MoviesAbout.com
by Rebecca Murray
May 5, 2003

To describe the premiere of "The Matrix Reloaded" as surreal would be putting it very mildly. It was a wild, crazy, chaotic scene, with A-list actors mingling with stars from the music world, all while being screamed at by eager fans who had lined up for hours blocking the sidewalks adjacent to the theater. When the stars of "The Matrix Reloaded" arrived, it was all security could do to keep the screaming horde under a semblance of control.
Faced with the packed crowd and a seemingly endless line of reporters, some celebrities took the easy way out and just posed for photos, leaving the task of facing hundreds of microphones up to the braver souls.

I was able to catch a few of "The Matrix Reloaded" stars prior to their hasty retreat into the safe confines of the theater. Here's a sampling of quotes direct from the 'black carpet' event.

HUGO WEAVING ('Agent Smith')
How would you sum up The Matrix Reloaded?
"It's a titanic struggle between intuition and controlling intellect."

We see hundreds of you in this film. Would you like to be cloned?
"No, I don't think so. I sometimes want another twin as long as he didn't really look like me. I'd hate to see hundreds of me (laughing). There are hundreds of 'Smiths,' not hundreds of me. I feel a little different from him"

How did you develop the vocal cadence that this character uses?
"We had four or five months training and I was hanging out with Larry and Andy Wachowski, the directors. They sound kind of a little bit similar to him. I wanted him to be not really like a human being, but not really like a robot - something like a newsreader. That's kind of where I was at with him."

When you did the 'Burly Brawl' scene, did you have to each movement 12 times?
"Yes, some shots I did, other times there were stuntmen doing those roles, and other times it's CG."