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"Why I Turned Down The Matrix" - Will Smith
- Thread starter Xion385
- Start date
100% not. Besides John Wick Keanu is in January dump/direct to Redbox territory. I don't think he ever got involved in Scientology so he's better off than Smith in that area at least.
Funny enough Sean Connery also turned down the matrix. The Morpheus part was pitched to him twice and they wanted him in the role opposite Will Smith. He didn't understand it at all and passed. This was also the script with out the human batteries. They say between this and the Lord of the Rings thing Sean Connery missed out on two of the biggest paydays ever.
100% not. Besides John Wick Keanu is in January dump/direct to Redbox territory. I don't think he ever got involved in Scientology so he's better off than Smith in that area at least.
HoloLens 2.0
People ask about it constantly. I never understood why considering how well it turned out for everyone.
I agree with this. When people state you could have cut every part of the movie after Waltz dies, they are saying this because Django was not really the protagonist of the movie.
Honestly didn't need an A-lister to play the role.
100% not. Besides John Wick Keanu is in January dump/direct to Redbox territory. I don't think he ever got involved in Scientology so he's better off than Smith in that area at least.
Doesn't mean shit. He takes on all kinds of movies big and medium size budget he finds interesting because he can. He ain't hurting for money and I don't think he gives a crap about fame or the public eye.
We're talking careers not personal happiness. I don't care about either of these people but Smith has the better career at the moment.
I can see him in the role more than Val Kilmer.
Damn.
I agree that he probably would have messed it up. It would have been a very different movie, at least.
Thanks, Will.
Thanks, Will.
You know how on the internet every black role has to has Idris? Will Smith is that in real life
Yes there's a bunch of articles on it. They wrote the Morpheus role with him in mind. He missed out on two of the biggest paydays back to back with matrix and lord of the rings. Think about the money Keanu Reeves made off of The Matrix. Sean Connery was a bigger star at the time and would have gotten a bigger cut.
Yes. They are both legends but Smith has a better hollywood career than Keanu at the moment. I don't know how you could really argue otherwise.
It means everything in regards to the context that poster was responding to. Career wise for Will and Keanu at this point Will is definitely in a much bigger position. Not that either of them are hurting. Personally Id rather watch John Wick over the new Aladdin, but Im not in any way confused on which will pay more.
The reason he did that League movie was because he missed out on those two paydays so he took the next big thing that was pitched to him thinking it would turn out the same.
I can understand turning down The Matrix because you don't understand it but I don't understand how he didn't understand Lord of the Rings
I meant more in terms of quality overall. I know that Will's movies have grossed more, but none of Will's roles are more iconic to me than Neo in the Matrix, for instance. Will's most iconic role(s) is/are the Fresh Prince or Agent J. Which are both great roles, but not quite Neo-tier. Or hell, even Wick-tier, but that is more arguable, admittedly.100% not. Besides John Wick Keanu is in January dump/direct to Redbox territory. I don't think he ever got involved in Scientology so he's better off than Smith in that area at least.
There's that line in the movie where Morpeus says to Neo "you have the look of a man that accept what he sees because he is expecting to wake up".
I think that sums up Keanu's performance. His understated acting played into the dream-like perception that Neo had with the world around him. The movie plays heavily on existentialism, humanism and other ideaologies while focusing less on character development and personal story-telling. Having an actor who overreacts to everything that happens to him would be tiresome to the viewer and distract from the themes.
Not defending Keanu's acting at all, but most of the other actors towed the line when it came to this muted performance - at least those who exist in some form within the matrix. Hugo was amazing though.
I think that sums up Keanu's performance. His understated acting played into the dream-like perception that Neo had with the world around him. The movie plays heavily on existentialism, humanism and other ideaologies while focusing less on character development and personal story-telling. Having an actor who overreacts to everything that happens to him would be tiresome to the viewer and distract from the themes.
Not defending Keanu's acting at all, but most of the other actors towed the line when it came to this muted performance - at least those who exist in some form within the matrix. Hugo was amazing though.
That Matrix pitch is strange, though I have to wonder what else they said. Surely they gave him a rough rundown of the plot. Though maybe at the time he thought that was too weird or esoteric to be good.
I had to go look that Sean Connery stuff up and apparently he said of LotR, "I never understood it. I read the book. I read the script. I saw the movie. I still don't understand it." Wow, what an idiot. Even after reading and seeing it... what could possibly be confusing? It's like the most straightforward fantasy I can think of.
I had to go look that Sean Connery stuff up and apparently he said of LotR, "I never understood it. I read the book. I read the script. I saw the movie. I still don't understand it." Wow, what an idiot. Even after reading and seeing it... what could possibly be confusing? It's like the most straightforward fantasy I can think of.
It seems strange to us nerds but a lot of people out there just do not get fantasy/sci-fi.
Even whens its spoon fed to them like Star Wars, they still find it weird and stupid.
.....So I did Wild Wild West. lol
Will Smith and Val Kilmer? Or even Sean Connery? It would have been so different. If Will did play, wonder if Jada would have been Trinity?
Had no idea Sean Connery turned down Gandalf's role either. That was a huge payday he missed.
Will Smith and Val Kilmer? Or even Sean Connery? It would have been so different. If Will did play, wonder if Jada would have been Trinity?
Had no idea Sean Connery turned down Gandalf's role either. That was a huge payday he missed.
[ ] this is a fantastic thread, first of all.
[ ] i do think a will smith / val kilmer matrix would be a lot different but ultimately less compelling. will smith would have made it his personal vehicle, marketers couldn't resist with some type of song or catch phrase to build around, and i don't think he had learned how not to ham it up in every performance by that point. and laurence fishburne is a damn shakespearean actor where val kilmer is specifically not. Do recall that The Saint came out right around here and Kilmer was positioned to stay in this quasi sci fi genre, but his Morpheus would've been much different (more John The Baptist and less Mr. Miyagi)
[ ] this sean connery stuff is sad but not surprising. how does anyone not know why he doesn't understand LoTR? not his speed at all.
[ ] i too want to visit the 'brandon lee lives' timeline. that would be fuckin wild.
[ ] please give me more of these stories of actors talking about how they turned down roles with 20/20 hindsight. fascinating to think about.
[ ] i do think a will smith / val kilmer matrix would be a lot different but ultimately less compelling. will smith would have made it his personal vehicle, marketers couldn't resist with some type of song or catch phrase to build around, and i don't think he had learned how not to ham it up in every performance by that point. and laurence fishburne is a damn shakespearean actor where val kilmer is specifically not. Do recall that The Saint came out right around here and Kilmer was positioned to stay in this quasi sci fi genre, but his Morpheus would've been much different (more John The Baptist and less Mr. Miyagi)
[ ] this sean connery stuff is sad but not surprising. how does anyone not know why he doesn't understand LoTR? not his speed at all.
[ ] i too want to visit the 'brandon lee lives' timeline. that would be fuckin wild.
[ ] please give me more of these stories of actors talking about how they turned down roles with 20/20 hindsight. fascinating to think about.
I do not think so. Will Smith is a very talented dude; he has this ability to be really charming and lighthearted or very stoic, intense and badass.
Actually, I am really curious in his take on Neo. The Matrix is not really a movie with any humor.
TIL Keanu gave away upwards of 80 million dollars of his Matrix paycheck to the special effects , make up crew. Fucking wow
You mean like:
Lawrence Fishburne?
Hugo Weaving?
Keanu himself?
Carrie Anne Moss? (actually idk what she ended up doing)
None of them had (Before or after the Matrix) the same star power that Will had at his peak and don't get me wrong. I love all of those actors (Carrie is like "meh")
This was Carrie's career pre-The Matrix (she also starred in a Canadian series called, no joke, Matrix, without a "The")
Um, Pippin?
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There's no way in hell that's accurate. Keanu's awesome, but in terms of hits he really only has Speed, The Matrix Trilogy and the 2nd John Wick movie. Will has Bad Boys, ID4, MIB, I Am Legend, Hancock and the list goes on. He also has Fresh Prince and at one point an extremely popular music career. Will was a king in Hollywood for a pretty long stretch of time. And I don't think there's anything suggesting that he burned through money like some stars have.
I have to say things worked out, I couldn't really imagine Matrix without Keanu and Will had Ali and other movies after Wild Wild West.
I mean Keanu? He literally has the John Wick movies that are hits in the theaters and enjoyed by both critics and fans.
Meanwhile Will's last movie was a netflix movie (Bright) and now he's going back to make a new Bad Boys movie.
I mean Keanu? He literally has the John Wick movies that are hits in the theaters and enjoyed by both critics and fans.
Meanwhile Will's last movie was a netflix movie (Bright) and now he's going back to make a new Bad Boys movie.
if i was will smith in the 90s (which was the cream of the cream of the crop) i probably wouldn't be sold on the concept either. even if it were pitched better i'd still be "eh, i dunno, maybe..." amidst other options
hindsight is always 20/20, you can laugh at wild west being a "good choice" but you never really know at the time
hindsight is always 20/20, you can laugh at wild west being a "good choice" but you never really know at the time
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It was a breast of fresh air.
I still love part of the reason they chose Keanu for The Matrix, he always has that look on his face of "I'm trying to figure out what is going on and why?".
Yeah. Fantasy just isn't everyone's jam. My dad worked at a movie theatre when Star Wars came out in 1977 and said he hated it. The only movie he'll go out of his way to see is Creed.
This is a much more believable take on the matter.
Damn Will, Jada blew your cover.
Reeves made 250M from the Matrix series alone because he had B.O. profit sharing points. Not sure if Will did that or just flat rates.
