Q&A RELOADED

A Homenetz Matrix Forum has this transcript of a 1999 Q&A session with the Wachowski Brothers with fans who were watching the movie online. There are some interesting and humorous replies throughout, but I pulled out the ones that really stood out.



Question: How did you guys come up with the idea for the Matrix? Playing video games? Shock therapy?
WachowskiBros: No, designer drugs.

Question:... Morpheus shows Neo the desert of the real.
WachowskiBros: There have been many questions about the history that Morpheus suggests in this scene, we have written the history in a fair amount of detail. We've often hoped that if we did an anime series, we would tell the story of this history and the story of the first One. Somebody asked us about the liquification of humans, that's what they feed the people in the pods, the dead people are liquified and fed to the living people in the pods. Always recycle! It's a statement on recycling.

Question: What are the odds of the Wachowskis directing a "straight up" live action adaptation of an anime?
WachowskiBros: I thought we did.


Question: Is it hard to work as brothers? Don't you disagree on everything?
WachowskiBros: Mom flies down to the set everyday to settle every one of our arguments.

Question: Just out of curiosity, do you guys hold to any religious beliefs?
WachowskiBros: Non-denominational.

Question: Did ideas from Buddhism influence you in making the film?
WachowskiBros: Yes. There's something uniquely interesting about Buddhism and mathematics, particularly about quantum physics, and where they meet. That has fascinated us for a long time.

Question: What is the significance of Neo eating the Oracle's cookie?
WachowskiBros: There was a piece cut out of the movie that explained the significance more. It's hard to explain.

Question: Have you ever been told that the Matrix has Gnostic overtones?
WachowskiBros: Do you consider that to be a good thing? I would.

Question: Do you believe that our world is in some way similar to "The Matrix", that there is a larger world outside of this existence?
WachowskiBros: That is a larger question than you actually might think. We think the most important sort of fiction attempts to answer some of the big questions. One of the things that we had talked about when we first had the idea of The Matrix was an idea that I believe philosophy and religion and mathematics all try to answer. Which is, a reconciling between a natural world and another world that is perceived by our intellect.

Question: Confronted with Neo's choice, which would you choose?
WachowskiBros: Blue pill.

Question: What is your fave line in the movie?
WachowskiBros: "Dodge this." And "There is no spoon." We also liked that one.

Question: How long had you been working on writing the story, and was there re-writing going on while filming?
WachowskiBros: There was not much re-writing, a little bit. Somebody asked us about the street names in the movie and all of them are significant. They are all based on places in Chicago.

Question: Any influence from Blade Runner?
WachowskiBros: Blade Runner was a benchmark science fiction film, a masterpiece. Of course there's influence. But we were like the only guys who liked that movie when we saw it, everyone else hated it.

Question: Am I really watching the movie right now, or am I in...The Matrix?
WachowskiBros: Take another blue pill and call me tomorrow.