HOLLYWOOD -- Andy and Larry Wachowski will keep spinning their Matrix stories for a while longer.
Just not for the big screen.
"Matrix Revolution is the end of the cinema story. Period. It's finished. It's over," says producer Joel Silver.
His remarks would seem to contradict an interview Jada Pinkett Smith gave recently.
Pinkett Smith, who plays Niobe a fighter pilot for the resistance forces, said there are plans for a new storyline.
"True, it's not over for Jada," says Silver. "The Wachowskis are planning an on-line Matrix game that will feature Niobe, but there are no plans to spin that or any other storyline into another feature film."
Silver insists he, the Wachowski brothers and Warner Bros. studio are not disappointed The Matrix Reloaded did not rule as the summer's top-grossing picture.
Its North American gross of $281,493,000 US puts it in third place behind Disney's powerful duo of Finding Nemo ($338,747,000) and Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl ($301,244,000).
"We're an R-rated picture. That automatically cancels out 40 percent of the audience. The Disney movies had family-friendly ratings. Of course, they had a better chance at the box-office.
"We didn't do that badly. We grossed almost $740 million worldwide. The film was a huge international hit."
Pirates of the Caribbean and Finding Nemo which are still playing in international markets have so far grossed $632 million and $473 million respectively.
The Matrix Reloaded is currently the 13th top-grossing film of all time.
What does disappoint Silver are the criticisms The Matrix Reloaded didn't have a proper ending.
"We were clear from the moment we announced the release dates for Reloaded and Revolutions that Reloaded was only one-half of a movie."
The Wachowski brothers released the original Matrix in 1999.
Its box-office success and instant cult following prompted Silver to request the sequel.
"Reloaded and Revolutions weren't two movies but two halves of the same film. Suddenly people were criticizing Reloaded for not being a film complete within itself.
"We thought the fans and critics would understand that."
Silver elaborates that "the continuation of The Matrix was shot as one giant movie. It was literally cut in half. Revolutions starts a second after Reloaded.
"Not a year, month, week, hour or minute after but one second."
When The Matrix: Revolutions opens on Nov. 5, Silver says it will be an event unequalled in cinema history.
"The film will open simultaneously around the world on 20,000 screens.
"It will open in New York at 9 a.m. on Nov. 5 which is our zero hour. It will open around the world at corresponding times," explains Silver.
The Matrix: Revolutions will opens in one still-to-be-determined cinema in Calgary at 7 a.m. with other screens being added at 10 a.m.
Revolutions will also debut on Nov. 5 at select IMAX cinemas, including the Paramount IMAX in Chinook, at 9 a.m.
"I think the entertainment industry will be in for some astonishing news the following day. I think it is safe to say (there's never) been anything like the response the film will receive."
Silver says there is a two-pronged reason for this massive simultaneous release.
"Of course we are dealing with piracy. It hurt Reloaded because people are so desperate and determined to see these films at the first possible moment that they were willing to buy pirated copies.
"If the film is available around the world in theatres at the same instant people won't want to buy it on the street corner.
"It's simply not the same experience."
Silver is adamant that "everything possible must be done to hault piracy. It has damaged the music industry almost beyond repair.
"We can't let the same thing happen to the film industry."
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