Matrix Sequel Delayed to 2003

moojin was among the countless slashdot readers who noted that scifi (No I am Sci-Fi dammit) has reported that the 'Matrix Reloaded' will be delayed until the summer 2003. I'm bummed, but I'm willing to wait to see the Brothers W do it right (no way I'm gonna try to spell that name ;)

Shooting parts two and three as one movie?

[pgpckt]

That sounds interesting. I wonder if any other movies have ever been shot in this fashion. Doing it this way seems a good way to maximize profit. You don't have to try to get all the actors together again, you don't have to get all the clearences to shot at certain locations again, you don't get unintended delay from actors pursuing aditional projects, etc. The only disadvantage is you could release both films at or near the same time, but you would never do that (to again maximize profit) which has the small potential to irritate Matrix loyalists. Other then that, this seems smart from a production angle. Does anyone know of other films that have tried this?

ya right

[Anonymous Coward]

The marketing dept. must have decided it was more strategic to release in the summer 2003. It takes like 8 months to make a movie.

Delays are almost always for marketing reasons.

Re:plot of sequel

[SuperGrut]

At the end of the movie all of the people (with some notable exceptions) are still in pods. We never get to see the free city. There is still a lot to do. Being in control of the matrix does nothing about freeing mankind.

well, maybe maybe not...

[ebbv]

there is some confusion [aintitcool.com] as to what exactly is going on...
...dave

Re:the matrix bears serious analysis

[Phrogz]

The tech that creates a fake world could create either. But wouldn't it be easier to make one sub and a little surroundings versus the entire world?

Sounds good...except that you either have to accept the original story, that the sub is real and the city is not [because in the city Neo can bend walls and fly], or you have to include the entire world, sub+city, in the sim. Thus blowing to hell your reasoning above.

What's more, if the first-half city were real and the second-half city fake, it would be far more difficult to simulate the city and make it look&feel exactly the same as a real-world place, than to create an experience which was consistently VR.

Not only a sequel...

[stikves]

Well people complain that sequels are worse. And some point to "good" ones. (Like star wars not counting EP1).

Yes it's true that most of the sequels, written after the success of first movie, are bad.

But if the story was written, and shot, in more than one piece, it changes.

For example Titanic II would be bad, because they have to "make up" things. But, "the emprire strikes back" was good, because the story included that from the beginning.

(Sorry for my bad english)

one long movie split in two?

[garcia]

they said that they are filming this as one long movie, not two... Interesting.

I hope to see more story and less visual crap. Every movie out these days has "Matrix-like" moves and it is just getting old. I would really hope that the next one is just as groundbreaking as the first.

Re:Shooting parts two and three as one movie?

[jdbo]

As many people have noted, principal photography (aka "production") for Lord of the Rings was shot in one long stretch for all three films.

However, the "irritating the loyalists/maximizing profit" (due to releasing the Matrix sequels separately) comment shows ignorance of the creative and logistical necessities of film production; the "post-production" process _typically_ outlasts the "principal photography" period, even on average-size films. On SFX-heavy films, this period is stretched out _even_more_.

This is why the 3 LOTR films are being released at yearly intervals (more details on http://lordoftherings.net) - the SFX-heavy post-production process (which also includes dialogue re-recording, sound effects, and music scoring and recording, and massive amounts of editing) takes a _really_really_ long time for _each_ film.

In other words, Matrix fans would be _more_ pissed off by simultaneous release, as they would be waiting for M3 to complete while M2 sat on a shelf.

Even more foolish would be if the filmmakers tried to complete post-prod. for M2 & M3 simultaneously - if you've ever tried to "finish" two major projects at the same time _and_ do a good job on _either_ of them, you would understand how difficult (and destructive to deadlines) this is.

In short, while seprate releases maximize profit; in no way is this a "screwing over" of the fans.

the matrix bears serious analysis

[MemeRot]

The test of a good movie, to me, is when I've seen it 100 times, and then watch it again and come up with a new theory that suddenly re-explains everything. Like when I finally understood the Madonna conversation at the beginning of Reservoir Dogs (metaphor for whole movie, acting like first time thieves gets them hurt).

My latest - The movie says that it is the first half of the movie that takes place in a 'fake' world. And we buy into it. Look deeper. The evidence is flimsy. In fact, it is more elegant if the second half of the movie takes place in a fake world. The tech that creates a fake world could create either. But wouldn't it be easier to make one sub and a little surroundings versus the entire world? Think about it. Neo lives a boring life in our boring world, then he meets these weird people, takes a pill, weird shit happens, they strap him into a vr chair, and boom, the whole second half of the movie is imaginary. Boring programmer vs. the savior of the world, which is more likely?