Latest news with #TheMatrixRevolutions
The Star
05-05-2025
- Entertainment
- The Star
Australia, New Zealand pledge support for film industry after Trump proposes tariffs
From left to right: Keanu Reeves and Hugo Weaving in The Matrix Revolutions. Australia was the filming location for the Matrix franchise. - Jasin Boland SYDNEY: Australia and New Zealand vowed to advocate for their film industries on Monday after US President Donald Trump announced a plan to impose 100 per cent tariffs on foreign-made movies. Australia and New Zealand have emerged as popular filming locations for Hollywood movies in recent years, given lower costs and tax incentives from federal and state governments. Earlier, Trump said in a post on Truth Social that it was due to incentives offered by other countries to lure filmmakers that the American movie industry was dying a "very fast death". He said he was authorising the relevant government agencies, such as the Department of Commerce, to immediately begin the process of imposing a 100 per cent tariff on all films produced abroad that are then sent into the United States. Australia's home affairs minister, Tony Burke, said he had spoken to the head of government body Screen Australia, which offers funding to support the development, production and marketing of screen content, about the proposed tariffs. "Nobody should be under any doubt that we will be standing up unequivocally for the rights of the Australian screen industry," Burke said in a statement. New Zealand Prime Minister Christopher Luxon said the government was awaiting further details on the proposed tariffs. "We'll have to see the detail of what actually ultimately emerges. But we'll be obviously a great advocate, great champion of that sector and that industry," he said. The Australian film and television sector was worth over A$4 billion (US$2.58 billion) in 2022, according to the country's statistics bureau. Australia was the filming location for the Matrix franchise and is a permanent base for studios including Marvel, while New Zealand is best known as the filming location of the "Lord of the Rings" trilogy. The Australian government has committed A$540 million in tax incentives since 2019 to attract international productions, with the bulk going to Hollywood movies such as Marvel's "Thor: Love and Thunder", Universal's "The Fall Guy" and Legendary Pictures' "Godzilla vs Kong". In New Zealand, the film sector generates NZ$3.5 billion (US$2 billion) annually, with around a third of revenue coming from the US, its foreign ministry said in a March 2025 report. - Reuters
The Independent
04-04-2025
- Entertainment
- The Independent
Laurence Fishburne drops bombshell about Matrix 4 snub
Laurence Fishburne has explained his absence from The Matrix Resurrections, revealing that his offer to return was rejected. The actor, who played Morpheus in the original trilogy, was a notable absence from the divisive fourth instalment, which reunited Keanu Reeves and Carrie Ann Moss. Yahya Abdul-Mateen II played a younger version of Morpheus in the 2021 film – and, according to Fishburne, he was turned down when he said he was up for starring in the film. 'I offered my services to the fourth Matrix, and they didn't respond well to that,' Fishburne said during an appearance on The View, adding that 'for whatever reason', they rejected his offer. 'It's not like I didn't say, 'I'd like to offer my services.' I did,' the actor added, without naming who it was who said no. A fifth Matrix film is in the works from Cabin the Woods director Drew Goddard, who is succeeding Lana Wachowski as director. When asked if he'd reprise the role of Morpheus for the next instalment, Fishburne said it 'depended on the circumstances' surrounding 'who was involved' and 'how well the script has been written'. Fishburne shared his view on The Matrix Resurrections shortly after its release, telling Variety: 'It wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. And it wasn't as good as I hoped it would be. But I thought Carrie-Anne and Keanu really did their thing. Yeah, that's what I thought.' In response to being asked if he 'missed out', he said: 'No, not really.' Fisburne previously addressed his absence from the project, which was written and directed by Lana Wachowski, in a New York Magazine interview, in which he stated: 'I wish them well. I hope it's great.' He added that while it's 'great' that Morpheus is 'probably the role that I'll be best remembered for', it is 'not the only thing I'll be remembered for, which is better'. The Matrix Resurrections was the first in the franchise since 2003's The Matrix Revolutions. There was speculation that Morpheus's absence from the sequel was a result of the events of The Matrix Online, a video game in which the character was killed.
