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The Matrix Virtual Theatre

Matrix Virtual Theatre
Wachowski Brothers Transcript
Nov. 6, 1999

Welcome to the first live Virtual Theatre presentation in the world! Tonight you'll be able to watch The Matrix with special guests Andy and Larry Wachowski, the creators of the film.

WachowskiBros: Hi!

ILoveNatPortman says: Can you give any information on the sequels, or even confirm their existence?
WachowskiBros: Yes, we are working on them right now. Well, we would be working on them right now except we have to be here in the chat room right now, LOL

blindrocket says: Do you practice Martial Arts?
WachowskiBros: No, we do not, but we watch a lot of Kung Fu movies.

AgentMartin says: Why didn't you both do the commentary on the DVD, time restraints?
WachowskiBros: That's a two-part answer. Part one is that we believe that film is a collaborative media, that's why we never take a film credit. We think the other artists who help create a film are important and interesting, and for people who want to understand the process of filmmaking. And the second part is, that we were too tired.

Hiryu says: Which Anime inspired you the most and why?
WachowskiBros: We liked Ghost in the Shell and the Ninja Scroll and Akira in anime. One thing that they do that we tried to bring to our film was a juxtaposition of time and space in action beats.

AgentMartin says: Is there anything in The Matrix which you weren't too happy with; wished you could have done differently?
WachowskiBros: That would require the rest of the chat to answer! But, we'll answer that in general we're fairly happy with the way it turned out.

blindrocket says: Would you consider yourselves computer nerds?
WachowskiBros: You got the second part right, just nerds! LOL

AgentMartin says: Were you excited about DVD as a medium for your movies to go to the homes of the masses?
WachowskiBros: As a technology, DVD is an exciting medium. But like many technologies, it still needs to be developed by the users of the technology.

Enigma says: What is the role or faith in the movie? Faith in oneself first and foremost - or in something else?
WachowskiBros: Hmmmm...that is a tough question! Faith in one's self, how's that for an answer?

Peter says: Will there be a directors' cut of The Matrix with any deleted scenes or out-takes?
WachowskiBros: Nope, nope! Because we were pretty happy with the way it turned out.

AgentMartin says: The two of you seemed to have a great relationship together for the making of this movie. Have you always been very close?
WachowskiBros: We just met actually. Tonight!

Sentinel says: What comic books inspired the look of the Matrix?
WachowskiBros: The largest influence from the comic book world on the actual design would be the art of Geof Darrow.

Playing on the DVD Now: Scene of Fed Express delivery man giving package to Neo in the office cubicle:
This is the very first scene we shot in the movie, on our first day, this scene that's playing right now, the scene with the FedEx guy. 18 set-ups in one day.

Hiryu says: If you get the chance to make a Matrix spin-off TV series will you?
WachowskiBros: Maybe. Especially if it could be in anime.

blindrocket says: Which one of you is the older brother?
WachowskiBros: I am.

Revenge says: What did the humans do to scorch the sky?
WachowskiBros: We'll answer that question later.

larrikin says: How long did it take to film in Sydney? Was the entire movie shot in Sydney?
WachowskiBros: 118 days, and yes. Playing on the DVD Now: Scene of Neo on the ledge of the office building, trying to escape from the agents:
Actually, this is Keanu Reeves actually getting out onto an actual ledge, without a stunt man. He does this entire scene without a stunt man, and it's 34 floors up.

hokeyboy says: Were the filmmakers influenced by Alex Proyas's similarly-themed "Dark City"?
WachowskiBros: No, but we thought it was very strange that Australia came to have three films associated with it that were all about the nature of reality -- Dark City, The Truman Show and The Matrix.

Enjoythesilence says: How would you say Bound and the Matrix are similar?
WachowskiBros: Both films examine the idea of an individual searching for their true self while attempting to escape the box that we often make of our lives.

calla says: What do the time 9:18 and the date 9/18 signify? Is this a personal reference?
WachowskiBros: That's my wife's birthday (said Andy).

Inge says: How long did the lobby scene take to shoot?
WachowskiBros: It took 12 days to shoot the lobby scene.

Inge says: Which scene are you guys most happy with? Favorite? For me it was when NEO was on his way to Morpheus the first time.
WachowskiBros: If you're talking about the pill scene, that's our favorite too.

Playing on the DVD Now: Scene where the bug was being put into Neo's stomach by the Agents
That was a prosthetic stomach, by the way.

Hiryu says: Did the movie Johnny Mnemonic play a role in casting Keanu Reeves for the role of Neo?
WachowskiBros: No.

Sealouse says: Why was it filmed in Australia?
WachowskiBros: Cost.

calla says: There are quite a few hidden messages in the movie that I notice the more I watch it. Can you tell me about how many there are?
WachowskiBros: There are more than you'll ever know.

Inge says: Did you guys take a nice holiday after the film opened? You deserve it!
WachowskiBros: Thank you very much! And we did.

Sentinel says: What do you think of the fans of the Matrix?
WachowskiBros: We love them.

ToiletCommando says: Are you prepared to become legends?
WachowskiBros: Legends of what?

MadMatt says: You guys BIG Jackie Chan fans?
WachowskiBros: Yes, we love a lot of Hong Kong cinema. Jackie Chan in Drunken Master II is fantastic.

TheTrinityACMXCL says: What about the animals in the Matrix? Are they real animals or just computer-generated images?
WachowskiBros: Sadly, they are all computer-generated images.

ToiletCommando says: Is it true that you got some of your ideas from the Vertigo comic The Invisibles?
WachowskiBros: We do enjoy that comic, but no.

ThedrickFel says: What exactly was the mirror made of? Was it the same stuff they injected into Morpheus? Why silver?
WachowskiBros: The mirror is actually a mirror. When Neo sees it it's a hallucination, but it's the direct result of the pill Morpheus had given Neo. Reflections in general are a significant theme in the film. The ideas of worlds within worlds. The idea of the reflection, the two Neo's in Morpheus glasses represents the two lives that Neo is leading. In the left lens, we see the blue pill and Thomas Anderson, and in the right lens, we see the red pill and Neo.

Playing on the DVD Now: Scene where Neo is breaking out of the pod
WachowskiBros: We're pretty happy with the way this scene turned out. Keanu did some amazing work in this scene which included six hours every morning of prosthetic makeup. And he had to sit in a freezing cold vat of goo for another six hours.

AgentMartin says: Are you surprised by the amount of Internet life that The Matrix has spawned, fan sites etc?
WachowskiBros: Surprised? Yes, very, surprised. We are very, completely stupefied by the fan response to the film.

Jose says What kind of drug does the red pill contain?
WachowskiBros: It's like a computer virus that's meant to disrupt Neo's life signal so that they can pinpoint where Neo's body is in the power plant. Playing on the DVD Now:Scene where all the acupuncture needles were in Neo and they were rebuilding his muscles
I was very happy with the Don Davis score in this scene, that included his use of a boy soprano, which I thought was very eerie. Don had a great idea, to use a human voices choir in scenes like the power plant and scenes on the Neb to sort of suggest the plight of humanity.

Renxo says: Which is your favorite flick?
WachowskiBros: Too many to answer.

unholyTrinity says: When did you think about making this movie for the very first time? Was there a kind of special inspiration given by any event, occasion or something like that?
WachowskiBros: It all happened very rapidly. We were working on another comic book, and a friend asked us if we had any ideas for a new series. And we said no, and then we just started talking about a couple of ideas that we had been working on in connection to cyberpunk fiction. And, a whole idea sort of exploded, over a period of about three days.

Renxo says: Where were you born?
WachowskiBros: Chicago.

Doc says: So, WAS the Japanese animation Megazone 23 an inspiration for the Matrix? The stories seem very similar.
WachowskiBros: I've never seen it. But send us a copy, it sounds good.

theman says: How did you guys come up with the idea for The Matrix? Playing video games? Shock therapy?
WachowskiBros: No, designer drugs.

Starr22 says: Are all the religious symbolism and doctrine throughout this movie intentional, or not?
WachowskiBros: Most of it is intentional. One of the things we tried to do with the Neb for when we were shooting "in the real world" was use long lenses to separate the humans from the backgrounds, as opposed to when we shot the Matrix we used short lenses to place the humans in specific deep spaces. We also tinted all of the lights blue in the "real world" and green in the Matrix.

Playing on the DVD Now: Scene where Morpheus and Neo are discussing the scorched earth in the Matrix
WachowskiBros: There have been many questions about the history that Morpheus suggests in this scene, and we have written the history in a fair amount of detail, and we often have hoped that if we did an anime series, we would tell the story of this history and the story of the first One. Somebody asked us about the liquification of humans. That's what they feed the people in the pods, the dead people are liquefied and fed to the living people in the pods. Always recycle! It's a statement on recycling.

Renxo says: Do you reflect your personality on Neo's character? Were you/are you...hackers?
WachowskiBros: We're probably not good enough to call ourselves hackers, like NEO.

White_Beezatch says: Will there ever be a Matrix video game?
WachowskiBros: Hopefully yes. If things work out the way we want them to, the video game will be released when the next movie comes out, and it will actually have something to do with the movie.

DrBasher says: Who came up with the wardrobe, because Trinity's outfits rocked? So did Morpheus' and Neo's. Was it part of the original script?
WachowskiBros: We described her as a woman in black leather in the script. But, mainly the costumes were designed by Kym Barrett.

Chandler says: Since you have worked with the same composer and cinematographer (the great Bill Pope) did you find that it was easier to think ahead about a visual or musical style for the film?
WachowskiBros: Did Bill Pope ask this question?
No, but it's easier to execute them. You develop a shorthand language with people you've worked with before. You tell Bill "We need a 'B' move", and he knows what to do.

pomru says: My friends and I are wondering what anime you showed the producers to get this movie green-lighted?
WachowskiBros: If only it had been that easy. We had to draw the entire movie and Keanu Reeves had to agree to do the movie before anybody green-lit it.

DrBasher says: Also, the special effects rocked, was the script conceived knowing the special effects were available, or were the special effects conceived to make the script possible?
WachowskiBros: Some of the special effects had to be invented, mainly Bullet Time.

yellerdog says: What are the odds of the Wachowskis directing a "straight up" live action adaptation of an anime?
WachowskiBros: I thought we did.

DrBasher says: How long did it take to come up with the script, because it's great?
WachowskiBros: We wrote the script before we had even directed Bound. And had been working on it up until the time of production.

TGee says: When did you first think you would have such a huge hit on your hands?
WachowskiBros: It kind of was like a giant art house hit, in that it just kept going and going and people kept talking about it, and there was never a moment where people were like "it's huge." People liked it, and it just kept going.

ToiletCommando says: Are you going to do any projects besides the Matrix?
WachowskiBros: Maybe. If we're still alive.

Playing on the DVD Now: Kung-fu training with Morpheus
This is all Keanu (the scene being shown live during the chat), this is Keanu running up the pillar and doing the full airborne 360.

ToiletCommando says: Is it hard to work as brothers? Don't you disagree on everything?
WachowskiBros: Mom flies down to the set every day to settle every one of our arguments.

BigMac says: Rumor has it that Cypher is not dead. Is this true?
WachowskiBros: If you ask Joey Pants, it is. Joey Pants started that rumor.

Playing on the DVD Now: The jump scene where Morpheus jumps from one building to another
WachowskiBros: That shot, where Morpheus jumps up out of frame, we called "The Worst Camera Operator Shot in the World."

garrett says: Isn't it rather ironic that Morpheus and his crew are completely dependent upon technology and computers, the very evils against which they are fighting?
WachowskiBros: Yes!

ooo says: What is The Matrix?
WachowskiBros: About two hours and fifteen minutes long.

Playing on the DVD Now: Scene entering the building where they ambushed by agents
WachowskiBros: Those doors are actually made out of wood.

spark says: What made you decide on the green tint for being in the Matrix?
WachowskiBros: It was a whole motif inspired by the phosphorous green of old PCs.

Playing on the DVD Now: Agent training where woman in red dress appears
WachowskiBros: People don't realize how important this scene is. Because we are all staring at the woman in the red dress! There's actually twins and triplets that we hired in that scene. And all of the clothes are based on black and white costumes, like nuns, chefs, brides, sailors. We had the idea that Mouse just doubled people instead of making originals. But we couldn't afford to do it digitally, so we ended up hiring as many doubles, or as many twins, as we could find in Sydney. It was kind of like a bad dream on the set.

grey says: How did you get the money for "The Matrix"?
WachowskiBros: Begged. And the big-hearted Warner Brothers came through.

Stone says: Would you like to direct Jackie Chan?
WachowskiBros: Sure!

Lyn says: Have you guys been approached to direct Batman?
WachowskiBros: Yes, but we thought we'd be busy doing the sequels.

Playing on the DVD Now: Sentinels looking for the Neb and then Cypher with Agent Smith in restaurant
WachowskiBros: We're pretty happy with the way the sentinels turned out. The digital artist that John Gaeta found did some amazing work. Cypher, at the beginning of this scene, is setting up an automated system to allow him to go meet with Agent Smith. By the way, this steak was one of the best steaks we had in Sydney. We got to eat all of the ones that Cypher didn't finish. Several of the cast members actually got sick eating this stuff during this scene.

EZGuest316 says: Could you say a little about the sound design which was terrific such as the slo-mo bullet ripple effects, Foley effects.
WachowskiBros: Dane Davis is a genius. He built all of these sound effects from all kinds of original sounds. He'd put bullets on strings and whirled them around his studio, he digitized raindrops against windowpanes to create the sound of the Matrix code.

JediKnight says: Have you been approached with any sci-fi scripts and do you have plans to do any?
WachowskiBros: Right now, we're focusing just on Matrix 2 and 3.

Freethinker says: Just out of curiosity, do you guys hold to any religious beliefs?
WachowskiBros: Non-denominational.

Astral_Traveler says: How did you choose the music?
WachowskiBros: For the most part, we chose the music ourselves. But we hired a consultant D.J. in LA named Jason Bentley, a musical whiz kid, who had a lot of swell ideas.

JimmyEO971 says: Will Joe Pantoliano be the DeNiro to your Scorsese, the Divine to your John Waters?
WachowskiBros: There is a court order against Joe Pantoliano for coming within 100 feet of us.

biggysmalls says: How many bluescreen/greenscreen shots are in this movie?
WachowskiBros: That's a good question. There are 450 digital effect shots, but green screen? Probably about 125.

wrygrass says: Did ideas from Buddhism influence you in making the film?
WachowskiBros: Yes. There's something uniquely interesting about Buddhism and mathematics, particularly about quantum physics, and where they meet. That has fascinated us for a long time.

gdreams says: Will you use Yeun Woo Ping again?
WachowskiBros: Hell yes!

gtbpitt says: Do you think The Matrix will develop a cult following in the decades to come?
WachowskiBros: We hope it's as big as the Night of the Lepus.

Playing on the DVD Now: Scene where Neo and Morpheus enter Oracle's apartment
WachowskiBros: This is my wife (Andy) about to be on the screen here. She comes in right there! Awesome actress!

letmein says: The phrase "paying taxes" comes up a few times. Why?
WachowskiBros: Because we usually couldn't afford to pay ours. It is an examination of what is and is not certain.

Tank says: I am a computer artist and I am very interested in knowing what type of computers and software you used to create the 3D effects?
WachowskiBros: A lot of the guys at Mannex wrote their programs with Softimage. We think.

Wesbran says: Is the title "The Matrix" related to the mitochondrial matrix located in cells; the site of cell respiration, the creation of energy in humans?
WachowskiBros: Like the movie itself, there is a lot of word play, a lot of hidden other meanings, a lot of multiple meanings. Besides that, we also like the definition, the mathematical definition of the use of matrix, or the use of it in terms of a woman's womb.

DVDReporter383 says: Do you surf fan sites? Do you have the time?
WachowskiBros: We've looked at a few. There are some cool ones out there.

virtualMatrix says: What is the significance of Neo eating the Oracle's cookie?
WachowskiBros: There was a piece cut out of the movie that explained the significance more. It's hard to explain.

agunn3 says: Have you ever been told that the Matrix has Gnostic overtones?
WachowskiBros: Do you consider that to be a good thing?

RockyMtnBri says: Any chance of novels being written above and beyond the movie, like Star Wars?
WachowskiBros: Maybe.

Freethinker says: The Matrix was very-well received by critics, as well. Did that surprise you? How much stock do you hold in critics?
WachowskiBros: There were some critics that really didn't like it. Did it surprise us that some liked it? You don't really hold much stock in critics, you tend to make movies for first, yourselves, and second, your audience. And the greatest thing about critics is that sometimes they can help find your audience.

AgentMarr says: What was the thinking behind the use of numbers that can be read both ways like 303 on the hotel door where Neo meets his destiny?
WachowskiBros: Like the wordplay, there's a lot of numbers play in the movie as well.

Mike says: What were your fondest moments while filming The Matrix?
WachowskiBros: Finishing!

Playing on the DVD Now: Where they are trying to escape the agents inside the wall of the building
WachowskiBros: This scene, this set right here, the wet wall, is something like forty-eight feet high, and they are actually really worming their way down with wires. This was a hard stunt.

DVDReporter383 says: Do you surf the net? If so, where do you go?
WachowskiBros: We're everywhere.

linusa says: Do you believe that our world is in some way similar to "The Matrix," that there is a larger world outside of this existence?
WachowskiBros: That is a larger question than you actually might think. We think the most important sort of fiction attempts to answer some of the big questions. One of the things that we had talked about when we first had the idea of The Matrix was an idea that I believe philosophy and religion and mathematics all try to answer. Which is, a reconciling between a natural world and another world that is perceived by our intellect.

godbox says: Confronted with Neo's choice, which would you chose?
WachowskiBros: Blue pill.

Fuchikoma says: What response did you get from established filmmakers upon the Matrix's release? Any unexpected phone calls etc.?
WachowskiBros: We had a lot of wonderful comments.

Lincoln says: What comment do you have to those who say that the Matrix will probably be recognized as the first 21st Century film?
WachowskiBros: Well, first we'd be grateful for the comment. Then we'd have to point out the clerical error that it's in the 20th Century, and not the 21st until 2001.

wrygrass says: Did you do camcorder films or other film practice that helped you direct?
WachowskiBros: No, nothing on video, but we did fiddle around with 16 mm film.

Revenge says: What is the symbolism of all the analog rotary phones?
WachowskiBros: There's a couple of meanings. We liked the analog nature of older technology. We liked the suggestion of old original phone hackers. It sort of suggested the big Rube Goldberg device that's in the mirror scene.

Scene Playing on the DVD Now:
WachowskiBros: That's the largest translight ever constructed (interesting fact). That is actual mercury in the hypodermic needle, by the way. It was considered one of our most dangerous sets, because we had mercury, it had to be poured into the hypodermic needle.

Inge says: What was it like seeing the movie with an audience for the first time?
WachowskiBros: Terrifying.

Stone says: Was the Alice in Wonderland theme just a whim, or do you guys have a big love of it?
WachowskiBros: Big fan! It is a brilliant book. Many of the themes we tried to echo in The Matrix.

Orange_Crush says: I noticed that The Matrix is currently #30 in the IMDB top 250. That's quite an achievement. How do you feel about being classified with other legendary films and filmmakers?
WachowskiBros: Lucky.

Wesbran says: What happens to all the gadgets in this movie after it is done filming?
WachowskiBros: Most of them are so fragile they break as soon as you're done filming. And Joel Silver collects the rest.

Sinclair says: Why were they only able to jack in through hard lines, but still able to communicate over cell?
WachowskiBros: Good question! Mostly we felt that the amount of information that was being sent into the Matrix required a significant portal. Those portals, we felt, were better described with the hard lines rather than cell lines. We also felt that the rebels tried to be invisible when they hacked, that's why all the entrances and exits were sort of through decrepit and low traffic areas of the Matrix.

The12thMonkey says: The guy that played the lead agent was worryingly convincing, did it take a long time to find him?
WachowskiBros: Yes, actually, and that was one of the fortuitous things about going to Sydney, is that it led us to find Hugo.

wrygrass says: You said in an interview that string theory might show up in the film, did it?
WachowskiBros: Maybe in the next one, I (Larry) have just now begun to understand string theory.

XM-whatismyname says: What's your favorite music?
WachowskiBros: We love all music.

ZEUS says: How did you finally chose the names of the characters?
WachowskiBros: They were all chosen carefully, and all of them have multiple meanings.

Renxo says: How many times have you seen the movie yourselves?
WachowskiBros: More than everyone.

Qualopec says: How hard was it to get the kind of budget you wanted for this film?
WachowskiBros: We had to go across the world to secure that budget.

wrygrass says: Do you have any funny stories from filming you would like to share?
WachowskiBros: That newspaper had to be actually a giant piece of metal with newspaper glued to metal pages. How's that for funny?

Lincoln says: What is your fave line in the movie?
WachowskiBros: "Dodge this." And, "There is no spoon." We also liked that one.

Mahy says: Do all of the things that happen in the Matrix have some computer-based analogy...or did you just do some of it because it was cool?
WachowskiBros: Yes. We like to try and pack as much stuff as we can in when we do a movie. So some of the stuff we do relates to the narrative, and some of the stuff we do because we like.

biggysmalls says: Do you like Planet Of The Apes?
WachowskiBros: Yes, love it! "Get your damned dirty hands off, you stinkin ape!"

Enigma says: The character Neo...Is Neo his real self and Thomas Anderson who he is "required" to be?
WachowskiBros: Neo is Thomas Anderson's potential self.

Job says: Do you realize that your new ideas have changed the way people will see movies in the future?
WachowskiBros: Really?

Playing on the DVD Now: Describing Bullet Time
WachowskiBros: The idea of Bullet Time came about because we wanted to shoot an event at incredibly high speed which means slow motion, but move the camera at regular speed, which is impossible. The first theory for Bullet Time involved a rocket camera that was abandoned for safety purposes. Then, John Gaeta suggested a digital solution. Which brought it to the screen.

keanucarrie says: Which scene was the hardest to shoot?
WachowskiBros: The subway fight scene. It was incredibly cold and everyone was very sick and it went 10 days over schedule. And was particularly brutal to the two actors.

Dogma says: Have there been any discussions with comic book companies to publish a monthly-type of comic based on the Matrix, not just an adaptation, perhaps with Darrow illustrating it?
WachowskiBros: We're going to release another series of stories on the web site. Geof Darrow is going to illustrate a couple more short stories written by Andy and I. And, we've toyed with the idea of continuing the story in comic book form when the movies are finished.

Trinity303 says: Do you like John Woo's movies and style of shooting scenes of action?
WachowskiBros: John Woo is a genius.

tonka says: What do you think about Star Wars?
WachowskiBros: It was one of the first films that we went berserk over when we were kids.

kr says: How long had you been working on writing the story and was there re-writing going on while filming?
WachowskiBros: There was not much rewriting, a little bit.

WachowskiBros: Somebody asked us about the street names in the movie and all of them are significant. They are all based on places in Chicago.

Santayana says: I love the casting of this film. Specifically, Hugo Weaving. Why him?
WachowskiBros: We had seen the movie "Proof" and we flew Hugo into L.A. to meet and he did a phenomenal reading. And was willing to undergo the four months of training. He's one of the finest actors we've ever worked with.

Hiryu says: Did you ever consider doing a cameo appearance in the movie?
WachowskiBros: We're too ugly!

WachowskiBros: (referring to the DVD) This shot here, the showdown shot, is an homage to Sergio Leone.

joe says: I am amazed by the physical performance. The actors had great training. What do you think?
WachowskiBros: We're amazed as well. We think all four of them went beyond our expectations.

Revenge says: Any influence from Blade Runner?
WachowskiBros: Blade Runner was a benchmark science fiction film, a masterpiece. Of course there's influence. But we were like the only guys who liked that movie when we saw it, everyone else hated it.

Freethinker says: Did you know right away that it would be a trilogy?
WachowskiBros: We knew we had too much material for one movie.

inkman says: Do you two feel that sci-fi is overlooked in the "Awards" arena?
WachowskiBros: We don't put much credence in the "awards" arena.

WachowskiBros: (referring to the DVD) There are some fantastic stunts in this sequence like THAT one! Both the Australian stunt team and the Hong Kong stunt team worked very well together in this scene.

AgentMartin says: Do you appreciate people dissecting your movie? Do you find it a bit of an honor or does it annoy you a little, especially when the person may have it all wrong?
WachowskiBros: There's not necessarily ever an "all wrong." Because it's about what a person gets out of the movie, what an individual gets out of the movie.

Vindicator says: The whole idea of electronic stimuli of atrophied muscles is great. Did you guys consult any medical experts for accuracy?
WachowskiBros: As a matter of fact, one of our best friends is a doctor. He was the first guy to show us our first autopsy.

Playing on the DVD Now: Scene where Neo runs into the outdoor market trying to escape the Agents
WachowskiBros: Watermelons, that was an homage to Gallagher. On the TV, when Neo goes by there's an episode of "The Prisoner."

Action says: Am I really watching the movie right now, or am I in...The Matrix?
WachowskiBros: Take another blue pill and call me tomorrow.

rawdogg says: Why did you never show Zion?
WachowskiBros: We're saving it for Matrix 2.

Nebelis says: What other projects did the cameraman work on and where did you find him?
WachowskiBros: If you mean Bill Pope, he did our first movie "Bound" and the masterpiece "Army of Darkness."

Pill says: Do you plan to write any books about this?
WachowskiBros: There is a "Making Of" book that's coming out later this year.

virtualMatrix says: Do you believe one day, intelligent machines with AI will actually rule the world?
WachowskiBros: Yes. If they don't already!

AcesAreWild says: Who Invented Bullet Time photography?
WachowskiBros: The original concept was ours, but the technical execution was from a company called Mannex.

AgentMartin says: Many take the Make of the Neb, "Mark 3, V.11" and quote it from the Bible "Mark 3:11". Was this intended or is it just the make and model of the Neb and nothing more subliminal than that?
WachowskiBros: The Nebuchadnezzar is indeed a Biblical reference, from the book of Daniel.

linusa says: Will you ever tell the history of the Matrix in a novel?
WachowskiBros: Maybe.

Renxo says: Are you doing any personal presentations, anywhere?
WachowskiBros: No.

NIKKI says: Who unplugged Morpheus and told him about The Matrix?
WachowskiBros: We hope to tell that story in another medium one day.

Neotek says: How much of an influence was William Gibson in the production and design of this movie?
WachowskiBros: We're big fans of William Gibson's work.

Ronin says: Your movie has many and varied connections to myths and philosophies, Judeo-Christian, Egyptian, Arthurian, and Platonic, just to name those I've noticed. How much of that was intentional?
WachowskiBros: All of it.

WachowskiBros: Sorry we could only get to 1 percent of your questions. We do appreciate all of your support. And we'll see you in three years.

WHV: Well that's it. Thanks for participating in The Matrix Virtual Theatre event. We'd also like to thank Larry and Andy Wachowski for spending the evening with us.

Check back at this site for more Matrix events! And don't forget to enter the contest to win an IBM Laptop with DVD-ROM and signed copies of The Matrix DVD!