I am officially skits' bitch until the end of the year...at least.
She completely ROCKS.
I have NO plans this weekend. I may watch a few movies, play some guitar, and buy some shoes.
There is a 24 marathon on FX that starts midnight Sun/Mon and runs all labor day. I may go to Roi's and watch a few hours and throw down some Augustiners to celebrate Keanu's birthday.
Beyond that....who knows.
Any suggestions?
Images thanks to various sources, including the wonderful Rhonda and The Daily Thud.
This print of a drawing of Keanu really caught my eye. I really like the drawing, but the bright blue background (which you'll see on the auction page) I'm not crazy about. I'm tempted to ask the artist if he'd do a desaturated version of it, but I don't want to offend him.
Mr. Evers does really nice celebrity portrait work with a pop/warhol feel to it.
He has quite a few up for auction, and you can also check out his website, MichaelEvers.com.
If I had the money I'd ask him about custom work.
Do you buy stuff?
Of course you do.
Next time you want to buy something from Amazon, go to kat's page and get there through her affiliate link.
But wait, you aren't shopping for books or DVDs? Well, then you should go to kat's bigass page of affiliate links and I'll bet you can find something to your liking, whether it be cheese (mmm...cheese), zip drives, wine or lava lamps.
Go.
Go show some single-mom love.
And while I've got your ear, be sure to note the affiliate links on all your favorite sites and support them.
Those clicks add up, and you just might help keep your favorite sites online.
There are some images up at The Matrix official site.
We saw these a while back in Time magazine, but they certainly are worth looking at again.
Also, Jena rocks for typing out the latest article from SciFi mag. (Yes, I know I wasn't going to look, but I'm so very weak.)
It's a touch spoilerific, but read on if you'd like.
Sci-Fi
October 2002
RELOADED REVEALED
We Swallow a Little Red Pill for a Sneak Peek at The Matrix Reloaded.
By Patrick Lee
WHAT IS THE MATRIX? If you think you know, think again.
As principal photography ends in Australia on The Matrix Reloaded and The Matrix Revolutions, the two upcoming sequels to the groundbreaking 1999 film The Matrix, Sci Fi Magazine got a first peek at the film's effects, stunts, sets, design and costumes.
The key word: more.
-Filmmakers built a one-and-a-half-mile stretch of freeway on an abandoned naval base in Alameda, Calif., for one massive stunt chase involving hundreds of vehicles, car-to-car foot pursuits, automatic weapons and Trinity (Carrie-Anne Moss) on a motorcycle.
- Where the first movie had one principal nemesis--Agent Smith (Hugo Weaving)--Matrix Reloaded will have three: a resurrected Smith and a duo of assassins known simply as "The Twins." Dressed in matching white frock coats and blond dreadlocks, the pair will have the ability to pass through walls.
-The second movie will offer the first-ever glimpse of the human city of Zion. The underground habitation will feautre cliffside dellings stacked one atop another, like cells in a giant hive, with industrial fittings, red doors and tiny mushroom gardens out front. Viewers will also visit the massive city of the machines, about which no one is talking. By the third film, much of the action will occur not in the computer-generated 21st-century city that is The Matrix, but also in the so-called Real World, 800 years from now.
- In the Real World, the audience will reboard the Nebuchadnezzar, the hover craft skippered by Morpheus (Laurence Fishburne). But they will also board at least four other ships, including the Mjolnir, named after the Norse god Thor's hammer.
The sequels, again helmed by writer/directors Larry and Andy Wachowski, are slated for release in 2003 - Reloaded in the spring and Revolutions in the fall. "The first Matrix was kind of like an oxymoron: It was like a smart action picture," producer Joel Silver said. "If you wanted to just enjoy the picture as an action movie with some incredible fights and gunfights and things that are...generally accepted as action elements...they're there. but...it dealt with a philosophical notion of what is reality. ...It made people think, and it was brilliantly made. The directors...I believe, are really anxious to see the continuing of the story."
The two sequels pick up the narrative of Neo, Trinity and Morpheus in their crusade against the machines that have enslaved the human race. The sequels reunite the original cast and add Jada Pinkett Smith, Harold Perrineau Jr., Harry Lennix, Monica Belluci and Nona Gaye (who takes over the role originally slated for the late R&B singer Aaliyah), as well as twin karate experts Neil and Adrian Rayment, who will play The Twins.
"The [Wachowski] brothers have put up some great obstacles to test [Neo's new] powers," Reeves said. "And this story kind of goes outside of the Matrix and starts to concern itself with the machines in Zion. So it's almost what he can do in the Matrix is not enough. And he's still on the path of discover and choice. ...He'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's some hard choices. And I guess it's all of us trying to save the world. And the development between Neo and Trinity is explored. And Morpheus. And Smith...It's really the development of the hero journey for my character. Just the new challenges, new choices. And it's not so much about being born, you know? It's like he wanted to find out where he was. Now he knows. Or he thinks he does."
Naturally, expectations are running high for the sequels, which were shot concurrently- first in Alameda, Calif., then in Sydney- over 240 days in 2001 and 2002. The first Matrix broke ground with it's combination of anime-influenced visuals, kung-fu action and dazzling special effects- including the by-now familiar "bullet-time" sequences, in which motion slowed to a crawl.
"When we made the first movie, we didn't have an enormous amount of money to work with and...the boys had very specific ideas about a particular visual effect they wanted to explore, and we were able to use it four times in the picture, and ... we called it "bullet-time," Silver said. "[That] was in the Stone Age...They decided that in these two movies they would create visual effects that could never be copied. So we have done visual effects in this movie that, because of the time it took them to make and the cost, we'll never see again. So I really think that the bar has risen so high that there is no more bar. And this will...end the way movies have been made up to now, because it can't go any further."
The two new films will feature more than 2,000 effects shots, said visual effects supervisor John Gaeta, who won an Academy Award for his work on the first Matrix. The new films will include a 14-minute sequence- involving helicopters zooming through the skyscrapers of downtown Sydney- that producer Silver calls "the most complicated sequence ever put on film, ever. And that won't start until the end of the show, and that's the last thing [the Wachowskis are] going to do. So they know what they're going to do, but they gotta get through it."
Silver said to expect the unexpected. "The computer is allowing us to do things that we never dreamed we could do before, and where the bullet-time sequences...were just the embryonic beginning, the embryonic stage of what the computer could do, it's just now at such a level that they can do anything they want." Silver said. "It [takes] two and a half years to create one shot, which is a reality. That's how long it's taking to do some of these [shots], and again, the [Wachowskis] have enough intellect and understand the process enough so they're able to create an arena that this stuff can exist in that could not exist anywhere else."
Gaeta added, "On the environment side, we travel to some pretty substantial places. ...We go underground to Zion, and it's a whole very culturally driven design. It's not just a rocky crevice, but there's a lot of texture in the type of people there, the way it all looks. ...Where you first arrive...that acts as the defensive front end in a transit station for all of the ships that travel through the pipes and the whole network. ...Zion itself...houses about a quarter of a million people...And then there are secret places...layered throughout Zion, deep in the Earth. ...Between Zion and the surface of the Earth we go into...many, many more tunnel-system areas. ...and then, of course, we go onto the surface of the Earth, and we see a lot more about what that's all about, and that's...shocking, horrific, fascinating."
Production designer Owen Paterson showed SCI FI Magazine a set for one of the Zion dwellings, a facade carved into a rock wall. "They kind of go in a big cylinder shape, and there's lots of layers of them," Paterson said. "You can see the mushrooms [out front] that you eat in Zion, along with the single-cell protozoa and all that sort of stuff. ...The concept of this was that...we're deep under the ground, and people need houes. And as it went along, you can see as you start putting them side by side they're kind of like tenements where they live. We built, I think, 12 of these so we could do our acting part, but also so the visual effects could use that as the texture map, if you like, then create the rest of Zion [digitally]."
There will, of course, be fights, including sophisticated wire work, again choreographed by Hong Kong martial-arts master Yuen Woo Ping. "[Weaving] and I just have been fighting and fighting and fighting," Reeves said. He added, "Neo fights with some weapons. Carrie-Anne...got to do some driving. Laurence had some weapons as well."
Fishburne said the heavy physical activity took its toll. "Carrie-Anne and I were injured during the very beginning stages of our training for Reloaded and Revolutions," he said. "Keanu was recovering from surgery on the first one. Hugo was injured on the first one. A couple of times. ...A lot of people, I think, don't understand how incredibly taxing all this work is physically. If you look at...The Matrix Revisited [the video featurette on the making of The Matrix], there's a small clip of Keanu at rest, talking to someone. And there's steam rising off of his head...No special effect. The amount of time and the hours that we were required to train are the kind of hours that professional athletes deal with. And when we're working on wires, we come down, and we're bruised. When we fight with each other, we're often making contact with each other and walking away bruised. You get little nicks, cuts, sprains."
Some of the fights are enhanced with visual effects supervisor Gaeta said. "We want to show Neo as having, you know, extra-special powers - super powers," he said. "What we're going to do is create virutal characters, which are like fully [computer-generated] characters, and fully CG environments. But we will do so in a fashion that has never been seen before. It will be the state of the art, undoubtedly. ...And part of that involves a very thorough approach to getting the best and most complex [fight] choreography that one can."
Unlike other recent films, the two Matrix sequels will for the most part use physical sets, rather than computer-generated or miniature ones, production designer Paterson said. "There's some fantastic sequences in that we've specifically built some rather big sets, [including] one at Alameda, which was this...tenement. It's [for a] series of fights. ...In the first film we built one subway station. We're building four in this one. So there's a kind of an exponential scale-up of everything."
Everyone gets a new look as well. For Neo, costume designer Kym Barrett devised a tight-fitting wool cassock with an almost clerical feel to it. "We thought that...he comes into the second movie with a new confidence in himself and what he's doing," she said. "I wanted to give him something with a little more regal feeling to it. I mean, he's not totally confident, but he believes in something now. He believes in himself. And it's kind of religious in a way."
For the twins, Barrett came up with something she called "Jon Bon Jovi meets Southern evangelist." "We wanted them to be kind of ghosly, but they're a little cheeky, they're a little mean," she said.
For Trinity, Barrett reserved the same shiny black latex as in the first film, but with a twist. "I think [Barrett]'s just taken the movie to a whole 'nother level as well, just like everyone else has," Moss said. "I think...that costumes are a little bit more...extreme, perhaps. ...What's so wonderful about the costumes, for me, anyway, is that as soon as I slip into my Trinity outfit, I'm her. And so the costumes give me a big part of my character. And you really appreciate that in a movie like this."
Once the trilogy is complete, Fishburne predicted that the three Matrix movies will change the way films are conceived. "The things that they're creating are really going to change the way that we're able to make films 25 years from now," he said. "It will be a completely changed medium, I think...[The Matrix movies are] going to be remembered as a monumental event in the history of filmmaking."
According to this quiz, found at Keanuette's, The Keanu character I am is Ted.
Most Excellent.
Don't tell Lori, but this has a "buy-it-now" price.
(girl, I will kick your ass if you shell out for that ratty thing....)
Speaking of eBay, I'm keeping my eye on this auction, seeing as I have about 5 copies. There were STACKS of them at the hotel, and they were free.
Buy 3 things from the keanuvision store and you can have one, along with a CD and a Bill and Ted comic.
And speaking of comics (heh, I could go on and on with this association stuff) I got my Hellblazer issues in the mail this week and there's one duplicate, #90, I think.
I could be persuaded to part with it.
Oh...and one more thing, here's what Breszny sez for Virgo this week..
VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22): Now is actually a better time to trot
out your New Year's resolutions than January 1. Here are a few
to get you started. 1. Resolve to stop fantasizing about work
while you're making love. (Vice versa is OK, though.) 2. Resolve
to learn the difference between interesting puzzles that inspire
you to mutate and boring riddles that numb your soul. 3. Resolve
to stand on a hilltop and belly laugh in the direction of heaven
until you have a spiritual orgasm. 4. Resolve to not let what you
*can't* do interfere with what you *can* do. 5. Just in case you
are what you eat, resolve to eat chickens only if they've spent
their lives running free.
I think that's it.
A girl named Bob has finally noticed that I've linked to her and has confessed to Keanu love.
This is what it's all about, people. Spreading the love. The more closet Keanu fans I can expose and/or convert the better.
I have a master plan. Count on it.
She also passes the litmus test of choosing Bogus Journey over Excellent Adventure, and, she writes some of the best stuff I've read in a while. I want to move to New York and be her best friend...or at least temp at her office.
I'm gonna write a macro just for thanking kaz. This is from some scans she sent of the 1993 magazine, Face.
sigh.....
September's Keanu calendar is up.
Only 5 days to Keanu's birthday. If I could know it would actually get to him, I would send him a Forge de Laguiole / Chateau Laguiole sommelier series Corkscrew and something(a Bordeaux perhaps?) vintage 1964. Along with a pair of nice glasses (does Dale Chilhuly do drinking vessels? I don't think so, maybe some Riedel crystal, then) and possibly my phone number...
What would you get Keanu for his birthday?
It seems Rhonda knew I would need something to yank my mind away from BlogCon shenannigans and back on topic, so she took it upon herself to make sure my (in)box was full of Keanu tongue(-themed pics....*snerk*) this morning. Here's just a small sample....guhhhh...Hoopty who?????
ahem....I'm off to find out if there's any news I should be posting about.
Well, since I didn't have to deal with long drives or airports, I'm totally up for it.
What a great weekend. And the thing is, it was great not because of some event or activity or spectacle...it was the people. Bloggers rock.
I met up with the Hoopster, KD, Chicky, Jilly, nerdboy mikey and John from Pixel streams first and handed out some QF cds and Bill and Ted cards, thereby confirming the fact that, yes...I need to get out and be with real people more often.
Some room hopping ensued, where I got to meet a fucking whole bunch of other people including batgrl and Jon S. (who I'm sure I annoyed because the only thing I could think of to say to him was "how are you feeling?" and reminding him he was ill....anyhoo)
And also the glorious Muffy, who really does have the face of an angel and the mouth of a sailor. She coined the expression "leave a comment" for when you meet another blogger in RL and punch them in the mouth.
I inserted myself into the smoking cluster ended up in the lounge where we listened to a band that looked a lot like Morris Day and The Time do a ripping rendition of "Friends in Low Places" Shake your Grooove thing, you two-steppin' mothafukkers.
I drank several beers and a shot. I danced to "Brick House". I giggled and flirted and dumped ashtrays.
Eventually, I ended up in bed with Hoopty.
Of course, that was mainly because there was no place else to sit in the room, we were both fully clothed, and had an audience of no less than five at any given time (not that that's stopped me in the past) but when I tell and re-tell this story to all the little bloggers of the future all I will say is "Yes, I was in bed with Hoopty," point out that he wears a size 13 shoe, and give a knowing wink.
Alledgedly, KD claims her groove arrived at the same time I did, however it should be pointed out that her first beer coincided at that time also. She's so great, and I was happy to be her directional, if not moral, compass for a good part of the evening. And yes, it's true...some people make drunken late-night phone calls at 3 am...kd sets up domains.
To say C.C. is a hell of a guy is to make the grandest understatement ever. Even though he was beat from a long day of travel, he stayed up and hosted the Foopty Circus room and much merriment ensued until the wee hours.
I stumbled out of the Aladdin at 5:30 am Saturday morning, went home and crashed for a few hours and was back in time for the big Shave Hoopty event.
Alas, I was not the chosen one...Jilly was. The room was packed. It was madness, but I had a good spot to watch the shearing.
It was at about this stage in the shaving that Hoopty began to sing a Flock of Seagulls song, god...he's a funny boy.
For those of you that missed the hot webcam shaving action, you can see the animated gifs I made here, here and here.
Quite the vicarious thrill. I should have brought a change of panties.
After that was lunch with C.C., Chicky, Suzie, Mikey and a freshly bald Hoopty at the Harley Davidson cafe. Then a walk up to M&M and Coke world. I pretty much just tagged along, although I was much a tourist as anyone since I avoid the strip attractions as a local.
We then walked some more, around the "Desert Passage" which is a maze of way-too-expensive retail shops at the Aladdin. There was talk of napping but it never really panned out. I mixed up my attire for the two nights as everyone else was dressing up for Saturday's drinking and debauchery, and I was slobbing about in my "I [heart] Keanu" jersey (which got webcam airtime thankyouverymuch!). I changed my top, but was still the one thing that was not like the others when Suzie and Chicky gussied up for the night. Even though Chicky held me down and doused me with glitter, I was anti-glamourous. But oh well....after the Yard 'o Margarita at dinner, I really didn't care. More drinking, more walking lather rinse repeat, finally ending up back in the Foopty Circus room for a wind down. By 1 am I was a crispy krix and knew that if I was going to get home safely, I would have to bid everyone adieu and so I did. Goodbye kisses and hugs and I went down to valet where I waited forty-five-fucking minutes for them to fetch my car, while being notsoothed to the point of madness due to the fact that the fire alarm/siren/strobelights were going off in the parking lot for the whole time. I was also hit on by a strange italian man who is lucky I didn't punch him in the neck, but was just too tired to do so.
God, I know I didn't cover the half of what went on but I guess you'd say you really had to be there. The most fun was just hanging out and getting goofy with everyone. I wish I could have spent more time with skits, but as I understand it, she had other, more jiggly things to attend to. Thank you all. Especially Hoopty for my hoopty shirt and CDs, and to Chicky* for the wonderful soft thing and much more. I will definitley be at BlogCon, the sequel, even if it isn't in Vegas.
* Bonding with Chicken Little was possibly the best thing of the whole weekend. She's exquisitely wonderful and she makes me want to start kissing girls.
This weekend kicked my ass so I'll be lounging around in my brand new hooptyshirt with my new favorite thing* and catching up on the fecking 288 emails that have stacked up. I'll write about Blogcon later, when I can focus.
In the meantime, thanks to kaz for this newspaper article and this picture.
*technically, I think the thing may be classified as a scarf, but it's magical and lovely, much like the one who gifted it to me...it's a wonderful thing and I love it so.
Posting this from kd's room.
Having a wonderful time, pretty drunk, yadda yadda, getting ready to head over to the pajama party.
I love you man....really....no I mean it...c'mere...
Thank you to Jena for this...
Lone rider - Sydney's wrapped in Matrix by Michael BodeyFamously reserved, Keanu Reeves has embraced Sydney in a big way - and the feeling's more than mutual
No limos. No minders. Just a black Harley Davidson and an open ticket to the city. Through his involvement with the Matrix films, Keanu Reeves has given plenty of joy to Sydney. The successful film franchise has brought big bikkies to the State and has cemented the city as a more than viable movie making alternative to Hollywood. But unlike any other big time film star who has temporarily called the Harbour city home, Reeves has made the most of it. Really made the most of it. He's enjoyed our food, our beer, our wine and our weather. He's even enjoyed the company of our women, even if that is nobody's business.
Cool, calm, collected Keanu fitted right in.
When production for The Matrix sequels wrapped in Sydney on Wednesday night, Keanu Reeves gave each crew member a bottle of vintage '93 Dom Perignon.It was a typical act from a man known for his considerable generosity and kindness.
Reeves is not only one of the world's more bankable film stars, he's also one of its more enigmatic.
An international man of mystery, you could say.
He's wealthy enough to buy properties for friends and family but chooses to remain homeless, drifting between expensive hotel rooms as his career takes him all around the world.In Reeves's world, there is no need for limousines or entourages the size of a footy team. Nor is he particular about what he keeps in his wardrobe.
That's why Sydney has been a great temporary home for the 37yearold. He's slipped right in -- not quite going unnoticed, but he's certainly been able to enjoy it on his lonesome.
For well over a year, he has made the most of the Harbour City, enjoying its restaurants, bars and general lifestyle.
``I've had a great time,'' he told The Sunday Telegraph last week. ``I've met some wonderful people and eaten at some great restaurants. It's been really nice to be in Sydney and experience part of Sydney.''
The actor has also made good use of the roads heading out of town -- putting his black HarleyDavidson through its paces on weekend afternoon trips to places such as Kangaroo Valley, on the South Coast.
Reeves has done his best to avoid celebrity traps such as Otto at Woolloomooloo but has been spotted at Double Bay's Arte e Cucina, Catalina, Wine Banc on a Thursday nights as well as the Italian hangs in Leichhardt.
He's also been seen visiting the odd city strip club. Everyone who has welcomed him or served him would agree he is a reserved, but polite customer.
A wine lover, he's searched the city for an elusive bottle (or three) of Grange Hermitage and was a friendly but challenging customer for sommeliers around town. But while he's not afraid to give his credit card a culinary workout, Reeves has shown he is just as comfortable -- if not more so -- sitting in the corner of pubs like the Old Fitzroy Hotel, in Woolloomooloo. Earlier this year a group of British tourists noticed Reeves sitting in a corner of the the pub, keeping company with a young woman, a schooner of VB and a pack of Marlboro.
They approached him for a chat and a photograph. Cool, sure thing. He then challenged them to a game of pool.
He's also played ball with the media, to a point, reluctantly posing for persistent paparazzi or simply ignoring them and letting them take their shots. Not once has he been seen delivering the onefinger salute.
The only time his love affair with Sydney has soured was when the media speculated about romance ... real or rumoured.
``There have been a few quite serious invasions of privacy,'' he said, saying it was inappropriate for the media to speculate about his relationships with women.
Tom Cruise's gift to Sydney was a terrible movie called Mission: Impossible II, which worked better as a tourism show reel. Reeves gift to Sydney has simply been him being a part of it.
Come back soon, dude.
...feel the love.
Viva Las BlogCon! I'm so excited I dreamed about it last night, complete with a giant Hoopty running at me from an escalator, and that I had 4 tickets to Boy-lesque and couldn't get anyone to go with me! Analyze what you will....
Anyway, Batty has been here since yesterday and I talked to Kd on the phone a little while ago, she was with Jilly and I got her number for the hookup later.
Hoopty and the Chicky should be blazin' into town any minute now, bringing the zany, no doubt.
There's a soiree at Jon Sullivan's room tonight as well as the Foopty Pajama Party hosted by C.C. and that other, soon to be bald dude. Skits won't be here until tomorrow, but we can have Margaritas for brunch.
So many bloggers, so little time! The only thing that could make this any better is if Craig were coming...*sniff*
...and if there was a Dogstar show, natch.
via fark, of all places...you can join the discussion thread here.
British philosopher says probability is 20-25% that we already live in the Matrix.
Of course, they can't resist the cheap shot..
The Matrix depicted humans farmed for energy by computers that, in return, ensnared their minds in a vast simulation that made even Keanu Reeves's acting look convincing - almost.
Assmonkey.
Thanks to kaz for this news from Sydney:
Matrix industry worth $200m to economy
By Garry Maddox
August 23 2002
Laurence Fishburne and Carrie-Anne Moss have gone home, Keanu Reeves won't be far behind and Hugo Weaving is making a mini-series in Melbourne.After more than 200 filming days, the two sequels to The Matrix are finally finishing their Sydney shoot.
While Fox Studios has hosted some major productions since it opened - including Mission: Impossible 2 and the last Star Wars episode - The Matrix: Reloaded and The Matrix: Revolutions have been a virtual industry.
The Premier, Bob Carr, said yesterday that the "giant undertaking" involved 800 full-time and 2500 part-time jobs over 18 months. There was work for 60 actors and 10,000 days' work for extras. "The Matrix producers say the contribution to the NSW economy exceeds $200 million."
Amid secrecy, directors Larry and Andy Wachowski started work on the sequels with a 70-day shoot for two major scenes in San Francisco. Early next month, they start a further 12-week shoot back in San Francisco.
Reloaded is to open in US cinemas next May with Revolutions following in November.
Earlier this year, producer Joel Silver said the final weeks of the Sydney shoot involved "a 14-minute sequence that is the most complicated sequence ever put on film". This period included three shoots from a helicopter on consecutive Sundays to give a "canyon-like perspective" of the city around dusk.
Silver also said the sequels aimed to be about something meaningful rather than just escapist action. "It's so weird to say this but it's a treatise on our times and where we're going and how to not go there. It's about global warming and the Catholic Church. It's about all that stuff that's going on in our lives that we can't really grab on to." The sequels were not separate movies. "It is one enormous movie that's being cut in half and being shown in two halves."
Reeves, who returns as the hacker-turned-hero Neo, gave a glimpse of the plot at a press conference. "The story goes outside The Matrix and starts to concern itself with machines in Zion. [Neo] is told by the Oracle that he has - it's not a destiny - choices that he will have to make that will affect the survival of the human race."
As well as Weaving, the Australian actors in the sequels include Robyn Nevin, Steve Bastoni and Lachy Hulme.
Um....
WHEEEEEE! He's coming home!!!
I don't know why but I just feel better when he's not half a world away.
Here's another link from kaz, too (I think it's basically the same news, focusing more on the positive effect to Aus. economy)
Not much going on today so I'm keeping my self occupied with general expectations and giddiness over BlogCon.
Good grief, I'm gonna be hip-deep in freaks tomorrow night...wheeee!
Skits had the brilliant idea of printing up "blog calling cards" for us all to exchange. Here's mine...
I've decided to dress up a bit for meeting everyone Friday, so look for me all in black except for my own pair of worn, brown Keanu-ish boots. I'll be the one carrying the Corona.
Anyway, I did a google image search on Keanu+Vegas, and came across this article, which is some sort of fictitious diary that was so cleverly written in order to mock Keanu's comments on drugs in the Vanity Fair article last year. So clever, there's no author credited, so I guess I'll just have to inflict discomfort on a random stranger today and let karma sort it all out.
This week, Rob Brezsny at beautyandtruth.com has this to say for Keanu's sign, Virgo:
VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22): Are you brave enough to invite
reality's messy richness to replace your pristine but inert fantasies? Are you mature enough to renounce your naïve hopes and fears so as to see the raw truths that are right in front of you? Are you crafty enough to shed the part of your innocence that's based on delusion even as you strengthen the part of your innocence that's rooted in your love of life? Here's my answer to those questions, Virgo: Maybe you weren't brave or mature or crafty enough to pull off these heroic feats in the past, but you are now.
Elsewhere, today's photoshop thread over at Fark.com had a couple of Keanu/Matrix themed entries so I felt compelled to add one of my own. Scroll down, WAY down to see it (Fark user=Mtrxhzu). If you're on dialup, you'll have to reload a couple times to get all the entries to show, otherwise you'll have a bunch of real broken image "X"s...
Oh, and if you've never been to Fark.com, consider this a tacky/tasteless warning.
One of the things I deal with as a Keanu fan is having to explain to unenlightened ones that really....he's NOT Ted "Theodore" Logan. He's bright and thoughtful and actually pretty sophisticated.
Sometimes he works against the argument.
Thanks to the Keanu Pic of the Day Club for this pic from a news conference this May in Sydney.
Ah, well.....dudes will be dudes, I guess...
Last night I dreamed I was at someone's house and they had a talking kitten.
What's the first thing I asked?
"Can it say 'Keanu'?"
It did. And was very cute.
Big thanks to Noriko for sharing this scan of the Japanese magazine, CUT...
Come back later tomorrow for a spiffy Neo wallpaper I'm working on.
Ever since the horrible cassette death incident, I've been limited to listening to whatever is on the radio during my drive time. As I cycled through the presets this morning (which is my general habit since most of the radio here in the Las Vegas valley sucks) I ended up listening to some Beatles on one of the "dinosaur" rock stations. My fingers took on a life of their own, thumping on the steering wheel.
Long story short, I'm thinking of learning bass.
My old guitar teacher is located right around the corner from my job and it would be so easy to pick up a weekly lesson. If I can curtail my eBaying for a month or so (gasp!) I should be able to swing buying an instument.
It just looks like so much fun, and I could enjoy "getting my Reeves on".
Oh stop. You know what I mean.
Thank you to those who've emailed about Humphrey.
We're much better, MAOW!!
(Oh, and sorry to those that came by for a real update...I wish I could turn the ping off for lame little posts.....deal.)
Thanks to both kaz and Jena for this...
And the copy that goes with it reads:
MATRIX star Keanu Reeves brought a little bit of Hollywood to Paddington yesterday when he stepped out with a mystery date for lunch."I've had a great time," Reeves, 37, told The Sunday Telegraph yesterday.
"I've met some wonderful people and eaten at some great restaurants. It's been really nice to be in Sydney and experience part of Sydney."
Reeves and his date – a 20-something redhead – turned heads when they rode down Oxford St on his chrome and black Harley-Davidson. The couple were headed straight to Paddington's trendy Bistro Lulu, where they sat at a "goldfish bowl" table looking onto Oxford St.
The star of The Matrix, Speed and Point Break, shared oysters with his date before enjoying a sirloin steak, washed down with a couple of glasses of red wine.
"He kept to himself and seemed to enjoy himself," confirmed Bistro Lulu restaurant manager David Harris. "He has been here a few times. He even stopped for a photograph with a young girl outside when he left."
Dressed in a grungy khaki suit and a scarf, Reeves and his date, who wore black jeans and a black leather jacket, spent two hours at the restaurant.
He said his date was an "artisan" who worked with him on the Matrix series, and complained that often his relationships were misrepresented in the press.
"There have been a few quite serious invasions of privacy," he said.
Reeves said he didn't mind being photographed but thought it was "inappropriate" for the press to speculate on the nature of his relationships.
I was on the fence over posting this, but considering that he actually spoke with the paper and is waving at the camera, I'm going to go ahead. I'll go back on my anti-hypocrite medication tomorrow.
Besides, he looks fucking great and happy, and I think we all like to see that.
And look....he's doing the foot thing.
They moved down into town
Not to be forgotten
To stay around
The jasmine's sweet
The air is complete nowThey set up a cornerstore
To try and make their lives
A little more
Their girl was blind
But she saw more
Than you or me will ever seeYou are the sun
I wanna see everything
I will not run
I wanna be everything in youThey sold bait and fishing string
And groceries and things
Everybody needs
The jasmine's sweet
The air is complete she said
But lately at the cornerstore
I try and make my life a little more
I hang around to see her
A little moreYou are the sun
I wanna see everything
I will not run
I wanna be everything in youThey moved down into town
Not to be forgotten
To stay around
The jasmine's sweet
The air is complete she said
But lately at the cornerstore
We try to make our lives
A little more
I hang around
Just a little more
~CORNERSTORE
Written by Bret Domrose, Rob Mailhouse, and Keanu Reeves
As I try and make my life a little more, this song makes me feel good.
I'm in a quiet mood. This is a perfect song to listen to.
It brings back hope and good memories.
If I close my eyes, I can see him shaking his head and singing along on the break.
Augggh!
I just couldn't stand the incongruity a moment longer.
It was threatening to be a distraction all weekend.
breathe...
breathe.....
While my blogroll continues to grow like wildfire, my Keanu-related links could use some help. If anyone has any Keanu/Matrix/Dogstar links that they would like to recommend, please leave a comment and I'll check them out. Only sites that are still being updated, please. Anything tasteless or that has a bunch of pop-ups is right out, too.
Thanks.
So, this morning I was reading over at Billegible, and I decided not to wait until this whole Hellblazer thing is confirmed or not. Even if Keanu doesn't do the film, I'm intrigued. So about 10 minutes and 25 bucks later (including s&h) I've eBayed a few issues. They should be in my hot little hands by next week.
Just a week 'til BlogCon, and I haven't given too much thought about what to wear, but it looks like the bar is raised and I may have to reconsider pulling a Keanu and looking like a slob.
Maybe I'll just spit shine the Docs and leave it at that.
Whatever, I have great hair today (new conditioner, wheee!) so I was in a good mood already (I'm so shallow) but what made it even better was I see ERIC left me a comment.
Sigh... It's a fine day. Hope everyone else's is as good or better.
One more from Keanu.org's Matrix DVD captures....
I think I'll call this:
"You did what to the Norton?"
Always coming through with good things from down under, the lovely kaz was lucky enough to attend the Matrix Filmmaker Series that I mentioned in July, and gracious enough to allow me to share her report here.
It sounds like they remained pretty tight-lipped about the upcoming films, but there's lots of cool info about the making of the first one.
And now, here's kaz...
"ahhh..what can I say...I had the most excellent time!!! I could go back every monday for the rest of my life!It's all becoming blurry but I will try and think of some snippets...a couple of interesting things about the first Matrix (to me anyway).
Owen said in a "normal" film, in the scene with Keanu outside the window that the actor would have been on a set with a green screen but the W bro's wanted Keanu up 32 stories high outside a real window and they were a bit dubious...it was also Keanu on an actual roof when he was dragged along by the rope. ["Whoa! He's a madman, I tell you."--krix] The kicking butt sequence with the helicopter in the background was an actual roof too, but they couldn't find the right flat roof so they built a level on top of the existing roof..
The Office building where Morpheus was interrogated was a man-built set piece with three offices side by side and quite high..with an outside just like a city building. Apparently, if they needed 50 lights inside when shooting the normal speed scenes, when they did the bullet time (e.g., when Morpheus was shot in the knee) they needed 10 times that..so they had 500 lights up there. The Offices had to be made of steel because at certain points they had 200 crew members stuffed inside.
The rooftop scene at the beginning with Trinity was filmed a month into shooting and they had been looking for rooftops to shoot on..apparently, in Chicago..alot of the City roofs are flat and close together so you can run along the top of them...not so in Sydney..so they ended up building the entire set with borrowed backdrops of San Fransico and Texas!!
Owen mentioned that the blue/green colour bias really came into being DURING the shoot, so that when the Neo interrogation scene was filmed in a cream room(with no green tonings) the director of photography, Bill Pope, shot with a green bias..and then they continued this throughout the film.
He said the the W's liked to pull people into a shot..or push them out of it..or follow them along..but that there were not very many diagonal shots in the film..
Of interest to me was that they digitally tried to remove all trees and plantlife from The Matrix so it would look not so alive and not quite right. Owen said that the only trees/flowers in the movie were deliberately put in The Oracle's apartment, on the wallpaper and her dress.. and that they wanted it to be the only scene in The Matrix that looked warm and homey.."
slight spoiler ahead (very vague, mostly technical)....
"John G. was extremely interesting..you could see he really only skimmed the surface of what he wanted so say (he is quite yummy in real life) ["How was his hair?--krix]. He said that Bullet Time was a real bitch and that they have gone was PAST that now he said that technology is so advanced now you can do anything..so there isn't really any Bullet Time in the sequels..apparently with Bullet Time it is a real pain to keep a smooth line with the action and not have it be shaky or jerky. In Revisited, I think, when you see them using the laser pointer to pinpoint where the cameras go..and they had to be mapped out and follow a line..now they can have the cameras anywhere and they use the laser pointer wherever they want in the room.Gaeta mentioned that even though other movies were utilising Bullet Time they weren't doing it with the same precision, so they are short shots and the end result is fuzzy..
Gaeta mentioned that what you thought were dead ends in the film, are not. That when you see the sequels you will see that things in the original, which you had hardly noticed,are there for a reason.. alot of things in 2&3 relate back to the first one." [This is very cool. Gads, I can't wait for these movies.."--krix]
Again, I thank her for allowing me to share this.
(pics from The Matrix are from the amazing collection of 600 DVD captures found at keanu.org. Please go over there and check them out and click some ads while you're at it.)
From BeautyandTruth.com, here's this week's horoscope for Keanu's sign, Virgo...
VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22): Many smart, educated people think astrology is bunk perpetrated by quacks. For any stargazer with an ego, this threatens to be depressing. We want to be loved and appreciated like everyone else. On the other hand, I've found that being in a field that gets so little respect has for the most part been liberating. It has been impossible for me to get all puffed up with overbearing pride; I've had to learn to practice astrology primarily for the joy it brings me, not as a means of seeking recognition. In a backhanded way, then, a seemingly demoralizing curse has become an invigorating boon. I predict that you, Virgo, will soon harvest an analogous mutation.
In other news, I've added some links to the blogroll, including a nifty "I'm feeling lucky" random blog link.
Also, some crapweasel in the suite next door has been hammering for the past half hour and I'm going mad.
Oh wait.....he stopped.
Nope. Augggghhhhhh!
Thank you to kaz for this scan from a magazine called Girlfriend, from 1989.
I think the thing I love about this picture, aside from the obvious, is that he's wearing friendship/wish-bracelets. It's neat to know that Keanu was donning these about the same time that my friends and I were. I don't think that they were just part of the photo shoot. I'm fairly sure I've seen other pictures where he has them.
I remember learning how to make them on a trip to Venice Beach one summer, could have been the summer of '88 or '89.
Yep, our little granola clan didn't need no playstation or PDA. All we needed was a few bundles of embroidery floss and a safety pin to pass the time. They got pretty fancy as our knot-tying skills improved. My friend, Elise would make really wide ones that took days to finish. I think I still have one she made for me in one of my many boxes'o'stuff that I'll never throw out. I always kept them after they fell off.
The best part was finishing one and giving it away. Making one special for someone, someone you cared about, tying it on them and knowing they were wearing it....even if they had to hide it under their watch at work.
And of course, the wishes.....some did come true.
I want to thank everyone that has made a purchase from keanuvision's online store.
You've made it possible for me to donate $22.00 to the Shave Hoopty project.
I'm simply giddy.
The shaving will happen on Saturday, August 24 and while I can only hope to be the one to do the honors, I plan on being there with my camera to document the mayhem.
Anyway, I've knocked 51 cents back off each item, plus for a limited time, the "I [heart] Keanu" jersey is on sale.
So, if you've been putting off getting one, now is the time to do it.
And yes, I still have a bunch of Quattro Formaggi CDs to give away with every order.
The lovely Miho of 999.squares has some scans of the posters for the upcoming Dogstar shows in Japan. According to her translation over at the DMB of this ad, the boys are sharing the bill at Tivoli Park, Kurashiki on October 14 with an opera singer. I wonder if they will have someone filming tour footage, because this has Spinal Tap written all over it.
Miho also has a scan from a magazine called "Heat" (I've never heard of it) that has a look at Keanu's hairstyles through the years. You can see it in one piece over at 999.squares, I broke it down for commentary...
Behold the power of cute. I see that even at 6 years old, he didn't use a comb. I love how he's bitting his lower lip. He definitely would have been one of the boys I chased and kissed on the playground.
WTF? with this caption? It's obvious even at thirteen, he's destined to be a heartbreaker.
Skipping ahead 17 years, you wouldn't think he could make such a short haircut look disheveled, but he does. And as always, it works on him.
Scary? Not. As I've said before, I find this look really sexy.
Says who? You wish you could roll out of bed and look this good.
Yes, he does clean up nicely. And as beautiful as he was 10 years ago? He gets better exponentially with age. Like a fine wine.
A while back there was some article saying that once his looks "go" (I don't think they ever will) that "fans" will discard him for some other pretty boy. Maybe some will, but personally, I think I will adore him even more at 45, 50 and beyond. Because although he truly is beautiful to behold, he's so much more.
Or rather, BlogCon is coming to me.
In less than two weeks, bloggers from everywhere will be coming to Las Vegas.
Bloggers gettin' married, bloggers gettin' shaved, bloggers gettin' drunk and nekkid in the dancing waters at the Bellagio!
It's a very exciting time.
Go me. I think I'm going to actually get through the whole day without blogging something stupid and pointless just for the sake of keeping my perfect attendance intact!
whoops.
Okay, fine.
Here's a couple pics I took last year's Laughlin show...
I had to run up to the front of the stage and drop down on my kness to get these.
Not that I have a problem with that....
Not for him.
Psssst! wanna read a sonnet?
In azure waters ,I see my lover's eyes,
In pre-dawn breezes, I hear my lover's name,
Alone in silence, I hear my lover's sighs,
In stranger's stares, I feel my lover's blame.
No other mouth shall ever feel my kisses,
No other lips will press against my cheek,
No other hand shall linger in my tresses,
No other arms will hold me when I'm weak.
I fear that I will not survive the falling
From my love's grace, I'll perish from his scorn.
But if I should again hear my love calling,
My heart will live, my soul shall be reborn.
For I, alone, care not to walk this earth,
But by his side, my soul shall have rebirth
Whooo-hooo!
skits rules!!!
When I put together this blog, I decided to forgo link buttons and assorted other clutter. I like the crisp clean look of a few black and white Keanu pics over on the side.
BUT...
I decided to break my own rule and made a little graphic to permanently link to the Re-Broadcast The Matrix petition (I wish they would have said "re-release" but whatever) over on the right. Since the idea is to get signatures I figured that something slightly eye-catching was in order.
If you haven't already, please go sign it. As far as I can tell, your info is not made public on this.
Thanks.
...with life, really.
It's just a lovely day.
I dreamed about Mr. Keanu Reeves last night, but I can't remember any details. I woke up in a good mood though, and intend to keep it.
It's not too hot out.
Today's vet visit brought good news and was free of charge.
We were afraid that there might be a tumor involved with his recent eye trouble, but that is not the case.
Something got in his eye, worked its way behind it, caused an infection. And that's all. Otherwise he's just spiffy. One more trip and we're done.
He has staples instead of stitches now, I may take pictures tonight if I can get him out from under the bed.
He hates the new carrier, and he hates the trip. I sang a little countdown song on the way home to calm his nerves.
...forty-seven
little Humphreys
singing in a cage
on the way home...
I don't know if it helped but it was fun for me.
I'm wicky-wick-wicked bored today, so I decided to run a google search of the two things on my mind: Keanu and lunch.
In the results, I found some fanfiction (which I won't even link to because I hate the stuff), a fun fangirl story, and a couple things that had nothing to do with my our Keanu.
A little girl's story of what she did over Xmas holiday included this paragraph:
"When Sarah and the others came we had a lolly fight. I threw one in the air and JP caught it. I threw five up in the air and then Keanu got them and then stole one out of my hand. Then JP screamed "give it back!" Then Keanu ran away. I whispered to JP just say please. Then JP said "can I have my lolly back please!". Keanu gave it back."
Then there's "Keanu"s livejournal (which is NOT REAL, look at the disclaimer people).
This pretty much falls in the same category as fanfiction for me. And whoever is writing it really makes him sound like an ass.
There was one funny portion...
"She came over to my house with her rented Viper. I'm sitting in the car, trying to figure out what we were listening to. Then I just wanted to swallow my tongue. She had Ludacris on full blast. "Roll out, roll out, I got me and so much money, me and my homies, so drop that. Roll out, roll out." I wanted to piss myself laughing. My face probably turned blue. Then she turns around to me and asked, "How do you like the rims? Don't they bling?" That was the point where I debated on throwing myself from the car."
You and me both, fake Keanu dude....
I also found this article, "Yearning for Keanu", from the set of Feeling Minnesota. It has, among other things, the reporter's impression of watching the scene by the pool rehearsed (yeah, you know what one I'm talking about) and a little chat with Vincent D'Onofrio and Courtney Love.
Go read it.
Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to try and figure out who delivers ice water.
There is now a petition for the theatrical re-release of the original Matrix.
I love how they have worded it.
"...Among the undersigned, many of the individuals that have become avid fans of "The Matrix" have been limited to experiencing this complex and pioneering film domestically and feel that it is a detriment to the entertainment value of the trilogy as a whole, due to their alienation from the complexity and clarity of this film as it was intended to be seen...."
We demand it.
For me, for yourself, for the children......won't somebody think of the children!!???
(via thematrixonline.com)
Rob Brezsny's Free Will astrology can now be found at
WWW.BEAUTYANDTRUTH.COM
Here's what he has to say for Keanu's sign: Virgo, this week...
VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22): Looks like the Season of a Million Emotions hasn't wiped you out completely. Though it may be hard to tell because of the puddles of tears by your bed and the piles of ashes from your burnt offerings, you've managed to maintain a modicum of poise. I mean you're not spitting into the wind and throwing stones at heaven while trying to dance naked on the roof with a hangover, right? That in itself is a sign you've escaped a trap you've always been a sucker for in the past. I bet that if you can just hold on to your sanity for another eight days or so, you'll finally graduate from the University of Senseless Pain, where you've been matriculating for way too long.
I've decided to get my focus back on imagery for a bit. I need to work more with Photoshop in order to learn. I'm pretty sure it does more than just drop-shadows. Plus, it's fun. Playing with filters and pixels and hues. I'm going to try and get past my own "superperfect" demons and share some experiments here.
The Warholian thing above was pretty easy, but it looks cool.
The picture below is derived from this picture.
Filters are your friend.
It's not high art, but it's fun.
And I'm all about the fun, baby.
Update: kat suggests that that first pic would make good wallpaper. So here's a copy of it without the drop-shadow that you can use. Just set your background to "tile".
Thank you to my good friend, tess for sending me this article link...
Zen and the art of dude maintenance.
It's a nice fluffy, shiny, happy article, and it's from a Canadian fashion magazine.
Let's talk about Keanu and fashion, shall we?
First off, there's no denying...the man cleans up very nicely.
But also, he's one of the few people on the planet that make looking bad look oh, so very good.
Nice. Pants. Dude.
Who dresses like this? Those are Armani pants that he's cut the bottoms off. Is he making a statement? Is he just weird? I wonder if it's that fashion sense is irrelevant since he makes anything look good. Perhaps even he does it intentionally in an effort to subdue his inherent gorgeousness, thereby sparing those in the vicinity of spontaneous human combustion.
Um....it doesn't work, in fact it fuels the fire.
We love it.
I know people that can't get enough of him in those boots *cough*tess*cough*.Which is a good thing, because he sure seems to wear them everywhere. Does he have more than one pair? What's going to happen should they ever become completely unwearable? I think he should donate them to the Smithsonian.
Then there's the quintessential Keanu wear:
Suit coat. T-shirt.
It's a look that's worked for him for years. Amazingly he pulls it off without looking all "Miami Vice".
He's even gone a step further and worn the suitcoat over a leather jacket.
I daresay anyone else would look like a screaming dork in this.
Not Keanu, the man looks good no matter what. I've seen (read) women swooning over him in a holey t-shirt as if it were...well, holy. I think that's part of his appeal, too. He wears what he's comfortable in and just doesn't care.
I know that I love this about him.
Then there's his hair.
I think that's a whole 'nother post....
In the newest issue of Cinescape, Keanu pulls his shift on the hype machine.
"It's just harder, more sophisticated," Reeves said of the RELOADED combat "Instead of one-on-one fights, there are multi-fights and more weapons."
Read the whole article here, including a mention of injury suffered by our hero.
*gasp*
I know, I try not to think about it...
Via CountingDown.com, which has several Matrix articles for your perusal.
In other news:
I want to thank Andrea of Spleenville for pointing out an IE6 bug I had, and Sekimori for helping me fix it. Actually Craig had mentioned this to me before, too, but I was clueless as to how to fix it.
Anyhoooo, I hope it's fixed now. If someone reading with IE6 could tell me if it is, that'd be swell.
Lastly, my widdle kitty-baby-boy says "MAOW!" to everyone that wished him well.
He was at the vet all weekend with an abscess behind his eye. He's home now, looking all "Raging Bull" with stiches on his brow and enough feisty-ness to make giving him his antibiotics a real ordeal. I thought about posting pictures, but it's just too gross. To answer a question from earlier comments: He's an orange long-haired tabby. He's my baby. He's the handsomest cat in the world. Click here if you want to see him.
Check out the "EXCELLENT" links for Keanu news, or the "ADVENTURE" ones for creamy bloggy goodness.
Spotlight on yadda.org. Laura has a yummy new Keifer look!
A new section has been added to the binary access goodies at the Official Site
The code is 11101000.
I haven't looked at it yet, I need more caffeine do deal with "BRAIN-in-a-VAT skepticism".
..and check this out! (flash required)
A look at The Animatrix....
"Powered by unique visual moments and strongly identifiable characters, The Matrix films are perfectly suited for action figures," said McFarlane Toys Founder Todd McFarlane. "We look forward to collaborating with our colleagues at Warner Bros. to create a Matrix action figure line that reflects the trilogy's highly stylized and innovative storytelling."
Whatever, dude. Just make them widely available so we don't end up having to buy crappy knock-offs at eBay.
Free ones for webmisstressesises would be lovely, too.
Dear assmonkey in front of me in line at PetSmart this evening:
Shut up. Your attempt at funny comments does NOT MAKE THE LINE GO ANY FASTER. No, I was not squinting to stifle a giggle, but SILENTLY WILLING THE PIT BULL BEHIND ME to lunge at your throat and put YOU out of all our misery. I maintain that my TUNA FLAVORED VITAMIN GEL and PAPAYA EXTRACT digestive suppliment for my SICK KITTY KAT are INFINITELY more important in the big scheme of things than your stupid FISH WALLPAPER! I'm sure that there actually IS a sign that says "DON'T TEAR OFF YOURSELF-ASK FOR ASSISTANCE, MORON!" back there, and even if there isn't, why you would tear off more than you need and expect not to have to pay for it is BEYOND ME. You're lucky it wasn't me behind that register with the scissors or they would be JAMMED IN YOUR NECK right now. I hope that in your next life, you are reborn as a MISSHAPEN SEA CUCUMBER and are repeatedly dropped on the ground at the educational tidepools by EXCEPTIONALLY CLUMSY KIDS on their special field trip to SEA WORLD.
*(no offense to assmonkeys, sea cucumbers or clumsy kids intended)
OK...according to this link (via reeves drive) it apparently is "confirmed" that Keanu will play John Constantine in the upcoming Hellblazer movie. The Superhero Hype article cites this as its source, but when I went there, I didn't see anything about Keanu.
One thing that I did see is that many of the Hellblazer fans over at Superhero Hype's forums are none too pleased about Keanu playing their beloved Brit hero.
Refreshingly, most have well thought-out reasons beyond "Keanu Sux0rs!"
"Listen, for me this is not a matter of bashing Reeves. I actually kinda like him in The Matrix and The Gift. It's just that he's WRONG FOR THE PART! Constantine is this cynical, streetwise, carved-by-life character. You have to look at him and be able to say, "gee, this guy went through some really tough times". I don't think Reeves has the looks, attitude or acting style that fits this character."
Then there's this gem:
"Hate to break it to you man, but your English accent sucks.""I think my accent is good."
"Look, I didnt want to tell you this, but it's Keanu Reeves bad."
"Whoa. . . didn't realized that. . . wait, 'Keanu Reeves in Dangerous Liasons' bad, or 'Keanu Reeves in Much Ado About Nothing' bad?"
"Keanu Reeves in 'Dracula' bad."
"My god. . . that bad? I had no idea. . . "
Sorry, but...hee. That's kind of funny.
He does have his defenders.
"I'm going against the majority here, but I think it's a fine choice. After the HUGE success of the upcoming Matrix sequels, he'll be a major money maker for this project. Just take a chill pill and give him a chance. He's not a bad actor, you're just buying into all the critics bull****t. I look forward to seeing him in this movie."
As I understand it, the "Hollywoodization" of Constantine began way before Keanu got involved, and fans of the character are already annoyed. This just adds fuel to the fire.
Personally, I've decided that I would like to see Keanu in this role. While the movie Constantine may stray from the original, those who don't have a predetermined concept of who he is supposed to be will enjoy it.
And if he doesn't do the movie, there are thousands of lesser-known superheroes that are just dying to be made into a multimilliondollar picture.
Like...The Red Bee.
His superpower?
He keeps vicious trained bees in his belt buckle.
I'm not even going to get into the "The Red Bee Plunges his BIG KNIFE into the KILLER FISH!" innuendo...
(Red Bee babble inspired by some comments over at billegible.org)
Paul Sutton sure is a dreamboat. I can't get too creamy over him though, because he reminds me too much of pictures I've seen of my dad when he was in the service and well........ew.
I liked A Walk in the Clouds, it's a great movie to watch with your mom.
The cinematography is breathtaking and Anthony Quinn is a joy, always.
What about you?
Go discuss over at Cheryl's Movie Backlot.