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INTERVIEW KEANU
Source: <Buy.com>

The Matrix films have raised the bar for extraordinary physical action and stunt choreography. Talk about the training.

KR: The whole thing was twenty-two months for me, basically. It started with four months of basic training, which is two hours of stretching in the morning, around an hour and a half of kicking, then specific exercises. Maybe you're focused on spinning round-house kicks or a jump sidekick. Then after lunch you'd warm back up and stretch a little bit more. If there was no choreography to learn, it would basically be weapons or some more kicking for me. Then it would be weight training at the end of the day. Then I'd go home. I spent a month working on the fight with the Smiths. I worked for about three weeks with twelve stuntmen; motion-capture took another three weeks. That would be one fight.

Producer Joel Silver said you became so good at martial arts that you could beat Jet Li.

KR: Jet Li would throw me around like a rag doll... He and I would talk and we'd sit down and have a beer and a good laugh.

Will you continue with martial arts?

KR: I don't know. I enjoy it. It's really good clean fun... primal fun.

Can you tell us how you were directed?

KR: (Appears bored/perplexed) They gave me certain things in the beginning, or if I wanted to look at some Schopenhauer... or some Hume or go back to Nietzsche or whatever, [to go ahead], but otherwise it was just be in the moment...

What does the concept of destiny mean to you?

KR: Destiny is one of those tricky words. It's one of those aspects that's like a particle in a wave. Maybe the wave has a destination but the particle doesn't quite know what the destination is and yet it's making itself a part of that wave.

The Matrix uses machines metaphorically. How do you relate to machines?

KR: Well, I know I love my motorcycle. (Slight smile)

What about computers?

KR: I personally don't have one yet, but I always ask friends who do if they could look something up for me..., so I just need to find some time to get one.

What is your view of Hollywood?

KR: Hollywood. ..is a place that is a place that can generate great resources to filmmakers, which can allow them to create worlds. For me, it's been a great experience to be able to play in that world and [convey] the vision that the brothers [Matrix writer-directors Larry and Andy Wachowski] had and that Warner Brothers and other producers generate the resources to help us create...

Two arduous years of shooting the Matrix trilogy did you get lonely?

KR: Work hard. Play hard.

What's your greatest gift and what's the greatest gift you ever received?

KR: I have no idea what my greatest gift is. The greatest gift I've received would probably be the love of my family.

You're not a materialistic person, so how do you like to spend your money?

KR: That's a personal question. (Frowning) I enjoy a good suit. I have a nice car. I like nice Bordeaux.

What are your thoughts on the world situation today?

KR: Often times it's been politically frustrating, scary, just trying to understand what's happening and wishing that there was more concord between people... I remember feeling that in the early 90s there seemed to be a real sense... of the global village and the global community.


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BACK TO COMICS FOR WACHOWSKIES
Source: <Chud>

Now that they've got that Neo business out of their systems, The Matrix trilogy creators Andy and Larry Wachowski are heading back to the industry they worked their way through before helping make wire-fu the most imitated cinematic element since a shiny metallic guy morphed into Robert Patrick.

The Wachowski brothers (or Larry, at least) will apparently be co-writing the upcoming comic book Doc Frankenstein, which their cohorts and noted storyboard artists Steve Skroce and Geoff Darrow are working on (and which was announced like a year ago in Wizard magazine). Their take on Mary Shelley's legendary character puts him in a dystopian future and has him riddling people with bullets, or something.

The book, along with Darrow's certain-to-be-violent comic Shaolin Cowboy, will be published through the Wachowskis' own Burlyman Entertainment, which released the collected comics of The Matrix that originally appeared online.


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AOL INSTANT MESSAGING IN MxO
Source: <The Matrix Online>

A Press Release...

2004.4.12 - THE MATRIX ONLINE GAME WILL FEATURE INTEGRATION OF AOL® INSTANT MESSAGINGTM (AIM®) SERVICES

For the first time ever, massively multi-player PC gamers can communicate at any time to players who are not jacked in, playing the game

Dulles, VA, April 12, 2004 - America Online, Inc., the world's leading interactive services company, and Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment today announced that the popular AOL® Instant MessengerTM (AIM®) service will be seamlessly integrated into The Matrix Online. This marks the first time that players in a massively multi-player online game can link an existing AIM identity to a new in-game character, creating seamless real-time communication with other Matrix players as well as other AIM buddies - whether inside or outside of The Matrix Online.

The integration of AOL Instant Messenger into The Matrix Online will enable players to communicate with their fellow gamers at any time. Players who are jacked into The Matrix Online will be able to send instant messages to their friends in real time, regardless of whether or not they are playing. This will enable players in the game to chat real-time with their offline friends and ask them for gameplay tips and tricks or alert them to jack in and join a mission.

With 195 million registered users, AOL Instant Messenger adds a whole new dimension to online game play. As long as a consumer has an AOL, AIM or Apple iChat account, he or she can receive a message from The Matrix Online players in real time from any location. Whether receiving a message via the Internet or their PDA or cell phone, players will be able to remain "in character" without revealing their AOL or AIM screen name.

"Bringing AOL's expansive instant messaging technology to The Matrix Online will tremendously enhance the massively multi-player gaming experience," said Jason Hall, senior vice president, Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment. "Players will now be able to alert other players, via the Internet or their phone, to join them on missions in The Matrix Online and will be able to talk freely while in combat or searching for answers."


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© 2004 Code 808