with their cost-efficient, ground breaking special efects:

SYDNEY, Australia (Reuters) -- As Hollywood seeks more eye-candy bang for its box-office dollar, directors needing to blur reality increasingly look half a world away to Australia's wizards of visual and special effects.

The country's small visual effects industry has gained a reputation for thinking outside the square and creating the seemingly impossible within budget. Private firm Animal Logic, at the forefront of the Australian visual effects industry, lists Hollywood blockbusters The Matrix, Moulin Rouge, Face/Off, The Thin Red Line and the Lord of the Rings trilogy among its credits.

Sci-fi film The Matrix, starring Keanu Reeves, snared an Oscar in 2000 for special effects house Cineffects for its time-bending pyrotechnics. "The Academy Award ... certainly made a statement to the world to have a look at what was happening 'Down Under'," said Zareh Nalbandian, the managing director of Animal Logic, which was also involved in The Matrix.

Chris Murray, editor of film publication Empire Magazine in Australia, says the local effects industry took a fresh approach to the wizardry of filmmaking, and The Matrix put Australian production houses firmly on the global map. "We've still got that 'can do' attitude ... we're good at making the magic happen, as opposed to relying on tried and true methods," he said. On top of the Oscar win, the beleaguered Australian dollar, hovering at around half a US dollar, provides sound incentive for overseas filmmakers to outsource post-production work to Australia. Government tax breaks further sweeten the deal.

Raising the bar

Both Animal Logic and Cineffects, based at Sydney's Fox Studios, are working on"The Matrix sequels, due for release in 2003, but they are tight-lipped about what effects magic they have weaved. "The Matrix raised the bar in terms of visual effects for the whole world and I think audiences expect that bar to be higher the second time round, the third time round. They won't be disappointed, I can tell you that," Nalbandian said.

The first Matrix film wowed audiences with its use of bullet time, which makes slow-motion seem rapid, a gravity-defying, frenzied martial arts style and creative camerawork which gave 360 degree perspectives to an audience more accustomed to a two-dimensional cinema screen. Visual effects are broadly defined as computer-generated effects using digital production technology. Special effects are their physical, hands-on predecessors. But the adolescent digital effects industry, while leaving movie-goers slack-jawed, isn't putting its predecessor out to pasture.

Digital revolution

"More and more these days we'll piece various visuals together, that then may be additionally manipulated and compiled digitally. That's our greatest meshing between digital and special effects," said Courtley. Digital production tools came of age in the early 1990s and the limits of their abilities are far from defined. Animal Logic has patented several production tools.

In 1992, the company developed EDDIE, an interactive software application for layering images on top of each other. EDDIE was purchased by Microsoft and now an industry standard. "We're still in the middle of the revolution and who knows where the revolution will take us," said Nalbandian. "But I suspect that in the next 10 years we'll see exponential advances which will make the last 10 years look like the steps were very small," he said.

No geeks

The industry has so much innovative steam behind it that new technological hurdles are faced soon after clearing old ones. "We constantly hit the wall, and the technology guys, the research and development guys, the programmers and designers actually have to move that wall. Inevitably we'll hit it again and they'll have to move it again," Nalbandian said.

Special effects has been around since cinema began, but the digital visual effects industry is something of an infant. People notching up 15 years in the industry are considered old-timers.

Animal Logic has grown from a team of about 40 people five years ago to about 190 now. Nalbandian says most employees are drawn from diverse creative wellsprings ranging from graphic design to film production, sculpting, fine art to photography. "What makes a film entertaining, what makes a successful production, is all that life experience that all the crew bring to the production, and that's not limited to digital life," he said. .

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SOUNDTRACK INFO
Source: <Countingdown>

DJ, remixer, music supervisor and consultant Jason Bentley will reprise his role as music supervisor for The Matrix sequels soundtracks. The original Matrix soundtrack went platinum and was nominated for a Grammy Award.
Bentley said the follow-up will feature a collaboration between Zack de la Rocha from Rage Against The Machine and DJ Shadow, as well as tracks by Linkin Park, Papa Roach and Prodigy.

Additionally, Bentley is working on music for a Matrix DVD, titled Animatrix, which features Japanime style animation and fills in some of the gaps in the film's storyline.

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F/X REINFORCEMENT
Source: <Coming Soon>
Thanks to: Sub7

Variety reports that visual effects supervisor John Nelson has joined CFX to oversee the f/x sequences the company is creating for Warner Bros.' The Matrix Reloaded and The Matrix Revolutions. A 20-year-vet of the effects business, Nelson most recently served as the visual f/x supervisor on Intermedia's K-19: The Widowmaker, which Paramount distribbed. He also took home the Oscar for visual f/x in 2001 for his work on DreamWorks' Gladiator.

Formerly known as Centropolis Effects, CFX is creating roughly 180 f/x shots for the next two installments of "The Matrix", which bow next summer and fall. Combined, the pics are expected to feature over 2,000 effects sequences.

John Gaeta returns as the sequels' visual f/x supervisor. Escape Entertainment is handling the majority of the pics' CG shots, while work has also been awarded to Animal Logic, Tippett Studios, Buf Compagnie, the Orphanage and Pixel Liberation Front.

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MORPHEUS MARRIES CASS
Source: <Ananova>

The Matrix's Laurence Fishburne has got married. It's been announced he tied the knot with actress Gina Torres last weekend. Fishburne plays Morpheus in the Matrix films while Torres has joined the cast as the widow of one of the character's in the original [Dozer's widow 'Cass' - Code 808].

Fishburne's spokesman said the couple married in New York with Keanu Reeves, Lenny Kravitz and Elton John all attending the ceremony. The couple have been together for nearly seven years, since friends set them up on a blind date according to www.eonline.com.

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© 2002 Code 808