Cool News
Set Report and Pictures from the MATRIX 2 set
Hey folks, Harry here with a scoop provided by Jeremy... you know, that oh so dashing and charming rat from NIMH? That's right, well he and a buddy went and did some snap-shot shooting on the MATRIX set... nothing spectacular, but cool anyways... It also seems that TheMatrixOnline.Com was sent the same pics and the same story, only without the 'Harry'... go figure... Here ya go...
Harry, Monday and Yesterday my friend and I went to visit the set of The
Matrix 2 in downtown Oakland. We work just a few blocks away so it was very
cool to see them block off the streets for this. We managed to get a
picture of the Silver-haired battlefield earth guy the other scooper told
you about, but it turned out horribly because we shot it from so far away.
We did manage to get a few interesting shots though. The chase scene they
were filming apparently ended Tuesday since today the streets were reopened.
1) This is a picture of one of the license plates they were using on the
cars during the chase scene. All of the cars (about 30) had these fake
license plates on them. This raises an interesting question...what sort of
permit would you get to be able to drive a car with a fake license plate for
a movie? Anyway, many of these cars were used during the chase scene in
downtown Oakland and I think also at the Alameda Naval base, where they had
apparently set up a fake highway for more of the chase scene. After work,
when they were shutting the filming down in downtown Oakland, I asked a cop
what he saw. He told me there was a large chase scene with a number of
explosions, some machine gun fire, and car accidents, some of which were
*unplanned*. :-)
2) This is a prop car. The near miss drawn on it indicates it was to be
used during the chase scene. There were dozens of cars like this. I wish I
had the picture of the two cars cut in half (obviously not a near miss) but
they didn't turn out so well since we took them from far away.
3) Next to some buildings near Telegraph avenue they built these two fake
billboards. Behind them was an area where all the camera crews were set up.
The people on the left are crewmen. I think part of the chase went down
this street.
4, 5) As we were walking not far the set on Monday we saw this Phone booth
with a fire hydrant inside it. This is odd because Oakland doesn't have
many phone booths. It just said "Phone" on it. We thought it was a prop,
and the dolly next to it was a good indication. Yesterday when we went back
the word Phone had been lettered over with "City" instead. The bench nearby
had been painted to say "Krispy Kiwis". There was a mailbox that we forgot
to get a picture of that had cameramen installing a camera underneath it for
a shot, just to the right.
And then, in passing, we saw a crewman pushing a cart around the set that
had about 30 identical brown briefcases packed on it and under it.
Hmmm...curiouser and curiouser. I wish we could have gotten more shots but
there was a fair amount of security in the area and we got yelled at for
snapping some of these.
We wanted to get some shots while they were filming, but it was not to be.
It was a beautiful day in Oakland though so it should look good on screen!
I've been reading your website for years and this is the first cool thing I
have been able to send you! Thanks for keeping such a great website
running!
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+ Expand All
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that is all
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I'm first you fucking chimps!!!
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These are the COOLEST EVER!!! Tell the dude to get some closeups of that bench next time.
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Beaten by 40 seconds! Darn!
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All that set dressing looks a tad retro...like those TVs. Oh well, old TVs are cheap, and it's the Matrix. I wonder what the significance of the license plate is after all the hidden stuff in the first one. "AI" I understand at least. Anyway, at least it's something besides more Spider-Man reports. I want to see it, but now my eyes are starting to glaze over every time I see the word "SPIDER-MAN" on the AICN page.
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THOSE STREET SIGNS BREATHTAKING.....NOT!!!!
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...well, it is.
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....run with it
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Damn the movie's ruined for me now. I never saw that twist with the Krispy Kiwis coming. What about the rumor that Neo defeats incredible odds with his young side kick Short Chip (played by the kid who knows there is no spoon) to free hundreds of enslaved children from the Matrix? Wow, that's going to be a great ending when they line up for the phone booth.
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Foolish Morpheous and his vanity plates. Seriously, whats the point of this? Hate to sound rude, but this is fucking useless, why don't I go take some pictures of some sand and shoes and act like people care also.
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The moment I saw the sign that said WATCH TV in massive four-foot letters, I thought: "Ooooh, THEY LIVE, "SLEEP," "BE HAPPY," "THIS IS YOUR GOD." Interesting to see that even the brilliant Wachowskis ain't too proud to borrow from the maestro John Carpenter... well, the former maestro, anyway. He hasn't done anything great since THEY LIVE. Bring on MATRIX 2!
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Oh well, I guess it makes Fellowship of the Ring seem all that closer. And then there's David Fincher's Rendezvous with Rama, which won't be out until 2003.... .... where's my time machine??
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I'd penetrated deep inside the Groom Lake Range. Bei Chin Ho had been brilliant to build his secret fortress beneath the confines of the former Area 51. If Dreamland wasn't in Colorado now, I doubted that even Ho would have been able to operate out of his current base. Suddenly, a whirling robed figure exploded out of the sand, spinning in the air like a drill, swords sprouting from his sleeves and into his hands to catch the sunlight. "I am the Guardian of the Fortress of Bei Chin Ho! Why do you dare to intrude?" he barked, dogpaddling in the air above me. "I am Buzz Maverik, of Chico's Bail Bonds. Your master skipped on his bond. He's coming with me." "No, you are dying right here!" "Fine. A sword fight, eh? I'm game. You any good?" "I am the greatest swordsman of the Millenium." "Oh. I'm not," I said, hosing him out of the sky with my MAC 10. He fell headfirst into the secret entrance. I dragged him aside and began to slither down the wire into the coolness.
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I am so glad I can do better than this. I have the entire film at home in my sock drawer but it's not color corrected. So if I post the link here to watch it I'm going to get seriously flamed so I'm not going to do that. You guys only expect the best. That one time you posted Episode II in it's entirety but without the Dolby sound was so amature I couldn't believe it. Get it right for love of mike!
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Nice to see the Bros. are sticking with the digital green color motif. As for these pics, I one thing to say: "Pret-ty lame Milhouse."
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If these were related EP II you'd be all over it, discussing how they do or don't prove that SW and Lucas suck. It's all just jealousy because you wish you were there. They're mildly interesting and that's all, but last I checked, this site was free and no one makes you look. Unless you're like the Comic Book Guy, who felt "Itchy and Scratchy" "owed" him for being a loyal viewer. Yeah, whatever!
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This is gettin really annoying! How many useless stories that nobody cares about has been posted up at this site!? oooh a license plate! So THATS what part 2 is all about!! jeez!
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I'm Jeremy, and my friend and I took these pictures. I sent them to a few different sites. I'm not trying to get famous or anything, but I just thought people would find them slightly interesting. They are pretty boring shots actually, but that's all we could get on our lunch break from work. :-( But hey, the idea was to show people some of the props that were used for a car chase scene in downtown Oakland. The picture of the silver-haried guy was so small it was unusable. They aren't exiting pictures. They are just prop pictures. So lay off us, will ya? :-) I'm sure there are other people out there who got some cool shots too. I'm sure they will be a lot better, but I was just happy to see some of the items they used to film with.
-jeremy -
Thanks for posting those photos. When I saw strange generic billboards for "Steak" and "Oranges" while riding to work on BART this morning, I was worried all the major corporations had merged into one worldwide MegaCorp. George Orwell was right!! But, no. It's just kooky Hollywood. Whew! Back to the reality of flashy corporate identity.
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Is there anything remotely cool about these pictures? This is a waste of webspace. Harry, you should have your donuts taken away fo this. And nice spoiler warning, fatboy.
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What's with the slightly fake universe? I though the cool thing about the Matrix was that it was set in our world and the plot was that maybe we're all jacked into the Matrix and being used as batteries right now (I.E. Mouse wondering why chicken tastes like everything else). Did the computers revert to a previous version of the Matrix or something? Or is it They Live with Neo seeing under the signs with his special Neo sunglasses? I'm seriously confused with this direction if there really is anything to the "Watch TV" sign.
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Someone mentioned that in the first matrix there were a lot of hidden secrets like how the license plate in these pictures will be a subtle secret. What are the hidden secrets from the first matrix? I may have never notcied what you guys know. Clue me in please!
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A dolly full of briefcases? Good God, this makes me want to see the movie right away. Maybe they're...EVIL briefcases?
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... in The Rats of NIMH, not a rat. Just, you know, to clarify. You can go back to slamming coverage on a site you voluntarily chose to visit now.
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... in The Rats of NIMH, not a rat. Just, you know, to clarify. You can go back to slamming coverage on a site you voluntarily chose to visit now.
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"This raises an interesting question...what sort of permit would you get to be able to drive a car with a fake license plate for a movie?" Oh yeah... that is an interesting question.
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Pretty dumb story, with little of interest.
GREEN!!!!!!!
The only mildly interesting thing is seeing how they are keeping with the GREEN motif of the first film.
Just look at everything, there is green everywhere. Green license plates, green benches, green signs, green cars, green fire hydrants, green papers on trash cans.
Love that green, which is probably what the producers are going to be seeing a lot of once this film hits the box office. -
It was interesting to me because these cars had to get onto city streets from somewhere. There were about 30 or 40 of them, parked throughout the area that had been cordoned off by the cops. There were rumors of these cars having been used at the Alameda Naval center for a freeway chase scene, and I heard a rumor that they actually shut down part of I-80 for it. If the cars were driven on the highway at all, they had to have the right tags unless they worked around the law. I just thought it was somewhat cool that the producers managed to do that for so many cars. Only mildy cool. Maybe it's just that I'm a geek and I find quirky things like this mildly interesting. But since none of you who are blasting me and my friend's photos for being so lame were actually there, I apologize for boring you with photos from the set, and just forget you ever saw them. Sheesh.
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AAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHH ITS A DAMN CONSPIRACY........oh wait.........oops nevermind ........sorry
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did i mention all your base are belong to us?
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Mar 28, 2001 4:33:06 PM CST
you f*cking pricks should stop moaning & whinning like a pregnan
by mooncake
why is everyone bitching & moaning about these photo's? hell isn't it nice that someone is sending in info? hell what have you contributed to this site? show a little appreciation for the folks who ACTUALLY SEND in stuff!
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Hell even if they are from far way they'd still be quite interesting, that is unless they don't exist.
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...don't worry about it. Everybody on this site bitches about every little thing. I pondered sending in some stuff about Planet of the Apes and Evolution since my Dad lives in the immediate Page AZ area and had some info, but didn't because I figured it wouldn't be interesting enough for people. So this reaction to your pix will only confirm the fears of people like me so not as many folks will send in news! So for the sake of all of us [and for getting new news on the site that ISN'T about Spderman], please don't get discouraged. The rest of the geek parade find every little tidbit of our favorite projects to be infinitely fascinating and _I_ for one found the billboards very interesting. Don't let the whiners get you down!
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Jeremy ... first of all, thanks to you and your friends for taking the time to pass on some info.
Do you remember if that billboard in your foto said "Watch TV"? It looks like there could be room for an "&" behind that ladder(?), which could mean it's advertising a watch & TV repair shop or something like that (the one down the street, for example). I was just curious if there really is going to be a "They Live" vibe to the sequel too.
Gracias -
This becoming my mantra now. I hate you all.
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Obviously a tactic to get people to realize they're living in the Matrix is to put subliminal messages around the City (eg "ONE") and direct them to "Watch TV" - where no doubt they have some further gizmo to "wake people up" through television transmissions. Interesting...
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IS THE FILMING STILL GOING ON?? IN OAKLAND OR ALAMEDA??? I NEED TO KNOW BECAUSE I AM PLANNING TO GO THERE TODAY. I NEED TO KNOW PLEASE LET ME KNOW AS SOON AS POSSIBLE, I WILL TAKE PICTURES, GOOD PICTURES IF YOU CAN HELP ME-THANKS-
P.S. IF IT IS STILL SHOOTING WHERE IN ALAMEDA? -
Thanks for the compliments folks...I am glad some of you liked our photos. I sent Harry another pic, probably the coolest one, of a car ripped in half. Dunno if he'll post it. I hope he does. To answer the questions, the sign in the billboard did say Watch TV; there was no & obscured by the pole. I don't know if they are shooting anywhere public in Alameda today; They only had downtown Oakland blocked off Monday and Tuesday. There are rumors that they are still shooting somewhere in Alameda; my guess would be the Naval base, parts of which are off-limits to the public.
I hope Harry posts the ripped car photo! Then my geekiness will be validated! I will not be a minor, demi-geek, but a full fledged mayor of my own little geekdom! Or something like that.
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