""The Matrix"" From Warner Bros. Nets Four Technical OscarsÆ
F/X Pictureís Sweep Signals Change Of Direction By Dade Hayes, Daily Variety
From the moment it debuted on the last day of March one year ago, ""The Matrix"" signaled a new direction. It offered moviegoers a fresh action aesthetic. It gave Keanu Reeves his career back. And it handed Warner Bros. a franchise to replace its shopworn ""Batman."" The Academy joined in recognizing that trailblazing path Sunday night, handing ""The Matrix"" OscarsÆ in all four technical award categories in which it was eligible. The Village Roadshow co-production captured trophies for Editing, Sound, Sound Effects Editing and Visual Effects, beating out more established teams behind ""Star Wars,"" ""The Mummy"" and ""Stuart Little."" Winner Cites Site In these categories, the new millennium theme pushed throughout the ceremony achieved true credibility. One winner closed his acceptance speech by referring viewers to www.whatisthematrix.com. Backstage, Best Editing winner Zach Staenberg enthusiastically touted the pictureís sweep as a technological changing of the guard. ""I definitely feel that way,"" he said. ""I feel like weíre going into new cinematic territory and the fact that it could be recognized against other, more established movies definitely means that there are significant changes. We like to feel that we are on the cutting edge."" The jubilation over the win for ""The Matrixí"" could be felt as far away as Australia where the Oscars for Aussies Steve Courtley and David Lee (visual effects and sound, respectively) were greeted with cheers from the 150 people lucky enough to see the awards live. These happy few were gathered at a lunch hosted by local mogul Kerry Packer and his film celebrity magazine ""NW."" The impact of ""The Matrix"" was felt long before the Academy AwardsÆ. By last summer, TV commercials and competing film trailers borrowed its jump-cut karate sequences and techno soundtracks. Sequel Sense Commercially, the film helped Warner Bros. break the $1 billion barrier in annual domestic box office for the first time. Energized by the success, the studio promptly greenlit two more ""Matrix"" installments starring Reeves. It also ushered in a kinetic visual style marrying traditional martial arts with a high-tech cyberspace sensibility. ""Matrix"" producer Joel Silver has extended elements of the pictureís trademark look into other projects, namely current boxoffice standout ""Romeo Must Die."" The Jet Li starrerís fast-paced blend of martial arts and hip-hop helped it gross $25 million in its first five days. Its $4.1 million opening last Wednesday was No. 2 for any picture in the January-April span - behind only, you guessed it, ""The Matrix."" (Mark Woods in Sydney, Australia and Dana Harris contributed to this report.)