The Matrix premiered in Westwood, CA on 24 March 1999 before wider release a week later.
Written and directed by the Wachowskis, they first offered the role of Neo to Will Smith, who turned it down to star in Wild Wild West. According to Keanu Reeves, the Wachowskis had him read a number of books before reading the script, including Jean Baudrillard’s Simulacra and Simulation, and Kevin Kelly’s Out of Control: The New Biology of Machines, Social Systems, & the Economic World. Yuen Woo-ping was hired to choreograph the fight scenes and provide martial arts and wire work training.
Warner Bros. was concerned about the $63 million budget for an R-rated science fiction film with a complex philosophical background. The Matrix went on to earn almost $500 million worldwide, making it the 5th highest grossing film in the world in 1999 (4th in the US).
The film was also nominated (and received) 4 Academy Awards, including Best Film Editing (Zach Staenberg), Best Sound (David Campbell, David Lee, John Reitz, and Gregg Rudloff), Best Sound Effects Editing (Dane Davis), and Best Visual Effects (Steve Courtley, John Gaeta, Janek Sirrs, and Jon Thum).
