On March 31, 1999, “The Matrix” was released in Polish cinemas with a delay that was natural at that time. It was a beautiful year for cinema, not only foreign, but also Polish. “Pan Tadeusz”, “With Fire and Sword”, “Kilerów 2-óch” premiered… But for world cinema, these titles had much less importance than “The Matrix”.
A film about the terrifying future that awaits humanity has become a symbol of the turn of the century. After leaving the cinema, statements that something works or looks like something in The Matrix have become commonplace. There were failures of IT systems and the power of machines over people in everything. We all lived “in the Matrix” and we all tried to break free from it. Scenes from “The Matrix” were acted out in schools and everyone wanted to be Neo or Trinity. And although it is now difficult to imagine anyone other than Mr. Anderson playing the role, at the casting stage it was not so obvious that this actor would become the savior of humanity.
You hear “The Matrix”, do you see… Nicolas Cage?!
Keanu Reeves was on a wave of rising popularity even before his role in “The Matrix”. He had roles in “The Devil’s Advocate” alongside Pacino, “Speed” with Sandra Bullock, “Chain Reaction” and many other productions. He jumped from box to box, once in an action movie, once in a romance, then again in a drama. He couldn’t find a place anywhere and at the same time he was not very good at “selling” himself. In an interview for “” in 1999, the editors pointed out that the conversation with the actor was extremely difficult because Keanu was thinking about every word that was about to come out of his mouth. He gave the impression of not being particularly bright, and his biography didn’t help either – the actor was expelled from school for talking out loud, it was widely known that he had dyslexia, and he got into numerous conflicts in his youth. He was friends with River Phoenix, who fatally overdosed on drugs in 1993. When he received the “Matrix” script from an agent, he wasn’t sure whether the production would be interested in him.
The role of Thomas Anderson was offered to him – and rejected – by, among others: Will Smith or Nicolas Cage. Brad Pitt joked in 2020 that the day he turned down the offer to play Neo, he took the famous red pill and didn’t go down the rabbit hole. For a moment, it seemed that Neo would be none other than Leonardo DiCaprio. However, he was fresh from “Titanic” and eventually resigned due to the search for a role that would not require him to play in front of a green screen. Val Kilmer got a double offer – when he turned down the role of Neo, he was offered Morpheus. As we know, he did not appear in any part of the film.
Keanu Reeves was therefore not the first choice of directors and producers. When he arrived at his meeting, the Wachowskis were already waiting for him in the parking lot. The actor received sketched visualizations of several scenes, including THIS scene with bullets. The conversation went so well that the entire group of interested parties didn’t even make it to the office – it wasn’t necessary, because everyone else in the parking lot agreed that they had found their Neo. Reeves returned to the car with the roll in his pocket. And only then did it dawn on him that he might have been a bit in a hurry.
Keanu Reeves, ‘The Matrix’ Photo Matrix / frame
“Matrix” with injured Neo
The role in the film was very demanding. The actor had to quickly learn the basics of martial arts and learn to cooperate with completely innovative methods that Wachowski implemented on the set. Although Keanu Reeves was no stranger to physical exertion, the Wachowskis demanded more and more from him.
When you experience virtual reality, you have the freedom to stretch the limits of what is possible for the average person. So if our characters in “The Matrix” can instantly download all the information into their brains, they should, for example, be able to fight kung-fu at the same master level as Jackie Chan – they said in one of the interviews
The bar was set very high. And Keanu Reeves has been struggling with a painful injury for several years that would not go away. Although he wasn’t immediately sure that the role in “The Matrix” would be a breakthrough in his career, he really believed in this production and… he didn’t want to reject the offer he got so easily. The injury couldn’t stop him.
I met with the producers. At the meeting, they said that training in eastern martial arts would be necessary and asked if it was okay for me. It was fine, but there was one problem. I’ve been struggling with a back injury, but it’s gotten worse lately. I suffered it on the set of “Chain Reaction”, the doctor injected anesthesia into my spine several times… I had a spinal hernia and a ruptured disc, I was starting to lose feeling, it was difficult for me to stand upright. I agreed to the role in “The Matrix” and four months of hard training, but it was really bad – he said in the podcast “The Art of Action”
Reeves didn’t tell anyone in production what was happening. He underwent surgery (two vertebrae were connected with a metal plate) and he hoped that it would work out.
I didn’t tell anyone because I didn’t want to admit to anyone that I wouldn’t be able to make this film, he confessed years later. – After the surgery, I was allowed to move immediately, but I trained for “The Matrix” in a stiffened collar
Even though 20 years have passed since its premiere, many people still remember the day of the premiere of “The Matrix” as one of the experiences like no other. Quentin Tarantino watched the film during the first evening screening. “You could almost feel the electricity from the audience. We had the feeling that we were experiencing something profound. Now, of course, after all these years, we all know the secret of “The Matrix”, but back then we knew nothing, no trailers, no texts around this film, nothing heralded what was to come.” “We’ll see on the screen,” he said years later in . “It was like a nuclear explosion. Few films can shape reality in such a way as “The Matrix”, it perfectly captured the spirit of the times”, “One of the most important film experiences of that time, you left the cinema with the impression that nothing was the same anymore ” – can still be read in numerous .
Premiere of the third part of the movie ‘The Matrix’ KRZYSZTOF KAROLCZYK / Agencja Wyborcza.pl
How do you remember “The Matrix”? Did you manage to see it in the cinema? Or maybe you were still too young (formally, the film received an adult rating of “R” in the United States and many cinemas did not allow viewers under 15 years of age) and ultimately you no longer belong to the generation for whom watching “The Matrix” on a big cinema screen changed the way looking at the world?
Source: Gazeta
Bruce is a talented author and journalist with a passion for entertainment . He currently works as a writer at the 247 News Agency, where he has established himself as a respected voice in the industry.
