2012 also found Weaving re-focusing on his theatrical career, with a return to the Sydney Theatre Company to star in a new adaptation of Christopher Hampton's play Les Liaisons Dangereuses in March. I mean, relative to after the matrix, he wasnt the same level of stardom before obviously. I immediately responded yes to that, and then we went into negotiation. You can see they argued it out!". They got the cast they got because that was the cast that agreed to train for six months. [35] Standard movie cameras were placed at the ends of the array to pick up the normal speed action before and after. On 13 March 2011, The Key Man, which Weaving filmed in 2006, finally debuted at the South By Southwest Festival in Austin, Texas. As Weaving told Collider in 2020, when it came time to make The Matrix Resurrections, director and co-writer Lana Wachowski very much wanted him to return as Agent Smith. As a result, it didnt take long for it to be announced that the movie was set to receive a pair of sequels. It was scary, suspenseful, I followed the plot with great interest, thrilled and terrified from beginning to end. [101] It was also ranked number one at the box office ahead of Forces of Nature. ", "Philip K. Dick's dark dreams still fodder for films", "AUTHOR Philip K. Dick "We are living in a computer-programmed reality, "Did Philip K. Dick disclose the real Matrix in 1977? Weaving's first television role was in the 1984 Australian television series Bodyline, as the English cricket captain Douglas Jardine. "[115] Darren Aronofsky commented, "I walked out of The Matrix and I was thinking, 'What kind of science fiction movie can people make now?' [184] The film also created one of the most devoted movie fan-followings since Star Wars. [166] Morpheus's description of the Matrix creating a sense that something is fundamentally wrong, "like a splinter in your mind", has been compared to gender dysphoria. [143][144], The Wachowskis' approach to action scenes drew upon their admiration for Japanese animation such as Ninja Scroll and Akira. Let us know what you think in the comments below! After the world learned that Laurence Fishburne wasnt going to appear in The Matrix Resurrections, he took part in several interviews. Cookies help us deliver our Services. In 2012, the film was selected for preservation in the National Film Registry by the Library of Congress for being "culturally, historically, and aesthetically significant. Over the last several years, Yahya Abdul Mateen II has proven that he is an extremely talented and charismatic actor. [195][196] The sequels also incorporate longer and more ambitious action scenes, as well as improvements in bullet time and other visual effects. "The Matrix") in which machines keep themimprisoned in the film's dystopiansci-fi setting. Warner Bros. Hugo Weaving in the Matrix Even though the first movie ends with Neo (Keanu Reeves) seemingly killing him for good, filmmakers Lana and Lily Wachowski seemed to realize how. How did Kurapika manage to get the eyes from Neon? The Matrix Resurrections nearly saw the return of Hugo Weaving's Agent Smith, but the role ultimately fell to Jonathan Groff instead. [98] Additionally, this was the biggest opening weekend for a Keanu Reeves film since Speed in 1994. [41][159] However, Baudrillard himself said that The Matrix misunderstands and distorts his work. The Animatrix was overseen and approved by the Wachowskis, who only wrote four of the segments themselves but did not direct any of them; much of the project was developed by notable figures from the world of anime.[198]. It surpassed Lost in Space and Indecent Proposal for having the biggest April and Easter opening weekends. Those are the words first spoken by Hugo Weaving's Agent Smith while interrogating Morpheus (Laurence Fishburne) in the original Matrix from 1999. The man ranted for like five minutes about how much he didn't want girl children and saw them as punishment. Seeing Neo square off against Smith again would be like a modern-day Obi-Wan vs. Darth Vader. [43] Prior to the pre-production, Reeves underwent a two-level fusion of his cervical (neck) spine due to spinal cord compression from a herniated disc ("I was falling over in the shower in the morning"). But then the movie came out and Agent Smith was in fact still there, just played by the (perfectly acceptable) Jonathan Groff. The Matrix 4, or The Matrix Resurrections featured plenty of callbacks to the original trilogy of films, but one of the most beloved cast members to miss out on the revival was Hugo Weaving.Weaving played Agent Smith in the original Matrix trilogy, and to some he is just as iconic as Keanu Reeves' character Neo. Agent Smith was the primary antagonist of The Matrix films. The Matrix 4, or The Matrix Resurrections featured plenty of callbacks to the original trilogy of films, but one of the most beloved cast members to miss out on the revival was Hugo Weaving. From. The wires were made visible to show the ship's working internals, and each composition was carefully designed to convey the ship as "a marriage between Man and Machine". It was good advice to go to IMDB, then read the reviews of the movies he was in. Cypher exits the Matrix and murders the other crew members as they lie unconscious. It's something that was never intended that way either, as the former agent has spoken out about his absence in the new film and sounded genuinely cut up about not being a part of it. [47] Barrett sometimes used three types of fabric for each costume, and also had to consider the practicality of the acting. [71][76] The cameras' positions and exposures were previsualized using a 3D simulation. [27] He ended 2013 co-starring with Richard Roxburgh and Philip Quast in Samuel Beckett's Waiting For Godot, for the Sydney Theatre Company. [66] "The color green reflects the green tint commonly used on early monochrome computer monitors". She implies to Neo that he is not the One and warns that he will have to choose between Morpheus's life and his own. The scene in which Neo fell into the sewer system concluded the principal photography. His latest, Last Ride, is one of the latter, with Weaving playing an abusive ex-convict who takes his estranged son along as they flee through the Australian outback. [37][38] The storyboard eventually earned the studio's approval, and it was decided to film in Australia to make the most of the budget. In the mid-1990s, Weaving portrayed drag queen Anthony "Tick" Belrose/Mitzi Del Bra in the 1994 film Priscilla, Queen of the Desert, and provided the voice of Rex the sheepdog in the 1995 family film Babe and its 1998 sequel Babe: Pig in the City. A four-month course, nine to five Mondays through . For perfect evidence of that fact, look at the scene where Groffs Smith yells at Anderson and marvel at the fact that the moment doesnt feel menacing in the slightest. [28][29], In the spring of 2013, Weaving reprised the Agent Smith role for a General Electric television commercial for their "Brilliant Machines" innovations in healthcare management technology, which was slated to air during a break from 13 April's edition of Saturday Night Live, and subsequently continued to receive multiple airings on major cable networks. When The Matrix was released in 1999, it quickly became an absolute sensation at the box office and it had a huge impact on the pop culture landscape. [37], When he was 13 years old, Weaving was diagnosed with epilepsy. Weaving explained his absence in this movie in an interview with Collider back in 2020. Would it have been nice to see Hugo Weaving get to ham it up as Agent Smith again? [35] At that point, it became the top-selling DVD release of all time, holding this record for a few months before being surpassed by Gladiator. Matrixism is a fan-based possibly satirical religion created as "the matrix religion". I loved a lot of it and wasnt sure about other bits. Related: Quotes From Hugo Weaving About Agent Smith And His Other Iconic Roles, Lana was very keen for me to be a part of [The Matrix 4]. In early 2009, Guillermo del Toro, then director of The Hobbit films, prequels to The Lord of the Rings, confirmed his intent to again cast Weaving as Elrond of Rivendell in a BBC interview. Just like Morpheus, a version of Hugo Weavings Agent Smith appears in The Matrix Resurrections, this time portrayed by Jonathan Groff. At the time of this writing, it is not included with any subscription services but is available to rent or purchase digitally on most online stores. Hugo Weaving initially turned down 'The Matrix' Weve worked together five times, the Wachowskis and I on three Matrix films, V for Vendetta and Cloud Atlas. Submissions should be for the purpose of informing or initiating a discussion, not just to entertain readers. " Margot Robbie as Harley quen . [16], The directors had long been admirers of Hong Kong action cinema, so they decided to hire the Chinese martial arts choreographer and film director Yuen Woo-ping to work on fight scenes. That news left many disappointed fans wondering why that was the case. I want the cream o the crop, please. Where Did Yahya Abdul Mateen II Go To School And Is He An Alpha? Go to IMDb.com - > search actor -> read their filmography. Actor Hugo Weaving was noticeably absent from the latest Matrix Resurrections movie. This film was considered a risk and many, many actors turned down roles, including Leonardo DiCaprio, Will Smith, Nicolas Cage, Brad Pitt, David Duchovny, Val Kilmer, Sandra Bullock, Janet Jackson, Jennifer Beals and Gillian Anderson. [170], Following The Matrix, films made abundant use of slow-motion, spinning cameras, and, often, the bullet time effect of a character freezing or slowing down and the camera dollying around them. [177] It also inspired films featuring a black-clad hero, a sexy yet deadly heroine, and bullets ripping slowly through the air;[26] these included Charlie's Angels (2000) featuring Cameron Diaz floating through the air while the cameras flo-mo around her; Equilibrium (2002), starring Christian Bale, whose character wore long black leather coats like Reeves' Neo;[171] Night Watch (2004), a Russian megahit heavily influenced by The Matrix and directed by Timur Bekmambetov, who later made Wanted (2008), which also features bullets ripping through air; and Inception (2010), which centers on a team of sharply dressed rogues who enter a wildly malleable alternate reality by "wiring in". The Matrix sold more than 107,000 DVD copies in just two weeks, breaking Armageddon's record for becoming the country's best-selling DVD title. He is the recipient of six Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts Awards (AACTA) and has also been recognised as an Honorary Officer of the Order of Australia . Neo takes the red pill, and his reality begins to distort, awakening in a liquid-filled pod among countless other pods, containing other humans. The machines had to amend their choice of programming in order to make people subservient to them, and so they conceived the Matrix in the image of the world in 1999. It's always a shame when that classic bug issue of scheduling conflicts gets in the way. Another stuntman was injured by a hydraulic puller during a shot in which Neo was slammed into a booth. Speaking to Collider about his place in the franchise and his lack of it in "Resurrections," Weaving revealed that he'd even gone as far as talking with the director, Lana Wachowski,. She answers a ringing public telephone and vanishes. Related: Why Agent Smith Saves Neo & Trinity From The Analyst. Hugo Weaving played Agent Smith in The Matrix trilogy and received praises for his performances as the villain.However, he will not be reprising his character in The Matrix 4 which is currently filming in Berlin. [44] He was still recovering by the time of pre-production, but he insisted on training, so Yuen let him practice punches and lighter moves. Because the cameras circle the subject almost completely in most of the sequences, computer technology was used to edit out the cameras that appeared in the background on the other side. He quickly became an iconic villain thanks to Weaving's performance, especiallythe coldlyrobotic way he would referto protagonist Neo (Keanu Reeves) by his name within The Matrix:"Mr. Anderson". ", Zack Snyder's Guardians of Ga'Hoole Cast Coming Together, "Hugo Weaving confirmed as Red Skull in Captain America", "From 'Captain America' to 'Uncle Vanya,' Hugo Weaving stretches his acting chops", SXSW Exclusive First Look: 'The Key Man' Poster, "Oranges and Sunshine: an illuminating true-life drama", "Kennedy Center offers Cate Blanchett, hip-hop, 'The Addams Family', "Hugo Weaving, Ben Whishaw Join 'Cloud Atlas' (Cannes Exclusive)", "Curtain's up on Liaison with wicked wit", "A New York Stop for Cate Blanchett, Hugo Weaving and 'Uncle Vanya', "Ivan Sen's Mystery Road begins filming in Qld", "Screen Australia Backs 4 Films, 8 TV Projects", "A Dane takes Aussie film sales to a new level", "Cate Blanchett Lights Up Lincoln Center", "Agent Smith Returns A General Electric Commercial Set in the World of the Matrix", "Macbeth review Hugo Weaving finds the role of his career", "Incredible cast brought together for the film adaption of the iconic Australian novel, Jasper Jones", "Hugo Weaving, Toni Collette join all-star cast of Jasper Jones", "Lesley Manville and Hugo Weaving in The Visit at the National Theatre: first look photos | WhatsOnStage", "Harry Greenwood shines in first lead TV role in Gallipoli and he's the spitting image of dad Hugo Weaving", "Australian Honours Search Facility: Mr. Hugo Wallace Weaving", "The Lord of the Rings: The Battle for Middle Earth II", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Hugo_Weaving&oldid=1133161492. The film popularized a visual effect known as "bullet time", in which the heightened perception of certain characters is represented by allowing the action within a shot to progress in slow-motion while the camera appears to move through the scene at normal speed, allowing the sped-up movements of certain characters to be perceived normally. - March 27, 2022 05:09 pm EDT. [154][155][156][157], In The Matrix, a copy of Jean Baudrillard's philosophical work Simulacra and Simulation, which was published in French in 1981, is visible on-screen as "the book used to conceal disks",[7][41] and Morpheus quotes the phrase "desert of the real" from it. [21] He was part of the cast of the Wachowskis' adaptation of David Mitchell's novel Cloud Atlas. Happy watching! In "Reloaded" and "Revolutions," Smith has the power to turn other people within the Matrix into carbon copies of himself, which means that the sequels are filled with moments where multiple Agent Smiths are hanging out in a single shot. Most notably, this included Jada Pinkett-Smith as an elderly version of Niobe, current leader of Io,The Matrix'shuman city that replaced Zion after Neo seemingly brought an end to the war between humans and machines. It was possibly the coolest film I had ever seen. Before Cypher can kill Neo and Trinity, crew member Tank regains consciousness and kills him before pulling Neo and Trinity from the Matrix. This actually marks the second time Weaving didn't reprise a big role in a blockbuster franchise, as he declined to return as Red Skull in Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame, after originating the part in Captain America: The First Avenger. Neo was the Chosen One, and his brief infusion with Smith at the end of the Matrix was enough to make the Agent much more powerful and much more intelligent. Why did they replace Agent Smith? It was also released on VHS in both fullscreen and widescreen formats followed on December 7, 1999. Sat talking to Neo in the preview, his blue glasses (the same color as the pill to keep you in the Matrix) suggest he may be helping restrain Neo from what we know him to be capable of. The actors needed to perform martial art actions in their costume, hang upside-down without people seeing up their clothing, and be able to work the wires while strapped into the harnesses. The Matrix seemed fresh and cool and visually breathtaking; making wonderful, intelligent use of CGI to augment the on-screen action, striking a perfect balance of the real and the hyperreal. [46], Due to Reeves's neck injury (see above), some of the action scenes had to be rescheduled to wait for his full recovery. This Horror Movie's Ending Ruined The Entire Film, According To Fans, Charlize Theron Regrets Working On This 'Bad, Bad, Bad Movie', Viewers Demand A Trigger Warning For Mila Kunis' New Film, The Luckiest Girl Alive. Hey Movies fam, Im doing my Matrix rewatch in advance of the new sequel. The Agents interrogate Morpheus to learn his access codes to the mainframe computer in Zion, which would allow them to destroy it. Just RAN out of a lunch date. Using this momentum, they later asked to direct The Matrix. Next: 'Matrix 4' Has Drastically Changed Keanu Reeves' Net Worth, Here's How. [141] The action scenes of The Matrix were also strongly influenced by live-action films such as those of director John Woo. [35], The philosophy of Immanuel Kant has also been claimed as another influence on the film, and in particular how individuals within the Matrix interact with one another and with the system. Really, for a lot of the actors in The Matrix, that film propelled their careers. The fight scenes in Fist of Legend led to the hiring of Yuen as fight choreographer. "Revolutions" ends with Smith being defeated (again), for good this time. [99][100] Upon its opening, it had the highest opening weekend of any 1999 film, easily topping Payback. Each camera captures a still picture, contributing one frame to the video sequence, which creates the effect of "virtual camera movement"; the illusion of a viewpoint moving around an object that appears frozen in time.[73]. While there have been glimpses of Agent activity in the preview, one prime suspect is Neil Patrick Harris' character known simply as The Analyst. [151] After watching The Matrix, Gibson commented that the way that the film's creators had drawn from existing cyberpunk works was "exactly the kind of creative cultural osmosis" he had relied upon in his own writing;[8] however, he noted that the film's Gnostic themes distinguished it from Neuromancer, and believed that The Matrix was thematically closer to the work of science fiction author Philip K. Dick, particularly Dick's speculative Exegesis. [2][3][1] His maternal grandmother was Belgian. But the question remains who will be the new adversary to the film's seemingly forgotten freedom fighter? So, there are a lot of people on that set that I would love to see again. Later when The Matrix Resurrections was released, most fans were disappointed which begs an obvious question, was the movie ruined due to Fishburne and Weavings absence? While Fishburne and Weaving starring in the film likely would have improved it, their exclusion certainly isnt the sole reason the movie was bad. Weaving played Agent Smith in the original Matrix trilogy, and to some he is just as iconic as Keanu Reeves' character Neo. Hes got plenty of movies prior, a lot of which I havent seen. He said "if my wife put out three girls in a row, I'd cheat til I got a boy". Matthew Thomas is a freelance writer who has written hundreds of articles over the last several years. The world in 1999 was far from a utopia, but still humans accepted this over the suffering-less utopia. Hugo Wallace Weaving AO (born 4 April 1960) is an English actor. "[113], Filmmakers and science fiction creators alike generally took a complimentary perspective of The Matrix. Since he played the primary antagonist in the original Matrix trilogy, Hugo Weaving will forever be closely associated with the franchise. He appeared as Sir John in Yahoo Serious's 1993 comedy Reckless Kelly, a lampoon of Australian outlaw Ned Kelly. He regularly appears in productions by the Sydney Theatre Company (STC). In a nutshell, that's what happened," he concluded. But he was still about as much of a star you could get, imo you could argue he was already the hottest (most in demand) movie star at the time he was casted. It's on the same level of weird as bringing back Morpheus (sort of) without Laurence Fishburne: not necessarily bad, but there's gonna need to be a good in-movie explanation for this decision. He was great in Priscilla Queen of the Desert, although that was a very non Agent Smith role. [16], Philosopher William Irwin suggests that the idea of the "Matrix" a generated reality invented by malicious machines is an allusion to Descartes' "First Meditation", and his idea of an evil demon. According to William Irwin this is Kantian, because the machines wished to impose a perfect world on humans in an attempt to keep people content, so that they would remain completely submissive to the machines, both consciously and subconsciously, but humans were not easy to make content. In a controversial move by director Michael Bay, Weaving was chosen as the Decepticon leader Megatron vocally in the 2007 live-action film Transformers, rather than using the original version of the character's voice created by the voice actor Frank Welker. [98] The film would remain at the top of the box office for two weeks until it was overtaken by Life. [25] Yuen designed Moss's moves to suit her deftness and lightness. [40], The cast were required to be able to understand and explain The Matrix. He hangs up and flies away. So, she pulled the plug on the negotiations. However, in this case, the fact that Mateen II was cast as a version of Morpheus in The Matrix Resurrections was a problem for the film. [126] In February 2022, the film was named one of the five finalists for Oscars Cheer Moment as part of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences' "Oscars Fan Favorite" contest, for the "bullet time" scene, finishing in fifth place.[127][128]. Related: The Matrix 4 Theory: How Carrie-Anne Moss' Trinity Returns. Agent Smith explains that, "it was a disaster. The Wachowskis have described Stanley Kubrick's 2001: A Space Odyssey as a formative cinematic influence, and as a major inspiration on the visual style they aimed for when making The Matrix. [40], Weaving also has a brother and a sister. "Lana was very keen for me to be a part of [The Matrix 4]," said Weaving. Computer programmer Thomas Anderson, known by his hacking alias "Neo", is puzzled by repeated online encounters with the phrase "the Matrix". His music videos experimented with a different type of technique called view-morphing and it was just part of the beginning of uncovering the creative approaches toward using still cameras for special effects. The Lord of the Rings and Captain America star Hugo Weaving has revealed why he did not return as Agent Smith for The Matrix 4. He was arguably the biggest reason it was a blockbuster, the filmmakers were Unknowns and it was not a typical blockbuster. [108] Similarly, Time Out praised the "entertainingly ingenious" switches between different realities, Hugo Weaving's "engagingly odd" performance, and the film's cinematography and production design, but concluded, "the promising premise is steadily wasted as the film turns into a fairly routine action pic yet another slice of overlong, high concept hokum. In response, Fishburne explained he wasnt involved in that decision. Weaving played a supporting role in Joe Johnston's 2010 remake of the 1941 film The Wolfman, starring Benicio del Toro. The film premiered at the Rome International Film Festival on 28 October 2010 and garnered positive reviews. [38] He has been in a relationship with Katrina Greenwood since 1984;[39] they live in Sydney and have two children together: Harry Greenwood, an actor, and Holly Greenwood, an artist. The filming helped establish New South Wales as a major film production center. Smith explained on his YouTube channel that the idea was for him to be Neo, while Morpheus was to be played by Val Kilmer. While it is clear Laurence Fishburne and Hugo Weavings absence from The Matrix Resurrections took away from the film, it still is an overstatement to claim that is what ruined the film. The real, undramatic reason is that it simply came down to a scheduling conflict, seeing as Weaving was acting in another project when most of the filming for "Resurrections" took place. How would you know the difference from the real world and the dream world?"[164]. Instead, Weaving's absence comes down to a Hollywood staple: scheduling conflicts. For example, after Jessica Henwick already showed up in Star Wars and the MCU, she joined the cast of The Matrix Resurrections as the character Bugs. They wanted me to do it. Either one feels like a realpossibility;although Smithappeared to have been wiped out for good by the end of the original trilogy, he could return with a new shell in The Matrix 4, much like the Oracle did in Revolutions (when Mary Alice took over the role after Gloria Foster passed away). [10] At Metacritic, which assigns a rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the film received a score of 73 based on 35 reviews, indicating "generally favorable reviews. As Neo recuperates from a lifetime of physical inactivity in the pod, Morpheus explains the situation: In the early 21st century, a war broke out between humanity and intelligent machines. [190][191] The term has been used in discussion forums for right-wing topics such as Gamergate, white supremacy, incel subculture and Qanon. She basically didnt feel that my commitment to the National Theatre was going to fit in with the dates that she had in mind for me.. I really wanted to know why we were doing it and what's to be gained, apart from making money." [8] Other writers have also commented on the similarities between The Matrix and Dick's work;[142][152][153] one example of such influence is a Philip K. Dick's 1977 conference, in which he stated: "We are living in a computer-programmed reality, and the only clue we have to it is when some variable is changed, and some alteration in our reality occurs". Thats a great point! The goal of /r/Movies is to provide an inclusive place for discussions and news about films with major releases. All rights reserved. [69] For Trinity, Barrett experimented with how each fabric absorbed and reflected different types of light, and was eventually able to make Trinity's costume mercury-like and oil-slick to suit the character. The Matrix revolutionized that. [35] The Wachowskis therefore hired underground comic book artists Geof Darrow and Steve Skroce to draw a 600-page, shot-by-shot storyboard for the entire film. Back in the Matrix, Neo makes a telephone call, promising the machines that he will show their prisoners "a world where anything is possible." 1998 Australian Film Institute Awards, Best Actor in a Lead Role: 2005 Australian Film Institute Awards, Best Actor in a Lead Role: 2007 The Constellation Awards, Best Male Performance in a 2006 Science Fiction Film, TV Movie, or Miniseries: 2011 Sydney Theatre Award, Best Supporting Actor: 2012 Helen Hayes Award, Best Supporting Performer, Non-Resident Production: This page was last edited on 12 January 2023, at 13:55. Davis focused on this theme of reflections when creating his score, alternating between sections of the orchestra and attempting to incorporate contrapuntal ideas. [147], The film makes several references to Lewis Carroll's Alice's Adventures in Wonderland. Since there are loads of famous actors who seem to work constantly, scheduling conflicts are extremely common in Hollywood. [80][81], Manex also handled creature effects, such as Sentinels and machines in real world scenes; Animal Logic created the code hallway and the exploding Agent at the end of the film. "I had some initial reticence about the idea of going back to revisit The Matrix, after having already done three films," Weaving admitted, "but then I read the script and got an offer to my agent. While working for all of those websites, Matthew has been able to cover a variety of subjects he is very passionate about including movies, TV shows, comics, and wrestling. It is the sequel to The Matrix Revolutions (2003) and the fourth installment in The Matrix film franchise.The film stars Keanu Reeves, Carrie-Anne Moss, Yahya Abdul-Mateen . I didnt realize how many Australian actors started their Hollywood careers in that time. [76], The method used for creating these effects involved a technically expanded version of an old art photography technique known as time-slice photography, in which an array of cameras are placed around an object and triggered simultaneously.
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