April 25th ----------------------------------------------------

We're getting closer to the launch of the new series, kicking off with a story by Peter Bagge (of the legendary series HATE).

Did you get what the Matrix is about? Not everyone did. Peter Bagge tackles this, telling a tale about one such guy who just couldn't get the concept. Read the details May 19th.

As we get closer to the first story launch, here's a preview of yet another batch of art. More soon...

(Click the image below for a pop-up enlargement).

March 27th ----------------------------------------------------
It was a pretty amazing night, Sunday. By the close of the Oscars, THE MATRIX walked away with all four of its nominations. Congratulations to all. For the full list of winners and the speeches, click here.

March 24th ----------------------------------------------------
Last night's chat with John Gaeta (Visual Effects), Zach Staenberg (Editor), and Dane Davis (Sound Designer/Supervising Sound Editor) went down very cool, with some amazing questions. The answers were pretty good, too. If you missed it, check out the archived transcript here. Just two more days until the Oscars...

February 28th ----------------------------------------------------
We're proud to announce that last night Zach Staenberg won the 50th annual Eddie Award for Best Edited Feature Film (Dramatic) in 1999.

Congratulations, Zach. Next up, the Oscars...

In celebration of the four Oscar nominations for THE MATRIX, we're happy to announce a special return engagement of THE MATRIX in NY and LA theaters starting Friday, March 3rd. You've got the DVD, but do you remember that first time you saw it in the theater? Here's a chance to enjoy the film the way it was meant to be seen one more time...

February 15th ----------------------------------------------------
The Academy nods are in. The Oscar nominations for THE MATRIX are:

........................

FILM EDITOR
Zach Staenberg

This is the first Academy Award nomination for Zach Staenberg.

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VISUAL EFFECTS
John Gaeta, Janek Sirrs, Steve Courtley, and Jon Thum

This is the first Academy Award nomination for Jon Thum, Janek Sirrs, John Gaeta, and Steve Courtley.

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SOUND
John Reitz, Gregg Rudloff, David Campbell and David Lee

This is the second Academy Award nomination for John Reitz. He was previously nominated for:
DAYS OF HEAVEN (1978) - Nominee, Sound

This is the second Academy Award nomination for Gregg Rudloff. He was previously nominated for:
GLORY (1989) - Winner, Sound

This is the third Academy Award nomination for David Campbell. He was previously nominated for:
LEGENDS OF THE FALL (1994) - Nominee, Sound DICK TRACY (1990) - Nominee, Sound

This is the first Academy Award nomination for David Lee.

........................

SOUND EFFECTS EDITOR
Dane A. Davis

This is the first Academy Award nomination for Dane A. Davis.

........................

Congrats to all...

February 14th (happy Valantine's day) ----------------------------------------------------
What a cool time. Pre-production for the sequels start in earnest soon and the excitement can be felt. There's intense behind the scenes activity under way. All the same, care must be given. When dealing with something set to be as massive a production as THE MATRIX sequels, patience is a virtue. Planning, essential. But are we going to bring pre-production to your desktop? Yes. And here's how: the internet is probably the largest leap forward for communication since the Gutenburg press. More people can communicate, faster, and with greater insight, than ever before in human history. It's empowering, no question. Information can now be doled out from millions of terminals, instantly. There's absolutely no time delay. Is this going to be utilized to the fullest by THE MATRIX team? No question. We're planning to allow fans a fly-on-the-wall perspective of pre-production. Not everything, as a creative process does need some space to incubate, mature, but that said, we're set to take viewers into aspects of pre-production, the heart of the machine, so to speak, that few have candidly given light to. It's an exciting time, as it's all taking form right now, around us. But it's still very much developing, becoming the incredibly large canvas it's set to become over the next few months, when crews begin the massive amount or preliminary work needed to execute these sequels. There's a long road ahead. Pre-production will run a good while, as will filming. However, that these sequels are happening, and their proposed scope, should surprise no one that's read a bit on the history of THE MATRIX. From the beginning, THE MATRIX was bigger than one film, with sequels always in the minds-eye of Larry and Andy Wachowski, the writers/directors. They hoped they'd get the chance to realize their complete story, but until the first one was done, no one knew if they'd get their chance. As it happens, people seem to have liked the first go at THE MATRIX. It's wonderful to see, and equally amazing to know: the story continues.

On to the comics. We're getting art in and it keeps getting better. Part of this is the sheer enthusiasm of the talent we've tapped. Everyone involved is genuinely excited to be working on the project. These are industry veterans and it's exciting to see each and every one throwing everything they've got at these stories. John Van Fleet is respected and intensely talented. His work on a recent fully painted BATMAN project for DC comics is nothing short of inspiring, but what's truly amazing, is the joy he seems to personally derive from the work. It's about the details. In THE MATRIX piece currently up as a preview, John implemented details that will likely go unnoticed until his story is released; but he wanted them in there, spent the extra time thinking the image through, wanting to produce a piece which, on coming back to it after reading the story, will resonate. It's exciting to see this caliber of commitment coming from all the artists and writers working on stories, demonstrating such an obvious love of craft.

This enthusiasm cuts through all aspects of THE MATRIX, from the comics to the preliminary work being done for the sequels. All the participants are eager to get back into the mix. Case in point: John Gaeta, visual effects supervisor, who is right now conceiving of ways to make light do the seemingly impossible. So, we'll say it again: the scripts are being worked on. Now. As you read this. Details, however, must remain sketchy for a short time, but the fact they're moving forward is such cool news, we don't think it's a bad thing to say this again (and again). We're planning some wonderful things over the next year (and beyond). Ah, but the problems of chomping at the bit, wanting it to be done, now. The misguided love of destinations. Everyone on the production feels it. Fans feel it. But care must be given to the process of creation, which is, to say again, underway. With excitement so high, nearly palpable, it's important to note: a window into THE MATRIX pre-production is coming. More soon...

January 29th ----------------------------------------------------
Pre-production is gearing up for the sequels. As we've said in the past, the first priority are the scripts. We can report that the coming year is to bring many cool surprises (and yes, there will be a Matrix fix for fans early in the year 2000), but we figured we'd take a second to say categorically: any rumors heard around the many fan sites about current scripts are false reports. No script for THE MATRIX sequels are circulating, as they're still being written.

In the meantime, here's a new bit of eye candy for the faithful fans of the official site, a desktop picture of Trinity. Click here for the 1024x768 image.

And here for the smaller, but still pretty cool, 800x600 image.

More news soon...

January 13th 2000 ----------------------------------------------------
It's a great time to be alive. Even if it is an illusion. There's a lot of MATRIX to look forward to in Y2K. First out of the gate, we're happy to report, will be the 12 new comic stories. We're often emailed about whether we're planning to print them hard copy, much like we did back when the film was released with Paul Chadwick's story (the hard to find promo comic). For now, the only place you'll be able to read these stories is here on the web.

We've been hinting to who the artists of the second wave will be and it's high time we shed some more light. We're very happy to have back for this second wave a few of the major names we had working on the first series.

Paul Chadwick will be back and has already sent in a script, tonight in fact; it's another atmospheric gem.

Bill Sienkiewicz will also be back, but this time, he's breaking out the big tools. We haven't nailed the details, but Bill has been working with FLASH and the samples he's put together so far have been spectacular. This is going to be something which can only be done on the web: a fully engaging multi-media event. More on this soon.

Ted McKeever just sent word he'll also venture back into THE MATRIX, which is excellent news; if you don't think so, click into his last story and understand how truly great this announcement is.

Tommy Lee Edwards (BLAIR WITCH PROJECT) supplants John Van Fleet and Peter Bagge as the most recent 'new kid on the block' for a story developing into a cross between the classic Steve McQueen film THE GETAWAY and THE MATRIX. It's not at script stage yet, but is pretty well mapped out. In the mix: a heist gone bad... laptops... guns... and Agents. The broad strokes are sounding amazingly cool.

We already announced Peter Bagge and John Van Fleet, which brings us to six. More announcements are coming.

For those eager to get info on the sequels, MATRIX movie news should start towards the end of January. What's important at this stage are the scripts. They're being written as you read this and is the best news that can be reported this early in the game. This WILL be the place, however, to get news as it breaks.

More soon...

December 29th ----------------------------------------------------
We just got word WhatIsTheMatrix.com has won an Omni award. We're excited about this, as tons of work goes into this site. But an award is secondary to what really makes the work we do rewarding: the amount of traffic the site regularly enjoys; it's this interest in THE MATRIX that has allowed us to continue. Thanks to all who have downloaded photos, movies, comics, codes, among all the other downloads we've crammed into the site. For fans, it's only going to get better. Sequel news will start early in 2000, no doubt. New comic stories will start as well, with announcements through January and beyond. THE MATRIX. Year 2000. It's all around us.

December 26th ----------------------------------------------------
We've gone and done it, posted the full image by John Van Fleet, the cover for his 10 plus page story. Check it out here. More is on the way. Have a safe last week of 1999.

December 24th ----------------------------------------------------
First, we announced John Van Fleet is working on a MATRIX story. Now we're pleased to announce that Peter Bagge (creator of the legendary underground comic HATE) is also in THE MATRIX camp.

But why is this guy so scared? It's just a movie, right? Learn the answers here. Year 2000.

Happy holidays.

December 20th ----------------------------------------------------
Joel Silver recently sat down with the British magazine Empire and gave some hints to the future of THE MATRIX franchise. For the full interview click here. One thing he hints at is an animated prequel to THE MATRIX. Will it happen? Nothing is certain just yet (but there is work being done to make it a reality). He also talks about the official website. Simply put, it's all true, and then some. While most film sites dole out press kits, WhatIsTheMatrix.com continues to do more. Whether it be new comic stories by Paul Chadwick or cutting edge FLASH animation by Bill Sienkiewicz or digital video interviews with cast and crew, our focus is on breaking new ground and delivering new content. On the web, there's a lot of empty talk. There's a new breaking technology almost everyday. We'll deliver some of this breaking tech (it is THE MATRIX, after all), but our focus is on delivering the goods, sans empty promises. We're not looking to do anything we haven't already. We're just going to keep going, allowing the site to get bigger. One great fact we can dole out: the history of THE MATRIX is coming. Stick around.

>Comic News Archive 04/09/99---12/20/99
>Comic News Archive 12/20/99---06/01/00