Whoa. The A-Z of Matrix Reloaded

Neo and Again

8 Days, April 2003, No. 652

Paul Calder, direct from Sydney

Ahead of its release next month, we go behind the scenes of The Matrix Reloaded to reveal the secrets of this year's hottest sequel.

K is for the Keymaker

Pivotal to The Matrix Reloaded's plot, the Keymaker (Randall Duk Kim, left) can access all of the doors into the Matrix. If the rebels are to defeat their cyber captors, they need this guy. "You've always got to look for parallels in the way your computer operates," instructs Joel Silver. "Your computer has a program that holds your passwords, and that's the Keymaker's role."

L is for Love

The sexual chemistry between Neo and Trinity finally ignites in The Matrix Reloaded. Although the trailer includes a kiss between the two, word has it that they also get it on during a stopover in Zion.

M is for Matching meanies

Apart from the duplicate Agent Smiths, Neo also squares off against the silver-coated Twins played by karate pros - and real-life twin brothers - Neil and Adrian Rayment. Charged with guarding the Keymaker, these guys have the ability to disappear at will and can morph into different forms.

N is for Newcomers

Jada Pinkett-Smith (left) joins the cast as Niobe, a rebel warrior and ex-flame of Laurence Fishburne's Morpheus. Also signing on is Ali star Nona Gaye (Marvin's daughter) who plays freedom fighter Zee, a role originally intended for Aaliyah, the R&B singer who died in a place crash in 2001. Of her character, Gaye notes, "She wants to make sure that what she considers sacred is kept safe." Chiming in , Fishburne adds, '"And she can really kick ass."

O is for the Oracle

Gloria Foster, who played the sage Oracle in The Matrix, died from diabetes complications last September after shooting her scenes in The Matrix Reloaded. In typically cryptic fashion, Keanu Reeves explains the Oracle's role in the latest adventure: "Neo's told by the Oracle that he has some choices that he'll have to make that will affect the survival of the human race. And there are some hard choices." Although Foster was expected to appear in The Matrix Revolutions, a quick rewrite now has her character returning in a different form.

P is for Philosophy

If there's one message The Matrix Reloaded producer and cast want to drive home, it's this: scratch beneath the cyber sleek surface of The Matrix films and you'll find something much deeper. "They deal with philosophical notions of reality," advises producer Joel Silver. It's an oxymoron, but we've made a smart action movie." Given that the Hollywood titan gave us such bullets-and-bombs actioners as Exit Wounds, Romeo Must Die and the Lethal Weapon series, he adds, "I guess I'm responsible for a number of dumb action pictures in my life." In some colleges, philosophy lecturers have been screening The Matrix to introduce head-spinning theories about reality and religion to their students. Not that Keanu Reeves is interested in such matters. "In terms of doing an academic discussion... I don't have the facility to do that."   See also: The Matrix: A Study in the Liberation of Bondage from Maya

Q is for Quest

Much of The Matrix Reloaded's plot follows Neo's journey from  reluctant hero to exalted saviour. "Neo has changed," says Keanu Reeves. He's a lot more in control of his powers. But the Wachowski brothers have put up some great obstacles to test those powers. The story starts to go outside the matrix and starts to concern itself with the machines and Zion. He's still on the path of discovery."

R is for Revolutions

Although little is known about the final chapter in The Matrix trilogy, visual-effects hotshot John Gaeta hints that it'll involve "all these battles and some epic real-world confrontations." Unlike The Matrix Reloaded, which takes place in The Matrix, most of the action in The Matrix Revolutions occurs in the scorched ruins of Zion.

S is for sequels

The way producer Joel Silver tells it, the Wachowski brothers always conceived The Matrix as a trilogy. "They had the whole story down," he informs. "With The Matrix Revolutions, the story they wanted to tell has ended." Could the franchise continue after The Matrix Revolutions? "I don't know. It gives you the impression that it might be able to, but I don't know if we want to."

T is for Trade-off

In a movie that shocked Hollywood, Keanu Reeves reportedly sacrificed a large chunk of his acting fee and poured the money back into the production so the filmmakers didn't have to scrimp on the visual F/X. When asked about the generous move, the actor buries his head in his hands and turns to producer Joel Silver for help. On cue, Joel Silver advises that the sequels "were very difficult to make. During the process, a lot of things were done and discussed, but we're very happy with the way it all worked out."

U is for urgency

Racing against time, Neo and the rebel leaders have only 72 hours until the machines tunnel their way into Zion and blow away the remaining human survivors. Further cranking up the tension, a ticking clock counts down the hours.

V is for videogame

Part of The Matrix Reloaded blitz includes the release of Enter the Matrix, a videogame that takes you into the heart of the virtual universe. To ensure the look and plot of the game were consistent with the films, the Wachowski brothers not only wrote the game's script, they also directed the action. The games will continue the story, explains production designer Owen Paterson. "We shot film sequences with the actors that will go directly into the game."

W is for Wachowski brothers

Andy Wachowski, 35, and older brother Larry Wachowski, became Hollywood's go-to-guys after their kinky-cool 1996 thriller Bound earned critical raves. But if you want to talk to the writing-directing siblings, you'll have to get in line. The pair refuses to meet the press or does interviews. They don't want to have to explain anything or identify what they're about," says producer Joel Silver. "They let the movie do that." And they let their cast do it, too. Laurence Fishburne reveals that the brothers "have a secret code that exists between them. They're not very verbal. Generally Larry Wachowski will take the camera and Andy Wachowski will stand by the monitor. It's almost like every shot is already in their heads and it's inconvenient to have to actually film it."

X is for X-Large

For Carrie-Ann Moss, size matters. Not an off-the-rack kinda girl, during the shoot the 35-year-old wore four customer made sets of leather pants of various sizes. "One's a beauty fit. That's for standing and looking good. One's an action fit so that I can have flexibility; they have gussets in them so I can kick and run. And then there's a really big pair so I can put a wire underneath. I can't really say that I'm really ever that uncomfortable. Or maybe I'm just used to it now."

Y is for Yo-yos

We're talking about human yo-yos here. To perform the gravity-defying, wall-walking fight sequences, the actors spent hours suspended from wires and being flung about the sets. Being the newbie to set, Jada Pinkett-Smith soon got the, er, hang of it. "I was filming my fight scene with Keanu and I saw him soaking in a tub of ice," she recalls. "I thought, 'What is he doing?' After two days on those wires, I could not move my body. I was so swollen and so sore. That's when I knew what the ice was for."

Z is for Zion

Hidden deep in the Earth's core, Zion is the only city where humans can roam free. Judging by the sets we saw on our visit, though, it's not a very inviting place. Part industrial junkyard, part Batcave, Zion's sense of freedom mayo be its only selling point. This set caused some major headaches for the artist. "It's such a large set because we needed to fit in 800 extras. On top of that, you've got people wearing diaphanous costumes and all these flames and torches everywhere."

As fiery as things got on the Zion set, the release of The Matrix Reloaded next month looks set to generate some real heat. If you believe the hype, this sci-fi sequel will set new standards in terms of visual F/X. "We are all aware that we are involved in something that is absolutely history-making." asserts Laurence Fishburne. "Reloaded is going to be remembered as  a monumental advance in the history of filmmaking."

We're impressed. Or, as Keanu Reeves might say: "Whooooa."

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