Keanu Reeves In Slow Mode
~By RON DICKER, Special to The Courant
With Two In Release, Actor Looks For Right Movie

CAP D'ANTIBES, France -- Hearing Keanu Reeves imitate a Jewish grandmother might surprise you. Hearing him talk about staying in one place is downright shocking.

"Oy, you get older, you want to settle down," the famously itinerant actor says, sounding more like a bad Catskills comic.

Reeves, 41, is in a place that many of us would like to be: stinking rich - thanks to his 15 percent take of "Matrix" sequel ticket sales. He has not worked in a year, content to watch the fruits of his labor hit the screen this summer: the time-travel romantic drama "The Lake House" on June 16 and the sci-fi adaptation of "A Scanner Darkly" on July 7.

In the meantime, he spends his days weaving his motorcycle through the canyons near his permanent Los Angeles home and reading the likes of Thomas Pynchon. He quit his band Dogstar because the other members wanted to tour. He has no work planned. He doesn't need a job. The "Matrix" trilogy netted him more than $100 million.

"It has afforded situations where I could afford to say no," he says. "It's nice to have that situation. I've been in situations where I can't."

Maybe it's the salt air wafting off the French Riviera at the Hotel Du Cap, one of the most elegant settings in the world. Or perhaps it's his pride at attending the recent Cannes Film Festival for the third time. "It's a big deal," he says.

He seems to have transcended his cosmic surfer boy image to an even more positive plane. It is a stage that perhaps his alter-ego Ted from "Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure" might never have comprehended.

Reeves remains inscrutable during this chat in a cliffside ballroom overlooking the Mediterranean. Freshly shaven yet a tad puffy, Reeves doses out small bits of misdirection in between the sincere answers.

But he seems darn glad to be here. He is no longer wed to a film franchise, making him free to explore and be adored and dissed all over again for what some see as stiff acting chops. He will never be invited to teach a Juilliard master class, but he will always be invited to the party.

"Artistically I hope to be able to make films that entertain but also that have redemptive qualities to them," he says. "I'm anxious to see what happens next."

Which brings us to his latest. "The Lake House" reunites him with "Speed" co- star Sandra Bullock as loving pen pals who discover that they are living two years apart.

"It's a little older, a little more mature in terms of leading romances I've had in a film," he says. "It's a sweet romance. Love is good."

"A Scanner Darkly," which Reeves accompanied to Cannes, gave him another sci-fi platform. He landed with a thud in "Johnny Mnemonic" then floated on the mass-market phenomenon of "Matrix," which served deep-dish philosophy on a video game platter.

Based on Philip K. Dick's novel, "A Scanner Darkly" chronicles the paranoid comings and goings of friends (Reeves, Robert Downey Jr., Winona Ryder, Woody Harrelson) in the drug-saturated future. Reeves plays a detective whose
addiction splits his personality, compromising his ability to spy. Director Richard Linklater applied the same rotoscoping of his previous film "Waking Life" to make his actors half-cartoon, half-human.

Reeves says he liked the concept of government and business colluding to seize control from citizens. It's "a carnivore aspect" with his character Bob Arctor as the "sacrificial lamb." Reeves scrapes the comment off the top of his head. However, his approach to the role was far more deliberate.

"He's the kind of guy who will call you at night because he's been up thinking about it," Linklater says. "He really digs in thoroughly to what he's doing. He has two gears, and all I saw was the `on' gear."

To some observers, Reeves has operated in neutral through much of his moviemaking life. As if he skated from his hockey playing youth in Toronto through a few arty films such as "My Private Idaho" to mainstream ("Parenthood") to action hero ("Point Break") just by being Keanu. Reeves tried to make it look that easy. He was self-deprecating to a fault, and invited lunkhead perceptions.

Not these days. He says he would like to direct if the right project comes along. "I know it's [going to]be really hard, but I like that." And he would like to return to the stage. "It would either be Shakespeare or a modern play. I don't want to do Brecht." (He played Don John in the Kenneth Branagh's 1993 film version of Shakespeare's "Much Ado About Nothing.)

As for his personal life, Reeves remains a sphinx. Fleet Street gossip last year linked him with Diane Keaton after he broke up with "Lake House" castmate Lynn Collins. (Keaton and Reeves were onscreen lovers in 2003's "Something's Gotta Give.") And murmurs about Reeves and Bullock when they attended the Oscars together in March were just murmurs.

But somewhere in the "settle down" part of the conversation was the hint of something permanent - either now or in his heart's desire.

As Reeves' fictional Jewish grandmother might tell him, "From your mouth to God's ears."

Keanu - hunky as ever - and Sandra Bullock - looking darn cute as well - at last night's MTV Movie awards. More at Yahoo Photos.

Keanu will be presenting at the MTV Movie Awards this weekend. The show airs on the 8th of June.

Yay, after finally getting cable last Christmas, I'm going to be able to watch it tape it and fast forward to the Keanu part.

Reeves sure looked good at the Oscars last night. Sandy B. was adorable too.

More handsomeness at the galleries of Keanu A-Z & Club-Keanu.

Jay Mohr's short-lived FOX series - Action! is now available on DVD, according to FilmThreat.com.

You may remember that Keanu had a handjob cameo in the pilot episode.

I recommend picking it up. The complete uncensored 2-disc set is available at Amazon for a mere $14.99 or you can rent it at NetFlix. I've seen a few episodes and it's a hilarious and snarky look at Hollywood.

However, if you'd just like a peep at the Keanu clip, you can click the extended entry...

If the player doesn't work, click here to view it at YouTube.com.

Keanu put on a suit but didn't shave for the Palm Springs event, but he still looks dashing. Charlize looks freaking gorgeous as usual too.

Thanks to POTD for this pic, more to be found at keanureeves.ru (thanks vika), KeanuA-Z, and Club-Keanu, who also has some video as well.

Tonight at the Palm Springs Film Festival, Keanu will present Charlize Theron with the Desert Palm Achievement Award.

Evidently, Charlize was given the choice as to who would present the award to her and she asked that he do it, which is really sweet.

It's a black tie gala so hopefully in the morning we'll have some photos of the hottest penguin ever.

From EmpireOnline.co.uk:

Keanu Reeves has played many roles in his time - the messiah, Buddha, one half of a rock duo that brings about world peace - so he's clearly a man in touch with his spiritual side. That's why he's so perfectly cast as a guru orthodontist in this week's Thumbsucker, the little indie movie that could. We talk to the former Mr. Ted Theodore Logan Esq. about smoking, getting older and robbing banks.

What's Thumbsucker about? Lou Pucci plays Justin, a teenager who still sucks his thumb and the film is all about how he tries to overcome it and the way it affects his family and friends. I play a transcendental dentist who offers him hypnosis to give him strength.

Do you have any horror dentist stories?
I had two of my wisdom teeth pulled out in Toronto when I was younger. And I'll never forget the sound of the pliers and the knee in my chest. It was nasty.

Did you suck your thumb as a kid?
I have not and have never been a thumb-sucker. I did everything else.

Were there any behavioural habits like thumb-sucking that you tried to let go when you were younger?
No. When I was a teenager, I always fantasized about robbing a bank. I mean, it just sounded like fun what with all the plotting and planning, the danger, the treasure.

What was it about the Thumbsucker script that made you want to play a dentist?
It was the humanity of the story. The writing was lovely and a lovely role. My character has several incarnations and I loved his search for meaning of life.

Your character smokes in this movie. Do you?
I smoke too much. In some scenes in Constantine, it was like, Watch Keanu turn green. I smoked so much. It was a lot, it was a lot. I should quit.

Are film sets generally bad for your health? What s the worst injury you ve sustained?I was filming The Replacements and I ran into someone I shouldn't have and I got a stinger. It's where your neck compresses and you lose feeling and the use of your arms. ["eek"--krix]
And I had a general sense of pain. I had a two-level fusion: two vertebrae fused in my neck so there was a lot of concern. But I went and had a MRI scan and was fine. When it first happened I was really scared because I d never had a stinger before. You lose feeling in your arms and your hands. That sensation in me was really intense for about 20 minutes and then the limb aspect of it went away in about two hours.

Did you end up in hospital?
Yeah. I had to go straight to the hospital. I took a handful of Advil and then when I got to the hospital they gave me the good stuff and sent me home with some more of the good stuff and ice and heat. I went back the next day.

What do you look for when you take a role?
I ' always looking to see a vision, to see what's interesting in the piece. Fifteen years ago I wouldn t have asked Francis Ford Coppola, So how do you rehearse? I wouldn t have done that. But sometimes now I find it interesting before I go into it to speak, to share thoughts and feelings. For example, with Mike Mills on Thumbsucker, I met with him and I went along with his process. It's a matter of getting to know each other.

This is a tiny, independent film compared with some of your previous big studio films like Constantine. What are the main differences?
The resources that come into making a movie don't really impact on the relationships inside, in terms of telling a story, for me. Sometimes resources just mean you get to work on a bigger set. Walking on the set for Constantine is a different day than walking on the set for Thumbsucker. But in terms of working on the role, or coming to work, no, it's not different. I guess the pressure is less.

Justin's mother is hung up on a soap star. When you were an aspiring actor, which star did you want to meet?
When I was about 15, my stepfather directed Kate Jackson, who played Sabrina in Charlie's Angels, in some movie called Thin Ice. I was a PA on that film so I got to meet her. I remember she was interested in the latest Star Wars movie that was coming out. I bought her a soda and we talked about the new movies.

Are you interested in old Hollywood at all?
The last book I read was a biography on Frank Capra. And I've also read a book on D.W. Griffith so once in a while there seems to be moments where I am interested about the old studios.

What's next? Is it true you've been cast in Stompanato, about the mobster boyfriend of screen legend Lana Turner?
Yeah, I'm meeting with Adrian Lyne and Catherine Zeta- Jones to do a reading of some of the scenes. Hopefully we can get that picture made.

You used to play bass in Dogstar. Is that still happening?
No, not any more. I don't play in a band anymore. I have no idea if I ll do it again but I know right now that I don't play in the band. ["sniff!sob!"--krix]

Are you too old for it? Mick Jagger is on the road and he's 63
The guy is a living legend though. That's what he does.

You're now in your 40s. Are you slowing down?
I'm making all the noises that a post-40 man makes. [laughs] I make that walk to the bathroom in the morning. I never used to lean against the wall. [Laughs] I am that guy.

Keanu apparently strapped on the penguin suit last night to appear at the 20th annual American Cinematheque Award gala honoring actor Al Pacino in Beverly Hills. The show will be telecast on the AMC cable channel on January 22.

Photos from Yahoo News.

"Reeves is delightful in a part that surely doesn't echo his own Zen-space-cadet offscreen image by mere coincidence. (Hearing him shrug "I was lost in a cloud of hippie psychobabble" is one of many deadpan highlights here.)" - Variety (Sundance)

"Justin Cobb (Lou Pucci) is seventeen and still sucking his thumb. It's hell on his school and sex life. His guru orthodontist (Keanu Reeves in a hilarious cameo) clouds the issue with "hippie psychobabble." But when Justin is medicated for his attention-deficit disorder, the numbnut becomes a narcissist who leads the debating team to victory. The change shocks his coach (a terrific Vince Vaughn) and his parents (Tilda Swinton and Vincent D'Onofrio), who turn out to be just as screwed up as Justin. Debuting writer-director Mike Mills -- remember the name -- brings heart and sting to Walter Kirn's novel. Pucci is an actor to watch: He rides this spellbinder without softening the truths that plague the thumbsucker in all of us."-Rolling Stone

"In the world of the goofy yet salient, Vince Vaughn, Benjamin Bratt, and especially Keanu Reeves all bring welcome humor and varying shades of strangeness." -FilmThreat.com

"Mike Mills doesn't suck And neither does his new film, Thumbsucker - I was amazed with the time it took to instill its characters with huma nism and compassion and draw great performances out of stars like a hilarious New Age-damaged Keanu Reeves, frumpy mom Tilda Swinton, and newcomer lead Lou Pucci. Dude goes from finger-licking nerdy to meds-enhanced overachiever and back." -SF Bay Guardian

"'Thumbsucker' works, in part due to the strength of Lou Pucci's superb lead performance and, in part, because however derivative the movie may be, none of its predecessors featured Keanu Reeves playing a Zen dentist who possesses the answers to life's Big Questions. That those answers change three or four times during the movie shows that Mills possesses a knowing sense of humor about his subject, and that Reeves continues to fashion a solid career parodying his dudeness." - Los Angeles Daily News

"the weirdly Zen Dr. Perry Lyman" - Netflix

"pitch-perfect deadpan styling" - BoxOffice.com

"Dr. Perry Lyman, tries hypnotherapy, urging Justin to invoke his "power animal" - a deer in the forest, as it turns out - for help in casting out his organic pacifier. As played by Keanu Reeves in a nicely self-parodic turn, pensive stoner Lyman isn't a quack; indeed, if Freud was onto anything in attributing oral fixation, and the catastrophic dentistry that goes with it, to bad parenting, then every orthodontist should cross-train as a shrink."-Village Voice

"But perhaps the biggest revelation is Reeves. So often derided for his laconic personality, and outside of the first Matrix movie, totally wasted by Hollywood, he makes a triumphant return to his indie roots with tongue planted firmly in cheek. Lyman's a great character - over the course of the movie, he goes through nearly as big an evolution as Justin does. Reeves, sending up that laidback persona that made him famous, is simply hilarious."- REEL.com

Also, Moviephone has another clip up where you can see part of Keanu's wonderful performance.

Tilda Swinton has some nice things to say about Keanu in this FilmStew.com article. Excerpt below, read the whole thing here.

But Swinton argues that even as he has risen to become one of the biggest names in Hollywood, Reeves has always opted for more interesting choices. "I think it can be seen that Keanu is always making experimental films, actually. I do find his filmography extraordinary."

"If you think about it, there have been these amazing moments in sort of film development - he's kind of always been there for them. Bill and Ted, even Speed or Point Break, or the first Matrix, and My Own Private Idaho," she observes.

"He's always been there. It just shows how damned bright he is. Even Constantine was Francis Lawrence's first feature film and really did feel very experimental while we were making it," she continues. "And again he was there. I think that's his natural place. That's the way I read him; he's not easily frightened."

Reeves, of course, is often derided for his laidback, laconic style (which he lampoons brilliantly in Thumbsucker) and Swinton is quick to leap to her co-star's defense. "The thing that people need to remember about him is that he's so much more than an actor. He's a serious, serious movie star. I mean, if you think of Gary Cooper, for example, who's so much more than an actor. He's iconic in that way. He's so much better than a good actor. There's so much more to him, so much more than the sum of his parts."

I thought I'd prop myself up today in order to say congratulations to Sandra Bullock of her star on Hollywoood's Walk of Fame. Of all Keanu's co-stars, Sandy strikes me as the one I'd most like to hang out with.

Her star is right next to Keanu's in front of the Kodak Theater. Some pics of the ceremony can be found at Yahoo News.

When Keanu got his star last month, Sandra took out a cute ad in The Hollywood Reporter for him, and I was very curious to see how he'd reciprocate.

Thanks to the wonderful Joz for sending me the text of the ad, found in today's HR.

Dear Sandra,

Congratulations on your star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

I think they should have given you two

... or three

... or four.

All of my love,

Keanu

What a swell guy.

(also, once again I'd like to thank everyone for their cards and emails. I'm still trying to take it easy, but I promise to eventually respond to everyone. Love to you all ~k)

Keanu's now in Berlin, for Berlinale (film festival). I believe he's pulling double promotion duty for both Thumbsucker and Constantine.

The lovely Petra sends a summary of the Thumbsucker press conference...

"The press conference lasted about 30 minutes. Keanu attended, along with Lou Taylor Pucci, Mike Mills, Linda Swinton and two of the producers.

The first question was if they had had any childhood nicknames.
Keanu said he had "a couple of nicknames [...] Kiki" - he repeated this once or twice, as if he was trying to choose one, and then said: "I'll say Kiki."

Another question to Keanu was about his impression of Berlin and whether he speaks any German. He didn't answer the first part of the question, but he started speaking German! "Morgen, Morgen, nur nicht heute, (sagen?) alle faulen Leute." ("Tomorrow, tomorrow, please not today - this is what all lazy people say.") His pronunciation was actually quite good! After a short pause, he said: "Ich liebe Berlin." ("I love Berlin.")

He was also asked what it was like to play a dentist, after all his other performances in The Matrix, Constantine etc. Being a dentist is an awful profession...
Keanu said he should ask Lou what it was like, and then said what we read before somewhere, that he nearly poked Lou's eye out.

[...]

Another question: it's an ususual story - what got you into the story, why did you say 'yes' to it?
Keanu replied that he agreed with Tilda - sorry, I didn't write down what she said and as soon as Keanu started speaking I at once forgot everything Tilda had said. Keanu then said it was the script, and meeting Mike Mills. The interaction between the child and the parents, the child's development. He met Mike, and what with the script - he basically said "when do we shoot?" as soon as he met Mike.

Part of the next question was about doing "equal justice to the perspective of the boys and the parents". Keanu said: "Perry is kind of an orphan", who is giving mentoring, advice. Advice "that he collects on his own way", when making his own experiences.

Keanu was then asked what it is like to be on a festival tour 24 hours a day, first Sundance, now the Berlinale - and does he have a survival kit?
He answered that his survival kit is "being with the people you made the film with". He talked about the experience of "being part of the film", and that it's a privilege, and that this is the main thing during such a promo tour.

Another journalist asked them whether they had any particular philosophy in life.
Keanu said we all have teachers, coaches. And there are the people he worked with. And a particular philosophy - he is still "figuring it out", "learning", "life experience". Then he said, in a special tone, that the had "not found THE ONE [philosophy] yet", repeated this, and added, after a short pause: "Do you"?

Keanu was then asked whether he likes going to the dentist. He said: "I love the dentist, I love the shot in the gum for half an hour." (I'm not sure whether there was something else here.) "I love what dentists do - it's fantastic."

Another journalist talked about low-budget movies, said that a few of them are shown at the Berlinale tomorrow, and what does everybody think about low-budget movies in the US, and are they interested in low-budget film productions in Berlin?
Keanu: "Of course!" He said that it's "just about telling stories", "that's what we love to do", "no matter what scale", and that the main thing is "just to show..." [the work].

That's about it. There was another question, and I heard the journalist mentioning Constantine, and I could see and hear Keanu talking to the
others, but I couldn't hear what they were saying. My impression was that he did not want to answer a question about Constantine at a Thumbsucker press conference, but I may be wrong.
I also loved what Lou, Linda and Mike had to say. At one point, there was quite an animated conversation going on between them and Keanu. They were talking about improvising, and Keanu asked whether a certain line was improvised. My impression was that the cast and crew got along very well, that the atmosphere at the set was very relaxed and big fun (Tilda confirmed that early on), and that Keanu really likes this movie and supports it as much as he can."

Thank You, Petra!

Moviephone has some Constantine content and also tells us that he gets all swoony watching Wim Wender's Wings of Desire.

Looks like Keanu lost the whiskers for today's Walk-of-Fame event.

Sigh, he cleans up so nice.

More photos can be seen at Yahoo News

UPDATE!
Jenn of justJenn Rants and Raves was there and has some great photos up already!

Aieeeeeee! Lip scar! Swoon!

And a great shot of The STAR as well! (I wonder what the fine is for rolling around naked on it?)
Thanks Jenn!!!

Also, more photos over at Club-Keanu and video at Access Hollywood.com (Thanks Irene!)

DUDE.

I just saw "Keanu" as a FULL-ON Double Jeopardy category.

The lovely Jena has decided to send a letter/petition to the Ellen Degeneres to get Keanu a guest spot on her talk show. If you'd like your name to be included, Click Here to send Jena an email that includes your full name and hometown. Be sure to include the suject line 'Ellen petition'.

Sigh....

It's pouring rain here, and I've got a ton of catching up to do. Is this on stands yet?

The Discovering Buddhism Series, co-narrated by Keanu and Richard Gere is now available on a two DVD set and can be ordered here.

Thanks to Wrygrass and KeanuA-Z.

Keanu's been known to bend over backwards for charity before. Since his bass dance card is no longer full, here's hoping he'll make some Chicago area ARIZONA fans happy and take part in this hockey event.

From the Chicago Tribune:

Miss hockey? Skate for charity.

You won't be able to watch the NHL All-Star Game because it has been cancelled during this locked-out season. But you can play in an All-Star Game of sorts in December.

Former Blackhawks star Jeremy Roenick is staging "J.R.'s Wicked Weekend," a charity event for the Kita Children's Foundation over Dec. 10-12 in Arizona that includes a round of golf and participation in a fantasy camp-like hockey game.

Your golfing foursome could include the likes of Tony Amonte, Steve Yzerman or Doug Weight, while your linemate in the hockey game might be Mario Lemieux or Mike Modano.

Also invited: hockey-playing actors Kiefer Sutherland, Cuba Gooding Jr., Keanu Reeves and Matthew Perry. For information, call (312) 280-5188.

Note that it only says he's invited, not confirmed so don't go booking a flight just yet.

***Thanks to Carrie for pointing out that this event will take place in ARIZONA, which is like, right next door to Nevada.

However, I have serious, would-not-change-for-anything-not-even-the-chance-to-body-check-Reeves plans that weekend.

A fuzzy-faced, floppy-haired yet still devastatingly dashing Keanu made an appearance at last night's Art for the Heart charity auction in Beverly Hills.

Wanda was there (but arrived too late to see him) and sent some pictures, including a look at the plates that he and Carrie-Anne designed.

Keanu's plate was pink and purple with a red anarchy symbol. Perfect.

I want it.

From Wanda's description the event was quite posh and lovely, thanks to her again for thinking of us and sending the photos.
I've no idea what the final bid was, but I'm hoping that the fine art from keanu and Carrie-Anne fetched a pretty penny for Coachart.

I so want that anarchy plate.

On Thursday, November 4th in Beverly Hills CoachArt.org hosts ART FOR THE HEART - a Silent and Live Auction featuring celebrity co-hosts Lake Bell, Jason Ritter and Marsha Thomason.

Celebrities including Keanu Reeves, Carrie-Anne Moss and Sean Astin will design a total of 50 unique, heart-shaped plates to be fired and finished by Color Me Mine. They will be displayed gallery-style at Christie's. Each item will be auctioned with a donated personal memorabilia piece. The evening will also include cocktails, food, music and celebrity hosts.

CoachArt is a Los Angeles-based non-profit organization that provides free lessons in the arts and athletics for underpriviliged children with life-threatening illnesses. Click here for more details.

To purchase tickets and to get an idea of what the plates will be like you can go to StubHub.com's page on the auction. Several items are available for online bidding, unfortunately Keanu's is not one of them at the moment.

Presenter, actor Keanu Reeves poses with Ve Neill, who won Makeup Artist of the Year at the Hollywood Film Festival's 2004 Hollywood Awards, in Beverly Hills October 18, 2004. Neill has done makeup for scores of films including 'Beetlejuice' and 'Pirates of the Caribbean The Curse of the Black Pearl.' REUTERS/Fred Prouser

Keanu is listed as a presenter at the Hollywood Film Awards that take place tonight at the Beverly Hilton Hotel.

Hopefully there will be some pictures of him all dolled up (and shaved!) in the morning.

I'm alternately having NO FUN AT ALL dealing with a fucked up travelocity reservation for my father and having GREAT BIG FUN with the new shredder I bought for the office.

Whee.

I hate gossip, but I love snark and so I'll admit that Defamer has a place in my bookmarks.

And while I'm not really one to track "what he did yesterday" type stuff, I think the fact that Keanu went to go see The Pixies (my favorite band EVAR!) last night at The Greek is, well....blogworthy.

Keanu at a Pixies show.

That's like eight of my fantasies rolled into one.

And yes, though The Defamer brings a little snark into it he tends to save true ridicule for the plethora of deserving Hollywood media whores *cough*Britney*cough*Paris*cough and I have to give him props for knowing that Reeves is playing bass for becky these days.

Of course, it just reminds me that The Pixies will be here in Vegas on the 28th and there's no way I'm paying 120 bucks for gen. admission seating. Fuck that.

Big Love and thanks to Petra for scanning this scruffilicious picture and translating a nice fluffy article from German magazine, Brigitte.

A good name... The man was young and blond, unkempt and absolutely gorgeous. He was hitchhiking. Two women picked him up, both clearly older than him, and at the first motel he and one of them hopped into the creaking bed. Afterwards, the woman was as young and happy as never before in her life. The title of the film was ‘Thelma & Louise’, the teenage hitchhiker’s name was Brad Pitt, who after this memorable little appearance became the biggest movie star and heart-throb of the world. And the moral of this story? No other role can enchant women as much as the role of the younger lover. Another example? Dustin Hoffman’s breathtaking career took off in 1967 with “The Graduate” - in which he plays a young man just out of college, who has a hot affair with one of his parents’ friends. In Keanu Reeves’ case, things are a little bit different, but only a little bit. After all, Keanu Reeves had already been a movie start when every woman in every cinema around the world fell in love with him. He was a big action hero; do ‘Speed’ and, of course, ‘Matrix’ ring a bell? The women who saw these films thought Keanu Reeves was not too bad, and kept on dreaming about Brad Pitt. Until this year, when they discovered Keanu in the funny, romantic film ‘Something’s Gotta Give’ with Diane Keaton and Jack Nicholson. In this film, he plays an extraordinarily well brought-up young doctor, sensitive, with feeling, and charming. And guess who he is in love with? Exactly. Diane Keaton. Who could, without any mathematical sophistries, be his mother. And his love for her is so wonderfully genuine, and he never ever does anything wrong. With this role, Mr Reeves has won every woman’s heart. Without exception. Ask any woman you know. You say, ‘Keanu’, and the woman will blossom and won’t get tired of going into raptures about this marvellous creature’s velvety brown eyes. Without fail. Give it a try! However, what’s funny about this is: For his romantic coming-out, Keanu Reeves had to be nearly 40 years old - his birthday is on 2 September. Which only goes to show once again: The role of the younger lover carries a magic that overrides all rules. -STEFANIE HENTSCHEL

Also, speaking of his scruffiness, Keanuweb has a cute In Touch mag scan on the topic as well...

Thank you to Petra for scanning and translating this article/interview titled "The Tragic Hero" from September's German Cosmo. The scans of the original pages in German, and other photos from the article can be found at KeanuA-Z.

As an actor, he is more successful than most others, but his private life is full of strokes of fate. In September Keanu Reeves turns 40

It is these eyes that enthrall us. They seem dark, mysterious, and always a little sad. Look into them for a second only, and you will immediately want to hug Keanu Reeves. On 2 September, the boyish Hollywood star turns 40 and he has a lot to look back on. While he has reached the peak of blockbuster heights during his acting career, his private life is haunted by blows, tragedies and deaths. Keanu Reeves, who grew up in Toronto, does not talk about the dark hours of his life. But he talks about his latest film "Something's Gotta Give", his next project "Constantine" (in cinemas in February 2005) and his love for rock music and other romances.

In this movie business that loves young stars, are you afraid of your 40th birthday?

No, I don't feel that young. I am as old as I am. It won't be a special birthday. Either I will be alone in the desert, or it will be an outrageous party.

People say that the camera loves you. Do you take that as a compliment?

I can't identify with that, but I understand what they mean. The picture on the screen has little relation to reality, and in my case the camera probably hides more optical flaws than it does with others.

At the beginning of your career, would you have thought about being a Hollywood favourite?

No, I didn't have a plan, only hope. I was hoping to be able to work as an actor and to master this craft, make good movies and be on stage with high-class theatre productions.

Your first film role was in "Youngblood" at the age of 22. When did you say: Okay, now I am a real, established actor?

I haven't said so until today, honestly. I am challenging myself. Anthony Quinn once said to me: "The feeling of uncertainty will never leave you, inwardly you will always be looking for work."

Can you remember when you were recognized for the first time?

Of course. That was when I bought ice cream with a friend of mine. It was 1987, a hot day, and the guy behind the counter didn't want us to pay for the ice cream. He said: "Because of 'River's Edge!'" So we took the cones for free.

How do you nowadays deal with a society that does not respect an actor's private life?

I try to take it with dignity. You always hope that people won't climb over garden walls to take a picture of you when you are walking into the kitchen naked. I count on every person I meet to be at least reasonably respectful.

Given your celebrity status, how do you master your everyday life?

When I go out, I need a lot of luck and skill not to be beleaguered by fans. The magic word is inconspicuousness. Before a big premiere, however, there is no use in even trying. People are already taking your picture as you walk out of your car.

In your latest movie "Something's Gotta Give", your character is very interested in Diane Keaton. Can you empathise with this fascination for an older woman?

To some degree. But I've never dated an older woman. Sorry, I shouldn't say this, but to rave about an older woman's beauty takes some experience of life. After all, we are living in a culture that celebrates youth. Although youth craze isn't the whole truth...

Do you believe in true love and spiritual kinship?

Yes, absolutely, I believe in that.

How do you define romantic?

For me, romantic is sharing intimacy with another person, looking inside, but also to enjoy a sense of place to the outside. Romantic is awareness of life, it is about existing together in the here and now. Sometimes a beautiful place can reinforce this feeling. But this kind of romanticism works only on good days.

So you are more of an occasional romantic?

I am not sure. At any rate, being hopelessly in love is very beautiful. And dangerous.

What music did you choose for romantic hours when you where a teenager?

What do you mean, teenager? I still like the music from those times. The Ramones, The Violent Femmes, The Clash... When I discovered that music my world suddenly got better. I danced [to this music], felt life's pulse beat, the vibrating feeling of existing.

Was there a time where emotional vibrations were especially strong?

With a woman called Penny. She had a great stereo in the car, you could take the speakers out and stick them onto the roof. We did that one evening in the park and danced all night long. That was one of the good days...

What happened to your band Dogstar?

We are hibernating. I now play bass in a band called Becky, we will be playing some gigs soon.

Who are you playing in your next movie, the comics-adaptation "Constantine"?

A doomed guy who tries to escape from hell and even bargains with angels. I was attracted by his connection with god, which is, at the same time, his relation to the world. He is full of anger and ambiguity. There is one line which I like especially: "God has a plan for all of us. Some people like their plan, others don't." A fascinating character.

What are the criteria when you choose a role?

Most of the time it is my gut feeling. The script, the story, the character have to match my feelings.

After your rather long career, is it difficult for you to still let new people into your life?

My character, my mind, and my true self haven't changed because of the career. I always trust people until they show me that they aren't worth it.

It looks like one of those interviews that's sort of pieced together from other sources, but it's still quintessential Keanu.

Thanks again to Petra

Big Love to Lisa, who sent me the "Self-Esteem" issue of Choices magazine (published by Scholastic, found in better high school libraries everywhere) from 1988. Esteem issues? Moi?

OK, she really sent it because it has a Keanu article.

The text of the main article is "after the jump", which is how all the cool kids are saying "in the extended entry" these days. I'm feeling better about myself already.

Keanu Reeves: Growing Up on the Move By James A. Baggett What's it like when you're always "the new kid"? Movie celebrity Keanu Reeves, star of The River's Edge and Permanent Record shares his story.

His name (pronounced Kay-AH-new) is Hawaiian, but that's just about the only place this 23-year-old actor hasn't lived. Born in Beirut, Lebanon, to a Chinese-Hawaiian father and an English mother, Keanu Reeves--the star of The River's Edge and Permanent Record-was raised in such assorted places as Australia, New York, and Toronto.

"I went to four high schools in five years," -says Keanu, who took acting classes-after hockey practice-while in high school in Canada. "It's difficult being uprooted and having to change your environment.-It's hard moving to new places, making new friends, and leaving behind your old neighborhood. But it's part of growing up."

Now that he's "grown up," Keanu can look back with wiser eyes on the experience of moving around. At the time, always being the new kid on the block wasn't so cool. "Going to all those different high schools was not that heavy, now looking back on it," he says. I wouldn't say it was a traumatizing experience, but it seemed like it then. That was the most difficult period for me, puberty."

Like a lot of new kids, Keanu sometimes had trouble fitting -in. "I was a loner in. high school," he says. "I wasn't like a lot of my peers."

How did he cope? He tried not to -focus on school life too much. "I was in high school, but sort of out of school at the same time," he explains. Sports were one outlet. Music was another. "I would listen to Randy Newman and eat tuna fish and crackers," he says. "I'd play basketball and hockey, and listen to the Beatles." When he wasn't doing well in school, finding something that he could do well -such as hockey - helped hold his ego together.

HIS BIG REGRET

Keanu dropped out of school at 16, about the same time he decided to become an actor. "Sometimes I regret not finishing high school," Keanu says. "But, I was just trying to live my life." To his credit, Keanu continued: to study after leaving school. (Many dropouts don't.) "I took a lot of one-night classes and one-week intensive things," he says.

Luckily, Keanu was beginning to work as an actor -- in spite of flunking acting class (The Screen Actors' Guild in New York City estimates that 90 percent of actors are unemployed at any one time.) He won a role in the Canadian television series Hanging In. U.S. audiences first saw Keanu in 1986's Youngblood, with Rob Lowe and Patrick Swayze. He was also in the CBS Movie of the Week Under the Influence, about the relationship between an alcoholic father (Andy Griffith) and son.

But it was his part in The River's Edge, one of last year's most controversial and acclaimed films, that established Keanu as a star. The film is about a group 4 teens who protect a friend ' who murdered his girlfriend: Keanu played the boy who eventually goes to the police.

This year, Keanu took on a role in a film that deals with another serious issue: teen suicide. In Permanent Record, he played a kid coping with his best friend's suicide. "It's really about friendships and relationships, but it's also twisted," Keanu says, using one of his favorite words.

This fall, Keanu tackles two more "twisted" movie roles. In the comedy The Prince of Pennsylvania, he plays an oddball who kidnaps his dad. In Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure, Keanu plays a teen who, with a buddy, travels through time. The pair round up a team of history's all-stars, including Socrates, Napoleon, Joan of Arc, and Beethoven - to help with a vital final exam.

Though Keanu says casting agents aren't breaking down his door, he has been working steadily. "My mom said you either go to school or get a job," Keanu says. "She's happy I'm not an unemployed bum ... yet."

GOOD TRAINING

As it turns out, moving around a lot was good training for an actor's life. Keanu has worked recently in Pennsylvania, Rome, and Munich. He's now in Paris filming Les Liaisons Dangereuses, a movie set in the 1800s.

When he's not working, Keanu enjoys being a homebody in Los Angeles (his base for the last two years). He reads " science fiction and "twisted" Russian fables, rides his motorcycle, and is teaching himself to play electric bass. "I'm a hack," he, says. "I have no rhythm or anything. But I love the sound the bass makes. It's therapy."

The Best TV Shows that Never Were - tonight at 8pm on ABC (USA), said to have some Keanu content in one of the clips. I'm 99% sure that it's going to be the clip of him at the movies with Illeana Douglas' hand down his pants from the pilot of Jay Mohr's cancelled series: "Action", but I'll be taping just in case.

If you haven't seen Keanu's handjob appearance in "Action", you can download a zipped RealMedia file of the clip from Keanu.org's multimedia section.

***update: OK, I was wrong. Check the comments where Renie reports that it's a young Keanu in the promo spots, possibly for a scrapped pilot for a Brotherhood of Justice teevee show. Oh, I'm definitely taping this.

Extra TV tonight showed Keanu and Djimon talking Constantine at Comic Con.

And Keanu, star of the new supernatural thriller "Constantine" commiserated with his co-star, Djimon Hounsou, about his next project -- birthday number 40. But don't feel too sorry for him. "I'm gonna do everything, I'm gonna get the car, the girl, the young girl," he revealed. "No, at least have a birthday cake."

And there's a much longer clip in the "extra bytes" section on the Extra webpage.
-via club-keanu

Quit messing with my belief system, Keanu.

Now, I'm positively clueless about how Hollywood works, but as I understand it if you're someone famous and recognizable you don't go to The Ivy for lunch if you don't want to be photographed.

So what's the deal? How am I supposed to sustain my uppity self-righteous anti-razzi attitude when there's not a goddamned thing to blog and my nose is rubbed in this sort of thing? Huh? HUH?

I know you're not stupid, Reeves. You coy motherfucker. I can only guess that this was some sort of trade-off to keep the shutterbugs off of your doorstep. Or maybe you're up for a project and need to get that scruffy mug on a page six somewhere. The waving is a nice touch.

Foxy like a craze.

Oh! Maybe you're a SPY! and there's some sort of message encoded in your beard growth and the way you're holding the cigarette. Brilliant, except now I've cracked your cypher and you have to go back to transmitting via your bass frequency morse pulses once again.

Fine. You obviously know what you're doing.

I'll link to the photos, but not because I'm OK with this sort of thing, and not because of how fucking hot you look in those jeans.

Although you do.

Damn.

They just mentioned Keanu on The Today Show in a segment on Hollywood and stupid unusual baby names. I love his name and think his parents made a great choice. Mentioning the Cool Breeze was out of place in the spot which talked about Zowie Bowie and the Zappa kids and some of the interesting choices that some famous folks have made for thier kids. Remind me to ask Rob Morrow about naming his daughter Tu if I ever meet him. Evidently the Cox-Arquettes named their new baby, Coco. Which I think is a little cute even though it makes me think of a poodle.

WTF, E! ????

They really are egregious.

Thanks Jena for the info that E! news (ON CABLE. NOT ONLINE.)has SHOWED some footage of Keanu at Friday night's fashion show event in Austin. "It's short, but it's worth tuning in," she says.

Thanks to POTD for this fresh pic of Keanu from last night's charity fashion show that was part of the Dennis Quaid Classic events this weekend.

Check out the Club's gallery for more scruffy-yumminess.

Keanu won last year and he's in the running for a Teen Choice Award again for Actor: Drama/Action Adventure. You can vote here.

Club-Keanu has some updated info on this weekend's Charity Event in Austin.

Don't hit the greens looking for Keanu, the gala on Saturday night, featuring a performance by Dennis Quaid's band is where you want to be.

Keanu A-Z reports that the SCORE website has a video clip of a news story on last summer's NHL-Hollywood game. There's some great footage of Keanu and Paulie goofing pre-game. Go here and scroll down for links to the clip in Real Media and Quicktime formats and some photos too.

Keep your eye on the SCORE website, hopefully there will be a similar event this year. I'm so lucky I got to watch Keanu tend goal last August. It was such a great experience. I hope his schedule allows him to play again and if he does, I'm there.

According to this USA Today Article, Keanu may be playing "bad golf for a good cause" next weekend (June 4-6)at the Jiffy Lube/Dennis Quaid Charity Classic in Austin, Texas

"Expected to compete in the golfing weekend are Hollywood linksters Keanu Reeves, Luke Wilson, Greg Kinnear, Frankie Muniz and Leslie Nielsen. Quaid's band The Sharks will perform with help from Don Felder of the Eagles and Fleetwood Mac's Billy Burnette. The fundraiser will also benefit three local charities – the Austin Children's Shelter, Any Baby Can and the Children's Medical Center of Central Texas."

You know, I've had a little crush on Dennis ever since Enemy Mine.

If you've been toying with the idea of skipping down to Austin to catch a glimpse of Reeves (and I know some of you have), rather than hovering around the Scanner Darkly production, why not hit the green for a good cause instead? And if you really want to get up to your elbows in celebs in plaid pants (Hello? Wilson brother alert!) then why not see about volunteering?. I'm sure Keanu could use someone to lug his clubs around. Who knows, maybe you'll even get the chance to wash his balls.

After last night's game, Calgary leads the Stanley Cup Series, 1-0.

Here's the game schedule if you're interested in watching the whole series:

Game 1: CAL wins 4-1
Game 2: May 27 @ TAM, 8 p.m. ET
Game 3: May 29 @ CAL, 8 p.m. ET
Game 4: May 31 @ CAL, 8 p.m. ET
*Game 5: June 3 @ TAM, 8 p.m. ET
*Game 6: June 5 @ CAL, 8 p.m. ET
*Game 7: June 7 @ TAM, 8 p.m. ET
* if necessary
Games 1-2 on ESPN, CBC, RDS, NHL Radio
Games 3-7 on ABC, CBC, RDS, NHL Radio

I'll have to wait until the ABC broadcast on Saturday to try and catch Keanu's ad. For now, there are some screen grabs over at Club-Keanu.

SpikeTV airs the Taurus World Stunt Awards tonight at 9pm.

Keanu Reeves featured in NHL advertising campaign

NEW YORK - Movie star Keanu Reeves is the latest in a series of celebrities to participate in the NHL's "HOCKEY ... GET IT? GET IT!" brand advertising campaign.

The spot entitled "Sacrifice," written and produced by NHL Productions, features Reeves articulating the unique sacrifice and price NHL players must pay to win hockey's holy grail - the Stanley Cup.

"When the physical pain begs the mind to quit...will your heart press on?" says Reeves. "Will you sacrifice body and soul to focus on one singular purpose, one unified desire, one perfect dream?" ["Imagining him saying these words makes my pants wet" -krix]

The ad debuts on the NHL on ESPN, May 25 during the Stanley Cup Final and will air throughout the Final on ESPN, ABC and CBC.

Reeves, raised in Toronto and a Canadian citizen, is an avid hockey player and fan. One of his childhood jobs was sharpening skates at a local ice rink skate shop.

The "HOCKEY ... GET IT? GET IT!" campaign began airing in October 2003, and has starred entertainers from the film, television and music industries, including Michael Vartan, Jim Belushi, Denis Leary, Kiefer Sutherland and Shania Twain, along with Olympic Medalists Michelle Kwan and Kristi Yamaguchi.

It's always nice to wake up to fresh Keanu photos.

Here are some images taken at last night's World Stunt Awards (sponsored by Red Bull! Why was I, their keanuphile spokesmodel, NOT INVITED?) from Yahoo News (via POTD)

Yeah, the third one is my favorite too.

-More scruffy Keanu goodness from last night can be found over at Club-Keanu's gallery.

Between his work in films like Magnolia and Punch Drunk Love to Boogie Nights and his brilliant portrayal of Lester Bangs in Almost Famous, I've considered Philip Seymour Hoffman to be one of the great and versatile actors of my generation. I've always hoped he was kind of a "hell of a guy" as well, and it certainly seems so from this interview in Tuscon Weekly. (via keanua-z.com)

Keanu content below...

What about the films you're in ... why did you pick Magnolia, Almost Famous, The Talented Mr. Ripley and Owning Mahowny?

PSH: For the diversity. I think there's a diversity in character; I also think there's a diversity in filmmaking, ranging from a really hard-core independent style, to a kind of broader commercial picture. Those were really the two criteria: diversity of filmmaking and diversity in characters.

On that diversity of character: You're a very studied actor ... if you saw Keanu Reeves at a party, what tips would you have for him?

PSH: I don't think there's anything Keanu doesn't know. I heard he went and played Hamlet at some theater once, and I see the things he does, and it's like, he's just another actor struggling to try to get better. And I am, too. I just don't get into that "he's someone to put down" kinda thing. Acting's a really hard thing to do, after all, and some people, I think, do it easier than others. But I do think that some people get better, and I also think some people do take it seriously, and I have a feeling he's somebody who probably does, that he struggles like everybody else to try to do it well. But if I saw him, I'd probably ask him for tips, to be quite honest, my friend. I'd be like, "So, how did you get in that first Matrix movie? How'd you swing that?"

But you're not aiming at a blockbuster, apparently.

PSH: No. But ending up in one is not a bad thing. I get offered them, and I'll say no if I don't like the part. But there are those opportunities that are worth taking, like the Matrix--I like that movie. So I'd ask, "How'd you get that job?"

You'd have been good as Neo. So, of the TV show remakes, which part have they offered you: Epstein, Wojo, Schneider? Father Mulcahey? They offer you Father Mulcahey?

PSH: Cat Woman.

Oh, you'd be a great Cat Woman!

PSH: I don't think I was actually offered that, though.

I need to bump Owning Mahoney up on my Netflix queue...

Thanks to Nudel for this scan from Premiere magazine's Power List issue.

Keanu's moved up fourteen places.

Yay him.

MTV news encapsulates what's up with Keanu currently on their movie news page:

Pretty soon you'll be able to add Keanu Reeves to the list of actors who have starred in movies based on one of the late Phillip K. Dick's sci-fi stories, a list that includes Arnold Schwarzenegger ("Total Recall"), Tom Cruise ("Minority Report") and Ben Affleck ("Paycheck"). Similar to his technique on "Waking Life," director Richard Linklater ("Dazed and Confused") plans to shoot live-action scenes for "A Scanner Darkly" with Reeves, Winona Ryder, Robert Downey Jr. and Woody Harrelson and then have the footage turned into animation. Reeves will next be seen with Vince Vaughn in "Thumbsucker" and in next year's "Constantine," based on DC Comics' "Hellblazer." ... Reeves, meanwhile, will receive an honorary award for Best Action Movie Star at the upcoming World Stunt Awards. The ceremony, hosted by Carmen Electra and Dennis Hopper, will air May 26 on Spike TV with "Kill Bill, Vol. 1," "Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl," "Bad Boys II," "Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines" and "The Last Samurai" among the top nominees. ...

Also, an article on Polyphonic Spree that mentions Thumbsucker:

[Polyphonic Spree's Tim] DeLaughter is also scoring a movie by independent filmmaker Mike Mills called "Thumbsucker," which is based on a novel by Walter Kirn. "It's about a 17-year-old who still sucks his thumb, so the music is really playful and fun. It's got some hints of the Polyphonic Spree, but there's also stuff that sounds nothing like Polyphonic."

Still no other news on the release of Thumbsucker.
I'd hoped that it would be ready for Cannes, but it isn't listed.

• KeanuWeb reports that Lou Taylor Pucci's site reports that:

  Lou [..] was reshooting scenes For "Thumbsucker" with Director Mike Mills, Keanu Reeves, Vincent D'Onofrio, and Tilda Swinton, in fact he said he felt like he was in "The Matrix" as he was shooting scenes in the daytime with Keanu and at night with Carrie-Anne Moss [who just joined the cast of Lou's newest project, titled "The Chumscrubber"]...

• USA Today (and a bunch of other sources) reports that Keanu will be honored for his work in action movies at the upcoming Taurus World Stunt Awards, which are scheduled to air on May 26 on SpikeTV.

  The awards, which recognize the men and women who put their lives at risk to make fights, explosions and tall-building falls on TV shows and movies look more realistic, will be presented May 16.

  The 39-year-old Reeves will receive an honorary trophy for best action movie star. His films include The Matrix trilogy, Speed and Chain Reaction.

  "Keanu's work with The Matrix trilogy was some of the best from an actor of his generation," said Gernot Friedhuber, executive producer of the show. "He has consistently shown an ability to learn from the stunt teams on his many films and has expressed a genuine interest in the field of stunt work."

  
  
• becky's Paulie will be tending goal at two charity hockey games this weekend in Calgary and Vancouver. See HollywoodCelebrityHockey.com for details.
  
• Keanu co-star Diane Keaton makes People Magazine's 50 Most Beautiful list. The man himself is overlooked once again, which is fine as it allows me to keep up the tradition of NEVER, EVER buying People Magazine.
  
• Vibemerchants officially have a new drummer, and she has a rad haircut (which allows me to usurp her old one, glee!) and completely rocks. Expect gigs as soon as July.
  
• Red Bull comes in handy to carry 4-packs now. Be still my heart......no, really.
  

Club-Keanu reports the Keanu's May 10 taping of Inside the Actor's Studio has been cancelled due to Keanu's film obligations.

Drag.

I know a lot of people (including me) were looking forward to this.

Maybe now there's time to enroll in the Masters Program at the New School University to take advantage of this perk should he appear at a later date...

"Following the interview, students in the Actors Studio Drama School's M.F.A. program participate in a class with the guest."

Can you imagine?

"Today we're going to work on the trust excercise. I want you to cross your arms in front of your chest, close your eyes and fall backwards.

KEANU REEVES WILL CATCH YOU."

(Ok, ok....I know that's like, Acting 101. Still sounds like fun....)

Thanks to Club-Keanu for pointing out that ShoWest's official site has a link to photos taken at the convention that are browsable and actually available to purchase as prints.

I'm just getting a chance to look through the 1000+ images and there are several groups of Keanu photos.

-During the award ceremony for Nancy Meyers

-With Jack Black

- and also graciously posing with other ShoWest attendees.

Don't bother looking at your local newstand for it because Buy magazine is the first all-digital magazine.

This month features Keanu in an article/interview. Most of it is nothing new, but I did like this quote...

What does the concept of destiny mean to you?

KR: Destiny is one of those tricky words. It’s one of those aspects that’s like a particle in a wave. Maybe the wave has a destination but the particle doesn’t quite know what the destination is and yet it’s making itself a part of that wave.

-Thanks to Joy

Canadian friends, set your VCRs, eh?

Next week on April 22nd, The Discovery Channel Canada will air The Great Warming, a documentary made for United Nations Framework Convention On Climate Change (check my previous entry for more info on the UNFCCC). Keanu co-narrated The Great Warming with Alanis Morissette and you can see some video clips at the documentary's official site. No word on when or if it will air in other countries, including the US.

-via POTD

From Businesswire/Google News:

International Sports and Media Group, Inc. (OTCBB:ISME), and Macias/Clark Media Group, LLC, San Diego, have formed a joint venture to create 5ive Media Entertainment to produce HDTV television productions, "Toy Show" and "Built."

International Sports and Media Group will be aiding in the financing of the television productions through the newly formed 5ive Media Entertainment. The first two TV productions are the "Toy Show," a celebrity infused, action-charged adventure on the Motorcycle, Automobile, Aviation and Marine industries; featuring special guest appearances by Keanu Reeves (Matrix Trilogies, Something's Gotta Give), Tom Arnold (Best Damn Sports Show), Angie Everheart (Jade), just to name a few.

Read the whole press release here...

Kaz sent out this scan of Jude Law and Keanu at ShoWest from Oz mag New Idea.

I have no idea what the caption means.

One of the songs I've learned recently was Something by George Harrison and it reminded me of this article, one of my favorites.

Something in the way he moves

In defense of Keanu Reeves.

By Charles Taylor

Is there anyone in the movies who allows the camera to drink him in the way Keanu Reeves does? Movies have always yielded to performers with charisma and beauty. Sometimes the mechanics of a movie -- plot, dialogue -- can seem frozen for an instant as the camera basks in the person in front of it. There have been histories of the movies written in terms of genres and filmmakers. Perhaps one needs to be written in terms of erotics, the moments that break movies down in our minds into images of faces, bits of movement, a snatch of music on the soundtrack. Those moments seem to reveal other, more delicate, movies inside the one we're watching, as if we were in the midst of reading a novel and a symbolist poem had floated up between the lines.

"The Matrix" has already broken down in my head to moments of Keanu Reeves striding through crowded city streets, dank back alleys and the decaying rooms of ghost town tenements. Reeves' movements have always conveyed an unsettled mixture of eagerness and wariness (just as the combination of his muscular build and fine-boned face convey a mixture of strength and grace). Maybe it's the way he seems to be led forward by his shoulders as he walks, or the way he has of looking from side to side as he strides forward, scanning the scene he's already trudged into. If the film's protagonist, Neo, is a role that Reeves seems born to play, it's because it's the one that allows us to revel in his physicality, which has always been such a strong component of his acting.

Movement is accepted as part of the performance of a dancer or a comic. And certainly talking about the physicality of, say, Olivier as Henry V, or Kenneth Branagh as Hamlet, wouldn't surprise anyone. So why does it still startle some highbrow moviegoers and critics that, in an action movie, the way an actor moves is the performance? In her Entertainment Weekly review of "The Matrix," Lisa Schwarzbaum claims she "can't get [Reeves] in focus as an actor," but as for his "fine form," well that she can "clearly see and appreciate."

I don't think that the way Keanu Reeves looks or the way he moves is all there is to appreciate about the guy. But I often get the feeling that admitting to enjoying his physicality means that I'm failing my critic's responsibility of treating cinema as a serious art form, that having a sensual or kinetic response means abandoning intellect, that I'm forgetting to maintain that even failed or boring or pretentious art is more worthy of serious consideration than successful entertainment.

Let's face it: Love him or hate him, nobody wants to envision the movies without Keanu Reeves. If it weren't for him, what would snobs do to amuse themselves?

No doubt there are people who just don't dig Keanu Reeves. But I've almost never heard anyone content to say they merely dislike him: They loathe him. Subjected to more ridicule than perhaps any other movie star, Reeves is attacked with the enthusiasm people reserve for someone who truly drives them crazy. "Young, dumb and full of cum," is the way Reeves' hard-ass FBI boss describes the character he plays in "Point Break," a line that the Keanu haters themselves might have coined. I'm guessing, but I suspect that part of the vitriol directed at Reeves stems from the way he stirs up all the old arguments about the differences between actors and movie stars. Reeves is also a repository both for the lingering resentment over the attention and devotion that beauty continues to command in pop culture and the way in which he represents a subversion of traditional sex roles

In "Girlfriend," her new book about cross-dressing, Holly Brubach argues that drag sends conventional sex roles topsy-turvy, that while maintaining traditional images of femininity it "upholds the very definitions that it subverts; it is at once radical and deeply conventional." I'd argue the same applies to Reeves. Looking at good-looking people has been one of the great pleasures of the movies since the silents. But the performers who have offered themselves most willingly to the camera have almost always been women. Their seeming passivity has disguised the position of power they hold over the viewer. Ready for worship, they have presented themselves as if they were the sacred icons of pop culture. Men, on the other hand, have traditionally acted to deflect attention from themselves, as if doing anything less would seem unmanly or feminine.

Reeves is one of the few contemporary male stars whose presence acknowledges that people are out there in the dark looking at him. He's not narcissistic, just comfortable with himself, and his slight languidness encourages looking. That willingness to be looked at evokes -- in women as well as men -- a homosexual panic. I don't mean that as a sop to the rumors that have hovered around Reeves' sexuality -- though it's significant that we can conceive of a man comfortable with his good looks only as being gay -- but as a suggestion of how some people still feel threatened by men who don't conform to their ideas of what men should be.

For someone who's been most successful as the star of action movies, Reeves hasn't shown any interest in macho bluster. He may be playing hot dogs in "Point Break" and "Speed," but he doesn't swagger, not even in the scenes with his leading ladies. Like other actors of his generation -- Eric Stoltz, James LeGros, John Cusack -- Reeves is remarkably generous, even deferential, to the women he plays opposite. Look at the scenes between him and Sandra Bullock in "Speed." Reeves doesn't play them as a testosterone-jazzed cop out to show who's in charge -- he treats her as an equal partner in disaster, encouraging, even leaning on her, without once seeming less heroic or masculine.

It's surprising then that audiences that enjoy that sort of gender switcheroo haven't embraced Reeves. Maybe it's because they're the same kind of audiences that buy into fashionable notions about beauty being a false, oppressive standard. Reeves demonstrates that movies have never abandoned their veneration of the beautiful, and he does so at a time when that impulse is deeply suspect.

A film critic I know recently said to me that he thinks people look at Reeves and see nothing going on. He said they weren't looking too hard. Instead of the "serene blankness" Schwarzbaum described, I have almost never seen Reeves play a scene -- regardless of whether he or the movie was good or bad -- where he didn't seem completely concentrated. That commitment may have sometimes worked against him, leading him to appear overly serious in a crummy movie. But I'd prefer that to an actor condescending to a scene by signaling his contempt. Or to the furious scenery chewing that is often praised in the movies as fine acting -- Jennifer Jason Leigh in "Georgia" or "Kansas City"; John Malkovich in "Jennifer Eight" or "Rounders"; Gary Oldman in almost anything.

That sort of showy self-consciousness is often mistaken for off-screen intelligence. Unfortunately, people still assume that actors are the characters they play. Reeves is often talked about as if he is the slow-witted dude he played in the "Bill and Ted" movies. It's almost always his voice and the accents that he affects that's used as evidence against him. Sure, his British accent in "Bram Stoker's Dracula" was noticeably strained, and it's often counted against him. But nobody was good in that movie. (Coppola seemed more interested in his production design than in directing the actors.) If actors are often confused with the roles they play, they are also held accountable for the follies of their directors. Which is also what happened to Reeves in "Little Buddha": Any actor would have looked ridiculous done up in eyeliner and prancing around as Siddhartha. And yet, who could blame Reeves for wanting to work with Bernardo Bertolucci, especially after being so consistently mocked as a nontalent.

Dismissed as a slacker Ken doll whose work has been mostly teen comedies and action films, Reeves has been even more ridiculed when he's attempted to stretch himself. Reeves played Hamlet in a Winnipeg, Manitoba, stage production and received good reviews, but most of the attendant press about the performance mocked the very idea of him attempting the role. As Don John in Branagh's film of "Much Ado About Nothing," Reeves took a functional, nondescript villain and gave him an undercurrent of malevolence that the movie's brightness couldn't entirely dispel. (The element of inexplicability Reeves brought to the don's treachery made me wonder whether Shakespeare might have used the part as a first sketch for Iago, a character he wrote three years later.) The reviews were predictably nasty, but it's always a giveaway when people spend more time deriding the notion of a performance -- Keanu Reeves in Shakespeare! -- than the specifics of the actual acting.

Movies are only occasionally high art. And even when they are, they need the link to their tradition of sensual pleasure that Reeves stands for. Performers with his sort of charismatic sexiness can make you feel plugged in, alive to that pleasure. In a world of movies that are too often (to steal a phrase from a Mekons song) the empire of the senseless, Reeves is the red pill.

He's jamming everyone's radar....

Some celebrities are not always so recognizable in person. When Keanu Reeves, for example, was walking through Bally's to a ShoWest awards presentation at Paris Las Vegas late Thursday, he was virtually unnoticed.

When Fred Willard walked a similar path, some heads turned, but it seemed to be more of a "Who is that guy? I recognize him from somewhere ... " type of thing.

However, when Warren Beatty came through there were shrieks of recognition.

-Thanks again to kaz.

Apparently, I'm such a slacker that I need a heads-up from Australia for a blurb in my local paper (thanks kaz!).

Reeves came to ShoWest to give the director of the year award to Nancy Myers, who directed him in the box office hit "Something's Gotta Give."

The couple showed mutual admiration.

"She writes real personal work. What is that? The Nancy Myers je ne sais quoi?" Reeves said laughing. "She's someone who has real insight into what she wants to see. She won't move on until she gets 'it.' "

Myers, whose projects include "Baby Boom" and "What Women Want," said "Give" has been her favorite movie experience, adding co-stars Jack Nicholson and Diane Keaton "loved working with Keanu. He's fantastic. He's perfect."

Someday I'd like Keanu to use a french phrase when referring to me. You know, "Joi de vive", "Menage à trois", "Pouvez-vous repasser ce linge?"

And if you missed the coverage on ET due to frikkin' basketball, you can catch the clip here, thanks to Keanu Soul via Club-Keanu.

And speaking of the Club, as always Chicks is on it with screen shots and press photos of the whole ShoWest shebang so check it out.

I had no idea ShoWest was this week but sure enough it is, and Keanu's in town.
He presented Something's Gotta Give director Nancy Meyers with "Director of the Year" last night at the Paris hotel.

Jena reports that there may be footage on tonight's entertainment television shows (ET, AH, etc.) so you may want to tune in for a glimpse.

-more pictures at Yahoo News and at Club-Keanu.

Kaz sent me a video file over the weekend and I've decided to go ahead and post it for a limited time. It's of Keanu and Jada doing a interview for an Australian TV show, Rove Live.

It's a cute interview (done for Revolutions promo).
The interviewer is sort of a dork.

Again, big love to kaz.

An interview with Keanu for The Sunday Mail -UK...Thanks POTD

Keanu sets hearts racing as hunky cardiac doctor How Keanu Reeves trained to play cardiac medic who wins heart of Diane Keaton

Hollywood hunk Keanu Reeves has caused many a female heart to flutter over the years.

But in his latest role, as a cardiac specialist in romantic comedy Something's Gotta Give, he had to learn how to look convincing as he cures dodgy tickers.

Keanu, 39, said: ''I met with my GP and he gave me some pointers in terms of dealing with the stethoscope and how you lay hands on people to make them feel comfortable and dealing with things like the blood pressure cuff.

''And I took all of my friends' blood pressure and listened to their hearts.''

The Matrix star even went undercover to treat real-life hospital patients.

He said: ''I went to a couple of emergency rooms and I'd be introduced as the intern got the greens on, the scrubs and I'd hang out.

''Then I went to Southampton hospital, near New York, and they were very gracious with their time and I got to hang out in ER there and speak with the head of the ER department.''

All of which must have provided some shocks for the patients he examined. How would you feel on realising the man taking your blood pressure began his career not at medical school but as a moronic teenager in Bill And Ted's Excellent Adventure?

But it seems most of them were only too delighted. He said: ''I gave some autographs and met some people while the blood was popping out of their arms. It was nice actually.'

Read the whole interview at the Sunday Mail website....

Yeah, well.....I forgot to set my VCR, but thanks to the magic of pictures and a lovely play-by-play by Jena in email it was almost like being there. Or at least like being in front of the TV.

From what I've seen he was breathtakingly dashing and charming as always.

Also ,Yay! for Keanu's Someting's Gotta Give co-star Diane Keaton on her Golden Globe for best actress/comedy and to Charlize Theron for her best actress GG for Monster.

And Yay! to 24 as well for best drama series.

Don't forget that Keanu will be presenting at the Golden Globe awards tomorrow. Thanks Jena for these programming notes:

• E! is doing an all day Golden Globes special starting with coverage from the red carpet at noon ET - 6pm ET, followed by a 2 hour Live Red Carpet Arrivals Special starting at 6pm ET - 8pm ET. The Red Carpet Arrivals Special repeats after the Golden Globe Awards at 11pm ET - 1am ET.
  
  
• The Style Network is doing a special before the awards from 6pm ET - 8pm ET (for PST, check your local listings, but I believe it's showing 3pm for you). The special repeats from 9pm ET - 11pm ET, and repeats again from 11pm ET - 1amET.
  
  
• Golden Globe Awards, NBC, 8pm ET - 11pm ET

More programming listed at A Keanuholic.

Sunday is jam night for me, so I'll have to set my tape. I'm sure there will be photos at the news sources before midnight tomorrow as well.

I'm taking the weekend off.

Both Stacie and Catz are doing some great Keanu desktops and graphics so be sure to check them out, and Nudel's been getting her photoshop on as well.
Keana has posted some of her personal photos from when Dogstar came to town, and has all sorts of cute little girlies and gifs going on. I love the little flying Neo!
Sweet Keanu_Soul could charm the fuzz off a peach and she makes music videos!
And I don't know how Keanuette does it all, keeping up both a major site with news and gallery, her creative work on her blog and she still manages to be quite the social butterfly as well. Thanks to her and the Keanu blogger ring I've discovered even more Keanu fans with blogs, like Furious-Angel. A self-proclaimed 'bad girl', I like her already.

Have a good one....

Thanks to Ann for calling this to my attention and to Chianti for posting over at Club-K:

According to an ad in the New York Times, Keanu will be a guest on Inside The Actors Studio. The taping is scheduled for May 10th. A TV airdate will be confirmed at a later date.

“My hope, in terms of trying to relate my life to my work, is that I can understand what I know and seek to understand what I don’t know; part of the interest for me in dealing with roles is trying to seek what I don’t know. But whatever life experience I have is who I am, and so whatever that is comes with me.” - Keanu Reeves

Keanu A-Z has a great article from The Times UK, Life After Neo. Go check it out....

Keanu is scheduled to present at The Fifth Annual Hollywood Makeup Artist & Hairstylist Guild Awards tomorrow in Beverly Hills. I don't think it will be televised but there may be some press photos and entertainment news coverage.

Also, thanks to both Kristin and Jena for letting me know that he's scheduled to appear at the 2004 Golden Globe Awards, which will air live on the 25th on NBC.

I'm hoping he gets to hand Charlize the award for Monster.

While I was frittering away my weekend with shopping and band practice,
POTD club sent out several interview links in addition to (as always) some great Keanu pictures...

Tribute.ca has a Matrix cast interview and also a interview with Keanu.

B.L. Why do you think that these Matrix films are so popular?
K.R. Because they rock! (laughs)

B.L. I totally agree, but...
K.R. They totally rock, man. There is so much movie on the screen, there's ideas, there's kung fu, there's interesting relationships. I think that they are ethical, moral. The taste, the aesthetic, and how much movie is on the screen. I enjoy and respect and I feel that from the filmmakers. I think that they are fun, I think that they are provocative and I think cinematically they're unique. I think the acting and the relationships that you see in the films, the editing and the music, the style, the content is just really unique. They are great, get some popcorn sit down and watch the Matrix. You know what I mean, all of them. I think that the care that Larry and Andy Wachowski - the writers/directors - what they have put in these movies is just cool.

[...]

B.L. Now you are shooting Constantine.
K.R. Constantine rocks.

B.L. It's based on the comic hero Hellblazer, how cool is that?
K.R. It';s awesome. Now working with (director) Francis Lawrence, it's his first feature and I don't know, we are four weeks in and I'm working with Rachel Weisz and it's a great script, it's conceptual, it has great ideas and it's a fun character and great crew and hopefully people will like it. I am working right now, which is great. It's a great part and I hope it will turn out.

Read this whole interview here.

Also, there are Keanu article/interviews on Reloaded and Revolutions at PreVue magazine's Matrix archive.

Thanks POTD for the link to this interview with Keanu. Excerpts below, read the whole thing at InSiteAtlanta.com.

A film junket press conference is a surreal event. Reporters from all around the world crowd into oddly shaped rooms and jostle with each other for a seat close to the “talent,” many of them ultimately asking asinine questions that mean nothing. Such as when a reporter blurts out from the back, “Your character, Julian, is a confident character. Where do you get your confidence in real life?”

Keanu leans forward and says with mock seriousness, “From within. You know, there’s a book I once read... No, I was playing a character. I thought he was well-rounded and grounded, and [portraying that was] the obligation of the role.”

The actor’s remarkably youthful appearance belies his age. How does he stay so young? “I have a picture in the attic,” he says, smiling. How does he plan to spend his fortieth birthday next year? “For my birthday, I’ll either be really alone, in the middle of the desert, or I’m going to have an outrageous party.”

[...]

Yet another inane question gets asked– are you romanic in real life? “On good days,” he says good-naturedly, but doesn’t elaborate. And what, one reporter wants to know, is the craziest thing he’s ever done for love? “My friends would probably say, ‘Falling for that girl,’” he answers in typically enigmatic fashion.

A longtime bassist in the band Dogstar, Keanu was inspired by and brought up on punk music. Strangely, it’s when talking about music that the actor is at his most animated. “I was a lucky kid who heard The Ramones, Violent Femmes, the Clash, Exploited, Joy Division... My worlds got a lot better. I found something I could express myself with– music I vibrated to.”

Heh. He vibrates.

Thanks Kaz, for this....

First off, congratulations to Jack Nicholson and Diane Keanton on their Golden Globe nominations for Something's Gotta Give.

Extra TV has another interview clip with Keanu content. ~Thanks Nadia

Peet and Reeves tell us that locking lips with a Hollywood legend is no ordinary smack in the mouth. Peet says, "He is the master. It was all a little nerve-wracking."

Meanwhile, Reeves says that kissing Keaton was a lot of fun because they were both so immersed in the affection of their characters. He says, "I think that was fun to play, and it was fun to feel."

But, believe it or not, Keaton says she actually felt strange kissing Reeves. She says, "He is a God. He is so beautiful it is ludicrous."

Also, Keanu is scheduled to appear on the syndicated Entertainers show with Byron Allen this weekend. You may have to scour your local listings, it tends to run in the middle of the night. ~Thanks Jena

The Hollywood Reporter has a lengthy article and interview with SGG director Nancy Meyers (minimal Keanu content, but interesting nonetheless)....

"I was just blessed in terms of the actors that wanted to sign on to this project. I was blessed with Frances McDormand in a small part (of Keaton's sister). She wanted to be in this movie, which was really very flattering to me. And Keanu also saw it as an opportunity and I will forever be grateful to that guy. He gives the movie so much, I think. Really perfect casting."

Read the whole thing at hollwoodreporter.com ››

Keanu finds Rx in small part
By Stephen Schaefer

Keanu Reeves, who reportedly collected $30 million plus 15 percent of the gross for his two "Matrix" sequels, was eager to take on a small supporting role in the new film "Something's Gotta Give."

"For me, trying to do different kinds of roles, it was a wonderful opportunity, really, just to do something different," Reeves said.

Reeves plays a doctor who treats Jack Nicholson's Casanova-esque Harry [Sanborn] for chest pains and finds his own heart thumping when he meets an accomplished playwright (Diane Keaton). Although the physician is a decade younger, he pursues the attractive 50-something, not knowing he has a rival in [Sanborn].

The actor doesn't find it so odd that he's not the film's leading man. He coveted the "Something's Gotta Give'' role so much that he auditioned for it.

"I was looking for a job,'' he said.

"You laugh, but it's true. Often, you have a gut reaction to scripts you read. . . . You're always looking for good material. I mean, I love acting. Look at Jack Nicholson. He's 66 years old, I think, and he's making movies. He's doing his thing. Does Jack Nicholson have to go and make a movie? That's what we do.''

Yet it wasn't the younger man-older woman scenario that intrigued Reeves.

"Some people speak of this film as being age-oriented, but I would say that it's 'ageless-oriented,' personally,'' he said. "I think that it's about taking a risk, opening up, and somehow it seems so terrifying to open oneself up to another. We see these two beautiful, brave people in this film, Diane Keaton and Jack Nicholson, just kind of open up to each other. We get to enjoy it and see it on screen."

Peach of a guy

Turns out Keanu's not that tough to figure out

NEW YORK -- Look up enigmatic in the dictionary and you might just find a picture of Keanu Reeves. All those synonyms from secretive, ambiguous and illusive to indecipherable, paradoxical and inscrutable certainly apply.

Here's the guy who went from playing a goofball in Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure to having one of the most excellent contemporary careers in Hollywood. It could be construed as pure good fortune that he stumbled into the thriller Speed -- but it was more than luck that kept him from doing the disastrous sequel.

He easily could have passed on The Matrix after tanking with Johnny Mnemonic but instead parlayed an almost identical sci-fi performance into a movie icon.

Reeves' offscreen person is just as puzzling.

His co-stars talk about how erudite, personable, humorous, sweet and kind he is yet he has long been an infamous interview subject.

In round-table settings and at press conferences his answers are cryptic and his demeanor defensive.

So it was with no small amount of trepidation that I approached our one-on-one interview for the holiday comedy Something's Gotta Give.

I can't pretend I've met the real Keanu Reeves but I've certainly met a much different man than I've encountered through previous group interview situations.

The first thing that struck me was that he is more imposing in person than he is on screen.

He's every bit his 6-foot-1 and he has hands like baseball mitts, but there's a gentleness to his handshake.

He proved far more relaxed, articulate and humorous.

Q: You've had quite a remarkable career since your feature-film debut in 1986 in Youngblood. Did you have a plan when you first started out?

A: I didn't have a plan but I had a hope. I hoped I'd be able to make a living acting because I loved it so much and I hoped I'd get the opportunity to make quality films and work with some of the best actors and directors in the business. I also hoped I could have a career that would allow me to do stage work as well as film."

Q: When you look back, can you remember those early days in Toronto?

A: Like it was yesterday. I arrived in Toronto when I was seven. I went to four different schools and I'm proud and happy to say I still have contact with friends I made in those early years. I love the city and always have.

Q: At what age were you bitten by the acting bug?

A: I started taking acting classes at the Jewish Community Centre when I was 15 and I got my first agent when I played Mercutio in a (community) production of Romeo and Juliet when I was 16. I did a Coke commercial and that led to my first professional acting gig (as the title character) in Wolf Boy, which lead to Youngblood.

Q: When you auditioned for Wolf Boy had you already made the decision to pursue acting as a career?

A: Before I went out to audition for Wolf Boy, I was managing a pasta place. I'd worked there so long they'd made me the manager. One day a woman who was working for me asked if she could have the day off so I was trying to rearrange staffing. I suddenly realized this was not what I wanted to do with my life, so I quit. I walked out of that place and over to the auditions and got the role in Wolf Boy.

Q: Were you surprised when so many people were surprised that you decided to star in the Manitoba Theatre Centre's production of Hamlet?

A: I would have preferred if fewer people were surprised. I want to do more stage work. Before I left Toronto for Los Angeles, I would audition regularly for the Stratford and Shaw festivals. I still harbour a dream of being part of either of those companies for a season.

Q: Is there another Shakespearean role you covet?

A: Absolutely. I'd really like to play the Scotsman in "The Scottish Play."

Q: At what point in your career did you finally concede this acting thing was working for you?

A: I haven't said that to myself yet. I really haven't. It would be foolish of me to pretend things haven't worked out well for me financially but that's an exterior thing and that's what other people tend to gauge an actor's career by. Personally I feel like I'm still searching. I'm still trying. I'm still working on my craft on almost daily basis.

Q: Is it difficult at this point in your career to let people into your life?

A: In terms of my personality, my sensibility and who I am, I'd have to say it hasn't changed all that much. I really trust people until they show me that I can't trust them. When I meet people, I try not to have expectations but I also try not to be naive. I don't want to have to put up any unnecessary walls but I also don't want to leave myself unguarded. Talk to people who knew me in Toronto 30 years ago. That was true of me then just as it's true of me now.

Q: Here comes the inevitable Matrix question. Are you relieved it's all over and that you will soon be able to stop talking about Neo and The Matrix?

A: Not at all. It was an incredible experience. I think they're all wonderful films and I'll speak about them until I croak. I won't ever tire of talking about the character, the films and the whole experience itself. It is a very important part of my life just as it's an important part of my career.

--By Louis B. Hobson

(Thank you to Shae)

But damn! You just can't read "Jack and Diane" without that song going off in your head, huh?

Understandably, most of the media about Something's Gotta Give is focusing on the stars:

The 5-foot-9-inch superstar is still at the top of his game; just ask writer and director Nancy Meyers. She says, "Why Jack is so sexy? Because he is just the devil. Something is always going on in that brain. He is just delicious."

In "Something's Gotta Give," Nicholson is reunited with his 1981 "Reds" costar, Diane Keaton. And after all of these years, Nicholson hints that is was some reunion. He says, "I would have to write a book, honey." - extra tv

___________

Ask Keaton if she's canoodling with famous ladies' man Jack and she almost chokes when she says, "Me dating Jack? It's not going to happen. Probably not for either one of us. We are just friends." - sun-times

All in all the buzz for the film seems to be good. Even though I'm not big on romantic comedies, I'm looking forward to seeing the preview tonight. I know I'll adore Keanu as Dr. Julian Mercer. *swoon*

I'm also currently freaking out that I'm taller than Jack Nicholson.

Thanks to the Pic of the Day club for this gorgeous pic from OK magazine and for the link to this article.

"AT ANY point in his career, Keanu Reeves has always been the centre of wild speculation. In his mid-20s, mostly because he had played lovable airheads in Bill and Ted’s Excellent Adventure and Parenthood, everyone speculated he was dumb. In his late 20s, he made a movie called Speed and, suddenly, everyone was heralding the dawn of the new metrosexual action hero. Many have credited Keanu for paving the way for sensitive actors like Tobey Maguire and Christian Bale to be cast in traditional he-man roles like Spiderman and Batman. "

Continue reading the article at star-ecentral.com

....or is my globe just warm?

On December 1st, The Great Warming - a documentary on global warming was shown at the Conference of Parties 9 in Milan.

Keanu co-narrated this documentary with Alanis Morissette for the United Nations Framework Convention On Climate Change. A short clip can be found at the UNFCCC website.

OK, now that I've been politically correct and promoted the cause can I just get all squishy for a moment over those lips?

Guuhhhhhhhhhh...........

*sigh*

OK.
Playing more catch up in the media spot....

Keanu will be doing promo for Something's Gotta Give on ET tonight and there is a clip on the site.

Diane Keaton was on both the Today Show this morning and The View. I slept through Today and had a distraction during The View (looked back in time to see the lovely Diane kissing Joy Behar...eep.) so I have no idea if she mentioned Keanu at all She's apparently out of her goddamn mind.

*cough*

I'm hearing from people who have been lucky enough to attend advance screenings of SGG and it sounds like it's going to be very good. I'm going to pick up a newspaper and see if there will be a sneak preview here in Vegas. It could happen, we had one for The Replacements.

For anyone that missed it the first time around, Keanu's Letterman appearance for Revolutions will re-air tonight.

There's also some Revolutions content in the January issue of Starlog Magazine, Club-K has some images and an article from it.

Thanks to POTD, Keanuweb, Club-Keanu and all those who emailed me with news for helping me catch up.

And BIG WET pouty-lipped Keanu kisses to Jena.
She knows why.

Extra TV tonight will have the cast (including Keanu I assume) talking about Something's Gotta Give

Check your local listings and also the video clips at the Extra TV site.
(I'm not sure if Keanu's in the clips, I can't watch media at the office)

Well hell. Was the only repeat of A&E's Biography show on Keanu at one in the morning last night? I've heard it wasn't bad and was going to get Roi to tape it for me. Ah well, not to fret. A very lovely person is making me a tape of all the cable stuff I missed so I'll see it eventually.

I'm so behind, I just watched the E! thing that Roi taped for me yesterday. I hear it wasn't as bad as most of the "True Hollywood Story" shows usually are, but it was still pretty bad. Tabloidy. Feh.

It was a treat at the end to see the infamous "E! for Egregious!" footage.

You said it, babe.

More than meets the eye
Is Keanu Reeves as amiable in real life as he is on screen?
MUMTAJ BEGUM emphatically says "yes".

IT IS time to set the record straight – Keanu Reeves is more intelligent than he lets on. While most of us were (or still are) scratching our heads over The Architect’s speech at the end of The Matrix Reloaded, Reeves thought it a challenging concept. Ergo, he knew then, it was a crucial scene in the trilogy.

During a 15-minute interview with Reeves in Sydney he tells how he found the three books – Simulcra and Simulation, Out of Control and Evolutionary Psychology (which he was asked to read by the Wachowski brothers before playing Thomas Anderson a.k.a. Neo a.k.a. The One in The Matrix trilogy) to be helpful in different ways.

“I would say, in terms of the acting part of it, it’d probably be Simulcra and Simulation. And the one that was kind of disturbing was Evolutionary Psychology. The whole idea of detachment of emotions like ‘What is friendship?’ except what do they call it? Reciprocal altruism,” says Reeves in disbelief. “And to understand the film and the evolution of what occurs in the films; Why the system starts to have this organic development? Why certain programmes left alone would develop certain traits, almost Darwinist survival traits? Anomalies that pop out of nowhere, why does that happen? What goes in terms of the evolution of nature, even if it’s inorganic?

“I mean Neo ultimately meets programmes who talk about love. And the machines, they’re just fighting for survival. It’s almost not personal, it’s just, you know, they create the Matrix so that their crops of humans don’t die.”

Having acknowledged the fact, it’s also true that Reeves lives up to that all-American habit (although technically Reeves is Canadian) of using the words “you know” as a form of punctuation and every once in a while he falls into Ted-mode (of Bill and Ted’s Excellent Adventure) ending his sentences with “man” or “yeah”.

Then magically again he switches to a completely poker-faced expression – which critics have dismissed as wooden acting – making it hard to read what he’s really thinking. Despite an “inability” to talk about himself (he’ll only offer a short sentence or two), he has lots to say about films. And he’s affable enough for one to conclude that he is humble and polite.

Coming face to face with him one realises just how strikingly handsome he is, more so in person than on screen if that is possible. Even his fatigue cannot disguise his pan-ethnic good looks, revealed in his Asian (light brown) eyes, and Caucasian square-jaw. Dressed simply and in dark colours (black jacket, brown shirt), Reeves looks all the more fetching because of the stubble on this face and just-out-of-bed hairstyle.

There is something sweetly refreshing about a movie star who promptly brushes off the question if he was the first choice to play Neo, the role that ultimately placed him in Hollywood’s A-list. He jokes that he is actually the directors’ 33rd choice to play Neo, but the truth is he was the only one who could make sense of the Wachowski brothers’ mind-blowing vision.

“All I can say is when I met them in 1996, and they showed me the script and I read it, and they showed me some of the materials, painting, drawings, you know, what they had in mind. Also from the script we had a real kind of...” he pauses. “Erm, we liked the same things in terms of graphic artists like Frank Miller and writer Philip K. Dick. We had things in common and I think that helped in terms of the way I can speak of their project. They were like, ‘He gets it.’

“I think they were surprised too when I came in with (research) notes. I had questions like what it meant, what they were hoping for. We got along,” he says simplifying his role in The Matrix.

Dig a bit deeper and you find out just how dedicated Reeves was in bringing the brothers’ vision onto the big screen. He would turn up everyday for the martial arts training even though he had just undergone neck surgery (back in 1997 when the training for The Matrix commenced) that restricted his movements. Shooting long hours, he’d have fights that would take three weeks (or more) to complete.

Hugo Weaving, his co-star in The Matrix trilogy, notes the amount of training they went through, “It was fantastic to get healthy and fit. That was great. The other side of it is waking up everyday feeling exhausted. The way I was exhausted was nothing like the way Keanu was exhausted. The amount of work Keanu put into this is absolutely amazing.”

At one point Reeves apparently had to sit in a bathtub full of ice. But all he says is, “It was all very good fun, but very hard work as well. And painful – ice is your friend.”

Not surprisingly, Reeves expresses interest in doing a couple more kung fu films even when he’s not interested in pursuing martial arts outside films.

“Movie kung fu is fun. It’s like fake fights. It’s like going out and playing Cowboys and Indians. It’s a sense of play. Everyone’s in a big fight between good and evil. And it’s beautiful, even when it’s brutal, there’s something beautiful about it.

“But the movie would have to have the right story though. I don’t want to just go out and start doing cheesy chop-socky movies.”

Indeed the care Reeves shows in picking projects could be due to the fact that his life has been balanced by both good and bad.

[...]

He himself has been in more than one accident and has the scars – on his leg, abdomen, above his lip and left eyebrow – to prove it.

With this in mind, it is sometimes easy to understand why Reeves doesn’t care much when he becomes the target of harsh (and sometimes unwarranted) criticism. Walking the path he has paved, he remains compassionate about people, as proven recently when he gave away part of his salary to The Matrix crew.

When asked whether he is a serious bloke, he protests with a “No, no no.”

“Well, I’m serious about my work for sure,” he finally agrees. “When it’s time to go to work or my application to what I do in acting, my responsibilities to film, that’s what I’m really serious about. Definitely.”

Just like the reluctant hero he plays in The Matrix, Reeves often downplays his talent in real life.

On the night of the interview, he dutifully turns up for the premiere of The Matrix Revolutions at the Sydney Opera House. His appearance on the black carpet is accompanied by deafening screams from his fans, females and males alike, who have been steadily growing in numbers despite having to stand out in the cold wind and rain for more than four hours.

A little uncomfortable with the attention paid to him, especially by the photographers, Reeves nonetheless turns to greet his fans with polite waves, autographs and handshakes.

But there is no disguising the fact that the star is looking for an exit to do what he loves best – be a regular guy.

What's the difference, in movie terms, between want see and must see? Answer: the second and third Matrix films. Before it opened in May, The Matrix Reloaded had fans drooling to find out how Larry and Andy Wachowski, the gifted brothers behind The Matrix, would expand the first movie's vistas and visions. That's want see in its most avid form. It earned Reloaded a record $209 million in its first 10 days but only $72 million in the rest of its run, a sure sign it disappointed its audience. So when the trilogy's finale, The Matrix Revolutions, arrived last week, seeing it was not so much a craving as a duty. Hence must see. As in must eat soybeans. Must visit Aunt Harriet. Must complete my set of Matrix in-theater viewing experiences.

Like Reloaded, Revolutions begins with no flashbacks, no summary of the story thus far. For those who are hazy on the battle of the reborn computer whiz Neo (Keanu Reeves) and his band of rebel humans against Agent Smith (Hugo Weaving) and the nasties of the virtual-reality Matrix, a brief refresher course is in order.

The 1999 original was a genuine Neo classic. It trumped its nifty martial artistry and digital effects with a theme of self-discovery in the great heroic tradition. So, what did the brothers do for an encore? They spread the sequel over two feature-length films and, with all that time to fill, got a little gassy in their storytelling. The rebel fortress of Zion was a drab lair whose denizens engaged in way too much Jedi Council — style nattering. Then — as if producer Joel Silver had pleaded, "Could you please have somebody hit somebody?"--Reloaded 180'd into an action film, with the most elaborate car chase ever shot but without the first film's zip or resonance.

Well, Silver did warn us: M2, he said back in April, was "only half a movie." Revolutions is the other half, and if it doesn't touch the original for sheer cinematic wow, it's a big improvement over M2 and brings the enterprise to a satisfying climax.

Neo is now unplugged, lost in a nightmare realm between the Matrix and the machine world. He's pursued by Smith, who has gone free-lance and has become a fatal computer virus. Neo's friends Morpheus (Laurence Fishburne) and Trinity (Carrie-Anne Moss) can't count on him, so they must plan the defense of Zion with the help of only the fractious rebel commanders. Their immediate obstacle: the pruny, petulant, dangerous Merovingian (Lambert Wilson). Their possible key to Neo's location: the Oracle (Mary Alice), who, we learned in M2, is a computer program and not always trustworthy.

The movie takes its time reaching warp speed. The Zion debates drone on, and much of the acting and dialogue is stilted, perfunctory, at a level somewhere between a Star Trek TV episode and a Star Trek convention. But the ass kicking starts early, when Morpheus and Trinity have a cool fight with the Merovingian's goons. Meanwhile, Neo is being dogged by a "human" whose voice sounds ... strangely ... familiar. Our hero's lids are seared shut, and through the hot coals of his X-ray eyes, he sees Smith, grimacing triumphantly. It's one of the epiphanies of the movie year.

Any martial trilogy needs a climactic battle scene. This one pits the humans against a swarm of the Matrix's sentinels — those metal octopests, those enemy anemones that chased the humans in M1 and M2. They're back in megaforce, forming a snake shape that rears and strikes at Zion. So the human soldiers get outfitted in gigantic robot armor — clinking, clanking, clattering collections of collagenous junk.

Ah, yes: The Wizard of Oz. That's the touchstone here, not just in the war of a few good guys against a vicious aerial host but in Neo's trip to the Machine (Emerald) City to meet its virtual vizier — who, as seen on a giant screen, looks a bit like the Oz wiz in the 1939 movie — and learn how to get home.

Somehow, though, you knew that the fate of the universe would hang on the outcome of a kung-fu fight between Neo and Smith. It comes at the end on and above city streets in a slow, heavy rain. The trilogy ascends and soars with the two combatants and ends not with a whimper but with a blast of light.

Thus the fabulous original film has found an honorable way to sign off. For those who didn't bother to join the early crowds, The Matrix Revolutions is a definite might see.

Keanu Reeves doesn't own a computer and has no plans to acquire one. "I don't use the internet, I don't send email, I don't have a secret identity," the star of the Matrix trilogy says. "You don't have to be a computer geek to be interested in the subjects these movies raise."

Still, he says, fans who love the movies and want to talk bytes find it odd - and there are many fans: after the first Matrix film grossed $US171 million, the second instalment, Matrix Reloaded, pulled in $US735 million.

What's even stranger, though, is the black-curtained room inside a Warner Bros sound stage in which we're sitting to discuss part 3, Matrix Revolutions. Reeves, too, is dressed head to toe in black and, despite the gloom, wearing dark glasses.

"Maybe I'm having a hard time letting go," he says of the Neo-esque attire.

"I lived and breathed these films for three years.

"I've read a lot, I've thought differently about things and now I'm almost 40. So now I'm perfectly positioned for a midlife crisis, right?"

He's tired because he's in the middle of making his next film, called Constantine, in which he plays a supernatural detective.

His all-black attire and some unflattering overhead lighting make him look pasty. Coiling and uncoiling his fingers is about as animated as he gets.

The Matrix creators, brothers Andy and Larry Wachowski, are notoriously press-shy so the burden of plugging their movie falls to the actors.

"They made it clear from the get-go that this isn't their thing," Reeves says.

"I'm not saying that it's mine. But this has been a pretty life-altering experience for me, these movies, so if I can back them up that's fine. I'm cool with it."

...Continue reading "Making Sense of The Matrix at TheAge.com.au

You know you're a true-blue Keanu Reeves fan when you develop "the radar".

I usually sleep with the TV on, and this morning I woke up at 5:38 (naturally, not cat-induced) and caught a repeat airing of Access Hollywood just in time to see whatshisname talking to Keanu outside one of the premieres (Sydney, I think...I was still groggy). I stayed up for a little bit watching some local news and then let myself fall back asleep, since I'd set the VCR to tape the Today show. I wasn't looking forward to scanning the three hour program later for his appearance but I really do love to sleep so I snuggled in and dozed off again.

[tangent] I ended up dreaming about someone wanting to borrow my Reloaded DVD to watch and I couldn't find it, all I could find were clear discs. It turned out that my father had borrowed it and was arguing with me that it didn't make any sense. I vividly remember trying to follow him up an escalator crowded with people calling after him "It's like all this is a dream, and you wake up from it to a completely different world and all of this never existed." Which is very meta when you think about it, especially compounded by the fact that right afterward....I woke up. [/tangent]

Wrong!
"Coming up, blah blah blah Matrix something something, Keanu Reeves!" quipped Katie, her voice only slightly betraying her jealousy that Lauer got to do the interview...

The interview itself was brief. His sleepy, velvety voice was better than the cream in my coffee. He's got new shoes and the way he holds his feet continues to make my own toes curl.
To bastardize Rumi, God made krix love Keanu so much, just his feet could cause confusion in her.

They showed the fighting in the rain clip.
OK, this was the first time I haven't averted my eyes for this clip and good god.
It. Was. Beautiful.
The movement, the fight choreography, everything. Perfect. I'm so excited.

Eighteen hours left until Revolutions.

I wonder if I'll be able to sleep at all tonight.

(update - thanks Keanuette for a better link. You can watch the video and there's also a pretty good and lengthy article as well.)

Big Love to Jena for this list of Keanu and Matrix related programming* this month. I hope you've stocked up on blank tapes!

- Nov. 2,3,4th TBS is running The Matrix with Behind the Scenes footage of The Triogy all starting at 7C/8ET

- Nov. 3rd Extra: Keanu to talk about turning 40. (update-clip can be found here)

- Nov. 3rd and all this week: Access Hollywood, Pat O'Brien travels on the Matrix Jet with the Matrix cast, Friday he gave a tour of the jet, they had it decorated for Halloween. :-)

- All this week make sure to tape E! News, Extra, AH and ET for Revolutions coverage that could be on at anytime

- Nov. 3rd TechTV: Lives of Creators will feature Revolutions effects, 8pm ET(?-check your listings to be sure)

- Nov. 3rd HBO2: 1st Look The Matrix Revolutions 3:30pm ET

- Nov. 4th TechTV: Revolutions effects 5pm ET

- Nov. 4th: Carrie-Anne Moss will be on the Wayne Brady show (syndicated, check local listings)

- Nov. 4th: Keanu on The Today Show

- Nov. 5th TechTV: Keanu 5pm ET

- Nov. 5th HBO: 1st Look at The Matrix Revolutions 12pmET & 11pmET

- Nov. 6th E! Behind the Scenes of Revolutions (check local listings, I want to say 4:30pm ET, but don't quote me on that)

- Nov. 7th TechTV: Nine Inch Nails soundtrack/Revolution coverage 3pm ET

- Nov. 7th Keanu will be on Regis and Kelly

- Nov. 8th HBO: 1st Look at The Matrix Revolutions 4pm ET

- Nov. 9th HBO: 1st Look at The Matrix Revolutions 3:30am ET, also 8:45am ET on HBO2

- Nov. 9th E! True Hollywood Story: Keanu Reeves 8pm ET

- Nov. 11th HBO2: 1st Look at The Matrix Revolutions 12:30am ET

- Nov. 16th Keanu Reeves Biography A&E Channel 9pm ET(also showing again on Nov. 17th at 1am ET on A&E, if you have the Biography Channel, it's scheduled to appear on that as well but I'm not sure on dates and time)

- Nov. 18th HBO: 1st Look at The Matrix Revolutions 10:35pm ET

- Nov. 21 HBO: 1st Look at The Matrix Revolutions 4:45pm ET

*Your Mileage May Vary. Be sure and check your local listings, especially for the cable stuff.

Wowsers.

Well, Keanu is Entertainment Weekly's current cover boy and I didn't even realize it. I hate being out of the loop.

Here's and excerpt from the article, "His Excellent-cy" by Scott Brown:

Keanu Reeves is 39 years old and through making apologies. In younger days, he told interviewers he was a ''meathead,'' sensing their dim opinions of him and meeting them head-on with bodacious self-effacement. (Call it the Ted Offensive.) But little of that old self-consciousness is in evidence now. The tics are still there, of course. He fidgets constantly, crossing and recrossing his legs, Gumby-ing his obscenely thick hair from side to side. Any query that comes across as even vaguely invasive is deflected with polite monosyllables, but one mention of Hamlet elicits an entire soliloquy (''If it be now, 'tis not to come. If it be not to come, it will be now.'') and a bardolater's joke about his all-black outfit. (''My inky cloak,'' he cracks.)

Reeves is famous for quoting Shakespeare at the drop of a hat, but you can see why Hamlet agrees with him: a regal yet mercurial soul, confounding our often low expectations. And confound Reeves has, every step of the way. With ''The Matrix Revolutions,'' he concludes a sci-fi trilogy that entranced audiences in 1999 and befuddled them in 2003, grossing nearly $1.2 billion worldwide along the way. Whether it will lure back those whose heads are still spinning from ''Reloaded'' is today's multimillion-dollar question; Reeves himself admits the second movie was ''dense'' and says that it ''benefits from a second viewing.''

But just when you were getting used to Keanu in that sleek-if-impractical black cassock (''superhero evening attire,'' he calls it), you'll have to readjust to him in ''Something's Gotta Give,'' a romantic comedy that positions Reeves -- a doctor in this one [note from krix...Dr. Julian? My pretend boyfriend for December] -- opposite Diane Keaton and Jack Nicholson (opening Dec. 12). Next he'll be seen as a New Age orthodontist in ''Thumbsucker.'' And after that...well, you can follow him into hell, or at least halfway. That's where his next big role -- hard-boiled ethereal middleman John Constantine, of the ''Hellblazer'' comic -- will strand him. Sensing a pattern here? Don't worry. Neither is anyone else.

Reeves' identity has always been a bit of a blur. He's your average bass-playing, beer-drinking motorcycle enthusiast who's only now getting comfortable with moonlighting as a tremendous celebrity. One thing is clear: He's no longer the guy who once said, ''I make excellent good short copy because I use words like 'excellent.'''

''Ah,'' he sighs, smiling. ''That's an early '90s quote, isn't it? Early '90s Reeves?''

He smiles beatifically and offers no further insights. No doubt about it, the guy is downright mysterious. Of course, there is a competing theory.

''He's just sullen!'' laughs Alex Winter, the Bill to Reeves' Ted and a longtime friend. ''If someone thinks he's a mystery, it just probably means he doesn't like them very much.''

And I love this part..

Reeves' friends and associates have a tendency to defend his intellect even when no one's really attacking it. ''I learned my lesson the first time we played a game of chess,'' recalls Laurence Fishburne. ''We were living in Sydney [filming 'The Matrix'], and I thought we'd have a little game and I'd see how bright the motherf---er was. Beat my ass in 15 minutes and left.''

Heh.

The whole article is in the November 7th issue of Entertainment Weekly, a continuation of this excerpt can be read by AOL members by going to keyword: EW.

Keanuette doth rock muchly. \m/
Go to KeanuA-Z right now, avoid reading the article if you're non-spoilering it...but OH! look at the pics.

OK, who can get me a copy of this mag?

Don't forget, Keanu will be on David Letterman (CBS) tonight!

These are pictures from tonight's Revolutions Premiere that I found over at Yahoo. There are also some of the whole cast, etc. And I'm sure there will be more tomorrow.

He looks dashing as always.....sigh.

How cool is Chicks from Club-Keanu?
So cool that she has the new Details article and pictures scanned and sent them to me to share with all of you since the club is in server limbo at the moment.

There are also three black and white pics with the article...

The article is in the extended entry below.

Again, Thanks to Chicks of Club Keanu for sharing this.

When he rang the doorbell he was holding a black motorcycle half-helmet. He was diffident and shook my hand. Called me sir-perhaps through nervousness, perhaps simply because of my age. I am 10 years older but suddenly felt 60. I gave him a tour of the first level of my home. He drank everything in: walls lined with cork and newspaper clippings. German electric baby grand, and a multitude of books, a (very) few with my name on the cover. He said he was unfamiliar with my work.

While he examined one of my novels with fastidious care, I said I'd just finished a tale of Buddhism and Hollywood, two subjects I knew he was on familiar terms with. He used the downstairs bathroom, then we went up to the kitchen. Getting acclimated. Small talk. I knew I wanted to engage him in crazily serious things. Death stuff. How do you jump into that without being crude when all you have is 90 minutes?

Actually, I was surprised he'd even come by. His people had suggested we meet in the courtyard of the Chateau. Now, I love the Chateau to death but hated the thought of us sitting there. Could he please come to my house? They called a few days later and said, Yes, he would. Then the meet was postponed and I thought maybe he'd had second thoughts and the Chateau courtyard was soon to raise its airy, elegant head, but just then Keanu himself called to say he'd be 20 minutes late. There he was. Handsome as expected-you get the automatic hetero crush, metrosexpuppy love. But he's invisible, too: I doubt anyone recognized him on the hog, coming down the 10 (he rode a simple, pretty Harley. His Norton had the "flu"). I hope someone did because they'd have gotten a motorcycle Matrix goof/rush that would have been a hoot to tell a friend, family, lover.

Still he brings invisibility down on himself. He's inherently playful, graceful, humble. A tiny bit stiff. Probably just not wild about this sort of thing. Who would be? I'd met him before at a party for The New Yorker, of all places, during a book convention. I'd overheard Tracey Ullman talking to him about River Phoenix. (I wasn't going to ask about River, today.) I told Keanu that if there was anything he felt uncomfortable with, I promised not to do that "When I brought up blah, Keanu bridled, clearly reluctant, blah" thing. I'd spent the last few years immersed in the postmortem world researching my novel and said that 1 wanted to talk about death. He didn't mind.

I'd prepared a large plate of fruit for him, something I'd done only for women. "How civilized," he said. He is thoughtful and slightly anxious, and 90 minutes is such a short time. The crush washed back on me like a dumb wave, that half-Chinese, half-Hawaiian English thing. We started talking about Zen via his role in Little Buddha. He was in Tuscany shooting another movie when he got word that Bernardo Bertolucci wanted to meet. After the interview, Bertolucci hired him, saying, "You have an impossible innocence." The director as seducer; then again, he probably had more than 90 minutes to spend. Still, it's true.

Now here he is, impossibly innocent, eating fruit, you can almost smell him, very Siddhartha. One just doesn't want any harm to come to him.

Back then, Keanu says, another actor taught him to meditate. The process caused gorgeous, profound, freakish sensory perceptions; for the first time, Keanu saw separation of mind and will, volition, "how everything insists on existing-that was a revelation-beyond psychological interpretation." You see, he knows more about this than he lets on. "It's all Vajrayana," he says offhandedly. (Emptiness, indestructible like a diamond.) Oh, shit. Glance at my watch. Half our time is already gone-how can it be? Quick, artless segue to the topic of Fathers. Both of us had big separations from the patriarchs at the age of 13 ; he hasn't seen his since. (I tell him I know his dad did jail time but that he has nothing on Woody Harrelson's old man, who was convicted of killing a federal judge. Keanu laughs; seems he didn't know about that.) Says his father tried to reach him by letter while Keanu was touring through Hawaii with Dogstar but he didn't respond. "I've got his blood in me," he says. "There's nothing from him I want or need." That's how it is for now, anyway. That's how far he's processed, up to this age anyway: age of 39. We just look at each other and shrug; it's tough titties between fathers and estranged sons. He talks lovingly about his three sisters. Two younger, and one way younger, whom he says he hasn't met. Kim's the one who's been sick with leukemia. She used to train Andalusian horses. "I think," he says, with eerie, charismatic gravitas, "that she's the bravest person I've ever known." Kim has had an impossible time and her brother loves her terribly. "I've gotten bounties from her wish," he utters, cryptic, anguished, poetic. I tell him: Look, I want to talk some more about death. Can't help myself. It's all around him, all around us all. I bring up his former girl- friend, Jennifer, and the child they would have had, if one can "bring up" something so heartbreaking and elegiac in the 30 minutes left. That is the horror of it. I am thinking this when suddenly he says, "I'm going to cry." He is impossibly unguarded, unvarnished, uncynical, innocent. He tells me that Jennifer went for the last happy checkup and the doc said, "I have to send you to a specialist." She blinked and said, "What do you mean?" "I can't find a heartbeat." At the time, Keanu was making a movie in New York-Jennifer called, screaming. He rushed back. When I ask if he was in the room when she delivered, Keanu, through his misery, sitting across from me and the big plate of fruit, says, "Yes! Of course !" and the look he gives translates thus: What psychosis could have made me not be there for the delivery of the child we had already named?" There are no words. He loved Jennifer and took care of her before, during, after. I didn't ask how much later it was that she died in a car crash. Can someone just please find out. I will not ask or search the Internet. No words. He tells me, "When people say everything happens for a reason, that sticks in my craw." I say they should just leave off "for a reason" and Keanu laughs, adding, "That's very Ram Dass."

Another weird segue, forced by the ticking dock: I ask what he's going to do with the money. I'd read somewhere they were giving him an insane amount for the Matrixes, beyond salary. Says he doesn't know. Seems embarrassed by it. (A naturally modest manchild.). I ask if he has people, um, working on that or if he ever thinks about it. "Course I do," he says, not testy but still I get the feeling it makes him more uncomfortable talking about money than talking about death. (This is what I instinctively like about him.)

Anyway, his big fears, oddly, sweetly, happen to be those in the realm of acting. Actors' fears. What's the next job, the this, the that. In the realm of the normal-impossibly innocent. He loves to play music, but his band seems to have broken up. Everyone from Dogstar got in a room and said, "Hey! We can't think of a song!" He has a new group called Becky, after the drummer's girlfriend.

He just did a movie with Jack Nicholson, who he thinks is the most charming man on earth. "When we did scenes together, I had to stop myself from geeking out," Keanu says. He's open to anything and you can read that on his face-he recently wrapped a small movie called Thumbsucker with a first-time director, a video hottie named Mike Mills. Keanu plays an orthodontist who gives this teenager life advice. Keanu the dad-that's funny to me. He says, "I already had my Oh!-I'm- almost-40! moment. I can see why guys go out and buy the car. I can see why they say, 'I want to live! I haven't lived yet!' " But oh, oh, oh, the clock is ticking. Shit shit shit.

The clock imposes another segue: The longest he's cohabited with a woman is about a year, but he wants to do the relationship thing. He thinks having kids is something you need to experience. But why the hell was he born in Lebanon (asks the ticking clock)? His parents were in their early twenties, tripping around. Then the family was in Australia, then Manhattan, I think in that order, can somebody please confirm, but mostly he grew up in Toronto. That's where he would go back to, if he were to return to a place called home. David Cronenberg later told me that his wife taught Keanu at school when he was 10. In Toronto there was a shop called the Candy Store that sold sweets and switchblades. And clubs he hung at, outside though, too young to go in. Reeves the Younger drove a car to Los Angeles when he was 20. Seriously running out of time now.

He reads a lot-has a thing for Russian writers: a book by Ageyev called Novel With Cocaine (circa 1916); Chekhov's short stories; and the big one, Tolstoy. Doesn't have high-octane actor friends. His buds are people like Alex Winter (Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure) and Josh Richman (River's Edge). Doesn't know what he's going to do next, moviewise. He's reading scripts. Normal actor stuff.

I ask if he has trouble going out in the world. Sometimes, he says. Mostly, though, people don't hassle him. But now he has to go. I beg five more minutes. I show him the TiVo'd Willie Nelson's 70th birthday special on the upstairs big screen. Willie, Leon Russell, and Ray Charles, singing 'A Song for You." Willie faces Ray Charles with tears streaming down his face as the blind man sings, "I love you in a place where there's no space or time/l love you for my life, you are a friend of mine/ And when my life is over, I'll remember when we were together/We were alone, and I was singing this song for you." Willie weeps, facing Ray Charles and eternity. I turn back to look at him. He is moved, subtly quaking.

I walk him to his motorcycle. He's a person you want to hug. Ram Dass or somebody said, "Less thinking, more hugging!" But one usually doesn't do that thing with an interviewee. Unseemly. But you feel like embracing him, you really do. That night, a journalist friend asks, "Get any good quotes?"

Personally, I liked (1) "Impossible innocence" (but that was Bertolucci),
(2) "I'm going to cry," and (3) "We can't think of a song!"

Not necessarily in that order.

It doesn't matter. Everything matters. Time's up...

--- Bruce Wagner / Details Magazine November 2003

[of course, after I post my bitchy little fit, some of the very things that I deem taboo are brought up in this article.....fine, this is a freebee, comment away I take that back. Please continue to show respect for these subjects. Read the article, take from it what you will, but please do not dissect these very personal things or him because he, in a rare moment, shared them... -krix]

This reminder is coming a little late for those on the east coast, but don't forget that both ET and eXtra will have Revolutions hype and Keanu content tonight.

And eXtra has a Keanu clip at their website already.

Keanu Reeves as Neo is back, and he's more amped up than ever before. He says, "It’s the whole package, I dig it."

Yeah, I dig the whole package myself.....

Ohmygod, I'm so immature. Someone smack me.

Now harder.

Club-Keanu has the Flare article up, thanks to Keanu_Gurl.

Dagmar Dunlevy: GQ magazine referred to you as an “accidental superstar.” Do you agree?

Keanu Reeves: What is accidental? I guess so. I don’t know. Accidents. It’s a tricky word, but would I agree with it? I don’t know if I agree or disagree.

Go read the whole thing...

-And thank you to Zen as well. ;)

Or rather: No Details, SciFi.

When you walk into a store with the purpose of buying a magazine with Keanu on the cover, it's a shame to leave empty-handed even if your intended periodical is not there.
So when I saw December's issue of SciFi magazine at Smith's this morning, I went ahead and grabbed it.

Lip-scar fetishists will notice that the picture is actually a mirrored perspective. I hate when they do that. I'll be flipping it back if I edit this one for future use.

This picture of a thoughtful One starts the article which you can read here.....

There's this fluffy bit on past keanu characters along with the article and there's a few other pictures, most of them non-spoilery, including a really nice close-up of Neo and Trinity that might be November's calendar.

Keanu's on the cover of November's Details magazine.
Sneak peek here.

I'll be hitting the bookstore tomorrow.

By Bob Tourtellotte

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Several top actors and past Academy Award winners are joining the battle against a controversial ban on Oscar movie "screeners" by voicing their opposition in a newspaper advertisement, a film industry source has said.

Signers of the ad, which will appear in the Wednesday edition of industry papers Daily Variety and The Hollywood Reporter, include Oscar winners Adrien Brody and Susan Sarandon as well as "Matrix" star Keanu Reeves, said the source who is connected to IFP/Los Angeles, a group helping spearhead the drive against the ban.

Read the whole story here...

Yes, I picked up the November Cosmo while I was out tonight.
I won't be at my scanner until monday, but Club-Keanu has the pictures here and they're yowsa-good.

Does anyone have the text of the article up yet?
I've had 7 shots of espresso so if not, I might be up for a bunch of typing.

It's very swoony....

Here's some high points:

Cosmo: What would be a perfect date?

Keanu: One where we mutually had an exceptional time, that had the wonderful thing that can happen on a first date where you are intoxicated with each other's company and everything becomes good in the world and there's hope and you're just excited to see them. And you have great ease with them. Just a good experience.

[...]

Cosmo: Is there anything you know to be true about women?

Keanu: That if you can make a woman laugh, you are seeing the most beautiful thing on God's earth.

[...]

Cosmo: What's the craziest thing you've ever done to get a woman's attention?

Keanu: I haven't done the letter-writing airplane in the sky or the "Come over for dinner and now we're going to Paris" thing. I can't wait to do those things, but I haven't done them yet. If I ever meet someone, we're going to have a good time because I'm making a list.

You know what, dude?
Forget Paris, just make me laugh, and let me make you laugh.

That's all I would ever want.

Check your listings and tune in to your local syndicated airings of ET and Access Hollywood (thanks geebie) for all kinds of Matrixy goodness tonight.

I'm going to skip it, because even if it isn't spoilery, Bob Goen creeps me out.

Q: So how was it to go back to The Matrix?

Keanu: I read the script and I thought it was beautiful and so exiting and I couldn’t wait for it to start. I went into intense and extensive training and then we began, first in Oakland, Northern California. And it was about working on the script, figuring out things with the directors and getting myself into shape for the shoot.

Q: Did the first movie change you, did it open “doors” in your mind?

Keanu: Well, I’m lucky that the material, itself is so beautiful and asks some universal questions on top being fun. My role, Neo, is a very reflective role and a searching role as well. I was important to figure out my part in its deepest form.

Q: What did you learn about yourself?

Keanu: That I had a lot of questions…

Q: Did you find any answers?

Keanu: I’m still finding out…figuring out answers…

Q: How was it to shoot in Australia and to be gone for so long?

Keanu: It was a great experience even though I missed friends and family. I spent a full year in Sydney but it was such a labor of love... it was very demanding... it was a great experience.

Q: Apparently some people connected to the film died during and after the shooting, did this affect you?

Keanu: Well, sure but I focused on the work. If you work and put your mind into it you can move on and keep going.

Q: Do you identify to the aesthetic of the film?

Keanu: I love the costumes and the glasses, the production design is amazing, and the vision and effects are so unique. It was fun to be Neo… but in real life I stay away from my costume… unless it’s for Halloween! I’m so glad that people around the world enjoy the whole Matrix experience.

Q: How did you approach the role as an actor?

Keanu: There is real strong formalism with the style of the film. It’s about having strong feelings and very minimalistic, direct behavior to express them. It’s a real economy of acting, when you move it’s like a Japanese samurai, this is my intention and it’s what I do, it’s straight and not flamboyant, it’s clean acting.

Q: How was doing the sex scene with Carrie Anne Moss?

Keanu: Well, sometimes it’s very uncomfortable to film those type of scenes because you’re in the nude and you’re in public and being filmed. So we talked about it way before and we figured out a comfortable environment for Carrie Anne and I. We got used to the set, to each other and to the camera and we tried to figure out how to shoot it without being too graphic. I trust her and I was eager to do this scene. That scene is about true love, about communion of the souls. It’s Neo sharing his love with her but also expressing his fear to her, of losing her. And she is very giving and accepting and it was great to show their strong relationship.

Q: You were both totally nude?

Keanu: No…we both had things to cover our genitals…it was not like Adam and Eve before the apple…

Q: What about kissing Monica Belucci, she says you’re a great kisser?

Keanu: Well, thanks, she is quite fantastic herself! She and I worked before on “Dracula” and we did a lot of kissing also! Every time we meet we kiss! I can’t wait to work with her again!!

Q: Do you think your career really changed with Matrix?

Keanu: I feel very grateful with my career and to work with such a great film. It definitely helped me develop a good relation ship with Warner Bros. And hopefully I will be able to do more exceptional films. Besides I’m busy, I’m doing a film with Nancy Meyers with no title for the moment with Jack Nicholson and Diane Keaton… To go back to your question I feel that The Matrix is bigger than me, and people like it because it’s an ensemble of great things, I’m just a part of it…

Q: How was it doing your fight scenes?

Keanu: It was so much harder to “Matrix 1”! To learn the weapons and do the multiple fights with sometimes more than one enemy. It really was tricky and intense. A great challenge!

Q: At what point Neo has a difficult choice between trying to save his love and saving humanity?

Keanu: My character didn't choose humanity... I chose love... that's my choice, my character's choice.

Q: Do you still do martial arts?

Keanu: No I don't …What I learned was really movie Kung Fu…it’s not quite the same as the real thing…

Q: What’s your favorite power in The Matrix?

Keanu: To fly! It’s so much fun doing the shooting on wires and to fly…in the film I’m flying like Superman… it’s so much fun!

Q: What are you afraid of…the dark?

Keanu: Yes.

Thanks kaz for this article from the Sydney Telegraph and for another clipping that was this article about the Sydney premiere of Revolutions.

Looks like you Aussies can expect some Reeves in your future again. Which is good, I was suprised to hear that with all the Reloaded premieres they went to last May that Sydney was passed over after spending so much time there.

Meanwhile on the other side of the globe...

MONZA, Italy (AP) -- Dennis Hopper was on a bike again, though the scene was far tamer than during his "Easy Rider" movie days from the 1960s.
Still, the actor and his latest biker gang drew a crowd when they arrived in Monza for the Italian Grand Prix.

Hopper and a cast of fellow movie stars -- including Keanu Reeves, Lawrence Fishburne and Jeremy Irons -- biked from Germany to Monza courtesy of the BMW-Williams team.

The motorcycles they used were, naturally, BMWs.

Although word is the Keanu didn't make it , due to Constantine scheduling. Here's a German article with a picture of Laurence and Gina, though (thanks Anja!).

Too bad for Keanu if he didn't make it. I got to ride up the coast from Santa Cruz to the Cow Palace in San Francisco on the back of a BMW once. They're nice. The seat was heated if I recall.

I know I have a bunch of catching up to do this morning....more later after I've had some coffee and motrin.

Keanuette has some info on a new DVD called Keanu Reeves - Journey to Success, that will be released at the end of October. No idea what it contains, possibly interviews - bio, etc?
Go to her site for the amazon link and more info.

• Yahoo reports that Reloaded has made a buttload of money this summer. Duh.

• There's a little Matrix-centric interview with a nice picture of Keanu here at the bookLA website. I have to say that I think Keanu would be the dorkiest dork in dorkville if he actually went as Neo for Halloween. That's so cheating.

• Tilda Swinton, who is in Thumbsucker as Justin's mom is also joining the cast of Constantine, SciFi Wire reports. Lou Pucci is also supposed to get a part on the film. Like a big happy thumbsucking family, these actors are.

• becky is supposed to tape appearances for the Sharon Osbourne Show on Wednesday (which won't air until September sometime) [ticket info] and The Orlando Jones Show on Thursday [ticket info] this week.

  Good grief, they'll give anyone a talk show, won't they?
  (Actually, I [heart] Orlando Jones, but I don't have cable so I won't be watching either of these.)
  

Thank you, please drive thru....

TUALATIN — A little Hollywood glamour has come to Oregon, and last weekend that glamour found itself roosting in a hot, dusty rock quarry that looked eerily like the set of a cheap science fiction movie.

But the movie that brought stars Vincent D’Onofrio, Tilda Swinton, Keanu Reeves and Benjamin Bratt to Oregon is “Thumbsucker,” a wry coming-of-age story adapted from the Walter Kirn book about a teenager with an oral fixation. The film completes seven weeks of Oregon location work this weekend.

[snipped for Keanu content ...]

Reeves, who was in town for four days, plays the kindly orthodontist who hypnotizes Pucci to stop his thumbsucking, which only sends him off on new fixations. Vince Vaughn plays his debate coach, and Bratt is a TV announcer whom Audrey fancies.

[and some nice things about Lou Taylor Pucci, the film's lead...]

Although Pucci is a newcomer to film, he has plenty of fans on this set.

“He’s so way ahead of any actor I’ve met for his age,” D’Onofrio said.

“From the very first day of improv, he was neck and neck with me.”

“Honestly, Lou is a total gift from God that came on the last day of casting,” said Mills, who auditioned 150 teenagers.

“There are a lot of people who are good at pretending to be this or that; Lou is this magical little chameleon.”

Pucci also is up for a role in “Constantine,” another Reeves project.

“I love Keanu Reeves so much, I wish I could do more with him,” Pucci said.

Read the whole article here.

Keanu's appearance on LIVE this morning was just a repeat of last spring's visit for Reloaded.

Of course I tuned in anyway (I'm typing on the commercial break).
OH! we're back.

Oh yeah, Regis just came out in the long coat and shades....so stupid.

Keanu was really cute and funny and charming as usual.

Good lord, Kelly Ripa just mentioned "raising the bar" Gah!

And they also showed the Tea House fight clip, Keanu used the word "balletic" to describe it...swoon.

So anyway, yeah - it was a repeat, but nice to have him around as I get ready for work this morning.

Keanu and Paulie are quoted in an article on the SCORE game for USA Today.
(Doh! Broken link fixed)

And on a related note, anyone hear how the Viper gig went last night?

With the flooding and everything here in Vegas, I would have been better off staying in LA for the show.
I stayed away from the high water, but traffic was horrendous and I had no power last night. I ended up going to dinner and a movie by myself since no one wanted to brave the roads to meet me.
I saw Freaky Friday, which was amusing. I figured since Jamie Lee's "one of us" it was worth paying for.

There's another flood warning today, so I'm trying to get my work done so I can leave early.

So I guess ET will be showing the trailer from the Meyers film tonight...

Keanu Gives It Up!

August 15, 2003
Taking a break from his 'Matrix' duties, KEANU REEVES is teaming up with screen legends JACK NICHOLSON and DIANE KEATON for the romantic comedy 'Something's Gotta Give,' coming to theaters this December. Tonight on ET, we have your exclusive first look at the hilarious new trailer!

In the new comedy, Nicholson plays Harry Sanborn, an aging playboy with a libido much younger than his years. During a romantic weekend with his latest conquest, Marin (AMANDA PEET of 'The Whole Nine Yards'), at her mother's Hamptons beach house, Harry has chest pains. Marin's divorced mother, Erica (Keaton), reluctantly cares for Harry, and in the process he develops romantic feelings for the more age-appropriate woman.

But while Harry struggles to change his old habits, his charming, 30-something doctor (Reeves) steps in and begins to pursue Erica! Now Harry, who has always had the world on a string, finds his life unraveling.

Also starring FRANCES McDORMAND and JON FAVREAU and directed by NANCY MEYERS ('What Women Want'), 'Something's Gotta Give' gives in to audiences everywhere December 12.
--

Thanks to Club-Keanu for the heads-up, and actually you should head over there to check out some pics from an Oregon news story about Keanu being typically cool and cordial with some fans.

Don't forget, Hunky McStudmuffin gets a surfboard for 'Best Actor who Totally puts his CGI Counterpart to Shame in a Fight Sequence with Bad Music and We'd Like to See More of his Naked Butt in Revolutions' tonight on FOX's Teen Choice Awards.

I may make a drinking game out of how many times I want to punch David Spade in the face.

Big Love to Jena for typing up this interview with Keanu from Starburst Magazine, June 2003 Issue 300

In a revealing interview, Keanu Reeves talks about his role as Neo in The Matrix Reloaded
Report by Judy Sloane

The figurehead of the Matrix movies is undoubtedly Keanu Reeves. The actor is the series' greatest supporter, giving up part of his fee to assist directors Andy and Larry Wachowski in completing their vision. He rarely gives interviews, but here he reveals his in-depth feelings about his character Neo, and the secrets of the Matrix...

How do you decide which sequels to do and which not to do?

It depends on how I feel, and the scripts. With Speed 2, if there had been a really good script and I had been in a place to do it, I would have done it, but at that time it wasn't something that I wanted to do. But in terms of these, the scripts were great and I had such a great experience and faith and belief in Andrew and Larry Wachowski, the writers and directors, that I just said yes...

What was the experience like when the script showed up?

I was in Chicago when I got the two scripts. I sat down and read them and thought they were very moving and exciting and original and I thought the guys did an incredible job. There are some great surprises in there.

Jada Pinkett told us you had a whole truckload of Harleys delivered to the set as gifts...

There is a fight where Neo confronts Smith and Smith confronts Neo. Actually, it's Smith confronts Neo. And I worked basically with 12 stuntmen for about three weeks intensely, going through the fight. Then we filmed for almost a month every day. And these guys just...every time I said let's do it again, there is this one scene where Neo gets grabbed by two agents and I do a back flip and kick two guys in th head, and flip back and then the two guys get thrown back. Well those guys got pulled into the floor 21 times. And everytime I said I would like to do it again, I was like 'Tim, you okay?' He's like, 'Yeah, man. Let's go.' And we would just go through the fight every day, the three stages of the fight, and everyone was so supportive and helpful. You know, we were doing that sequence, and oftentimes in the first part of that sequence, it's a steadicam. It was doing a 180 degree turn and I've got in some of those sequences 30 moves, 25 moves, one, two, three, four, five, six and I'm hitting eight guys. So they all had to be in the right spot to sell every hit. They'd come here and then go there. We all had to adjust. So we were all in this thing for like three months and we were training together beforehand. So I just wanted something - besides just saying 'thank you' - that was somehow a bigger thank you to all those guys who helped me make this one of the great movie fights in the history of cinema. So I worked it out and they put these bikes together for me and I had them brought up in a truck. And I got to give 'em all a Harley! Which was hot...That made me smile man, for fuckin' months! I'd be in bed and be like 'Ha ha ha...'

I have to ask you about the rumour that you gave up part of your paycheck to help the production?

I put part of what was given in my contract to create a pool, so that the other people who don't usually do profit participation could see some money.

Why did you do that?

Because I wanted to.

Was the revelation about the Oracle a surprise to you?

Yeah, there's a lot of that. In the third one it gets "Whoo... wee..."

Laurence said he didn't come and watch you do that fight scene because you are so hard on yourself. Why do you think you are so hard on yourself?

Well, just because it's important. It was my job to do whatever the brothers asked me to do. So, I'm just trying to do that.

So you don't think you were hard on yourself?

I can be. But I don't think I need therapy or anything. I am not so out of my mind. But it's an aspect of the piece that we work so hard to get the emotional aspects right. You want those sequences to have symmetry, emotion and action. You want to believe it. If I don't hit it right or it doesn't look right, you feel it and see it and go 'Awww...!' You want it to be perfect.

Did you ever think there was too much fighting or did you want more? What's the difference between this one and the last one in terms of fighting?

There is much more dialogue in Reloaded. What I think is one of the unique things that the brothers have found a way to do is they will give you such an intense scene of dialogue, say between Neo and the architect, that's a pretty dense scene, they they'll give you a fight scene. Then they'll give you maybe the scene with Lambert, [the Merovingian] talking about the power of why and the stuff about cause and effect, and then they'll give you a 13-minute car chase. Andrew Wachowski would say 'Oftentimes with movies, you can sit through bad dialogue to see the sepctacle, so if you can sit through bad dialogue surely you can sit through good dialogue?' I think it's a very ambitious film, Reloaded. But I think the brothers pull it off. I really feel that they pull it off.

Do you ever worry about stereotyping? Being stereotyped in certain roles?

No. I mean, I would worry about that if I kept playing the same role, but then I would be stereotyping myself. It's something I hope I can avoid doing.

At what point in your life did you learn to fight?

Well, it got me into track and field. No, I'm kidding. I didn't grow up in a situation where there was much fighting going on. There was like schoolyard fighting and that kind of stuff. You know, like that weird 3rd, 4th, 5th, 6th, 7th, 8th grade fighting. Then when I got into High School, fighting became a lot more serious, so people didn't do it as often. Before then it was just schoolyard shit...'I'm gonna beat you up after class!'

Did that ever happen?

No.

Now you know how to fight, are you settling a few scores?

Only in the movies! [laughs]

Can you compare Neo with John Constantine [the comic book detective that Keanu is going to play in a new movie]?

They are very similar. I think they are actually very similar. Maybe I am stereotyping myself! [laughs] But I don't mind it this time.

How beat up were you in this movie? We've heard about ice-packs...

This one was much harder! It took more time. There was much more involved. It demanded a lot more. In the first one I could do most of it. In the second one, if you take out the CGI aspect of my fight with Smith, I am doing probably 92 per cent of my fighting. Not the landings, not the wall shit and crashes, but the fighting. But there was a lot of stuff with the weapons, I was like 'I wish I could have been better. I wish I could have done this move...' because the more I would get, the more that Wu-Ping and the brothers would go, 'Well how about this...?' There was a lot of that, so we didn't have enough time. It was harder to do and it was harder to come back. Some days, you'd finish a fight and then getting new choreography and fighting on weekends so that you could film on Tuesday.

Were you sick of the fighting by the end or did you want to come back and do more?

You know, I didn't think like that when I was doing it. I just kept thinking 'this is what I have to do'. Once I threw my last kick and my last punch it was like, 'OK, we did it. I hope I did it well enough'.

That's when you reached for the bottle of scotch?

I had a bottle of scotch in my trailer. It was symbolic. I swear to God, I had a bottle of Macallan's.

What was it there for?

Because it was just there. And there were some Fridays when you would finish work and just a glass of scotch after some filming and some fightin' is really good. You know what I mean? It's like that beer after you've been liftin' shit. Like yeah.

Do you read?

Once in a while, I read a book or two. But I can't go in and teach Comparative Literature of the 20th century!

Did you listen to Rush in preparation for this role?

No. I didn't do any Rush this time...But I just read a great book about punk rock. Have you read Please Kill Me? Is that a great book? It's awesome, it's inspiring. I highly recommend that.

What have you learned from Neo and what has Neo learned from Keanu?

It's not an easy question. That's alike asking 'What has your mother learned from you and what have you learned from your mother?' It's one of those things. I really find that Neo is a beautiful man. His ethics and his morals and his search for his authentic life and how he deals with people and he deals with himself, I really admire.

But did you pick something up from playing him?

Yeah. It's like, Can you live up to that? Can you live up to the best part of yourself every day? Which I think is a really great question. Can you live to the best part of yourself all the time? It's hard. I try but I think that that aspect is something the film is actually also asking.

Tornoto is in crisis now with the SARS virus. Any thoughts?

I should call people and see what's going on. I know that politically they're in negotiations wiht the World Health Organization trying to get the quarantine off. Then they've just had two new cases. So I don't know what kind of situation that has put them into. I don't know what it is like day-to-day. It's a weird epidemic aspect.

Can we get an update from you on your band?

I don't know what we're doing. When I finished with the Matrix films, I came back and we had an obligation to go to Japan, so we went to Japan and to Bangkok. We had a copule of shows like a month after I finished. Then we came back and we have just taken a break until we figure out what we're gonna do.

What would you say sets this film apart from the first one?

I don't know if it I think it is more of a continuation. I don't think it is seeking to set it self apart. I don't think it is trying to be something different. I think it is just trying to delvelop what they story is telling. If anything, you're getting into the meat of the story, you know.

Did it bother you at all to have a CG stunt double do anything?

No, it doesn't bother me. I wish I could do what my CGI Neo does. It would be fun to fly.

Will you do more than one Constantine?

Good God, man, I haven't even made the movie.

Who do you like in the hockey playoffs?

I just wish- and this is horrible to say- but I just wish Detroit was still playing hockey. And Colorado. Because I love the way they play hockey. I mean, I love the hockey that they play. Just that passing and the inventiveness of how they play the game. I love that hockey!

Because really, how can you come across something like this and NOT blog it? Plus you have to admit, Harker's accent? Not so good.

Sir Sean Connery has topped a poll of film fans of the worst screen accents ever.

Connery's Irish brogue as Jim Malone in the 1987 film The Untouchables was voted top of the list, despite the Scot winning a best supporting actor Oscar for his performance.

The poll of Empire magazine readers gave second place to Dick van Dyke for his notoriously bad Californian Cockney in Mary Poppins.

The magazine writes in its August edition, 'Whether he's a Russian sub captain (The Hunt for Red October) or even an English King (First Knight and Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves), always that baritone Highland burr remains.'

Brad Pitt was voted in at number three for his portrayal of an Austrian explorer in Seven Years in Tibet, closely followed by Charlton Heston in 1958's A Touch of Evil.

Heather Graham came in fifth for her role as a prostitute in the recently released Jack the Ripper flick From Hell and fellow young American Keanu Reeves in Bram Stoker's Dracula took sixth place for his version of the English accent.

Julia Roberts Irish lilt in Mary Reilly came in for some stick at seven. British actors Pete Postlethwaite, at eight for his portrayal of Indian Kobayashi in The Usual Suspects, and the late Laurence Olivier for his 'end of pier Jewish accent' in the 1980 remake of The Jazz Singer were also featured.

In tenth place on the Empire list was Meryl Streep for her in accent in the 1985 film Out of Africa.

Empire's Olly Richards commented, 'Putting on a foreign lilt appeals to a star's vanity, giving them the opportunity to inhabit someone a million miles from themselves and prove that they are more than a pretty face.

'Sadly, in most cases, it does the exact opposite.'

For a "worst of" list, that's pretty impressive company, actually...

Forty-two per cent of commuters in Toronto and Vancouver would cast action star, Keanu Reeves, as the first Canadian James Bond, according to an informal survey released today to celebrate the launch of Die Another Day, available on Special Edition DVD and VHS tomorrow.

While Reeves beat out fellow Toronto actors Kiefer Sutherland and Mike Myers by a clear majority, the survey revealed that choosing a Canadian Bond Girl was a more difficult task. Though Vancouver-born Carrie-Anne Moss was chosen as the Canadian Bond Girl with 43 per cent of the national vote, 39 per cent of Torontonians selected the buxom Pamela Anderson, narrowly edging out Carrie-Anne Moss by one per cent. In Vancouver, commuters were more decisive: 51 per cent of voters chose Moss over Anderson.

This just in, apparently Keanu's filthy fucking rich.

Actually, isn't this the percentage he gave up to the effects and costume teams?

Not that I have interest in his money.

I'm all about the belly scar, the rock and roll, and the ass baby....

So the MTV page on the movie awards has a 20 photo slideshow, but no pictures of Keanu. Thankfully the POTD club had one today.

Update: Here's a blurb from Zap2it...

"Highlights of the show included Gollum's love/hate acceptance speech, which should win an award all by itself; Queen Latifah making out with Hollywood's favorite smoocher, Adrien Brody; and Keanu Reeves, who refused to say the word "whoa," making "MTV P.A." Andy Richter say it for him. Oh yeah, there was also Yoda's strange acceptance speech, which featured the wise one giving thanks to Steve Guttenberg, Vin Diesel and the Queen [Latifah] among many, many others."

I'm not sure if A&E's Biography on Keanu is going to air tonight or not. Some people are saying it's been rescheduled, but I also have friends emailing me to let me know that they saw it advertised. Not that it matters to me, I don't have cable anyway.

Plus, apparently it sucks.

Keanu celebrates his 17th day without shaving by going to Tokyo to promote the Matrix Reloaded. A fresh-faced Hugo Weaving offers a cuddle.

More photos at Yahoo News

Funny thing happened on the way to pick up Roi for dinner last night...I got freaking rear-ended at a stop light. I'm fine and the damage is minimal, mostly just the imprints of the screws of the guy's license plate and a bit of a scrape, but since the Station Wagon is barely two months old, so it WILL be claimed and repaired. He also said that right before he kissed my bumper with his front end, he was looking at my license plate, and mentioned that he just saw Reloaded Tuesday night.
It's too bad I was thisclose to wrapping my fingers around his throat for hitting me, as we could have dated.

I think I will probably go see the movie again tonight. I've done a lot of reading the past few days, so it will be interesting to view it again with some new knowledge.

I know that the reactions around have been pretty mixed. You'll never see me say anything bad about this movie, the cast or the Wachowskis, though.

Like they need a fan griping and nitpicking when they've apparently got their hands full. What, with post-production on Revolutions and pissing off not only the Republicans, but the albino community as well.

Of course, Keanu has been handling the promo tour with class.

"Wearing a black suit and white shirt he withstood the pouring rain, walking from fan to fan to sign autographs and pose for photographs.

The star, who ploughed a lot of his own money into the film, spent 30 minutes rewarding those who had waited so long, and later said: 'I wish I could have stayed out longer.

'It's absolutely fantastic,' he continued. 'It's extraordinary.

'Some people have been really anxious for this film to come out and I just hope it lives up to their expectations.

'I've loved making the film and I just hope that it brings as much enjoyment to those who watch it.' "

It does baby, it so does.

Keanu Reeves: Cool, man
'I'm a meathead. You've got smart people and you've got dumb people. I just happen to be dumb.' Yeah, whatever, as the Matrix generation might say. The man has barely put a foot wrong in a glittering Hollywood career and he commands a loyal following and $30m a movie. From another planet he may be, but dumb?
By David Thomson

The thing with Keanu Reeves is that he requires the very quality he offers to the world – a degree of acceptance that is rare in such neurotic times. Like the trouble he has with questions – I mean, don't you know how aggressive, how totally inappropriate questions can be?

In 1992, Reeves was doing a cover interview for Movieline magazine, and he was given the not unreasonable (or unlikely) question: "Why do you act?". After a great deal of hesitation, philosophy, and shifting the position of his motor-cycle helmet on the table, he came up with "You know, man, whatever". But then as time passed some seed of doubt began to sprout – perhaps that question needed more. Here is the more: "Did you ever want to jump off a bridge on to the back of a truck? I just remembered your flight of fancy. You know, about why I want to act. It's a question that arises every day. I mean, it's the meat of the matter. I just didn't feel like meandering, you know. I was trying to give you a clear, defined answer. So: did you ever want to jump off a bridge on to the back of a moving truck?"

Some people confronting Reeves have opted for the trite, cynical answer – that this handsome, deadpan guy is pulling their legs. But now, as Reeves comes close to 40 (as an age) and is pulling down a minimum of 30 (as in millions of dollars) for The Matrix Reloaded and The Matrix Revolution – and that is 30 up front, before the profit participation on these immense commercial enterprises – then I think it's time for us to look in the mirror and ask, "Who is the idiot then, dude?"

For it's not Keanu – or "cool air over the mountains" as he was named in Hawaiian – it's anyone who's ever doubted him. Truth to tell, I have to break the news – this after months of Hawaiian research – "Keanu" doesn't actually mean "cool air over the mountains". It means simply "the coolness" – and who needs anything more, when you can wear black leather and rimless granny shades, when you can fly and make love and utter runic inanities about existence that might look silly in interviews but send the teen Matrix fanatics into trance?

Isn't it clear? Keanu is not of woman born. He's something else. He's either a robot or a spirit. It's the only possible explanation for how he gets away with it. So it's some kind of androidism plus ... plus what? Well, as Keanu admitted on American television when pushed by the stooge interviewer Charlie Rose to explain the weird mixture of drab fashion, kung fu, Kahlil Gibran and aerobics in The Matrix: "Well man, I'm going to say it. I think it's love."

I think so too: it's robotics + love = our future. And I'm outta here.

I know. You can hurl the "facts" at me: that he was born in Beirut, Lebanon, his mother a showgirl and later a designer for Alice Cooper; his father a geologist who later served time on multiple drugs charges. The upbringing in Australia and Canada. Dropping out of high school at 17 to concentrate on surfing and ice hockey and the motorcycling. I don't care. I think he's the man who fell to earth. I mean, use the evidence of your own eyes. Look at The Matrix Reloaded and then look at Keanu in River's Edge (1986), in Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure (1989), in My Own Private Idaho (1991), in Speed (1994), in The Devil's Advocate (1997). Is there really the slightest evidence that he has grown one minute older?

And then recollect that this is the man who said, "What would happen if you melted? You know, you never really hear this talked about much, but spontaneous combustion? It exists ... people burn from within. [This is true – I'm burning.] Sometimes they'll be in a wooden chair and the chair won't burn, but there'll be nothing left of the person. Except sometimes his teeth. Or the heart. No one speaks about this, but it's for real." I mean, is that a human being or a robot anxious about stray sparks?

Not that I mean to complain. If there's anything that a hundred years of movies with real people has taught us it is that those people are trouble. They forget their lines. They overeat. They do drugs. They have crises and other problems. Keanu has always been above problems. You don't have to direct him; you can't – he is nuance-free. The equipment is either on or off, which simplifies so much, especially if kids regard his being "on" as the equivalent of a water bed timed to rock 'n' roll.

There are problems, of course: put Keanu in costume – as with Dangerous Liaisons, Bram Stoker's Dracula and Much Ado About Nothing – and there is an obvious dissonance between what is often known as period, or literacy, and the coolness. So put him in the kind of situations that all kids now take for granted – like a city bus that can't drop below 50mph; or being a floating zombie that thinks computer generation is the international language of love. (Is there any phrase that moves us more than "You've got mail"?)

What I really like about Keanu and the coolness is that there's not a glimmer of threat to him. Yes, he can fly, fight off millions of replicants, and just be cool, but he's so gentle, so sweet, so passive. In part, it's the uninflected way of speaking that does it – don't you actually think about the kind of person it is who says: "You've got mail"? Suppose he said more. Suppose you sometimes saw his face in the screen. And then, one day, there he was, young, supple, cool, uncritical, and ready to service all your mad desires without so much as a gravel-sized piece of judgement or commentary. Face it: we all deserve a little Keanu in our lives.

And that's why the films made by the Wachowski brothers are so pregnant. I laugh (ha ha!, I go) when I hear the dumb commentators of the world surmising that The Matrix and its run-ons are the future of the movies. They are quite simply the future of everything. Come to think of it, are we really supposed to credit the Wachowski brothers for being real human beings – or just naughty twins, like bold and italic?

The readers of Empire magazine, in 1997, voted Keanu 23rd in the Top 100 Movie Stars of All Time, but since the readers of Empire believe that All Time began around 1980 (just like a weird computer program) I take that as somewhat churlish. Are we supposed to believe that thereare 22 people more beautiful, cool and lifelike than Keanu? That's the point – he is so extraordinarily life-like. Despite being Canadian. Is there anything more ordinary or charming than Keanu's smiling admission: "I'm a meathead. You've got smart people and you've got dumb people. I just happen to be dumb."

Maybe there will be a few losses along the way as dumb culture sets in. But I think 2,000 years of learning, literature and conversation have been ample proof that smart people, sooner or later, end up unhappy, antisocial and just difficult. Do we really enjoy that, or want it?

You know the answer (as in "You know the answer") and, yes, it's all about love and being cool.

There are some photos from Cannes up at Yahoo News.

The Official Site says there will be some new content today. I haven't gone poking around yet.

Both The Last Free City and Matrix Fans forums are all abuzz.

Of course there are a ton of reviews. Some good. Some not so much (I'm ashamed that this is my local weekly).

A reminder that the cast will appear on the show The View tomorrow, check your local listings.

It's truly everywhere.

Thank you to M.C> for sending this article from the Globe and Mail in Canada.

From dude to deity

By BOB STRAUSS
From Tuesday's Globe and Mail

Los Angeles — Keanu Reeves, advanced being.

Five years ago, those words strung together would have elicited derisive laughter. Before then, the closest the Toronto-bred actor came to representing a state of bliss was the ignorant kind associated with his perfectly embodied teenage doofuses from the Bill & Ted and Parenthood movies. Even the budding Buddha role he played for Bernardo Bertolucci had a certain Dude! quality; or, at least, could not avoid audiences projecting one onto it.

But all of that has been changed by The Matrix, in which Reeves started off as a computer hacker who said "whoa" a lot but, by the end, had metamorphosed into the comic-book Christ figure Neo. With most people enslaved by a race of sentient machines, but wired to think they were living free in the high-tech title illusion, Neo and a small band of human rebels represent mankind's only hope of salvation.

Not too much unlike the way The Matrix itself brought new hope to moribund action, sci-fi and special-effects movie genres in 1999. The brainchild of writer-director brothers Larry and Andy Wachowski, the film mixed myth and philosophy, gravity-defying martial arts, digitized dances with bullets and a brain-taxing inquiry into the nature of reality.

Unexpectedly a big hit but a bigger pop-culture watershed, The Matrix had many elements. But as the hotly anticipated Thursday release of its first sequel, The Matrix Reloaded, looms (the final chapter, The Matrix Revolutions, shot concurrently with Reloaded, comes out in November), Reeves remains the franchise's most iconic element.

Dude. Whoa.

"I don't really get that Neo-as-icon thing," says Reeves, 38, lean and more impassively handsome than ever, wearing a blue sports jacket over a red T-shirt. "If anyone comes to me, it's always about The Matrix, it's always about the film. All of us characters are really just part of this world of The Matrix that Larry and Andrew Wachowski have brought to us with their vision and have hoped to create in this collaborative artform. But it's really, The Matrix is it; we're just part of it."

Here's where the real-life advanced being manifests. Any other movie star, especially one whose thespian worthiness has been questioned in the past, would surely display some signs of ego after success of this magnitude (the actor will reportedly pocket $30-million [U.S.] or more, depending on box-office grosses, for the two sequels).

But key as he is to the whole Matrix equation, Reeves remains humble and surprisingly unaffected. He still speaks in either the same goofy, impulsive cadences he did when he was playing teenagers — in such acclaimed pieces as River's Edge and Permanent Record, along with the Bill & Ted burlesques — or the intellectualized, awkwardly formal constructions that reflect the Dangerous Liaisons and My Own Private Idaho section of his résumé.

He has to be goaded to even address the Herculean physical effort required for the sequels' 270-day shoot — and the six months of training that preceded it. Informed that co-star Carrie-Anne Moss, who plays Neo's warrior lover Trinity, says she often heard him screaming in pain while preparing for some insanely complicated martial-arts acrobatics, Reeves seems almost embarrassed that it would be considered anything more than part of the job.

"I mean, I'm not doing real kung fu, but I'm doing real stretching, and it's no joke," he'll admit. "It's 20-pound sandbags on your legs, it's people pushing down on you and it's what we call popping. You know that pop sound? It's necessary. Well I mean, if you want to heighten your kicks and stuff like that and have clean lines and lower stances and stuff."

Not one to dwell on suffering, Reeves becomes much more articulate when addressing the artistic intelligence that informed the labour.

"In The Matrix, Neo is an ass-kicking kind of guy," he bluntly but accurately notes. "As an actor, it's a matter of finding that part of oneself and meeting it with the character, then trying to play the role. So it's pretend, but it's also coming from a source inside myself.

"He's a fun guy to play. In the fake fights, in the kung-fu stuff, I got to do some cool things. I wanted to have a certain style of fighting in The Matrix. I wanted it to feel physical and visceral, but at the same time have a kind of style to it where — because it's something that's not really, physically, happening — it had an otherness feeling to it. But there still had to be physical effort on his face, and impact. And I also wanted it to have a certain elegance to it, so that there was, sometimes, effort, but also an aspect of effortlessness to it. That was the kind of style I tried to create in my acting out of the choreography that was developed by the directors and Yuen Wo Ping, the fight choreographer."

Sounds tortured, in several senses of the term. But the results are sublime.

"Keanu expects a lot of himself," Moss observes. "It comes from a very genuine desire to be good and to fulfill his obligations. At times, I would feel like maybe he was pushing it too much. But you know what? In order to do what he did, he had to push himself that hard. He's the most committed person I've ever met."

[...]

There are other passions and distractions. He still loves motorcycles despite some hairy accidents. And he's still committed to the band Dogstar, for which he plays bass.

"The status of Dogstar is, we did some shows when I first got back from Australia," Reeves explains. "We had a great time; we went to Japan, and played a show in Bangkok, which was great. Right now, we're taking a little break. We tried to write, but we'd been away from each other for so long . . . We've kind of got to have a band meeting and decide what we want to do here. But it's important to me because I love the friends that I make the music with and it's fun to create."

Also important: getting back on the legitimate stage. Reeves has, after all, played Hamlet as well as Neo and Ted.

"I want to do a play," he says, almost giddy with anticipation. "I need to go do a play. I'm trying to find a new play, and hopefully next year . . . I've gotta get back on stage for a little bit. 'Cause I love it. It's not short segments of acting, it's the whole experience. The continuity aspect of it, the live aspect of it; for me, it's home."

Not that Reeves is doing too badly in the short-take film-acting department. Although his projects between Matrix productions have been modest or forgettable or both (The Gift, The Replacements, Sweet November), Reeves is currently filming a romantic comedy with no less than Jack Nicholson and Diane Keaton.

"It's just amazing to see such great artists at their craft," he says with enthusiasm. "And Laurence Fishburne and Hugo Weaving in The Matrix? Those are just some of the best actors I've ever worked with. So the chance to act with artists like this, all of that does give me a sense that I've been through some things and really done some acting."

Rarely treated kindly by critics for even some of his biggest hits like Speed, Bram Stoker's Dracula and The Devil's Advocate, Reeves seems at peace with the notion that there'll always be room for artistic growth.

"On good days . . . well, you learn about acting by acting," he says. "I know, certainly, more about my craft and what works for me now. I know what tools and what things I need to do for myself to perform a role.

"One of the great things about working as an actor is to find things out about yourself and express them . . . and, y'know, not have to go out and wife-beat or anything," Reeves says of his own path to personal realization. "But to have the opportunity to look into it, to feel that, to experience oneself, to have things revealed or to find out things that you have problems revealing or things that you didn't know . . . it's just all of that. So if you've got some acting classes, you want to do some theatre, you want to go out there and play, I'd recommend it for anybody. 'Cause it's good."

Tomorrow night Keanu, Carrie-Ann. Laurence, and Joel will be on Charlie Rose on PBS.

God! I hope it's the whole hour.

Thanks, Tess!

Reeves Reloaded

Keanu Reeves brings a deeper sense of his hero character -- and more fight sequences -- to The Matrix Reloaded.

HOLLYWOOD -- The twin sequels to The Matrix are among the most eagerly awaited films in years.

Perhaps only Peter Jackson's final instalment of The Lord of the Rings -- The Return Of The King is due in December -- has its fans as wired, as weary of waiting and as eager.

But the mysterious Wachowski brothers, co-writers and co-directors of all three Matrix films, have two sequels costing an astonishing $310 million US ready to explode in quick succession.

The Matrix Reloaded is due for full release Thursday and The Matrix Revolutions on Nov. 7. So, it is easy to argue that, packaged together, this is the film event of the year.

Even the habitually wary actor Keanu Reeves -- who is only slightly less-reclusive than Andy and Larry Wachowski and often either deadpans or stumbles his way through interviews -- is absolutely effusive about the pending release of The Matrix Reloaded.

"I'm very excited about it," Reeves says in an interview deep in the heart of Stage 16 at Warner Bros. Studios, where set decorators have replicated the rebels' computer command centre on board Morpheus's inner-Earth spaceship. Being surrounded by the familiar from the films puts Reeves in a rare mood to talk to strangers, all of whom had to show passports or other picture ID to even access the Warners lot. For Canadian journalists, it was easier to get into the United States on this trip than it was to get into the studio because of paranoid levels of security for the screening of The Matrix Reloaded and for the interviews.

"I can't wait to see it," Reeves says. "All my friends are excited and my folks are excited to see it. So, it's great to be a part of something like that. It was a great experience acting in them (all three Matrix movies) and to spend time with the great people and artists that I got to go through this with. And I'm stoked that my folks are excited about going to the movies to see The Matrix."

The first film, The Matrix, was a shocking spectacle that galvanized audiences in 1999 with its heady and potent alchemy.

The Wachowskis blended unlikely elements such as the thoughts of cyberpunk author William Gibson with ideas from Greek mythology, Christianity, the Bible, Zen Buddhism, Taoism and the fairy tale story Alice In Wonderland. They added pop culture cliches, future and retro science fiction, Hong Kong chopsocky and wire work, plus ballet, Japanese anime, multi-culturalism, ironic humour and dazzling special effects.

The F/X included the invention of "bullet time," a camera trick to stutter-stop time during elaborate fight sequences.

The Matrix exploded at the box office, earned $460 million US worldwide and even launched a Mensa-level lecture series at Harvard University. The Matrix Reloaded has much more of the same -- and lots of new tricks and extra layers of questions in the philosophical musings.

There is also substantially enough of Reeves embedded in Neo, his Christ-like cyber-human character in the trilogy, to turn a conversation about The Matrix Reloaded into an insight into the reclusive star.

"Well, the platform of the film itself lends itself to that," Reeves says of finding the layers of meaning in the film, in the philosophical musings of the filmmakers and, perhaps, within himself.

"Thank God that there is something to talk about because, otherwise, what are they doing? Some other films don't have that ambition."

In The Matrix Reloaded, Neo continues his journey both as the One chosen to save what is left of mankind and, in his awakening, as a more complete human.

Says Reeves: "I think that Neo, in the beginning of Reloaded, is full of a lot of fear about what he has to do and about the responsibilities that the community is asking for."

In the same vein, Reeves says Neo's arc is "a development of the birth of a messiah," as well as an exploration of "the identity of a man."

Reeves elaborates, while trying not to give away important plot details that might spoil the fun for audiences

"I don't think the character is such -- what's the phrase? -- a reluctant hero. He's accepted it, but I don't think he's accepted it without question. I think Neo is trying to find out, 'What's my life?'

"I mean, he says: 'What if I fail?' Right? And it's kind of cool what happens later on. I don't what to give away the plot, but the aspect of what Neo finds out about being the One, I love that."

Reeves is asked how much he believes in the philosophical basis for the films, especially because the Wachowskis introduced him to a series of serious tomes exploring the Big Questions, such as the meaning of life.

"I don't have my list in front of me," Reeves says of what philosophies he believes in that are buried in the text of The Matrix films.

"I could probably make a list, but then I'd be doing what the brothers don't want to be doing (themselves): 'Here's my literal thing.' They don't propose a finality to it. They don't say: 'Here's the answer!' They don't do that except -- and this will be revealed in Revolutions -- they do come to something. And I think it sounds really goofy, but it's about love."

Indeed, in Reloaded, there is more of the romantic-sexual connection between Reeves and his slick, Canadian-born co-star, Carrie-Anne Moss.

"It's great," says Reeves. "It's one of my favourite aspects of the piece because I get to love someone and I get to be loved by someone and share that."

Reeves calls his romantic scenes with Moss "some of my best days working on that project, just because we love and trust each other and enjoy working together. It's great to feel that. It's great to be able to give over that loving feeling, that kind of respect and appreciation for somebody else."

Reloaded is also a far sexier movie than The Matrix, which was more preoccupied with setting up the big picture saga that could be continued in Reloaded and finished off in Revolutions. Reloaded has some joyous scenes set in the underground human city of Zion, which is fully realized in the new film.

Reeves agrees that Reloaded is sexy and sensual.

"I do. I mean, I think they (the brothers) are interested in flesh and blood. They're interested in the emotions and the flesh and blood of life and I think they exalt in it."

Reloaded also ramps up the fighting.

Reeves' character Neo no longer needs training. He is the best there is. In one sequence, known on set as the Burly Brawl, Neo battles evil uber-agent Smith (Hugo Weaving) and his 99 clones. In another sequence, he rockets into the sky doing what another character teasingly calls "his Superman thing." In many more scenes, including a spectacular and surreal Los Angeles freeway car-truck-motorcycle chase, Reeves pushed his body to the limit as he tried to do the majority of his own stunts.

"Recovering was a little harder," Reeves says, comparing his work on the sequels (which were shot concurrently over 18-months) to his work on the original film.

"This one was a much longer time. I had fights interspersed over a long period of time, so, in my time off, I was always training and learning another fight. I've done five fights for the second one and I have more moves in the fight with the Smiths than I did in the whole first movie. Probably twice over."

The manner and ease in which Reeves speaks is surprising.

In other interviews, Reeves was monosyllabic and so restrained and awkward, he could barely complete a sentence. For The Matrix Reloaded, he is generous with words.

"In my quiet," Reeves says so quietly it is like a reverential hush, "I was working something out."

I'm way too tired this morning to offer any pithy commentary.
I just liked the article.

...according to this FOX news article on last night's Tonight show appearance. Not that I care much, she was cute. And hey, supermodels need tequila too.

Here's the part I'm interested in....

Backstage at the Tonight Show -- an unglamorous warren of worn out dressing rooms with mostly broken down furniture -- Gisele and the night's main guest, Keanu Reeves, were attended to by the crack staff.

In fact, what the Tonight Show doesn't have in physical amenities is made up for by a group of producers, assistants and pages who couldn't be more helpful or professional. The show runs like a well-trained military effort with no weak links along the chain.

Reeves took the room next to Gisele's, but the two had no contact other than on stage. As much as Gisele's group was a traveling party, Reeves' was the complete opposite -- organized, quiet, and earnest. And no partying. When Keanu came off stage, he asked a couple of strangers hanging around the hallway: "Was that OK?"

He did say, as we made small talk, that he was very happy with The Matrix Reloaded. He also said he had no immediate plans for other films (the third Matrix also comes out in November) other than a romantic comedy now filming with Jack Nicholson and Diane Keaton. "It's a supporting role," he said matter-of-factly.

"Why did you take a supporting role?" I asked, considering that he's about to open in what may be the biggest movie of all time.

"It was a good script," he said, simply.

I just adore him.

"You're on the cover of Time magazine"

"Neo's on the cover of Time magazine"

*swoon*

And speaking of last night, the fight with Seraph....Oh My God......was anyone else bouncing on the bed, clapping and squealing?

I may very well implode next Wednesday night.

AOL gave "the ladies of The Matrix" their own cameras and had them take pictures last night to benefit a charity...DATA, Raising awareness about Debt, AIDS, and Trade in Africa[keyword:celeb candids]

Did you know the carpet last night was BLACK and not red? It's true.

Carrie-Ann and her hubby, Joel and his wife. Wife? Ooooh, it all makes sense now.

Carrie-Ann took this photo of Keanu and Ozwald Boateng, who designed the clothes that the stars wore to the premiere.

MORE in the extended entry...

Jada "turned the tables on the paparazzi" with this statement.

And then she took a few pics of her husband, who wishes he was Neo.

Jada also took this one of Keanu being interviewed by whatshisname...

I like Jada's sense of humor. She snapped this picture at the after-party.
Those are the waiters...*snicker*

Monica Bellucci took quite a few pictures of herself. Can't say that I blame her, though. If I looked like that I'd have a camera in my bathroom, too.

And one more......

Carrie-Ann took this one of Keanu. I thought I'd save it for last.

Just a reminder:
Keanu will be on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno tonight and on the Today Show tomorrow morning.

Both on NBC.

It's (Neo) classic Reeves

By HENRY CABOT BECK
HOLLYWOOD - Keanu Reeves is standing behind a curtain on Stage 17 of the Warner Bros. lot in Burbank.
He's getting tired of answering questions about the "Matrix" movies and his character, Neo.

What he wants to talk about is a book he's reading, "Please Kill Me: The Uncensored Oral History of Punk," by Legs McNeil and Gillian McCain.

The set is full of strange machinery, as if somebody took a long-abandoned submarine and turned it inside out. It has all been imported from "The Matrix Reloaded" set in Australia for purposes of promotion.

But Reeves, never the most enthusiastic interview subject, just wants to talk about this book.

"I'm just digging that book so much," says the 38-year-old actor, who tours and records with his own band, Dogstar.

In particular, he digs "the way those people gained their individuality, how they lived their lives - [New York icons] Patti Smith, the Ramones, Blondie, Iggy Pop - the vitality of the city and the vitality of those people, all trying to have a post-'60s musical thing happening.

"I was a little young to be a part of that Max's Kansas City or CBGB's scene," he adds, "but I could have been there as a kid, a rat kid. Instead I was in Toronto being a rat kid around Yorkville."

Reeves was born in Beirut, Lebanon, and raised primarily in Canada, the child of a showgirl and a geologist. Keanu means "cool breeze over the mountains" in Hawaiian. Reeves had a succession of showbiz stepdads and a few smallish roles on TV and in the movies through his late teens before he was cast in "The River's Edge" (1986), the movie that effectively launched his career.

Even so, he floundered in a series of unmemorable pictures until he played Ted in "Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure" (1989). "Bill and Ted's Bogus Journey" followed, two years later.

Reeves is a bit defensive about those films, not because they weren't entertaining but because they gave the public the idea that he's a bit thick, like the character he played. When it's suggested that Reeves is most often thought of for his roles in "Speed" (1994), "Matrix" (1999) and "Bill and Ted," he's quick to speak up.

"What about 'River's Edge'?" he asks. "How about 'My Own Private Idaho [1991]'?"

"I love those Bill and Ted pictures," says "Matrix" producer Joel Silver, "but he got a bum rap with that stuff. Keanu's smart and well-read, likes all kinds of music. He's an interesting guy, and people don't really know him. He defies what people think about him."

Reeves' good work includes Kathryn Bigelow's surf/crime drama "Point Break" (1991), Bernardo Bertolucci's "Little Buddha" (1993) and the low-budget Beat-era drama, "The Last Time I Committed Suicide" (1997).

He also stood out as the serial killer in "The Watcher" (2000), a part he particularly relished.

"Villains are fun. They're looser. Often times you're asked to be more flamboyant," says Reeves. "I don't get to go over the top a lot, so when I do, I really like it. But even with something like 'Speed,' I like to give some sense of the character so that he's less of a cipher."

"Speed" did more to put Reeves on the map than any prior role, mostly because it earned nearly $300 million at the box office worldwide.

But even that was small potatoes compared with "The Matrix," which pulled in more than $450 million and launched two sequels, the first of which, "The Matrix Reloaded," opens next Thursday. The third and final film, "The Matrix Revolutions," will be released in November.

In these films, Reeves plays Neo, aka The One, who is sent to destroy an evil regime run by intelligent machines. The second film explores the powers Neo discovered he had at the end of the first movie.

Asked what exactly distinguishes Neo - is it genetics? - Reeves responds: "Neo discovers that he's really some sort of mathematical and metaphysical probability. Beyond that, I don't think that's addressed in the story. But his role is pretty clear - to bring down the machines and save the human race.

"And he has to make hard choices along the way," says Reeves. "He isn't a case of one-dimensional heroism, because his fears make him human. Neo has a bit of a sense of humor now, which I like a lot."

Reeves' interviews are finished for the day, and as he picks up his book and prepares to leave the lot, he says of Neo:

"I love the character mostly because he's a seeking, questioning guy. In the first movie, he jumps right in and takes the red pill because he wants to see how deep the rabbit hole goes. It's a quality I admire, like the punk rockers we were talking about earlier. And for that, I find him noble."

-Thanks to Janey for this link

It's always nice to hear what he's reading.

I find it a little hard to believe he spoke of David Allen Griffin with "relish" if at all. I thought maybe he was talking about Donnie Barksdale, a role he said he had to "put a little mustard on it" when preparing with Hillary Swank.

Damn. Now I want a hot dog.

Thanks to Margarete of the Pic of the Day club for the first look at Keanu from tonight's premiere of Reloaded.

Oh my god. That little lip scar drives me bonkers.

Oooooh, here's another...

He's looking around wondering "where's krix"?

And there are more from tonight up at Yahoo's photos.

UPDATE:
I'm SO glad I haven't read this or gotten it yet.
Apparently it pretty much spoils the whole plot.

The Matrix is the coverstory on the newest issue of TIME Magazine.
I'm not sure if it is on the stands yet, I will look tonight.

[link to online article removed!]

The one with the twins at the top of the page has something spoilery, I think. I've already washed it out of my mind.

I think most of the current articles have some level of spoiler info, in order to tease the general public (those philistines that want to know what a movie is about before they go see it, pshaw!). So this next week you're pretty much taking a chance with anything you read. Now I trust that none of it will ruin the experience, but really...if you're a purist, best to lock yourself in a closet for the next 10 days. Or at least stay away from the net.

The main thing I'm going to be avoiding is reviews. God knows what sort of thing those enthusiastic lucky souls who get to see the movie before us mere mortals will let slip.

UPDATE: Looks like I will be avoiding most of the matrix boards as well. You're on your own, folks.

ET hasn't aired yet for me, but thanks to Chianti for the heads up on this link to a clip online. It's a little spoilery, but worth it for all you horndogs, which I'm pretty sure most of you are.

Oh, and I was at Best Buy tonight and they still suck. They don't have the atrocity known as the new Matrix phone yet, but they will sell you a fucking tin box with a picture of the ugly device and "Matrix Reloaded" surrounded by some code for a mere $19.99.

Ohmigod, they can so bite me.

Thanks to Steve Enders of Tech TV for letting us know that "TechTV has daily coverage and behind-the-scenes footage all this week on the new Matrix flick on Tech Live."

"Today, see a preview of the new 'Reloaded' film. Also this week, see what went into the movie's special effects, a look at the making of the new "Enter the Matrix" videogame, and a special look at the "Animatrix" series. Look for added coverage and stories on the website, and special web-only video available for download.

Tech Live airs at 8 p.m. Eastern, and repeats at 10 a.m., 1 p.m., 6 p.m. ET.

Finally, catch all the action on TechTV's special "Enter the Matrix", airing this weekend on Sunday at 12:30 and 5:30 p.m. Eastern."

From the Toronto Star:

Reeves ReloadedToronto actor spent seven weeks on key fight scene Matrix sequel set to open in movie theatres May 15

HOLLYWOOD — Nothing says "thank you" like a truckload of shiny new motorcycles, delivered to the people you've been kicking in the head.

That's if you're Keanu Reeves, the reclusive actor turned master of the grand show-biz gesture.

When work finally wrapped on the Burly Brawl, the key fight scene of the hotly anticipated sci-fi sequel The Matrix Reloaded, Reeves had a dozen Harleys delivered to the set as a gift for his stunt men.

It's the kind of thing Arnold Schwarzenegger or Bruce Willis might do, not the spotlight-shunning Reeves, who usually goes out of his way not to act like a movie star.

"That made me smile, man, for months," Reeves says, relishing the memory.

"I'd be in bed, and I'd be like, `Hah, hah, hah, hah!'"

The gift likely cost close to $200,000 (U.S.). But he could afford it — the former Torontonian is a millionaire many times over — and it was worth every penny to him to get everything just right in the Burly Brawl.

A jaw-dropping combination of martial arts mastery and special effects wizardry, the Brawl sets Reeves' cyberpunk hero Neo against more than 100 clones of Agent Smith, the diabolical avatar of the enslaving computers first enjoined in The Matrix, the surprise movie phenomenon of 1999. When Reloaded opens May 15, it is sure to be the scene most fans talk about, at least until Nov. 7, when the opening arrives for The Matrix Revolutions, the final part of a planned trilogy by the sci-fi visionaries Larry and Andrew Wachowski (a.k.a. The Brothers).

"I worked with 12 stunt men for about three weeks, intensely going through the fight," Reeves says, speaking inside a vast movie soundstage that has been decorated with large mechanical props from Reloaded.

"And then we filmed for basically almost a month, every day.... There was this one sequence where Neo gets grabbed by two agents and I do a back flip and kick two guys in the head. Flip back, and then the two guys get thrown back. Well, those guys got pulled into the floor 21 times. And every time I said, `I'd like to do it again' ... and it was like, `Yeah, man, let's go.'

"So we were all in this thing and we were all training together beforehand. So I just wanted to somehow, besides just saying thank you, say a bigger thank you, to all these guys who helped me make this, I think, one of the great movie fights in the history of cinema."

Reeves got so involved in the sweat and strain of doing the Burly Brawl, his co-star Laurence Fishburne was afraid to watch.

"I don't like being around Keanu when he's being hard on himself," says Fishburne, who plays Neo's mentor Morpheus in The Matrix trilogy.

"And he was hard on himself the whole time during the Burly Brawl. I used to be really hard on myself. But never as hard as Keanu is."

Told of Fishburne's comment, Reeves begs to differ.

"It's just because it was important," he says, shrugging. "It was my job to do whatever The Brothers asked me to do."

Does that mean he's not as self-punishing as people say?

"I can be," Reeves says. "But I don't think I need any therapy or anything. I'm not so out of my mind.

"But it's an aspect of the piece that, as well as (the fighting), we work so hard to get the emotional aspects right. Those are the scenes, in those sequences, where there's something about symmetry, about having those things that you believe in. If I do something and I don't hit it right, or if it doesn't look right, you instantly feel it, you see it: You go `aaah.'

"So you don't want that. You want it to just be perfect."

Getting The Matrix Reloaded perfect, and not just good enough, was a much tougher job for all the cast members than making the original film.

The Matrix came out of nowhere in 1999 to instantly establish itself as a classic of science fiction, combining way-cool style with a head-rattling mix of Western and Eastern philosophy.

It challenged conventions about what is real and what isn't, what is fate and what is choice.

The Matrix, which earned $460 million (U.S.) worldwide, also introduced a new form of physics-defying slow-motion fighting that came to be known as "bullet time," and which has been endlessly copied in films as diverse as Charlie's Angels and Shrek, much to the chagrin of The Brothers Wachowski.

The aim with Reloaded and Revolutions was to up the ante to stay ahead of the competition, with both the intellectual and physical aspects of the movie. If the dense philosophy of Reloaded doesn't wow you, the action scenes certainly will.

Reeves doesn't normally do sequels — he turned away a king's ransom for Speed 2 because he didn't like the script — but it took no persuasion at all to get him to don Neo's dark shades and natty black overcoat for 18 months of concurrent filming of Reloaded and Revolutions in Sydney, Australia.

"The scripts were great. And I had such great experience with and faith in Andrew and Larry Wachowski. I just said yes."

Reeves was so eager, in fact, he even gave away part of his percentage in the film, a profit-sharing deal that could potentially sweeten his $15 million per-film salary by many millions more. No wonder he can afford to buy Harleys by the dozen.

"What I did was I put part of what was given in my contract to create a pool so that other people who don't usually do profit participation could see some money," Reeves says, clearly not pleased to be talking about money.

Why'd he do something like that?

"I wanted to."

Reeves may be acting more like a movie star these days, but in many other ways he still seems like just plain Keanu from Toronto, a guy who loves playing and watching hockey, riding his own Harley and playing with his rock band Dogstar, which is currently in hiatus.

He'll turn 39 this year — he's pushing 40! — but he doesn't look a day over 25. He worked out hard to prepare for The Matrix and its sequels, but he looks lean, not muscle-bound.

In his 20-year acting career, he's seen both ups (The Matrix, Speed) and downs (Sweet November, Even Cowgirls Get The Blues), and he's wise enough to know that fame is ephemeral.

His attire for a day of press at Warner Bros.' Burbank studios in the Hollywood Hills is a thrown-together mix of a faded burgundy T-shirt with faded blue jeans, topped with an ill-fitting black sports jacket that looks as if someone loaned it to him for the day.

He's an unlikely combination of laid-back slacker and hyper-intense workaholic, which makes him perfect for the role of Neo, a computer hacker who is summoned to accept his fate as The One, the saviour of a mankind threatened by marauding machines.

"Keanu is unlike any actor I've ever met — any person I've ever met," says Vancouver-born Carrie-Anne Moss, who plays Trinity, Neo's lover and fellow warrior. The sexual heat between the two is much hotter in Reloaded than it was in The Matrix.

"Physically, he just takes himself to the edge," Moss says. "He's there because he loves the character and he loves The Brothers."

But Reeves, who has long been seen as one of Hollywood's most inscrutable stars, remains a difficult guy to really know, even for the people who work closely with him.

"I've known the man for five years and I love him," Fishburne says.

"But I don't know a thing about him."

Reeves is not about to change that, his flashy motorcycle gifts notwithstanding. He really does identify with Neo, who constantly queries what is real and what isn't, what is fate and what is choice.

"I really find that Neo is a beautiful man," Reeves says.

"His ethics and his morals and his search for his authentic life being, wanting to see how he deals with people and deals with himself, I really admire.

"It's like, can you live up to that? Can you live up to the best part of yourself every day? Which I think is a really great question. Can you live to the best part of yourself all the time?

"And it's hard. I can't. I try, but I think that aspect is something that the film is also asking."-Peter Howell

~Thank you to Margarete

From The Age-

Keanu Loves a Robust Red-May 3 2003

Hollywood star Keanu Reeves has revealed a thirst for rare and expensive Australian red wine.

The star of this month's blockbuster film The Matrix: Reloaded has a prized collection of Aussie red, particularly Penfolds Grange Hermitage and Mount Mary Quintet.

Reeves fell in love with Australia and its top shelf wines while shooting The Matrix in Sydney in 1998 and the two sequels, The Matrix: Reloaded and The Matrix: Revolutions last year.

"I had a great time in Sydney and I met some awesome people," Reeves told reporters in Los Angeles.

"I miss it, I want to go back."

Asked if he thought about buying a home in Australia Reeves licked his lips and replied: "I brought back some Australian wine. Yummm."

His favourites are among Australia's finest and rarest wines.

The wine cellars in his homes in Los Angeles and Toronto, Canada, are stocked with 1988 and 1990 vintages of Mount Mary Quintet cabernet, made in Victoria's Yarra Valley.

The 1998 sells for about $A270 a bottle and the 1990 a hefty $A420 a bottle.

"The Mary Quintet cabernet blend. Awesome," Reeves said.

"And the Penfolds Grange. The 71 and the 76 are just awesome."

A 1971 Grange sells for $A875 a bottle and the 1976 $A650.

The 38-year-old actor can afford the wine bill as he reportedly earned $US30 million ($A47.66 million) for shooting the two Matrix sequels.

The Matrix: Reloaded opens in Australia on May 16 and The Matrix: Revolutions is scheduled to open later in the year.

I think in addition to making him laugh, I'd like to add "spend time over a glass of wine" to my list of Keanu-wishes.

Thank you all for the welcome back messages. Now to play a bit of catch-up....

I found out that indeed, there are some showings of Reloaded at 10 PM on the 14th here, So I am planning to catch that show as well as the 10 AM show on the 15th. At least that's the plan, as Fandango hates me today and keeps spitting out "so sorry, come back later" messages. Bastards.

Keanu was adorable on Entertainment Tonight (click that link, there's a video clip) last night. I missed it in the evening, but some mysterious force woke me up at two AM and rather than question it, I turned on the TV and yep, there he was all funny and charming and....well, it was hard to get back to sleep after.
The lovely Zion has posted some screen grabs from the segment over at Reeves Drive MB. (via club-keanu)

ComingSoon.net has a big gallery of Reloaded stills, most we have already seen, but some we have not. I really dig the first one (of him in front of the screens) and am going to try and figure out how to do a wallpaper of it, I think.

Oh, and the May Calendar is up.

there was a glitch in my matrix

"I love Neo. I find Neo to be a beautiful man," Reeves tells Newsweek. "I love his dignity, his love for Trinity, his search. Playing him is like playing the best parts of us."

From CNN (and reported at various other sources):

"Appearing out of competition is the much-awaited sequel "The Matrix: Reloaded" by American brothers Andy and Larry Wachowski. Organizers said its entire cast, including Keanu Reeves, will travel to Cannes."

Also:

"This year is starting to look like one big movie-geek's wet dream as more and more films are doing bigger, cooler things to grab people's attention and with today's announcement that IMAX is going to be showing The Matrix sequels in their special big-screen, big-sound theatres, it's not hard to believe that this really is the year of The Matrix."

Read that article here at The Gate.

(I've checked for confirmation of this one, but can't find any mention of either the Matrix at IMAX.com or IMAX at WhatistheMatrix.com's breaking news. Hopefully it's true, though.)

There's an article in USAToday, and I was quite excited to see Keanu get much deserved props as a stud in an Australian paper, but apparently they were talking about something else.

Club-Keanu's got the goodies.

Great googly-moogly. Thanks to Chianti!
If you go to this thread over at Reeves Drive's MB you can get an idea of the GQ pictures from screen grabs from the Access Hollywood spot.

Huh?

Just go. GO!

Oh lord. If I can get some clean versions of these pics I may do a bit of a blog redesign. I neeeeed that one of him in the box.

...and the Bangs. BANGS!

(yes, I've lost my mind)

I need ice.

----Oh, Jena procured copies at someplace called "Hastings", which we don't have here in Vegas. But if you do, you might call and see.

Mr. Reeves is May's GQ cover boy. I haven't seen the issue yet, but my lovely friend tess typed up the article. Here's a small portion of it:

Sitting in the bar part of the restaurant on New York's Upper West Side, Reeves pulls his long arms around himself protectively, draped them loosely in his lap. He's wearing a black jacket that's layered over a black shirt that's layered over yet another black shirt. He smokes a cigarette and takes a sip of red wine. His legs are crossed at the thigh. He's tall - a more looming figure in the corner of a bar than I'd expected him to be; given his typically kinetic and boyish screen presence. In person he is preposterously handsome.

When I tell him we'd actually met fourteen years ago in the Berkshires, at the cast party for a production of The Tempest in which he'd played Trinculo, he unfolds a bit. Bill & Ted's had made him a star, and I remember how Ted-like he was at the time: amiable, with stringy hair, swigging on a pint of something, a renowned terror on his motorcycle. "Yes, yes" Reeves recalls. "I had a 750 GSXR-my first sport bike. It was lovely. There was a great winding road from the theater to the house, and one day I ran into a police block. Two patrol cars and however many patrolmen basically saying "Cease and desist" going so quickly. It was beyond ticketing: Over the course of the weeks I'd built up a reputation, so it was a community kind of thing, asking the police to tell me to calm down a little bit." He smiles to himself. "I was enjoying the countryside."

Telling me this, Reeves sounds as stagily debonair as Bruce Wayne, as if he should be wearing an ascot and saying, "But I've put away childish things" 0 when in fact he hasn't at all. Even now, Reeves is said to enjoy the occasional night ride with his headlight off. He has an artful array of scars - a squiggle on his leg, a snake on his abdomen, a bald spot above his lip - that attest to periodic lapses in judgment (although he's never had a spill that necessitated the removal of his spleen, a subject of some dispute in sundry Keanuana). "I'm a very safe, conservative motorcycle operator" Reeves offers. "Especially when there's a full moon and you're in the (Hollywood) Hills and it's summery. Never. Never would I do that' - ride with the headlight off. Again, the private smile.

I have to look for a copy on my way to work. Geez, I wish I had a scanner!
Hopefully someone will get some scans out today.

Oh, and Access Hollywood is going to have a spot on it tonight. (thanks Jo)

-----update:
I don't know if this is at the stands or not, actually. Tess had it given to her by someone, but she said there wasn't a mailing label on it. So please call the store before you abandon your job to go get it!

You can go check out some Reloaded pics (and their inane captions)at this Entertainment Weekly "only on AOL" feature .

There's also some Keanu pics and bio there.

Premiere Magazine is having a poster contest that involves getting clues off of the four special edition covers and figuring out a secret code.

Oooooh, how fun.

...from looking at the clues, I'm thinking you need to look near the "most powerful people" banner in that bar code looking stuff around it for some initials.

But that's just me guessing, I haven't even seen a cover up close yet.

Very Big Love to Jena, for typing up the Premiere article.
A portion of it is below, spoilery only for purists...

Keanu Reeves is primal-screaming. Standing at the bottom of a crater set some 20 feet deep - all that remains of a sidewalk that's been torn apart by two superpowerful entities doing battle in the skies overhead before crashing to the ground - and drenched by four massive sprinklers that, during the wide shots, dump between seven and ten tons of water per minute on him, the star of this year's most anticipated sequels lets out the kind of deep, disturbing, bowel-loosening cry that would terrify small children, nervous animals, and any visiting journalist. Lasting no more than two seconds, it echoes around Stage 2 at Fox Studios in Sydney, Australia, for what seems like an eternity and, give or take a few consonants, can be transcribed thus: AAAAAARRRRRRGGGGHHHHHH!!!!

"Sometimes it's to raise my energy, and sometimes it's frustration," Reeves explains almost a year later, sitting in the lounge at Chateau Marmont in Los Angeles. "It's a way of venting, expressing my frustration, at myself and not being able to realize the event. This exclusively happens when I'm dealing with the action sequences, because I want to make it super-perfect."

In 1999's The Matrix, Reeves's character, Neo, awoke to the fact that the world as he knew it was a computer-generated construct designed to keep humanity blissfully unaware of it's status as energy source for a race of sentient machines. By the movie's end, he'd been transformed into The One, mankind's prophesied savior and key to it's freedom from the Matrix, flying up past the camera like some kind of comic-book superhero ready to wage war against the machines. Now, in the sequels The Matrix Reloaded (due May 15) and The Matrix Revolutions (November 7), his abilities have developed in ways fans of the first film will be drooling about for years. "He's self-actualizing inside the Matrix," says visual-effects supervisor John Gaeta, who won an Oscar for his work on the original. "He's superpowerful because he believes he is. He has the ability to knock down many more obstacles."

It's day 141 out of an eventual 270 in the 18-month-long production, during which both sequels are being shot. As rain lashes down inside and out (Sydney is experiencing what's tantamount to a monsoon), Reeves, dressed in a black, full-length, high-collared coat, is once again facing off against Agent Smith (Hugo Weaving), the besuited ubervillain who, despite having been blown apart at the end of The Matrix, has become Lex Luthor to Neo's Superman. Today's scene (number 764) forms part of the Superbrawl, a thunderous fight at the climax of Revolutions in which the enemies duke it out in and above the megacity that is the Matrix, before reducing an intersection (the same one Neo took off from at the end of the original) to rubble.

For now, however, Reeves is required simply to come up into frame and utter four words - "Because I choose to" - his attutide implacable, his face impassive. And chiseled: Months of training and a special diet (including red meat if he would be fighting; fish, rice, and vegetables if not) have left him ultralean, giving the impression that he is several inches taller than his six feet. Time and time again he delivers the line with differing tonation, until writer-director siblings Larry Wachowski, 37, and Andy, 35, are satisfied not only with his performance but with the way the rain and the lightening effects combine with it. Between takes Reeves confers with the filmmakers, whose dress sense and demeanor owe much to the excellent Bill and Ted, and who sit slightly apart from the crew under a black-tented viewing station that houses their video monitors. Or else he stands alone beneath a heater, towel around his shoulders, a Do Not Disturb sign hung on his face. Occasionally he will disappear outside to where the production has set up a hot tub in which he sits, in costume, and tries to warm up.

As the day proceeds, Reeves gets wetter still. Gallons of water continue to rain down (filtered out of the set through an elaborate drainage system in the floor, it will be treated and used again by the production), and he is pelted by a jet of thick orange liquid and chunks of gray foam, which simulate the effect of Smith coming up and out of the ground. It's while shooting this particularly sticky session that Reeves's primal scream erupts, and to be honest, who can blame him? They've been filming this sequence for the past couple of weeks and still have a week or so to go. Every nuance, every emotion, every drop of water must be to the Wachowskis' liking. The sprinklers have even been fitted with special nozzles to produce "chubby rain," fatter than normal drops, which, when photographed in a certain way, will look like the dripping code of the Matrix. "There's no extranious movement, gesture, behavior," Reeves says. "It's very pure. What they do in their films is like a samurai strike with a sword - one perfect gesture all concentrated in that one moment. I got very familiar with what super-perfect meant."

This is from AOHell's Oscar thingy (yay! it's good for something).

And...um, wow..yes...more at Club-Keanu.

Lordy.....

Feeling Keanu

by Chris Carbury

How can one man be so sexy? How can he not know it? These are the conundrums of modern day life. Keanu Reeves - he of the piercing gaze and dogdy motorbikes skills is back! Girlfriend managed to nab him for a chat about his new movies, Feeling Minnesota and Chain Reaction and Dogstar. Or course.

Is your foot back to normal now after your motorbike accident?

Yeah, it's a little awkward. I thought it would be fine once the cast came off but I still have to hobble everywhere. It's still very hard to walk.

In the theatre, they have that expression 'break a leg'. What do they say to people who ride motorbikes?

They say, 'Break the other leg.'

Do you keep climbing on board?

Yeah. I love to ride.

Don't film companies get a bit scared, insurance-wise?

Yeah, sometimes they ask me not to ride, sometimes they don't.

A lot of motorcyclists say just getting on the road with the other motorists is tough in LA.

Yeah, they're a little tricky with the signaling thing. I guess you don't have enough hands left, with the phone, and the CD player. I guess they just forget to hit that indicator.

You've just returned from your first trip to Europe with Dogstar. Did you enjoy playing in Britain?

Yeah, London was fab. We played the Shepherd's Bush Empire which is a great place for bands to play. It's a really intimate, cool crowd. I had a couple of friends there, like Rachel Weisz, who stars with me in Chain Reaction. She's English and she was in town, so I went with her. The band had a really fantastic time. It was truly epic!

Would you ever be tempted to give up the acting and concentrate solely on the music?

No, never. I do have fun but I also have a lot of fun acting. No, acting is my deal. I'm just not that great a musician.

And I see you've just put out an EP?

Yeah, we have an EP out right now, which is actually also an enhance CD. It's pretty radical.

Yes, I've been playing with it - it's absolutely fantastic! Speaking of computers, have you checked out any of the websites devoted to you? The best one is the Society For Keanu Consciousness.

I've never gone into that one. I've only seen a photocopy of one website page and I hear it's really cool and creative. I like that.

There were reports that you gave up Speed 2 so you could carry on touring with Dogstar.

No, that's just not true. Speed 2 had nothing at all to do with playing in a band. That was my own choice and I don't know where those rumours started. Basically, I decided not to do Speed 2 because I just didn't want to repeat it and do the same thing again. Frankly, I've done one sequel before - Bill and Ted's Bogus Adventure - and the results were less than satisfying.

Last year you said that Sandra Bullock, director Jan De Bont and you had made a pact that either all of you would do Speed 2 or it wouldn't happen.

You've got to do what you've got to do, I guess. It's not that I'm sick of action films or anything like that. I really like them when they are good. I've just made another one in Chain Reaction. But I don't like repeating myself.

Was it hard to walk away from the offer of $32 million to make the sequel to Speed?

It was easy from my own point of view and because of the nature of the picture and doing it again. But it was very hard career-wise and from a business point of view because it was a lot of money. Speed brought me a lot of attention and a lot of opportunities to act in different films. Now I'm just throwing caution to the wind and we'll see what happens.

Is that why you agreed to do a small film like Feeling Minnesota with a first-time director?

I've worked with a lot of first-time directors and I love their enthusiasm. With this one, I went for the plot and the characters. I like the whole way these people are trying to get out of their pasts, trying to find love, but having hardship like Freddie [Cameron Diaz] and Jjaks [Keanu]. My brother in the film, Sam [Vincent D'Onofrio], he's also confused and lost in space, but still wanting to have an affair. It's very interesting and worthwhile.

The director said your sex scene with Cameron Diaz was very hot. He also said, "Keanu's thing kept failing out while they were writhing around on the floor. But Keanu just kept putting it back in and carrying on." What happened?

It was pretty funny. Poor Cameron. Her first scene on her first day was this hot sex scene on a bathroom floor. Her character's just got married and then we meet at her wedding and just go off and do it in the bathroom. We were going to do something else, another scene that day, but they told us because of the bad weather we had to start with that one. They said it would break the ice.

Did it break the ice?

Oh yeah. Cameron was pretty cool about it. She was wearing this wedding dress and I'm wearing a jockstrap and I guess it just fell out because it was a very physical, rolling around scene. It was probably the farthest I've ever gone on camera.

What did you get from Feeling Minnesota?

All you need is love. You see the way people are trapped in different ways by their pasts - like Freddie, who's physically trapped, having been raped, threatened, followed. There's a lot of pain in the film and stuff about criminals trying to get by, but for me it's also a love story with a happy ending. I like that.

Did you know your character, Jjaks, right away? Because in the beginning of the film the audience learns more about him the way other people respond to him.

It's hard for me because so much of me relates to what we shot. And then to speak about the film that exists is a little different. Not all of what we shot is in the film, unfortunately. There's a different life between the script and the film you see. So an actor has to come to terms with that. But yeah, I understood 'it feels too good', which is a line that the character says. And the line, 'It'll always turn to shit.' And that's really one of the moments, the backbone of Jjaks. It was cool, because the character tries to get over it. He jumps in.

In the film, there's a strong theme of sibling rivalry gone wild. Do you feet that's true to life?

I'd imagine that's inherent in the psychological make-up of all humans, western and eastern. But I don't think it's the case with me. My sister and I are very, very close and there is no feeling of rivalry between us.

Did you get many bruises from the fight scenes?

No, Vincent and I were quite careful about knocking each other in the face. Because we both exchanged blows, it was like one of those things where we went, 'Okay, now you hit me. Then ha ha ha ha, I get to hit you.' But Vincent is an amazing actor. So we were quite careful about taking care of that. But we'd both done fighting before.

How much did you interact with Courtney Love during filming?

I met her once. We said hello.

Did you have an interest in meeting her because you both have musical backgrounds?

You know what? I think she's a little more developed in a music sense, than I am. I'm a great fan of her and her albums. She brought a great energy to the set. Everyone was like, 'Wow, it's Courtney Love!'

Did you choose to do a commercial action movie like Chain Reaction next for the money?

The truth is, I didn't think it was going to be a big action movie. I had script consultation but not approval and I signed early on. But it went in a direction I wasn't expecting. I thought it was going to be drama-action. I think some of the drama stayed in there. The subject matter is quite different from the other movies around. We concentrated on making a very realistic picture and not letting the special effects be the most important aspect, like so many other movies. Some movies go so over the top with special effects. I feel like throttling someone when I see that trash.

You must have spent loads of time on that frozen lake shooting Chain Reaction. How was that?

It was cold. One time, I had to drive this ice boat. And I felt my hand flash freeze. It was really weird. It's because it's so cold that I guess everything in your hand crystallises. But it's an odd feeling, because you get a feeling of warmth, and then excruciating pain. And then the director is hand-holding a camera going, 'OK, now scream at her!' And you're like, 'What about me, man? I can't feel my hand!' But you just go for it.

What's next for you?

I'm now filming Devil's Advocate. I don't play the devil, I play the lawyer, so I'm both! Did you know there are more lawyers in school now than there are lawyers on the earth. So that means they're going to double in like five years, and spawn. It's kind of wacky. But yeah, I guess it's a kind of moral allegory. It's a thriller about a young lawyer who joins a top New York law office and then discovers his boss is a very sinister person.

You have had a rough ride with critics. What do you say?

Yeah, I've learnt to deal with the fact that I'm the critics' whipping boy.

Why do you think so many people have it in for you?

I think it stems from the early days when I went from a film like River's Edge to something like Bill And Ted's Excellent Adventure and that really threw some people. And then I kind of stank in Dracula and that was a drag. I guess, after that, they didn't know what to make of me. I make up my own mind.

Why don't we ever hear or read about your relationships?

I haven't really had a relationship in the past couple of years. So I guess that's why you haven't heard about it.

So you haven't found the woman of your life?

(laughs) My soul partner? No, I haven't. Unfortunately. But I'm looking.

Is it hard to have a relationship in this business?

I don't know. I haven't had one. Well, no, I have, but it's hard to have a relationship... I can't even speak in general terms. In this business... I find that the creative process can be violent. Can be extreme. Can be moody, So maybe those aspects are a battle to be fought by the relationship itself.

Do you find people confuse the Keanu Reeves from your screen personality to who you are in regular everyday life?

Right. Well, that happens all the time. I've felt that duality for a long, long time. I really don't mind it. 'Cos I can easily see through it. Although, it's taken me by surprise a few times. I've had some close encounters of the weird kind when people have been with me because of I am in the movies. And then there are other times when, you know, no-one knows who I am and no-one cares.

What's the difference between how you really are and how people think you are?

I have no idea. I would assume they're completely different, 'cos I'm not like any of the characters I've played on screen, although there are aspects of characters who are similar to me.

How would you describe yourself?

How would I describe myself? (smiles then laughs). I'm a deeply sensitive, extremely intelligent, romantic, funny, exciting person. Complex yet simple.

Who do you count among your Hollywood friends?

I don't have any famous friends.

Are you able to walk into a supermarket and buy groceries?

Yeah, sure. And I've done it. I'm not that famous, man. I'm not that famous. No.

How do you react when there are crowds of young girls screaming after you, "Keanu! Keanu! Keanu!"?

I actually enjoy it and think it's fun.

Are you afraid of losing your sex symbol status?

Listen, I'm not interested in that stuff. I just want to do good work in interesting films. Am I afraid of going away? Certainly. But I don't think about that other stuff 'cos it's really not important.

Case closed!

Another article, this one also from 1994. Thanks kaz.

We love you Keanu...

even if you can't get a girl

by Lesley O'Toole

"Oh my God, it's driving me crazy. I don't know where it came from but all of a sudden it's like, 'I need a mate'."

Keanu denies the US tabloid claims that he's a "hellraiser". "Cool!" he says, grinning from ear to ear, "But I'm not really a hell-raiser - I wish I could be."

Frankly, I don't really believe him. I can see the glint in his eye and, let's face it, Keanu has always been considered a bit of a party animal. Even the movies he's been working on lately are action-packed adventures! In his latest film to hit the big screen, Speed, he plays a freeway-speeding cop who saves a busload of people from being blown sky-high. And he's now working on a cyberpunk gangster-type movie called Johnny Mnemonic with Dolph Lundgren.

But perhaps, behind the scenes, Keanu really has changed. I mean, he hasn't been photographed at any of the trendy Los Angeles hangouts for quite a while. In fact, he's been keeping a very low profile since the death of fellow party-boy and close friend River Phoenix.

The Keanu I'm talking to today is much less laid-back than I expected. Sitting opposite him in a suite at a Beverly Hills hotel, I discover that he's just not out there anymore. Instead, he's talkative, funny and modest. And he's definitely not the grunge god he used to be, either.

His hair is short and spiky, and he's wearing a smart black suit. Close followers of the recent Reeves roster might wonder if this change has anything to do with his parts in Much Ado About Nothing and the forthcoming epic Little Buddha (to be released at the end of July), for which he spent several months living in Nepal and India, and nearly became a Buddhist himself!

But Keanu reckons it has nothing to do with these films. "I've just been through so many years and experiences, I guess, and they've worn on my back. Maybe it's just time. I'm getting older, I turn 30 this year." He ponders the figure for a moment. "I guess something inside of me is just waiting to take hold."

I say to Keanu that a lot of guys nearing 30 might be considering marriage... "Oh, yeah, definitely. Oh my God, it's driving me crazy I don't know where it came from but all of a sudden it's like, 'I need a mate'."

Is there a potential mate on the horizon? "Oh no, I guess I'm single."

Unlike Johnny Depp, who's less than a year older than him, Keanu doesn't have three broken engagements under his belt. "I've been lucky, though," he says, almost apologising. "I've known some incredible women, but I've never come close to marriage. I've never proposed and I've never been proposed to."

OK, so what about Little Buddha? He tells me that doing the film changed his life. "I'm not out on the street helping to feed the homeless. I get to a few charities, but at least in my own small world, I have become more patient."

Keanu says he nearly missed getting the part on this life-changing film. The first time he met Bernardo Bertolucci, the director of Little Buddha, he was friendly, but didn't seem very interested in offering him any work. "He told me the story of Little Buddha and said he'd seen My Own Private Idaho and liked it. But I guess I wasn't right for the part. He said, 'Well, it was nice to meet you, but now I have to go off and cast this film'. Then we met a few months later when I was in Tuscany (filming Much Ado About Nothing) and he offered me the part. I later found out that he cast me because of my innocence," he says, wrinkling his forehead and looking surprised.

In the film, Keanu's character is the son of an American couple (played by Bridget Fonda and Chris Isaak) who don't suspect there's anything unusual about their son, until they're told that he's actually the reincarnation of Buddha. "The film's about this man-boy who knows nothing of the harshness of existence; suffering, death and old age."

Keanu had a bit of an embarrassing moment during filming when he couldn't quite do what was required of him. "I was very embarrassed that I couldn't do the lotus position for the film (a yoga position that's quite tricky to get into). I worked very hard at it, but I just couldn't get it. When Mr Bertolucci realised, he said, disbelievingly, 'You can't do the lotus?' He was horrified. And I was like 'Oh my God!'. I did manage it once for about 20 seconds, but not for the film. They ended up covering my legs."

One of the film's oddest scenes is where Keanu wades into water and practically has a conversation with a water buffalo. "Yeah, wasn't that great," he almost squeaks. "The buffalo came up to me. Oh my God. Bertolucci was in love with the buffalos. He loved their eyes. In the movie there's one incredible close-up shot of their eyes. In India, the cow is sacred and their eyes signify wisdom. So I got in the water and this buffalo just turned towards me. I had to go up and talk to it."

Sounds a bit dodgy! "Oh not at all. I wasn't scared. What was funny was that the place where I went into the water had a little beach, and up from there was a little bank of sand. In between the two they put cages to prevent crocodiles getting at us. And they had men with shotguns. At least that's what I was told after I got out of the water." He laughs again, and I can now see that he's having me on.

But Keanu definitely wasn't kidding when he gave me the spiel on his preoccupation with meditation and doom. "Have you heard of chakras? They're energy centres. I had an experience which, basically in the beginning, was a feeling of magnitude. I was meditating in Tuscany and I felt as big as a valley. I'd move my arm and it would feel like it was 30 kilometres long. The man who taught me to meditate said to me, 'As soon as you think you know something, you don't know it'. I was thinking 'Oh no, doomed again. Just doomed'."

Back in 1991, Keanu said the same of his career goals: "I don't want to live a stupid life. I know I'm doomed, I'm just a dog." So has his master plan changed? "Actually I'm thinking of coming back as a cat. That way, at least I'll have nine lives. No, it's basically the same in 1994. I've worked on not leading a stupid life, but I'm still doomed. I'm trying, though."

At the inevitable mention of River Phoenix, Keanu's face falls. Among the actors in River's age group, Keanu was the closest to him. When River died, not a single young actor mourning his death made a public statement (public comments were left to two of River's more mature co-stars, Harrison Ford and Dan Aykroyd). Maybe it was the drug connection, or perhaps they were all just gobsmacked. It seems Keanu certainly was - this is the only time during our conversation when he is stuck for words. He chooses them carefully, and makes the announcement: "I wish he wasn't dead."

How did Keanu hear the news? "I was downstairs in my house and a friend heard it on the news upstairs." Keanu can't even answer a question about how he felt. He looks misty-eyed and mumbles, "I miss him very much."

Buddhists believe in reincarnation - in other words, when someone dies, they are reborn as another person. So does Keanu think River may still be out there somewhere? "Hmm, where is Mr Phoenix going?" he says, cheering up. "I don't know. I take reincarnation for granted. It never seemed to me to be something that wouldn't happen."

On a more earthly note, I ask Keanu how he fared in January's devastating LA earthquake. "I jumped out of bed and fled my house. I live on a hill so it shook, but it was nothing compared to what the people of Northbridge felt," he says, definitely playing down his experience. "So I left the house, then I had to run back inside to get dressed first."

"Oooh," I tease, "I wish I had been there." Keanu bursts into uncontrollable laughter. "What? To help me find my things?" It doesn't seem to occur to him that thousands of girls the world over would love to see his naked bod!

Big Love to kaz, who has sent out some articles from the past. I'll be posting them over the next couple days...

Seventeen Questions - Keanu Reeves
by Cindy Pearlman

Three years ago he was the ultimate slacker dude. Today he's speeding toward superstardom. Is Keanu Reeves finally ready to grow up?

He quotes Shakespeare, but often ends his sentences with an enthusiastic "Dig it!" He throws his bodacious bod under moving buses, but claims to be afraid of the dark. He doesn't have a permanent home, yet fears for the homeless. He's Keanu Reeves, and meeting him is an excellent adventure.

The first time we met, three years ago, Keanu was pure Ted. He strolled into a Los Angeles hotel wearing a grungy T-shirt, a ratty blue sweat jacket, and torn jeans. His hair? Uneven, dirty, failing in his eyes...

Fast-forward to the present. Another hotel, this time in New York City. The 30-year-old actor looks, in his own words, "hunkster studly." His hair is cropped Air Force short and he's wearing a sleek khaki suit. But don't freak out. Keanu hasn't gone from Speed action-hero man to slow businessman. He is definitely still part dude.

1. How did you get to the hotel? Take the bus?

Oh no. I never, ever take the bus. But I dream about buses every night.

2. Are you psyched that Speed was such a megahit?

I like that the movie is so imaginative, man. I wanted the SWAT guy I played to be "every-guy," not this hunkster studly, but sort of sensitive. There is this humanity in the picture. We even reshot a couple of the action scenes because the emotions weren't there. For example, after the bus blows up, when Sandra Bullock and I look at each other and get very emotional, we shot it one day and weren't happy with it. So we came back to the set the next day and asked to do it again. We wanted those characters to have a real relationship, and it was all in the looks they gave each other.

3. What do you think of your new title, Keanu Reeves, Superstar?

How nice of people to say that. But it's not a reality to me. I'm a very private person. People talk to me about my career and sometimes I ask, "What career?" I guess I can be very uncomfortable with a lot of attention. Basically, I'm a person who doesn't want too much.

4. Did you really risk life and bod for some of those Speed stunts?

Yeah! I jumped out of a moving Jaguar into the bus. It was cool. My adrenaline was really pumping, I was also under the moving bus, which was going about 30 miles an hour. Remember the part where I dismantle the bomb? Well, it's really me under the bus. It's sort of weird to have a bus on top of your face, but it's all really safe. The stunt guys make sure you can't get hurt.

5. Weren't you afraid?

Nah. I was running and jumping and playing. I enjoyed it.

6. What does scare you?

I'm not claustrophobic, but then I've never been trapped in an elevator for 25 hours, so who knows? I don't go in caves because I'm afraid of the dark.

7. What were you like as a kid?

[Laughing] Younger and more afraid of the dark. Actually, I had an interesting childhood. We traveled. Sometimes we had cooks and sometimes we ate generic food. It was weird. A real free existence. I call it "Attention to more, but with less."

8. When did you know you wanted to act?

When I was 15 and a half I said to my mother that I wanted to be an actor. Period. It was settled. From then on, I started to take acting lessons. I was always working on scenes. The weird thing is I don't know what made me tell my mom that I wanted to act. But I did.

9. What's so cool about acting?

It's about investigating life. I can explore who I am and how I feel. Hopefully, I'll get to continue acting till I die.

10. Speaking of acting till you die, in your next movie, Johnny Mnemonic, don't you play some cyberdude with a data chip in his brain who's being chased by killers?

I play this guy who doesn't have an altruistic bone in his body. He's very self-centered. Very angular, My suits are sharp angles. I got to work with a lot of shapes and emotions of shapes.

11. Oh. Okay. Next question. What about the other movie you just finished?

It's called A Walk in the Clouds. That movie wasn't physically tough, it was mentally tough. It's about a World War II officer coming home who meets a Mexican girl who's traveling from college to her home in Northern California to work the vineyard harvest with her family. She's single and pregnant. I'm married, but I'm on the road trying to sell chocolates. I tell her, "Why don't I pretend to be your husband for a night to save you from shame? I'll leave in the morning and never come back." That way she can say I abandoned her and the baby. I'm the rat. I start to do that, but we fall in love. It's a big turmoil.

12. How do you feel about that California art college offering a course on the films of Keanu Reeves?

I just asked myself, Why, why, why? But I was also kind of curious. I read an article that said the teacher was interested in the detachment that he felt I brought to some of the pieces I've done and the variety of genres. The teacher uses it as a launching point to talking about storytelling.

13. Here's a big one: How would you like to change the world?

We should make the world a kinder, more respectful and passionate place. Like the Little Buddha says, "To learn is to change. The path to enlightenment is in the middle way."

14. Other then acting, what else is your passion?

I don't like anything else to the same extent. But I've done some things for Pediatric AIDS and I've given some money to the homeless. Doing good makes me feel good.

15. What's the one thing about you that most people don't know?

I recite Shakespeare to calm myself down. I love Shakespeare. When I was 18, I did Romeo and Juliet onstage. It's very relaxing when you read it out loud. Try it. I really like Hamlet. I'm doing it onstage soon and I'm learning my lines, right now.

16. What do you do for fun?

I play hockey. I'm in a couple of leagues and I'm a goalie.

17. And what worries you?

That if I died, all they would put on my grave was "He Played Ted." But I don't worry about that anymore.

The American Cinematheque tribute to Denzel W. will air on the third of March on AMC.

Keanu will be on, looking oh-so-yummy in this tux.

Who wants to tape it for me?

Just over 2 years ago, Keanu Reeves did the Charlie Rose show. It's really one of the best interviews I've seen him do.
This is a "homemade" transcript typed up by Lori H. of DogstarFans.

Charlie Rose: Keanu Reeves is here. He was born in Beirut and raised in Toronto. Began his career on the stage, appearing in such plays as The Tempest and The Crucible. Convinced he wouldn't find a film career in Canada, he moved to Los Angeles at 20. He first came to audiences' attention with his critically acclaimed performance as an alienated teenager in the 1987 film, The River's Edge. Since then he has become one of Hollywood's busiest actors, appearing in more than 35 films. Yet his choices have not always been conventional. He was has balanced blockbuster action films like Speed and The Matrix, and smaller independent films like My Own Private Idaho and The Last Time I Committed Suicide. This month he can be seen in two films, The Gift and Sweet November. I am pleased to have him here for the very first time. Welcome.

Keanu Reeves: Thank you sir.

CR: I really am pleased to have you here.

KR: Thanks. Thanks.

CR: Did I say that about right? Did you recognize...

KR: I did actually. That sounded, um, that sounded very familiar, all of that, yeah.

CR: So where do you put The Gift in all of this? Sort of going back and forth between.

KR: Um, where do I put it... Well, I think...

CR: Well, I'll tell you where I put it. I put it with a great costar, Cate Blanchett, and a great director. That would have been enough for me, right there.

KR: Yeah, I mean it was... and Giovanni Ribisci and Hillary Swank, and uh, it was an incredible cast. And I'm a fan of Sam Raimi's. And, um, when, um, when I read the script, and when I saw the part, and, you know, I met with Mr. Raimi to get the part. It was very exciting. It was fun. Cause for me, at the time, right now, I considered it a break. It's a part that I haven't had a chance to play recently, so it was uh, for me it was, uh, as an actor, a great opportunity to do something like that.

CR: Tell me about the part.

KR: Donnie Barksdale. Can I swear on this show?

CR: Yes, of course.

KR: I can?

CR: Yes! (laughing)

KR: Well, I called him Donnie mother-[bleeped] Barksdale. (Charlie laughs) Because uh... what about him? Well, he's cast as a, I guess he's uh... well, he's a wife beater.

CR: Yeah, he's a monstrous man.

KR: Well, I call him a good husband. (Charlie chuckles) And that's very, you know. Yes, a loving husband, who uh, his wife is going to a card reader, you know, who Cate Blanchett is playing, whose meddling in my marriage and I want to stop that. And Donnie is, uh... you know, he likes to use his physical power. You know, he likes to, to um, to overwhelm like that. And so, going into that, and learning about that was, um, quite a journey.

CR: How did you do it?

KR: Ah well, at first when I got to - we filmed in Savannah GA - when I got there, I met up with some people who deal with, uh, spousal abuse. And I kinda wanted to find out clinically how they define it. And what goes on. Some of the dynamics there. Found out that the male is often times abused physically, emotionally...

CR: Frequently

KR: Yeah

CR: You go back and find as a child there some were problems.

KR: Yeah, and through that there's a kind of helplessness. And that generally, sometimes they say, psychologically that they're into being able to help either the mother or themselves. And they lose a kind of voice, and that they... I mean, this is clinically, I have no idea... but anyway so where I came from was that he, uh... they can't express themselves. They have no kind of way to deal with what they're feeling except through...

CR: Except by inflicting violence on someone else.

KR: Yeah, but not... generally their spouse or partner. In the normal world, they have no problem dealing with being under a woman, say in business. There's nothing like that. And it tends to, I mean, generally they can be that. And they tend to be charming. I mean there's so many things, I could go on for a while. But then, for me, when we were getting there, just to deal with... I remember Sam Raimi - we had a wonderful, uh, improvisation to try and find the relationship, Hillary, I and Sam, in his trailer in Savannah - and he was like, 'ok, let's spend an evening with the Donnie Barksdales here.' And I had to confront my wife, Hillary, about seeing this card reader, who is meddling. She'd say, 'I didn't see her, Donnie. We're just friends.' And I'd say, 'you're lying.' I kept saying, 'you're lying.' And Sam said, 'ok, you're negotiating with her. Every time you say, 'you're lying,' hit her.' [pause] And uh, so that was uh... that's where we learned about what goes on there.

CR: Do you do this kind of preparation for most roles, or only those that you think have some richness that you can find out and get inside the head of the character?

KR: Yeah, of course, that's what you try to do. Understand and discover for yourself about, you know, what is the person thinking, to be a... What are they feeling, What are the circumstances? Whatever it takes.

CR: Is this the first film he [Raimi] made since... what was the last one?

KR: It was Kevin Costner...

CR: A Simple Plan?

KR: Was it A Simple Plan? Then he had For The Love Of The Game. Came after A Simple Plan.

CR: Roll tape. Here's a clip.

[clip of Donnie telling Annie's son his momma's a witch.]

[When they cut back to CR & KR, they both repeat Ribisci's line, "I intend to, Donnie," and kind of laugh.]

CR: You seem to be, to me, an actor who in a sense, could do a lot of things, but you work very... you choose, and um, in a sense you basically say, 'I'm gonna do this on my own terms.' I mean, everybody knows about your love of music, and that you have made, at critical times, a preferred choice to play music rather than act. Or is that simple not true?

KR: Nnnoooo, that's not true.

CR: Not true?

KR: Not true. No. That kind of was born, I believe, when a while back there was a film... they were gonna do a sequel to Speed. And I think then, that turned into... cause when I decided not to do it, that became, 'well, he wants to play his music and not do that.' But that was...

CR: In fact, you just didn't want to do the film.

KR: Yeah, I couldn't do the film. In the state that I was in.

CR: What do you mean by that?

KR: Well, I had just done an action film, and I was basically tired of running. And, um, the script was not up to par, etc. It's a long story. But, um, it's been one of my hopes, to uh, to be able to act in different genres and to play different, you know, different kinds of parts.

CR: But you have that now, don't you? You can do that. You're saying that you hope, but you can.

KR: I'm trying to.

CR: Or are you saying you can't.

KR: Well, as much as it can be. I mean, I'm still... you know, I'm not producing the films. So you still kind of have, you know, your begging bowl out. And hopefully you can have that happen.

CR: Are you going after films? I mean, are you in pursuit of roles that you hear about, or you know about, and that you say, 'that's one I wanna do.'

KR: Yeah, I have in the past. Right now I'm in The Matrix. And so it's... We started training for The Matrix. But in the past, you know...

CR: You're doing what?

KR: I did a film called The Matrix...

CR: I know, right. You're gonna do another one?

KR: Yeah, they're going to do two at the same time. And we just started training. We've been training for about 2 months.

CR: Training means rehearsal, or training means something else?

KR: There's some... they have, um, kung fu sequences... fighting, action sequences, that they want us to be able to perform. So we about... I have about 5 months of training for that. So but, before then, yes. I mean, yes definitely, trying to, you know, there's this part and... My manager, Edwin Stoff and I just try to, um, keep our eyes out for different kinds of films. Different scales, different topics, and different parts.

CR: Well you seem to be positioned where you'd like to be? Or not?

KR: Today things, you know, knock on wood [knocks on table], you know are okay.

CR: What would you want you don't have?

[Both laugh.]

KR: Oh my god, well... how long is the show? (Charlie laughs.)

CR: Give me a couple.

[It's quite obvious that Keanu doesn't know what to say here.]

KR: What would I say to that? Um... what would I want that I don't have. Well, I... you know it's just, uh... no, I'm very grateful for what's happening today. I'm participating in a wonderful film. I'm working with great people. And hopefully those kinds will make a good film. I mean really, it's about... hopefully, that things that I work in can... will... when I see the film, it'll be like, 'ok, that's why I did it.' Sometimes you'll do something and you'll look at it and it'll be like, 'what happened to the film that I was in?'

CR: The Matrix did well.

KR: Yeah, people really enjoyed it.

CR: But you want to do it again because it's a great commercial success, or because you liked the character?

KR: I love the character. I love the scripts that Larry and Andy Wachowski, the writers and directors, have created. You know, the people I work with.

CR: And whose back from the original film?

KR: Hugo Weaving, Laurence Fishburne, Carrie-Ann Moss.

CR: Fishburne's back?

KR: Yeah, he played Morpheus.

CR: And what kind of training are you doing?

KR: Movie Kung-Fu training. (Charlie laughs.) More training, more pain. Stretching...

CR: But it's good for you.

[Both laugh.]

KR: That's what they keep telling us.

CR: Do they really?

KR: Yes. But in training, training--pain is good.

CR: They keep saying training and pain is good? Or the pain is good for training?

KR: Yes, when you have the pain, it's good training. And not the pain like broken bones.

CR: Feel the pain.

KR: Feel the pain. If you have the gift of pain, in which you receive. It's, it's crazy.

CR: [laughing] If you give them pain, they'll give you...

KR: You'll be able to be a better performer. Suffering for our art.

CR: Just to show you how agile we are at this, we have a clip from The Matrix.

KR: You do?

CR: Yes! Roll tape.

[partial clip of Neo and Morpheus fighting, ending with Neo being flipped in the air by Morpheus.]

CR: My god!

KR: It's beautiful, isn't it?

CR: It is! You got something from this.

KR: Yeah... um, yeah. But if when I speak about it, ah, the best thing were the relationships with the people I worked with, with Lawrence...

CR: Let me just stay with The Matrix for a second.

KR: Sure. (Charlie laughs.)

CR: Why not?

KR: Why not?

CR: Is it easier for you, because you're simply taking your character, which you've already created, you're just taking him to another adventure. So, therefore, this is considerably easier than starting from the beginning.

KR: [in humorous tone] Oh gosh, I wish it was that easy, Charlie. I wish it was. Actually, I don't wish it was that easy.

CR: You DON'T wish it was that easy.

KR: I don't wish it was that easy, actually. No, but I mean, but that's, uh... when we were starting training, I was speaking to everyone, I was like... we've gone through something, but we cannot assume that we know what we're doing. Not to cut out our past experience, but to come afresh and new. I guess I was really talking to myself. But just, that you can't assume anything.

CR: Alright, let me talk about Sweet November. We've got a couple of clips here. Tell me about that.

KR: Thanks. Uh, Sweet November is a film directed by Pat O'Connor. And, uh, it stars myself and Charlize Theron. And uh, a romance. And uh, I guess the premise is about, um, a woman who gets involved in relationships with men for a month at a time to try and heal them. And I play a, uh, ad executive who, um, is very work oriented, to the sacrifice of his capability or desire for intimacy, for any kind of compassion. He's just a very driven person. And uh, then she decides to try to help me, as she says.

CR: Charlize Theron.

KR: Yes. She's going to help me. And I'm like, I don't need any help, you know. Which of course I do. And uh, eventually I kind of have a nervous breakdown and come to nothing. And that's when I agree to spending a month with her. And it's about what happens.

CR: And what happens? That's the movie.

KR: Well, that's the film. And then and what happens is there's a plot twist, and it turns out she's ill. And, uh, I guess in the end it's about choices.

CR: And how people can help each other.

KR: Yes.

CR: Roll tape. This is a scene right after Nelson, your character, and Sara, Charlize, meet for the first time within the context of what we just said. Here it is.

[clip of Nelson approaching Sara in parking lot; she is sitting on his car.]

CR: Charlize.

KR: Charlize Theron.

CR: You're working with very good people, between Cate Blanchett and Charlize Theron.

KR: Oh my gosh, that's um, those are two of the finest actresses I've ever worked with. Charlize is great in this picture. Really some of the best work I've ever seen her do.

CR: How do you feel about all of this? (Charlie pulls out the February 2001 issue of Vanity Fair with Keanu on the cover.)

KR: (in a very humorous tone) Well, Charlie, that's a long story, that um, I don't know. (Charlie starts to laugh. Keanu leans across the table.) That guy doesn't look too happy.

CR: (still laughing) No, he doesn't.

KR: He's like, 'whaddya want? Whaddya doin'?'

CR: I mean, do you do this because you want to, or do you do this because it's good for you, or you do this because it's part of what you do? I mean, people would kill to be on the cover of Vanity Fair.

KR: Right. Well, I wanted to kill when I was on the cover of Vanity Fair, but it was a different dynamic. (Charlie laughing.) No, no, I, I feel, I feel lucky...

CR: (still laughing) I knew we'd get somewhere with this.

KR: (very amused) Yeah, we haven't been anywhere before this, huh Charlie? (picks up water glass) I need a drink.

CR: No, no, no, no.

KR: No, I'm kidding. But no, ah yes, I consider it, um, for me it's part of work. It's a part of work.

CR: Zen and the art of Keanu Reeves. There's more to him...

KR: There's more! There's more to me. (Charlie chuckles)

CR: There's more to him than sex,

KR: sex (repeating on the beat after Charlie)

CR: drugs,

KR: drugs

CR: and rock and roll. And what is that, more to him?

KR: I guess it's the Zen part. (Charlie is still laughing) I guess, I don't know.

CR: And what's the Zen part?

KR: You know, they said it, I don't know.

CR: But is it true?

KR: Absolutely not. None of that's actually true.

CR: None of it? Look at this. (Charlie is holding up the magazine and it is open to the beginning of Keanu's interview.)

KR: Absolutely none of it.

CR: (reading from the magazine) Keanu, from both sides now... provokes truly fanatic devotion and some extreme resentment. But why? After making 35 movies, including two of the 90s' biggest action blockbusters, Speed and The Matrix, he is a Hollywood model of humble integrity, a low-key dude [great reaction from Keanu to the word, dude] whose idea of fun is going to Murray, Kentucky, with his band, Dogstar...

KR: Oh my gosh.

CR: ...With three new Reeves movies on deck and two Matrix sequels to follow, the 36-year-old star talks to Ned Zeman about Keanu-mania (Charlie begins to chuckle), why he's great in some parts and not in others...

KR: You know I read that and I couldn't put it down. (Charlie laughs) I was just sucked in by that. More! More!

CR: (still laughing) This is a page-turner, isn't it? (Charlie is flipping the pages.)

KR: Oh my god, get me to the sex and drugs and rock and roll.

CR: Tell me about the music, though. I mean, is the music a part of your life? Is it a serious part of your life? Dogstar is a big deal for you?

KR: Well, we've been, I've been playing in the band for 6 or 7 years now. So, yes. I really... it's been great. The fraternite of the band. And to tour. To have, you know, the great journeys that the band has taken. The places that we've gone. Touring the states. We've toured the states like 4 times, and been to Japan 4 times... been to Europe. And, you know, some of the incredible situations we find ourselves in. Being on the tour bus, and leading that kind of pirate life once in a while. And more than that, just, you know, to be able to play shows with the band and people.

CR: Is it any way more satisfying than acting?

KR: Uh, no. No.

CR: No. I mean, acting is what satisfies you the most.

KR: When acting goes... when I... for me, it's a kind of liberation. When it goes well, it's just a... whew... it's a kind of liberation. And uh... happy.

CR: How often does that like...

KR: It happens like once... (Keanu realizes he cut Charlie off) excuse me.

CR: No no no... (they are both incredibly polite)

KR: Go ahead.

CR: I mean, is it like sports, you know... people will say about golf. You'll so be frustrated and then you'll have a perfect... you'll hit it in a sweet spot. (Keanu points off into the air to that sweet spot) And it's like the sheer feeling of that brings you back and back and back.

KR: Yeah, I've never experienced that, but I, um... that sounds familiar.

CR: OK, but tell me, you have experienced it in acting?

KR: Yes, definitely.

CR: And what is it in acting? What's the... tell me about what it is in acting that's equivalent to what we've just said in terms of sports.

KR: Well, it's um... I guess it's a loss of self. I mean, it's that kind of liberation. Where there's just, I mean, that moment for me, and in that moment, there's a kind of elation. And there's a communion, and it's something that's completely unconscious... completely... I don't know, the word I just keep using is liberated. Whew.

CR: Is it the connection to the character and where the character...

KR: The character and the interplay, and uh... I don't know. I guess, just that moment of pretend.

CR: But is it something... forgive my naivete... is it something that you pursue? I mean is that what you're looking for? Or is that something you say, if you get that, you just thank God you got it and that's it. But you can't pursue it because it's unachievable. It just happens because of a confluence of all the right things.

KR: Yeah, yeah. I mean, you can... yeah, yeah. And you can hope that it happens. I guess that's why it's all about everything that goes into being that moment. Everything that everyone works on before that moment, goes into that time, and hopefully... If you do feel that, that means it's an authentic connection at that moment. We are communicating something about our humanity, about being alive. And that could be a moment of comedy; that could be a dramatic moment; it could be in a gesture.

CR: Do you find it in music too? Occasionally?

KR: Yeah, yeah. There's certain times when we've written songs with the band, where we don't know where we're going, but we're creating something. Or there have been times when we've played a show where I could feel the unity of the band and the audience. You know, it's just, quite exhilarating.

CR: Who were the shaping influences on you growing up?

KR: Shaping influences?

CR: Yeah, who made a difference for you.

KR: Ah, I guess it started with some of the teachers I had. Yeah. When I was a kid, certain teachers, the way that they treated me. Um, the way they allowed me to be. Um, in acting, um, Carol Rosenfeld. I had certain teachers that I worked with.

CR: Was this after you came to Los Angeles?

KR: No, this is all in Toronto. I guess I was like 15, 16, when I put myself into an acting class, working out of Uta Hagen's, Respect For Acting.

CR: Now I know Uta Hagen, but is that a book?

KR: Yeah, it's a book.

CR: Called Respect For Acting.

KR: Respect For Acting. I just remember being 16, the youngest person in this class at 7 o'clock at night in Toronto. Just trying to figure it out, just because I wanted to act. But, um, so yes, some teachers that I had.

CR: Your dad left home early.

KR: Right, right.

CR: So there was no father figure.

KR: No, no, and that has certainly been a major, of course, aspect.

CR: I think people who do what... it just seems to me... I mean, I didn't really know what I was going to do, and how, even now, how it's all gonna turn out. You know you do things well and you know life has been good to you, but boy, to be... I admire you, and people who... athletes that I know who, who when they were 7 wanted to be an Olympic star, or wanted to be in the Olympics; wanted to be good. Or people like you, who at 16, were so caught up with passion for...

KR: Yeah, I felt lucky at the time because I remember as we were through school, that transition from grade school to high school, then from high school to college. All of my friends were trying to figure out what they wanted to be or how they wanted to get work, you know. And I knew. I knew.

CR: The other great thing about it is A) you knew and it turned out right. [Keanu knocks on the table, Charlie does the same thing] Exactly, that's exactly right (agreeing with Keanu's 'knock on wood'). A) And you got a chance to do it, because of talent, because of timing, because of luck, because of relationships.

KR: All of that.

CR: All that kind of stuff.

KR: Yes, yes.

CR: The sheer notion of people - I think it must be maybe 1% of the population - that is doing things that they love doing, have had the opportunity to do. And the test is how good you can be. I mean, that's really the test. The test is not, in other words, you know, to do it. So many people don't have the chance to get into the arena. Half the battle is getting into the arena.

KR: 'Perseverance, dear my lord, keeps honour bright.' (Quote from Shakespeare's Troilus and Cressida, by the character Ulysses, Act 3, scene 3.) But yeah, yes, definitely, perseverance.

CR: Are there classics that you'd love to do? Wanna do? Have done?

KR: Yeah, I wanna do... I'd like to play MacBeth. I'm a little too old for Romeo.

CR: You know what MacBeth has done to people.

KR: Yes, I know. I actually asked like Werner Hertzog one night - quite late night - I said, 'Werner.' He said, 'yes?' 'In 10 years, will you direct me in MacBeth?' He's like, 'OK.' I don't know what I'm asking for... that's kind of like the... talk about naïve. But anyway, it's one of the, uh...

CR: It is. I just did a long piece with Peter O'Toole...

KR: Ah, that is a man, who, excuse me... when you talk about who affected me. I remember he was one of the actors that I watched as a young kid that made me want to act. When I saw The Ruling Class, I was, my I... there was such joy in his acting. I was like, I want to be able to do that. Ah, I once went backstage in London, to meet him. Cause I had worked with Bertulucci, and he had worked with him, so I had liked begged him, cause I wanted to go meet him. So we sat in the back; he had like Egyptian slippers on... I'm sorry, so anyway...

CR: No, no, you finish, you finish.

KR: You go ahead.

CR: I'll come back to it.

KR: No, you go ahead.

CR: Peter will love the fact that we're sitting here talking about him. So, you went backstage...

KR: No, anyway, that's the end of the story. Just that I'm such a fan of his. And he's someone that had an impact on my life with his craft, and, uh, his spirit.

CR: MacBeth was a disaster.

KR: I hear it was one of the biggest disasters. What did he say?

CR: He said - there's a piece of this interview which I'll give you to take home and watch it, because you like him so much - he said that people not only said that he was bad, but said it was the worst MacBeth they'd ever seen. It was an insult to Shakespeare, to MacBeth, to the theatre, to the audience, to everyone. It was almost, he said, so bad, they interpreted it,

KR: Yeah.

CR: that he enjoyed the fact...

KR: Catastrophic. (Both are laughing) The joy of that.

CR: The joy that I have made so many people, so angry...

KR: Oh, well, maybe I shouldn't... I should be careful.

CR: No, well, no, you should talk to Peter before you do.

KR: I should call him up?

CR: You know what I think he would say? I think Peter would say, 'do it.' He would say 'do it.' His whole sense of risk. His whole sense of

KR: Yeah.

CR: just go up there and do it, and do it the way you want to do it.

KR: Right. (Keanu has been enthralled throughout all of this.)

CR: There's a great story he tells, too, about how he and Burton, decided while they were doing one of their... Beckett or something...

KR: Wow. (Keanu is obviously loving this.)

CR: They're both going to do... they want to both do Hamlet on stage. And so O'Toole found out that Burton was going to do it in New York, directed by Gielgud.

KR: Wow.

CR: And so this was going to be in New York. It was the famous Burton Hamlet,

KR: Right.

CR: And in fact, there's copies now - they filmed his performance on stage - you can get it in black and white in video stores. So, O'Toole went to Olivier - who had been trying to get him to come to the National (The National Theatre in London) -

KR: Right.

CR: O'Toole said, 'there's something I've always wanted to do. Would you direct me in Hamlet?' And he said, 'I will if you'll do this for me.' And so, therefore, he got to do Hamlet. And so they were both doing Hamlet...

KR: Dueling Hamlets.

CR: Dueling Hamlets.

KR: Fantastic.

CR: Richard Burton in New York and Peter O'Toole in London. Gielgud directing one, and Olivier directing the other.

KR: And how were they received?

CR: Very well.

KR: Very well. God, I would have loved to have... There's a story about Gielgud. He was going to play in Hamlet. All the actors are around the table, and opening the script. And here's John Gielgud, and he's sitting there. And this young actor has the first line, 'who's there.' And he is like 'who's there?' And Gielgud supposedly says (Keanu puts on a haughty British accent), 'Oh, he's not going to do it like that, is he?' (Both men are laughing.) The first table read! 'Oh no.'

CR: The first time.

KR: Right. 'He's not going to do it like...' and the kid is like, oh god.

CR: There's a famous story about Olivier - Roddy McDowell I think has told this story - that, maybe it was in MacBeth, maybe it was Hamlet, maybe it was whatever classic that Olivier did time after time after time. He had reached one of those moments, in his performance - not just a particular scene, but his performance and so, they're rushing backstage to say, 'Larry, you were wonderful, you were wonderful.' He had his head like this (Charlie covers his face with his hands). He said, 'why are you down? Why are you depressed?' And he said, 'I know, but I don't know why, I don't know how. I know how good it was, but I don't know if I can ever do it again.' [pause] Congratulations to you. It's great to have you here.

KR: Thank you.

CR: It really is. I'm honored to meet you, and I admire your work. Keanu Reeves. We'll be right back.

[end of segment]

--------credits:

This was typed up by Lori H. of DogstarFans. Also thanks to Wrygrass (who I believe helped with the transcript).
All images are from Keanuland.com's screen captures. More grabs of the show can be found here.

Well, if the coverage of the Enter the Matrix release is any type of indication, the Reloaded/Revolutions movie releases are going to be freaking insane.

MTV, USA Today and CNN all have stories.
There's an incredible amount of pictures out there. All of Mr. Reeves and his spiffy beanie. All sorts of pics and links to more pics can be found at Club-Keanu and Keanuette's blog, and Keanuweb has a nice page going on, as well.

This doesn't look like fun at all, does it?

All part of the job though, and good for him. I'm sure it was a fun night. Joel throws the best parties.
There are actually pictures of him smiling in the links above :)

I guess when Keanu was asked about playing video games he responded with
"I don't actually, I'm an old school cat, I play pinball."
Color me unsuprised.

Update:
Video Clip!

(via Keanuette)

Oh yeah...duh!
Footage of last night's wingding on Entertainment Tonight and Access Hollywood. Check your local listings, yadda-yadda....

Sorry, I'm late with this.

This is a great picture from last night's soirée. Some more can be found at Yahoo news photos.

And there's also some others at Club-Keanu.

I like his hat.

A nice way to start the morning...no?
Now where's my damn coffee?

There's a bit on the Matrix in February's Empire mag, thanks to Wrygrass for scanning the pic and sharing the article, where my ex-boyfriend Joel gets a little snarky.

"Without naming names, Matrix producer Joel Silver freely admits that in the past he has overseen some pre-packaged, formulaic and, let's face it, piss-poor sequels. "Usually, we've made something out of something that was never supposed to be there," Silver admits, "and sometimes they work better than others. But they were never meant to be, they were just sort of willed into existence," However, Silver is keen to point out that The Matrix Reloaded and The Matrix Revolutions are different. For starters, the mysterious (they never give interviews) Wachowski siblings always perceived Neo's adventures as a trilogy, so these films are not 'sequels' in the traditional sense. "This story did exist," Silver says, "and the purpose of the first movie was to set up a world and a situation which would allow the characters to live so the story could continue." That said, it was only when those first weekend grosses ($28 million in the US) were counted that Warners would even listen to sequel pitches. "We didn't know that it would continue, we just hoped it would," Silver says, keen to point out that the $63 million-budgeted first movie was a surprise smash. "Actually, the first script ended further on than the first movie ended - you actually went to Zion, which we really felt we just couldn't do [on the budget]."A 250-day, back-to-back shoot in Sydney and an estimated $300 million budget proves that this time, Silver and the boys have all the money and toys they could ever want. And virtually the first thing the filmmakers demanded was the back-to-back releases - Reloaded in May, Revolutions in November - a release pattern that hasn't been attempted since Back To The Future Parts II and III, 14 years ago. "The boys felt they didn't want to wait [another] three years," Silver says simply. If you think of the next two installments as one movie cut in half - as both directors do - then the result is the first billion-dollar movie since Titanic."

Thank you to Rhonda for sending me the link to this fun article from Sky magazine, 1994

Women who love Keanu too much
Sky, October 94 (UK):

What's Keanu got that other stud-muffins haven't? A million obsessed women could tell you, and Toni Rodgers is one of them

There is a poster of Keanu Reeves and it's the best poster of him in the whole world. I know this because many people have told me so. Its popularity has nothing to do with photographic technique (grainy black and white); nothing to do with the allurinng nuance of his expression; and, regrettably, nothing to do with him not wearing many clothes at all. No, the overriding attraction of this image proves, once and for all, that size matters. This is the best poster in the whole word because it is life-size. A leather-jeaned, leather-jerkined Keanu (only Keanu can lose the jerk in jerkin), cloned to six-foot-something printed perfection.
This picture graces most Holly Hobbit-wallpapered, Laura Ashley-bedcovered, Zig and Zag-slipper filled teenage girls' rooms in the land. It also graces my friend Lexy's. A 23-year-old Cambridge graduate who works in something to do with digital information networks, Lexy lives in the sort of flat where you're offered balsamic vinegar for your fish and chips.

Keanu is lovingly (and largely) stuck to her bedroom door. "Doesn't such an ... um ... obvious crush [i.e., teenage-type tendency to garnish your bedroom with overblown, some would say immature, posters] come between you and your boyfriends?" I asked one day. "No," she retorted, archly. "My boyfriends come between me and Keanu."

Owners of a Life-size Keanu Part Two: my mate Fan (hey, how, like, appropriate). Keanu's place of residence: the toilet door. "So," I queried, one day, "doesn't Mike [her partner] mind your poster?" "Hmph," she replied, and before aspersions could be cast, she continued...

One evening, Fan had been musing on how it would feel to actually be with Keanu Reeves. And what with his feet being too high off the ground to get an accurate measure, she carefully peeled him off the wall and lay him on the living-room floor. And prostrated herself on top of him, foot to foot, knee to knee... just to see how it would feel, you understand. Only Mike, who came in from work a tad earlier than usual, didn't quite see it that way.

After a ranting tirade about Keanu's lack of acting skills, Mike slammed out of the room, but not before stopping to lob one last jibe: "I always knew I'd have a problem respecting a woman who liked Keanu Reeves."

Which kind of paraphrases another incident that occurred between my friend Jodie and her new man. Having caught the bus home together they were playing "You show me your bus-pass photo and I'll show you mine." Jay's was fine - he looked like something out of a Quentin Tarantino movie. Jodie's was fine. Except neatly lined up next to her own photo was a teen-mag sticker of Keanu Reeves. And uniting the two of them was another sticker bearing the following slogan: I love him -->.

Jay's comment? "You fucking saddo."

Now this suggests troubled times ahead for Mike and Jay. For I can swear, hand on my Keanu dream-boy T-shirt, that women who don't like the one of Keanu straddling his Norton Commando are rarer than shots of Pamela Anderson in a polo-neck. So what is it about Keanu that makes him so universally lusted-after by women? What sets him apart from all the Johnnys, Christians, Brads and Ethans? What makes a 10-year-old-girl stick a poster of him on her bedroom wall and thirtysomething Emma Thompson thank him in her BAFTA acceptance speech for Much Ado About Nothing for "getting undressed in front of me"?

Well, there's the short, sharp, shallow answer: he's desperately beautiful. There's the we'd-like-to-be-intellectuals-but-wouldn't-say-no-to-a-shag argument: "All his leading women are strong inspirational characters - think Lori Petty in Point Break and Sandra Bullock in Speed."

But no, the real point about Keanu is this. He might be the perfect modern guy whose soul you can bond with (you won't catch him phwooaring over Pamela Anderson photos in a self-consciously laddy way or fretting about his masculinity like your average confused 90s bloke). And yet, whether by luck or judgment, the publicity-wary Keanu has managed to retain that thing so elusive to a modern movie star: mystery. He doesn't desperately date supermodels, turn up at baseball matches with Madonna or have a posse of naff personal bodyguards. And, unlike most devastatingly good-looking men, he doesn't have the I-know-I'm-beautiful swagger (cocky Tom Cruise, virtually any male supermodel). Somehow the fact that he's so unconscious of his beauty makes him more male. But what really sets Keanu apart from Christian, Johnny etc. is that you feel you don't know him. And if you did know him he might be, unlike Christian etc. etc., interesting. OK, so I know this sounds hopelessly corny - that's the problem with explaining Keanu, especially to men. It all comes out horribly wrong, You start mentioning words like "Zen," "Complex," "Beautiful, generous goofball" and "That curious open quality," and they fall about laughing.

Still, while we're explaining, guys, we also like the way he says the word "Fuck." It's inimitably endearing. Hugh Grant should take note.

Let us briefly backtrack to my Keanu dream-boy T-shirt. An item of many modish qualities (designed to fit a robust 10-year-old, adorned with a distorted Keanu head and equally illegible graphics), it was last night being sported by moi down my local.

"Cool T-shirt," says bloke, with smiley, thumbs-up gesture.

Me: "Cheers."

He: "Who's the picture of?"
Me: "Keanu."

He: "Oh, riiiiiight... you're using him as a kitsch cultural icon are you?"

Me: "Nah, I'm just being a fan."

He: "Nah. You're just being crap." Exeunt.

Let's now take another boy's view of Keanu. My mate Jack was getting on pretty well with Lily. They'd been out a few times, shared a few good-night kisses. And then one night she asked him in for "coffee." Jack sat in the living room while Lily made like a Gold Blend ad. Tired of making conversation through a hatch, Jack entered the kitchen.

And there he was. Keanu. Life-size. But this wasn't just any old usage of The Best Poster in the World. This was a deification. Wilting daisy chains were stuck around his neck. Fresh flowers blossomed in a vase at his feet. Photos of Lily and her mate Helen were worshipfully collaged around the edge.

Lily took note of Jack's mortified silence. "That's our shrine to Keanu," she said, with an "Oh yeah, that's my brother on his graduation day" blandness. Still Jack didn't speak.

"This," she said, pointing to a folded piece of cardboard with Keanu Reeves typed on it, "Is HIS place-name from a restaurant in Cannes. He touched it... Look... just here... that's his fingerprint."

Jack was just beginning to wonder how he could get himself off the hook when Lily bowled him over. "And this is a bottle of massage oil like the one they used on Keanu in Much Ado About Nothing. I've always wanted to re-enact that scene. [Pause] Interested?" Jack now thinks Keanu isn't so bad - after all, he did do all his own stunts in Point Break and Speed...

Note how, as part of her shrine, Lily had a Keanu Reeves name-card. A mate managed to swipe it when she sat next to him at dinner. Keanu's like that. Mortals get to share napkins with him; have a drink with him; go clubbing with him; knock on his hotel door and have it answered by him; meet him once and then have him pull up in his car as he drives by some days later to say "Hi"; I know this, because all of the above have happened to friends of mine.

Take my mate Jane, a journalist. She heard that Keanu needed someone to get him access to the retirement home of the British gentry, the Reform Club - it was during the shooting of Dracula and Keanu wanted to brush up on his English accent (see, at least he tries). Jane trawled through her entire family till she found some distant, white-haired fogey who had membership. A date was set.

Keanu, Jane and the old duffer spent a lovely evening drinking gin together until finally Keanu had to go. Being a polite young man, he asked Jane if she'd like to continue her evening with him - dining with Richard E. Grant and Grant's wife. Unthinkingly, Jane said no thank you, she'd already agreed to meet some mates at a pub in Brixton (I know, don't even ask). So Keanu went off to order cabs for everyone. Half an hour later, Jane arrived at her destination and asked the driver how much she owed him. " Nothing," came the reply. "The American bloke who booked the car settled up in advance."

Keanu Reeves. Desperately beautiful generous goofball, complex Zen possessor of that curious open quality, subject of the Pasadena, California, college course "Keanu Reeves 101" and $7 million-a-movie-commanding actor, we salute our life-size posters of you. Guys, you wouldn't understand: it's a girl thing.

--------Toni Rodgers

OK- what I really need to know is, do these posters still exist?
Is this the poster that inspired the song?
Is it a Brad Fierce picture like the one I included in the entry?
Or....*gasp*...dare I dream it, my favorite coy leatherboy of sidebar fame?
You realize that I MUST HAVE ONE if that's the case.

Thanks to Symbi for this article that was in her local Toronto cable guide~

Rules of Attraction: bizarre, banal, breathtaking
author: Simona Rabinovitch

Keanu Reeves is hot. So hot he's a recurring character in my attempts at writing fiction. So hot he makes cameos in my dreams. So hot that when this vision of nothingness materializes on-screen, I lose my head and blissfully swallow any Keanu-coated illusion he's trying to sell - even the hardened businessman routine in Sweet November. (The film also reveals that Keanu is in dire need of some sun and looks much better as a surfer. But I digress.)

Some may mistake Keanu's vacant prettiness for lack of abilities in the acting department. Fools! Keanu's very allure is his absence of gritty, memorable, or defining qualities; those chiseled-jaw calling cards of traditional leading men. While most actors in Hollywood romances personify one of several multi-faceted stereotypes - tormented musician, sexy criminal, father figure - gorgeous Keanu is whoever you want him to be. The man projects the mysterious blankness normally reserved for A-list actresses, becoming a human canvas on which we can project our fantasies. He's testosterone's answer to the ingenue.

Indeed, Hollywood's rules of attraction can be a little bizarre. Generally speaking, the leading man is fully developed while his female counterpart serves as beautiful accessory. Men want her; women want to be her. She may scamper about being "quirky" and getting her Manolo Blahniks caught in sewers, a feat so famously accomplished by J. Lo in The Wedding Planner. She may blink behind smart-girl glasses and sigh in wistful wait for a man to sweep her off her feet, as per Julia Roberts - henceforth to be known as J. Ro. - in America's Sweethearts. She may giggle profusely, jump into a convertible, and abscond to far-off karaoke bars frequented by undesirables, a la Britney Spears in Crossroads. She may pull an Anabella Sciorra in Mr. Wonderful and divorce working-class hubby Matt Dillon (another flawless specimen) only to realize that first love is all there is. In extreme cases, she may even die, collapsing repeatedly before succumbing to tragic illness, as did the frail Charlize Theron in Sweet November.

Charlize got to make out with Keanu, so her motivations may have been somewhat unique. But as for the rest of the lot, these actresses have beauty, they have brains, they have power. As evidenced by public fascination with their real-life romances - and ensuing scandals - these women are far more complex than their on-screen personas would have us believe. So why perpetuate romantic mythology? Because the sweet sentimentality with which viewers and actors alike identify with said romance proves old habits die hard - and old clichés fit smoothly into prose.

We've heard the criticisms of Hollywood romance a billion times and then some: the unrealistic knight-in-shining armour myth encourages passivity, they say, and doesn't prepare people for the reality of romance. True that. But this rhetoric has become as tiresome as the clichés! Pre-stereotype classics like Room With A View are perfectly charming, and the romantic myths we criticize are, more often than not, the fodder of our secret fantasises. To look into someone's eyes and know that you've known him forever is a timeless human experience that transcends our attempts to interpret it. Yet the appeal of nostalgia should not be underestimated, particularly during this post-everything age of jaded confusion. There's something comforting about tradition, a sense of hope and reassurance that accompanies tear-jerking tales of romance, Hollywood style. Although I generally frown upon third-act introductions of fatal diseases, I cried like a schoolgirl at the end of Sweet November, perversely enjoying every tear.
Blame it on Keanu.

-----

When posed with the question:
"Of course, when your face goes up on the cover of a magazine and they have the words "sex symbol" underneath that, do you just block that out?"

Keanu Reeves replies:
"What do I do with that? It's changed over the years. Basically, I try to -- I think of it as an alternate universe. Once in a while, the gravity from that universe has an effect, but most of the time I try to, you know, not deal with it because it is, you know, it's a fantasy aspect of it, you know. And I hope people enjoy the films I act in, I hope they enjoy my performance. I hope for all of that. But in terms of, like, you know, the top 50, the top 100, the most big, all of that kind of stuff, it's -- it's surreal, to say the least."

It's not on stands yet, (or it wasn't at the Borders I went to) but I might have a type-up for you later.

You will please to be noting that I SO CALLED the "year of the Matrix" thing on the calendar page.
I almost put it on the actual calendar but it was getting too gaudy as it was.

Whoa, I have periodical precognition.

UPDATE: Rhonda and Keanuette rock for sending me this link:

*SPOILERAGE***Consider yourself warned*

The Matrix Makers
One year, two sequels and a revolution in moviemaking. An exclusive look behind the scenes of 2003's hottest flicks. (click to read story)

Go now! there's groovy pictures.

I think the first magazine I bought after really immersing myself in Keanu fandom was this Rolling Stone.

It's a really great interview. All sorts of little treats to be found, like what Rob Mailhouse says about Keanu and his bass...Bret talking about him drinking wine from a coffee cup.
Nice. Chris Heath is a good interviewer, too. Good stuff.
Read on....

The Quiet Man
Interview By Chris Heath - August 2000
While Keanu Reeves chose the most public of professions, he lives the life of a loner. Here he reveals his physical and family scars.

Keanu Reeves' first big spill came in the spring of 1988. He was a twenty-three-year-old Canadian actor, living in Hollywood, who had already shown an odd, edgy presence in River's Edge. The motorcycle accident, on Topanga Canyon Boulevard, one of the twisting links between the Los Angeles Valley and the Pacific Ocean, would leave him with a thick scar rising vertically up his stomach, out of which his damaged spleen was removed. There are many things Keanu Reeves simply will not discuss, but this is not one of them.

"I call that a demon ride," Reeves now reflects. "That's when things are going badly. But there's other times when you go fast, or too fast, out of exhilaration." He was doing about fifty when he hit a hairpin turn. "I remember saying in my head," he says, "'I'm going to die.'"

He lay on the pavement for half an hour before help arrived: "I remember calling out for help. And someone answering out of the darkness, and then the flashing lights of an ambulance coming down. This was after a truck ran over my helmet. I took it off because I couldn't breathe, and a truck came down. I got out of the way, and it ran over my helmet."

What did the experience teach you?

[Dryly] "I should have gone on the brake, released the brake a little bit, leaned into the turn."

No more abstract moral lessons?

"Now I know that if I want to take a demon ride and I don't want to die . . . then I shouldn't take it."

Did that stop you from taking demon rides?

"Yeah. Well, I had to get a couple more out of my system." Reeves smiles. "And I probably have a couple more left."

A conversation with Keanu Reeves is not always easy. He is not overtly obstructive, and he seems to make a huge effort to be polite. But there is an agony involved. For example, I ask him why he acts. For forty-two seconds, he says nothing. Not a word, a grunt, a prevarication, or a hint that an answer might come. For most of that time, his head is angled at ninety degrees away from me, as if that's where the oxygen is.

"Uh," he finally says, "the words that popped into my head were expression and, uh, it's fun."

A few minutes later, I lob a vague question about whether he ever wants to write or direct. He lets out a kind of quiet sigh. At its worst, it's like this. You ask Keanu Reeves a question and . . . just wait. Out in space, planets collide, stars go supernova. On earth, forests fall, animals screech and roar. People shout and rant and weep with anger and joy and just for the hell of it. And, all this time, Reeves sits there, entirely silent.

On this particular occasion, the silence lasts seventy-two seconds. When the answer arrives, it includes no complete sentences and adds up to a vague, unremarkable, "No, not really."

Keanu Reeves has been busy. He has four movies awaiting release and will make one more before committing himself to nearly a year and a half's work on two Matrix sequels. His band, Dogstar, has also just released an album. The first of these movies to appear, The Replacements, is a part-comic tale of some replacement football players loosely based on the 1987 NFL strike. He says that he has not seen the completed film.

"The script that I originally read and the film that was made were very different," he notes.

He agreed to it because he liked his character, Shane Falco.

"I felt like he was a good hard-luck character who gets a second chance," Reeves says.

He reminisces about a scene in the original script where the principal female lead beats up two hookers who were trying to rob Shane Falco. He really liked that. But they didn't even film it. "Didn't win that one," he says. "Tried, but . . . just didn't." He nods. "In the spirit of collaboration, the film went the other way," he says. "There's not much you can do."

I ask about one scene in which he and his teammates are in jail and begin dancing to "I Will Survive." I point out that he seemed a rather reluctant participant.

"That scene wasn't in the original script. You know . . . it was a tough one. Does it work? Is it OK?" He begins asking questions in a slightly mocking voice: "Is it romantic? Is this a slapstick? Or is the dr- . . . It's a dramedy! The new synthesis! Synthesis of form . . ." Later he points out, quite accurately, that "it feels like a period film . . . like an Eighties kind of picture. It's very traditional, the way it looks, the colors - I think it helps the film, actually, because it's like old-time good movie entertainment." As that, the film may work, but watching it, I can't shake off the feeling that Reeves is always at the film's edge, staring off into the distance, trying to find a slightly stranger and more beautiful film that never got made.

When I ask Keanu Reeves - in one of these many failed invitations to conversation - to tell me some things about him that are true, his single reply, after a certain amount of delay and discomfort, is, "I was born in Beirut, Lebanon." Back then, in the mid-Sixties, Beirut was a thriving cosmopolitan city. His mother, Patricia, was British, his father, Samuel, Chinese-Hawaiian, and this was where they lived for a while.

I ask him what he was like when he was young.

"Private," he says. "Probably a pretty private kid."

Private how? Kids are usually pretty social.

"I was pretty social, too," he says.

Private but pretty social?

"Yeah." He half-smiles. "It's a particle, it's a wave."

For his first seven years, the Reeves family moved around: Lebanon, Australia, America. By the time he was seven, he had settled in Toronto with his mother. That's where he lived until he moved to Hollywood to make it as a young actor. By then, his mother had become a costume designer. He remembers meeting Dolly Parton and Emmylou Harris. "There were musicians around," he says. "I was going to music-recording studios and hanging out." Up the road, Alice Cooper was recording Welcome to My Nightmare. "I was forever trying to use their pinball machine," he recalls.

Who did you think Alice Cooper was? I ask.

"A friend of my mother's," he says.

But he looked weird and he had a weird name. . . .

"He didn't look weird to me. Not the way I grew up, man. Shit."

What do you think that kid back then wanted? Or cared about?

"Oh, gosh," he says. [When he says, "Oh, gosh," it usually marks a kind of incredulity that the preceding question has been asked.] "That's one I'll keep to myself."

Well, pulling back, what sense do you have of why you wanted to do, or ended up doing, what you did?

"Oh, I don't know. There are things I have thought about it and things I have perspective on, but for some reason I just don't want to speak about them."

Later, after communication has become easier but after he has just paused again for an eternity, I ask this: When you take a long time to answer a question, what are you thinking about?

"How to answer it," he says. "In a way that you can understand. In a way that I want to express it."

Reeves' father dropped out of the picture sometime before the move to Toronto. Reeves has previously said that they have not spoken since he was about thirteen. In 1994, his father was arrested with large quantities of heroin and cocaine, and sentenced to ten years in jail. He was released in 1996. [When Keanu and I talked nine years ago, he'd said: "Jesus, man. No, the story with me and my dad's pretty heavy. It's full of pain and woe and fucking loss and all that shit."]

Were you very conscious of not having a straightforward father figure?

"Uh, yeah."

How do you think that affected you?

"Gosh. In so many ways. I'm not filling that in, man. I'm not."

Do you have no ongoing relationship with your genetic father?

"I don't, at this time. No."

How do you deal with the trouble he gets into?

"Has there been a lot of it? I know there's some. I've heard of some."

Well, he's been in jail.

"It's his life, man. I hope he's well. Whatever that means."

Does it bother you when all that tangentially becomes part of your life?

"I feel bad that his life is affected by it, if it is. For him, it must be a drag."

People have assumed that it's you it must be a drag for.

"Oh, gosh. Not that. (Raises his voice, as if addressing the wider world) Leave him alone! Let him do his thing."

After a while, we take a rest from this dark San Francisco hotel bar and go outside so that he may smoke a cigarette. His hair is short, and he's looking smart: a black suit jacket, black everything else. Occasionally passers-by shout comments: "The Matrix! Point Break! You take care!"

He scratches his right leg, lifting his trouser to reveal a wide, curved scar. Another motorcycle accident, this one in 1996. "It's my hook, or my question mark," he says, fingering the scar tissue. "Maybe it's both. It depends on how you look at it."

How do you think of it?

"Both. It's a particle, it's a wave."

One of Reeves other movies awaiting release is The Gift, co-written by Billy Bob Thornton, a semifictionalized account of Thornton's mother's life as a small-town psychic. Most characters Reeves finds himself playing have a fair chunk of innocence at their centers, but in The Gift, which is directed by Sam Raimi, he plays a nasty wife beater called Donnie Barksdale.

"It's a part I don't get to play that often," he says. "It was a great experience." In preparation for life as a wife beater, he spent three weeks in Georgia learning how to be a redneck. "You know," he says, "Donnie motherfucking Barksdale." He got a truck, and he ended up borrowing a white-fleeced Levi jacket from a guy in a bar who told him he didn't look nearly redneck enough in his jeans and shirt. "I wanted to find out the thinking," Reeves explains. "I met this one guy, and he ended up by the end of the night beating up his girlfriend. In front of the bar."

Didn't you feel like stepping in?

"Of course. The way it happened is a long story that I'm not going to tell."

I suppose you must have been thinking, "This is great, this is just what I needed"?

"Yeah, sure."

Does that make you feel guilty?

"We're all guilty. [laugh] Do I feel guilty? I wish that didn't happen. I didn't punch her in the head. I wish he hadn't."

Reeves had been told by therapists that people who wife-beat can't access themselves emotionally, so they move straight to anger. "And that's what he did: He blew up. But then, what she did...it's a whole sick dance." Onto this train of thought he immediately appends the following oddly phrased sentiment: "But, you know, in the movies there's fake punches, and you get real feelings. It was interesting to feel that. And there was something about it. To me, it was just fun it's a really childish kind of power thing." It's a testament to Reeves; strange openness and innocence that in the same conversation where he struggles to share the most simple biographical details, he will trust that a listener will know that he means nothing too weird or offensive when he refers to acting out the behavior of a wife beater as "fun."

"We had this wonderful improv," he says. "It was Sam and I and Hilary [Swank, his wife in the movie]. Sam was, Let's figure this out in this little trailer." Reeves talks through the events in a scene in which Donnie eventually accuses his wife of lying to him, until he reaches, "And I'm, You're lying, and Sam says to me, Every time you say 'You're lying' to her, just hit her. I was like, OK. And we just started. And that's the fun of it. The exploration of what that is you're investigating the impulse of what that is and what comes out. So I'm rubbing her face, I'm choking, she's talking, we're getting in there, I'm pushing her against a wall, I'm like, 'Don't fucking look at me', and all of those things that come up, and all of those things that come up, and all of the ways that it goes, and everything that comes out for her, and the way that we bond and bind, and what we are as a couple that starts to bloom."

That must be weird, I say both fascinating and uncomfortable.

"Yeah," he says. "Yeah."

As yourself, do you express anger in active ways?

"Well, that was one of the things that came up, just figuring that out: OK, wow, I don't show anger like that. But then it comes out, and you go, Wow, I am an angry guy."

Away from acting, where does that anger stuff go in you?

"Well, you can ask that question for any emotion. With anger, it depends on the day. Why I'm angry, how I'm angry. I'm not like Donnie Barksdale. Donnie Barksdale's pretty direct, and he's someone who would use his physical aspect. Which was fun sometimes. I called it getting my Donnie on." These last four words he then repeats. "Getting my Donnie on," he says.

"I remember when we did Devil's Advocate," says Charlize Theron, who co-starred with Reeves in that move and in the one he is currently filming, Sweet November (a strange romance in which a woman announces to a man that he will spend a month, and a month only, with her). "He was living in a hotel. When we started this movie, I asked if he was still living in a hotel, and he said, No, I'm ready to put some roots down somewhere.I think, joking, he said something like, You know, the kid, the horse, the dog and the wife. The wife last. I said, I think you have it all turned around you gotta get the wife first. But I think he has changed. Before, I think he liked the idea of living out of a suitcase I think he's now learned you can be a free spirit and have the other things."

Reeves says he is looking for a place in Malibu but that he mostly stays with his sister Kim in Los Angeles, where he has his own room. (She has been fighting cancer for some years. We do not discuss this.) "I don't have anything on the wall," he responds wearily to my questions.

"Bookshelves. She gave me a desk, so I do have a desk, bottles of wine, pictures." When I inquire further, he says, "I don't really want to tell you." As for the other stuff of settling down, last year he was expecting a baby with a girlfriend. At full term the baby was found to have died in the womb.

Here in San Francisco he is staying in a hotel while he shoots Sweet November. In his room he has music: Archers of Loaf, Built to Spill, Hüsker Dü, Joy Division, Elvis Costello, Dean Martin, Bobby Darin, Dinosaur Jr, Stravinsky, Sonic Youth. And he has books. He just finished one about string theory and the origins of the universe. Now he's reading one about Alexander the Great.

After the cigarette break, we retreat to the hotel bar. Reeves requests the chair facing the wall. "I'd rather be in the dark," he says. He talks quietly, so I push the tape recorder across the table, closer to him. He pushes it back toward me. I push it back toward him again, and this time he lets it stay there.

How easily did you navigate through adolescence?

"I don't know. I didn't end up on the rope."

On the rope?

"Swinging."

After moderate success as a teen actor in Toronto, Reeves moved to Los Angeles in the mid-Eighties."The day I landed in L.A., they wanted me to change my name," says Reeves. "A studio executive called his agent," recalls Erwin Stoff, his manager for seventeen years, "and said, That's a name that will never appear on a marquee." They brainstormed a few options and eventually settled on his initials: K.C. Reeves. (Keanu's middle name is Charles.) "It only lasted for a couple of months. It's so not who I am," he says."One of the lessons."

The lesson being?

"I don't know. Other people say, 'If you want to do what you want to do, you have to do this.' And the lesson being, You know what? You don't. You don't."

It was 1989s "Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure" that first made Reeves notably famous and also sparked talk of Reeves as the Western world's dreamy hot new pinup. I suggest to him that he never seemed comfortable being a sexually attractive icon.

"Really? [Sarcastically] In Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure I was a sexual icon?"

You know the weird thing: I believe so. Even then.

"Perverts."

For a while, it was often assumed that Reeves would be forever typecast as the affable, spacey, dump California teenager and, more worrying, that anyway he had more or less been playing himself.

"That's frustrating," he says. "That's very frustrating."

A further twist was given to all this when, early in the surf-and-sky-dive thriller Point Break, Reeves character was referred to as "young, dumb and full of come," a line that was often subsequently used with glee as though it referred to Reeves himself. Asked how he felt about this, he says, "What do you think?" then free-associates: "There's something good about it, something bad, something happy, something sad. There was also another great term. What was that? Himbo.Bimbos and himbos" He laughs.

"I get no respect!" Then, with heavy sarcasm: "It drove me to drink. I was insane with grief. I would drive endless miles along Mulholland highway. It was terrible and frustrating and awful, but there was nothing I could do." At the end of this I tell him I have no idea what level of sincerity he is now talking on. "4.5," he says. Out of ten? I ask. "That I don't know," he replies.

In mainstream movies, Reeves often looks uncomfortable, as though someone has tricked him into getting out of the car right there and just driven off. Whatever the result, he has usually seemed happier when he veers away. In 1991, he made Gus Van Sant's My Own Private Idaho, with River Phoenix, and you can still feel his pride in it. "It's a beautiful film," he says. "And lonely. The way he ends up in the street. His shoes. A stranger picking him up."

He and Phoenix became firm friends: "I enjoyed his company. Very much. And enjoyed his mind and his spirit and his soul. We brought good out in each other. He was a real original thinker. He was not the status quo. In anything."

Then I mention Phoenix's death, and Reeves looks at me as though I am the kind of person who will always spoil everything.

A month after our conversation in the hotel bar, I return to San Francisco to visit Reeves on the set of Sweet November. Today's scene is being shot in a small bay just south of the city on a wooden jetty where fishing boats dock. There are three of those cloth-backed personalized film-set chairs lined up in a row. Reeves takes the one that says liam aiken, the ten-year-old kid in the movie. He gestures for me to take Charlize Theron's, which is next to it. The chair bearing the name 'Keanu Reeves' remains empty.

He enthuses about Klaus Kinski's autobiography, a book he had previously raved about during our last meeting as "like Hemingway meets Georges Bataille. It's fantastic!" Since then, I've read it, too. And he's right. It's terrific: the most preposterously explicit, heartfelt, revealing, self-crucifying book about an actor's life one could imagine. I quote back to him one passage, in which Kinski writes, "I wish I'd never been an actor! I'd rather have been a streetwalker, selling my body, than selling my tears and my laughter, my grief and my joys."

"I love that," he hoots. "It's so funny."

[Does a deep theatrical voice] "I'd rather be a streetwalker! selling my Is that what a streetwalker does? Isn't that what an actor does?"

Could you imagine ever revealing yourself like that?

Reeves pauses, nods to acknowledge the question, then speaks.

"I imagine we reveal ourselves no matter what we do."

In the early nineties, Reeves career drifted into the doldrums. "There was a period when he really ran out of juice in terms of playing the young innocent," observes Stoff. His performance in Francis Coppola's Dracula was widely derided, by himself as well as others. "I think he just sort of lost interest," Stoff says.

When the script for Speed turned up, Reeves didn't want to do it. "I didn't understand it," he says. "I didn't quite get it." Stoff says he spent an entire twelve-hour flight between Los Angeles and France trying to persuade him. "His argument was, So what, it's a bomb on a bus. Who cares?" When they arrived in France, Reeves cracked.

"He found a reason to do it," says Stoff. "He actually fond beauty and a simplicity and grace in that character. None of that existed in the script. But he found it. What I remember him saying to me is, 'You know what, this is a guy who gets up every morning and means to do good in the world'. And I think that's what people responded to."

Though Speed was at the time, his most successful film, he seems a little uncomfortable with the attention it drew. When I ask him which of his films he feels most proud, he offers the following list: "River's Edge, Permanent Record, Bill and Ted's, I Love You to Death, Little Buddha, Tune in Tomorrow, The Last Time I Committed Suicide, The Matrix, The Devil's Advocate. I like a lot of Johnny Mnemonic. I like the version of Feeling Minnesota that's not in the movie." Speed is conspicuous by its absence.

It was not, in terms of acting, his most challenging role?

"No. While I was making it, I learned Hamlet."

Because you had room in your head?

"Yes. I had room."

So what does that tell us about Speed?

"It ain't Shakespeare."

Reeves feels strongly about his Shakespeare. There is a real boyish gusto in his voice when he talks about it. "I tend to throw out a little Shakespeare once in a while," he says. "I do love it It's like this kind of code that once you start to inhabit it with breath and sound and feeling and thought, it is the most powerful and consuming and freeing at the same time. Just, literally, elemental in sound, consonants and vowels."

He says that he knows a few sonnets and soliloquies by heart, and that he brings Hamlet with him when he travels. He has a copy here in San Francisco, presumably somewhere near the Archers of Loaf. He likes to recite parts of it out loud, alone in his room. "I love the melancholy, I guess, perhaps, of it," he guesses, perhaps.

Reeves had acted in some Shakespeare when he was younger and attended some workshops. His first high-profile brush was a Don John in Kenneth Branagh's version of Ado About Nothing. Then, in 1995, he agreed to play Hamlet onstage for a month in Winnipeg. "What I learned," he says, "is that as far as you can go, Hamlet just looks at you and goes, How about here? It's beautiful and terrifying. I feel that Hamlet is one that even great actors." He mentions, as he puts it, "Mr. Daniel Day-Lewis." Day-Lewis pulled out of Hamlet midway through a run in London, partly, it is said, due to the emotions it stirred up about his recently deceased father.

You're not a man without father issues.

"Right. What I found out in doing the play was that it brought up for me all the anger that was inside me for my mother. I mean, it surprised me, just what was there, and I hadn't seen that before."

In 1987, Keanu Reeves went down to Sunset Boulevard and bought himself a bass guitar. "I wanted to learn to play bass," he says. "I liked the sound of the bass I found my ear following it in music." He was most influenced by Peter Hook's playing in Joy Division: "It's kind of a bass line but a melody line. And kind of romantically epic, in a gothic kind of way." (Reeves Joy Division favorites: "Love Will Tear Us Apart," "Ceremony,""Atmosphere.")

A while later, he went up to a guy in a grocery store near his house, because the guy was wearing a hockey shirt, and Reeves wanted to find a local hockey game. The shirt wearer was another actor, Robert Mailhouse. The two of them started playing hockey together and then music. "He lived right under the Hollywood sign in Beachwood Canyon," Mailhouse recalls. "He had this great garage; you opened these doors and it overlooked this hillside." They would jam, sometimes alone, sometimes with friends. "I'd never met anyone who loved his bass so much," says Mailhouse. "Actually walked around the house with it." Reeves would blow up amps trying to duplicate Peter Hook's bass tones. Their first public performance was in a friend's bar. Mailhouse filched the name Dogstar from Henry Miller'sSexus. A new guitarist, Bret Domrose, joined and soon became their singer and principal songwriter. "One of the first things I remember about him," says Domrose, "is that I thought he was eccentric in a sense that he was drinking a real nice bottle of wine out of a coffee mug. Probably it was a hundred-dollar bottle of wine. It was a Montana State Highway Patrol mug."

When Domrose first suggested that they try to get a record contract, the other guys in the band said they weren't interested. Three months later, Reeves said that they were ready. A first album, Our Little Visionary, came out in 1996, though not in America. Their first American album, Happy Ending, has just been released. In Dogstar, Reeves mostly keeps his head down and plays the bass, but he also helps write the music. "He's really the most creative, melodic bass player," says Domrose. "He comes in with what he calls the Reeves ditties."

I ask Reeves: Is it just a hobby?

"I don't know. We play in a band. We fucking make music. We try to make records. We hang out. Is it a hobby? I don't know. We get paid, so isn't that professional? So, OK, I'm a professional hobbyist."

"I think he enjoys getting on the bus and traveling," says Mailhouse. "You get on and just do whatever ten guys will do on a bus. He really likes that."

"As the tour goes along," Reeves says, "one becomes more and more of a pirate. You lose a little of the civilization of it."

What are the signs that piracy is imminent?

"You start wearing a parrot on one shoulder, and a patch, and going, Arrrrrrhhhhh! Saying, Aye, matey. Thar she blows. Oh, wrong book."

"He's a really giving person," Mailhouse says.

"He'd give you his last shoe. Really smart, too. He's incredibly booksmart. He's a really interesting person who doesn't talk a lot of shit."

I ask Mailhouse how Reeves has changed in ten years.

"I don't worry about him as much," Mailhouse says. "I used to worry about him. Because I think of him as one of my best friends in the world was he going to crash his motorcycle, or this or that. We did some wild things. I guess it's just growing up. I don't know maybe it had something to do with River Phoenix, maybe. Losing someone close to him. But now I'm just proud of him. He's getting to do it the right way."

A conversation about drugs:

What role have drugs played in your life?

"One of them is, they certainly helped me to see more or have the sensation of seeing more. I guess part of the hallucinogenics of psilocybin the hallucinations or feelings one has. Sitting in a field, hearing and feeling and looking at nature, seeing what comes out of oneself. Having parts of the psyche revealed. They've certainly given me the sensation of an enrichening aspect, appreciating."

Did you ever discover any drugs you weren't prepared to take that chance with?

"No, I never had that cliche'd bad trip. But I haven't done that many drugs."

Are they ruled out of your life at this stage?

"Um, once in a blue moon."

He talks about the relationship between drugs and the government, how experimentation could be allowed without people risking harm by doing "too much of a good thing."

Have you ever felt you were doing too much of a good thing?

"Yeah, I've had a couple of days when I've been, OK, time to chill out. But that has also brought about catharsis. That is one of the human emotions to go to the dark side, to go to the light."

When Reeves was sent the script for The Matrix, he was immediately interested. He had long been a fan of comic graphic novels (Frank Miller's in particular), and he recognized that sensibility. He also liked his character's search, and the phrase "What truth?" And then there were the martial arts.

"I dig kung-fu movies," he says.

Why?

"It's just fun. Fake fights are fun." He repeats this last sentence. "Fake fights are fun. Okey-dokey."

The film's directors, Larry and Andy Wachowski, said they were looking for a maniac who would do what they needed: "And," Larry said, "Keanu was our maniac." They gave him some books to read: The Moral Animal, about evolutionary psychology; Simulacra and Simulation, by Jean Baudrillard ("Oh, it's fun! It's fun!" says Reeves); and Kevin Kelly's Out of Control, a book about machines and social systems.

"They just said, Go read, go read, go see what it does," says Reeves. "I think they gave me the phenomenal world, the internal words and the simulations that occurred in that."

In preparation for the film's unusual physical demands, which required considerable agility and skill, the actors were supposed to train for four months. For much of that time, though, Reeves was hampered. He couldn't kick because he was recovering from neck surgery. "I have a two-level fusion," he explains. "I had one old compressed disk and one shattered disk. One of them was really old, ten years, and eventually one started sticking to my spinal chord. I was falling over in the shower in the morning, because you lose your sense of balance."

Soon it will start all over again, the filming of the second and third Matrix movies in one stretch: four months of training and a year of filming. He swears that even now he doesn't know what happens in the movies. "They're devilish with how much they give out," he says. "Capricious."

Presumably they told you enough that you know it's not some incredibly weird thing you wouldn't want to be involved in?

"No."

It's totally on trust?

"Faith and trust."

So you might be wearing a pink tutu through the whole of the second movie?

"Maybe. Who knows. Hopefully."

What he does know is that the Wachowskis want the character's fighting skills to progress, hence all the new training. "Before, we fought one at a time, and I know that they want me to do five," he says. "Which is master. Thats the real deal. If you can fight five people, that's Jackie Chan, Bruce Lee stuff. So you need a whole other technique for that. You need a whole other level of proficiency, to be able to film close to real time and to be consistent and to have power on blows and to sell the punches. I'm sure theres going to be much more wire work, because the characters can fly." And he wants to learn to fight on three vertical levels: "Basically, our fights were really one level. Eye-to-eye fighting, or me going low to do a leg sweep, or me jumping in the air to kick you, that would be three levels. So I could fight low, fight middle, fight high. Then, with this one, I'll fight in the sky."

We sit side by side at the bar counter of an old fishermen's shack where they've been filming. And I ask.

Obviously it's a difficult question, but how do you feel about fatherhood now?

"I miss it."

At the end of my first visit to see Reeves in San Francisco, the uniformed man who works the door at Reeves hotel hails me a taxi. He has seen us talking and tells me, unbidden, about the man who has just left us. "He's a nice man. A nice man. You don't see him with no ladies. He's a loner. He likes his privacy. Rides a motorcycle."

Keanu Reeves still rides his bikes, and he has one here in San Francisco. That's what he likes to do when he has time off, when Hamlet and melodic bass lines and whatever other strange diversions he finds to take up his time simply aren't enough. Day or night, he'll roar out of the city. "Seeking catharsis," he'll explain. "Getting it out of the system. It helps change things."

What's the joy in going too fast?

"Too fast? Liberation."

Liberation from what?

"Going too slow."

I've never been much of a Hobbit-fancier.

I see that all sorts of people are going to see the new LOTR movie today.

Even Keanu went to the premiere (link via keanuette).
Me? I haven't read the books.....maybe once all three LOTR movies are out on DVD I'll watch the whole thing.
You go you crazy Frodo fans, you. Rock on. I'll be in the same mindset this May. I'm so pathetic, I'm starting to think about what I'll wear to opening day of Reloaded. Do I go with a PVC trinity look?...Probably too squeaky in the seats. I'm leaning toward a nice Neb/real world look....comfy cotton sweater...yoga pants...I think that's the way to go since I'll most likely be sitting in a theater half the day.

Of course, that's right out once I get my invite to the premiere at Mann's Chinese.
Call me, Warner Brothers, Wachowski Brothers, Mr. Silver.
Mr. Reeves, even....you know you want to.

I'll need to hear from you soon, as you see, there are wardrobe plans to be made.

First off, thank you to Rhonda for sending me a tape of MTV's Movie House.

I love watching him do that stunt work...sigh.
Good freaking gawd, this movie is going to rock.

And speaking of which, this article seems to indicate that the big premiere will be at Mann's Chinese Theater in Hollywood.
Hmmmm, I'm starting to think once again that I'd really like to go. Wonder who I need to suck up to for that?

The Club-Keanu board has a translation of the Thailand interview with Dogstar, thanks to Wickysis.
How cute and suave is Bret Domrose, huh?

Suave? Did someone say suave? I got yer suave right here, baby. Fansites.com's gallery has some more pictures of Keanu from last Friday's Cinematheque ceremony (thanks Sharon), and if you head over to KeanuWeb, I believe you'll find some more links to some photos as well.

Big wet sloppy lemur kisses to Jena for sharing this US Weekly, Dec. 16, 2002 article.

"Lately, Keanu Reeves and George Clooney have been tooling around town on their beloved motorcycles looking awfully a lot alike. How are they different? Read on."

Keanu Reeves vs. George Clooney

The Hog
Keanu: Black 1974 850cc Norton Commando (worth up to $11,500 today)
George: Military-green 1,442cc Indian (about $24,000)

Memorable Ride
Keanu: A 1988 collision with a mountain during a "demon ride" (no lights at night)
George: A three-week tour of Italy with five friends in 2001

Organ Most Affected by Cycling
Keanu: Spleen - he ruptured his in the crash and has also broken an ankle.
George: Heart - he promotes the Running Heart Foundation, which uses cycles to rush medical help to heart-attack victims

Biker Quote
Keanu: "I don't know if I'm getting better at riding them, but I definately know I'm getting better at crashing," he said after a 1996 accident.
George: "It wouldn't have been fun to buy just one," said Clooney, who gave five friends Indian motorcycles for Christmas in 1999. They ride together every Sunday.

The US Biker Personality Assessment
Keanu: A bad boy - organ damage says macho!
George: A sweetheart - we'd take a ride any day!

Yes, George sounds like a helluva guy, but I'll take a dangerboy any day.

And I bet I don't have to tell you which of my organs would be affected by a ride on the Norton....

This is Keanu last night in Beverly Hills at the 17th American Cinematheque award dinner honoring Denzel Washington.
(from Yahoo News Photos)

He's not half bad all decked out in formalwear.
*ahem*

Now if you'll excuse me, I need to go sit in a tub full of ice and browse bridal magazines....

I don't have cable. Here is your assignment.
At 4:30 today Keanu is going to be on some new MTV show, Movie House, talking about The Matrix Reloaded. If anyone happens to catch it, please let us know in comments how it was. Thanksverymuch.

And here's Keanu's horoscope from FreeWillAstrology.com:

VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22): The choice between seeking mere survival and stalking interesting success will be thrust in your face again and again in 2003, Virgo. I'm sure you're already getting a taste of the intensity. Here's my suggestion for what you can do to get yourself in good shape for it: Become very clear about your deep inner definition of success, as opposed to the
superficial, inappropriate, and deceptive definitions that various people have tried to foist on you over the years. Here's your future rallying cry: *Be your own genie in 2003.*

And although I don't usually post mine (I always read it, Breszny rocks) I'm going to this week, because I really want to heed it.

ARIES (March 21-April 19): "Expect the unexpected or you won't find it." That's an epigram formulated by the ancient Greek sage Heraclitus; it's also the name of a book by creativity expert Roger Von Oech; and now it's the centerpiece of your horoscope, Aries. As smart as you are, your steel-trap mind sometimes
closes prematurely. And you can't afford to let that happen now. Open your expectations as wide as they'll go. Be as fresh and innocent as you can stand to be. Make yourself fully available for the novel fun that's brewing at the frontiers of your world.

Wowsers, I woke up today and my inboxes were overflowing and all abuzz with news of three, count 'em, THREE movies that Keanu has signed on for in 2003.

(from Yahoo)
Keanu Reeves will fill out a love triangle with Jack Nicholson and Diane Keaton in an untitled comedy that marks one of three films he will shoot next year. Reeves will also star in 'Thumbsucker,' an indie adaptation of the Walter Kirn novel, and then move on to the previously announced 'Constantine,' the adaptation of the DC-Vertigo comic 'Hellblazer' at Warner Bros.

So, are we sure now that the Constantine is the Hellblazer story? Freaking Variety got me all confused last week. I hope that they were just wrong and that Keanu is going to play that right bastard, John Constantine, and not the religious historical figure. Because you know we're going to have dirty thoughts about him, and that's a little icky.

I don't have much to say about the Thumbsucker one, but I just ordered the book it's based on. According to IMDB, Elijah Wood is cast as the lead, so we can kiss our oral fixated Keanu fantasy goodbye. It's an indie so it's bound to be my favorite of the three. I know I'll like it more than the untitled Nicholson/Keaton film. I'm not a big romantic comedy fan. I know that lots of fans are and are extremely excited about it, though. It's the older woman thing. I'm happy he's getting to work with Jack.

Here's a couple links to the stories at Yahoo:
"Reeves Joins Nicholson, Keaton in Triangle"
"Dr. Reeves treats Meyers-helmed comedy for [Columbia Pictures]"

And there's some matrix stuff over at Film Force, too. Mostly about the philosophy section at the official site and the soundtrack.

Thanks to Rhonda for this link found at Reeves Drive.

It seems that Keanu has expressed interest in appearing in Kenneth Branagh's production of The Play What I Wrote - a tribute to comedy duo Morecambe and Wise.

I checked out the play's official site and it looks really interesting. The story centers around the teams efforts to get a big name celebrity to appear on their program. Lots of names have already guest-starred.
I'm not sure how long the runs usually are, and I doubt I'll be booking a flight (not that I wouldn't love to see him onstage). But it sounds like a lot of fun, for both Keanu and the lucky audience.

I'll bet Keanuette is just giddy with anticipation.

ABC revs up drama slate with "Speed" By Josef Adalian

HOLLYWOOD (Variety) - ABC's drama development slate is picking up "Speed."

The network has ordered a script for a new take on the 1994 blockbuster, which starred Keanu Reeves and Jeff Daniels as SWAT team partners. It will be a prequel, taking place years before Reeves and co-star Sandra Bullock confronted a bus that was rigged to explode if it dropped below 50 mph.

Jon Cowan and Robert Rovner -- the scribes behind last season's unsold Fox pilot "Eastwick" -- will write and executive produce the project.

So...um...basically, it's going to be another cop show, right?
I might be vaguely interested in who the might cast as Jack Traven, but I doubt I'll be watching.

My friend Jena recently watched a tape of an interview for Italian TV done during the promo tour for Sweet November and was nice enough to type up a transcript and share it. Here's a couple excerpts...

Journalist: "I want to ask you what did you do before acting?" Keanu: "Other kinds of jobs?" Journalist: "Yes. I read something on the net like you made pasta." Keanu: "Yes. I worked in a shop and made pasta, so I made pasta." Journalist: "What are you good at? Your specialty? Keanu: "Well I had a machine and I'd cut the pasta, different sizes, had to get the thickness right, didn't want it too dry, didn't want it too wet, so there was the whole thing of really, you know (licks finger and sticks it in the air) Ah, need a little more flour! You know, you don't want to put it through the machine too long, but you want to make sure it's even. The consistency."

Journalist: speaks Italian to the camera. "I'm going to take Keanu to my restaurant!" Keanu: "I'll come eat there! We'll drink wine and then go for a mad motorcycle ride!" Journalist: "YES!" Keanu: "and then after that we'll go look at the stars and the moon..." Journalist: "YES!! YES!!!!" Keanu: "and then after that we'll.... Journalist: "Ooohhhh Keanu!!" Keanu: "I know, I know." (he then says something in Italian) Journalist: (she speaks some Italian to the camera) "Keanu Reeves, Can I just touch you to make sure you're real?" Keanu: He leans forward and takes her hand and holds it. Journalist: "He's real!! Really fantastic and gorgeous!" Keanu: (He's blushing.)

Quite a bit of the interview is the female interviewer completely losing it and gushing madly over Keanu. Can't say as I blame her, and I think he enjoyed it.
He certainly comes off as more animated than we sometimes see him. I know Keanu has been pegged as a difficult interview by some people. I think part of that can just be attributed to his mood on a particular day, but part of it might have to do with the person asking the questions (Rosie? I'm looking at you.). I'd guess that most of the questions he hears must be lame the first time around, not to mention the eleventy-fifth.

Journalist: "Okay...How is the band tour going? Is it Dogstar or Stars?"
Keanu: "Dogstar. We're just writing new songs."
Journalist: "Writing new songs. How do you rate your band?"
Keanu: "Oh, on a good night I'd throw it a 7 1/2, 8. Yeah. People have fun at our shows. I have fun at our shows!"
Journalist: "Do you get more actual fans because of films or music that seem to be the ones to throw bras at you onstage? I've read that."
Keanu: "That's not true, I've never really considered a difference or judge them on that one, but it's a great thing when a beautiful woman...just...you know..." (he gives her a look)
Journalist: "Throws bras at you?"
Keanu: "Throws a bra? Um...." (he looks at the camera man and smiles a huge smile like he knows what he's talking about, not just throwing bras but boob flashing maybe?)

Further confirmation that Keanu loves the ladies. Especially the beautiful ones.
You never hear him talking about funny girls, however. I wonder how important the abilty to make him laugh is.
Hmmmmm.
Oh well, I still fully intend to "flash him my wits", should the opportunity ever arise.

There's an article/interview with Alex Winter over at CNN's People section that includes this amusing anecdote...(via keanu.org)

It's been over a decade since he and Keanu Reeves braved the time-space continuum as half-baked slackers in the cult comedy "Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure" (1989) and its sequel, "Bill & Ted's Bogus Journey" (1991).

In that time, their characters' mantra -- "party on, dude!" -- has become enshrined in the pop culture lexicon. And Winter, now 37, has never stopped being recognized by rabid fans as his movie alter ego, Bill. "To this day, no matter where I am in the world, it happens every day," he says.

Well, except once, on an autumn evening a few years ago, when he and Reeves met for a quiet dinner in New York City. Neither had paid much attention to the date, so when they walked out of the restaurant into a crowd of costumed people thronging the streets of lower Manhattan, they were thunderstruck. "We were like, 'Oh, s--t! It's Bill and Ted in the middle of the Halloween parade,'" remembers Winter, with a grin.

He and Reeves -- whom Winter still calls one of his closest friends -- waited for their cover to be blown. But then: "Nobody batted an eyelash. We just looked like two fat, older guys who were trying to be Bill and Ted," laughs Winter.

Alex certainly isn't residing in the "where are they now?" file. He's been busy directing. Click the pic or the link above to read the whole article.

Party on, Bill.....

The lovely kaz sent these scans from a Sky Magazine 1991 article.

In more recent news, if you go over to Miho's site, she has some Dogstar pictures from Japan that were published in a japanese magazine.
They're small but nice. I really dig that shirt.

Thank you kaz, for this scan from Sunday's paper down in Sydney.

Looks like the penthouse apartment that Keanu stayed in while filming The Matrix Roloaded and Revolutions is up for sale.
You know, if just 4 million of you would buy something from the keanuvision online store, I could swing it.
I'd throw a party and invite you all and everything.

This is some sort of trading-type card that I came across on eBay...no, I didn't buy it.

I can't make any sense of the ratings system on this, and yes, I had to look up sartorial.

That article below is a humor piece that can be found on the back page of this month's issue of WIRED magazine (thanks to "t"):

"FOUND: Artifacts from the Future"
~by Thomas Goetz

Variety
November 14, 2081

Rebirth Announcements
KEANU REEVES / Actor - Director

Keanu Reeves, an actor once revered for his gift of nuance and a director who helped usher in 4-D film, was reborn yesterday at Cedars-Sinai Medport in Los Angeles Metroplex. Doctors said Reeves will be rapid-raised to 31 years of age, and allotted the customary 15-month Celebrity Lifespan. After era orientation, he will star in the remake of "Johnny Mnemonic", planned for Imax release next spring.

Now scarcely remembered outside film-studies learning networks and 2-D revival houses, Reeves was one of the leading actors and filmmakers of the late 20th and early 21st centuries. In "Little Buddha" and "Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure", he played on anxieties of the day like enlightenment and time travel. His role in "Point Break", though overlooked at the time, is cited by historians for its portrayal of pre-secessionary Californian culture. And in the three prescient "Matrix" trilogies, Reeves portrayed Neo, a messianic hero who battled a malevolent artificial intelligence - a scenario that eerily foreshadowed the failed AI Uprising of 2033.

In the final film of the nine-part series, Neo is revealed as an artificial agent himself: the plot twist incited the General Strike of 2013, which shut down the tri-nation area for four months. After three years in seclusion, Reeves returned with the epic "Life of Geffen", winning Academy Awards in 2017 for Best Audience-Participation Segment and Best Cross-Platform Marketing Campaign.

In March 2025, whiles Reeves was directing the sequel to "A Man Called Biffy", his first Best Picture winner, he suffered a fatal cloud-surfing accident. "A Woman Called Buffy" was released posthumously and also won a Best Picture Oscar; the film now stands alongside David Fincher's "Cinetubbies" and Ang Lee's "Dolemite" as a classic of '20s experimental 4-D cinema.

After wrapping "Johnny Mnemonic", Reeves will reside at the Santa Fe Metroplex Post-Rebirth Chill-Out Centre. Upon rebirth, Reeves' first word was: "Whoa."

Hee.

Thanks to kaz for these scans from Empire UK mag from 1994. I hadn't read this article before and the Gorman pics are a nice bonus.
(click the images for full size)

Thank you to kaz for this scan of Keanu from PinkRibbon magazine.
October is breast cancer awareness month and Keanu went out of his way to do this photo before he left Australia, in support of the National Breast Cancer Foundation.

Here are some other links if you'd like to learn more and see what you can do to help.
The Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation
National Alliance of Breast Cancer Organizations
CIGNA Foundation (go here and click the pink ribbon)

Another scan, kourtesy my keanupal, kaz from down under.
This is from the October 14 issue of NW..

Nice smile, eh?

Thanks to Jena for the heads up about this pic last night.
I'll echo others' sentiments about how nice it is to see him smile.

Congratulations to Laurence Fishburne for finding his angel, Gina Torres and to the both of them on their wedding this past weekend. I wish them heaven on earth for a very long time.

You can read the blurb, "An Amicable Merger", here (scroll down).

Of course, Mr. Reeves attended. I'm sure he wouldn't have missed it for the world.

The NY Post reports that Keanu was partying down this weekend in New York.

I can see that our boy paid the extra five bucks for the armband so he could partake of the all-you-can-drink keg. Always the gentleman, I'm sure he paid for the lady's yellow bracelet, too. Looks like he's already a little fuzzy. I'm glad the Post cropped out the giant beer funnel in his left hand. Gotta think of image, you know. Hopefully that video of him leading a chorus of "Louie, Louie" won't surface anytime soon.

Those supermodels always throw the best parties.

Meanwhile, back in L.A., Rob was overheard saying to Bret : "Dude, he just went to go get a tuner. He said he'd be right back."

Thank you to kaz, who sent me a scan of this Keanu article from a 1997 issue of Juice magazine.

I added a picture of the Fillmore poster that he mentions in the article.
That poster is one of the very first pieces of memorabilia I bought and the very first thing I had professionally framed. I thought it was something special and it's nice to have him mention in the way he does.

The Fillmore poster was designed by artist David Fremont.
If you'd like to buy a copy, you can do so here.

I'm gonna write a macro just for thanking kaz. This is from some scans she sent of the 1993 magazine, Face.

sigh.....

This weekend kicked my ass so I'll be lounging around in my brand new hooptyshirt with my new favorite thing* and catching up on the fecking 288 emails that have stacked up. I'll write about Blogcon later, when I can focus.

In the meantime, thanks to kaz for this newspaper article and this picture.

*technically, I think the thing may be classified as a scarf, but it's magical and lovely, much like the one who gifted it to me...it's a wonderful thing and I love it so.

Thank you to Jena for this...

Lone rider - Sydney's wrapped in Matrix by Michael Bodey

Famously reserved, Keanu Reeves has embraced Sydney in a big way - and the feeling's more than mutual

No limos. No minders. Just a black Harley Davidson and an open ticket to the city. Through his involvement with the Matrix films, Keanu Reeves has given plenty of joy to Sydney. The successful film franchise has brought big bikkies to the State and has cemented the city as a more than viable movie making alternative to Hollywood. But unlike any other big time film star who has temporarily called the Harbour city home, Reeves has made the most of it. Really made the most of it. He's enjoyed our food, our beer, our wine and our weather. He's even enjoyed the company of our women, even if that is nobody's business.

Cool, calm, collected Keanu fitted right in.

When production for The Matrix sequels wrapped in Sydney on Wednesday night, Keanu Reeves gave each crew member a bottle of vintage '93 Dom Perignon.

It was a typical act from a man known for his considerable generosity and kindness.

Reeves is not only one of the world's more bankable film stars, he's also one of its more enigmatic.

An international man of mystery, you could say.

He's wealthy enough to buy properties for friends and family but chooses to remain homeless, drifting between expensive hotel rooms as his career takes him all around the world.

In Reeves's world, there is no need for limousines or entourages the size of a footy team. Nor is he particular about what he keeps in his wardrobe.

That's why Sydney has been a great temporary home for the 37yearold. He's slipped right in -- not quite going unnoticed, but he's certainly been able to enjoy it on his lonesome.

For well over a year, he has made the most of the Harbour City, enjoying its restaurants, bars and general lifestyle.

``I've had a great time,'' he told The Sunday Telegraph last week. ``I've met some wonderful people and eaten at some great restaurants. It's been really nice to be in Sydney and experience part of Sydney.''

The actor has also made good use of the roads heading out of town -- putting his black HarleyDavidson through its paces on weekend afternoon trips to places such as Kangaroo Valley, on the South Coast.

Reeves has done his best to avoid celebrity traps such as Otto at Woolloomooloo but has been spotted at Double Bay's Arte e Cucina, Catalina, Wine Banc on a Thursday nights as well as the Italian hangs in Leichhardt.

He's also been seen visiting the odd city strip club. Everyone who has welcomed him or served him would agree he is a reserved, but polite customer.

A wine lover, he's searched the city for an elusive bottle (or three) of Grange Hermitage and was a friendly but challenging customer for sommeliers around town. But while he's not afraid to give his credit card a culinary workout, Reeves has shown he is just as comfortable -- if not more so -- sitting in the corner of pubs like the Old Fitzroy Hotel, in Woolloomooloo. Earlier this year a group of British tourists noticed Reeves sitting in a corner of the the pub, keeping company with a young woman, a schooner of VB and a pack of Marlboro.

They approached him for a chat and a photograph. Cool, sure thing. He then challenged them to a game of pool.

He's also played ball with the media, to a point, reluctantly posing for persistent paparazzi or simply ignoring them and letting them take their shots. Not once has he been seen delivering the onefinger salute.

The only time his love affair with Sydney has soured was when the media speculated about romance ... real or rumoured.

``There have been a few quite serious invasions of privacy,'' he said, saying it was inappropriate for the media to speculate about his relationships with women.

Tom Cruise's gift to Sydney was a terrible movie called Mission: Impossible II, which worked better as a tourism show reel. Reeves gift to Sydney has simply been him being a part of it.

Come back soon, dude.

...feel the love.

Big thanks to Noriko for sharing this scan of the Japanese magazine, CUT...

Come back later tomorrow for a spiffy Neo wallpaper I'm working on.

Thanks to both kaz and Jena for this...

And the copy that goes with it reads:

MATRIX star Keanu Reeves brought a little bit of Hollywood to Paddington yesterday when he stepped out with a mystery date for lunch.

"I've had a great time," Reeves, 37, told The Sunday Telegraph yesterday.

"I've met some wonderful people and eaten at some great restaurants. It's been really nice to be in Sydney and experience part of Sydney."

Reeves and his date – a 20-something redhead – turned heads when they rode down Oxford St on his chrome and black Harley-Davidson. The couple were headed straight to Paddington's trendy Bistro Lulu, where they sat at a "goldfish bowl" table looking onto Oxford St.

The star of The Matrix, Speed and Point Break, shared oysters with his date before enjoying a sirloin steak, washed down with a couple of glasses of red wine.

"He kept to himself and seemed to enjoy himself," confirmed Bistro Lulu restaurant manager David Harris. "He has been here a few times. He even stopped for a photograph with a young girl outside when he left."

Dressed in a grungy khaki suit and a scarf, Reeves and his date, who wore black jeans and a black leather jacket, spent two hours at the restaurant.

He said his date was an "artisan" who worked with him on the Matrix series, and complained that often his relationships were misrepresented in the press.

"There have been a few quite serious invasions of privacy," he said.

Reeves said he didn't mind being photographed but thought it was "inappropriate" for the press to speculate on the nature of his relationships.

I was on the fence over posting this, but considering that he actually spoke with the paper and is waving at the camera, I'm going to go ahead. I'll go back on my anti-hypocrite medication tomorrow.

Besides, he looks fucking great and happy, and I think we all like to see that.

And look....he's doing the foot thing.

Thank you to kaz for this scan from a magazine called Girlfriend, from 1989.

I think the thing I love about this picture, aside from the obvious, is that he's wearing friendship/wish-bracelets. It's neat to know that Keanu was donning these about the same time that my friends and I were. I don't think that they were just part of the photo shoot. I'm fairly sure I've seen other pictures where he has them.
I remember learning how to make them on a trip to Venice Beach one summer, could have been the summer of '88 or '89.
Yep, our little granola clan didn't need no playstation or PDA. All we needed was a few bundles of embroidery floss and a safety pin to pass the time. They got pretty fancy as our knot-tying skills improved. My friend, Elise would make really wide ones that took days to finish. I think I still have one she made for me in one of my many boxes'o'stuff that I'll never throw out. I always kept them after they fell off.
The best part was finishing one and giving it away. Making one special for someone, someone you cared about, tying it on them and knowing they were wearing it....even if they had to hide it under their watch at work.

And of course, the wishes.....some did come true.

The lovely Miho of 999.squares has some scans of the posters for the upcoming Dogstar shows in Japan. According to her translation over at the DMB of this ad, the boys are sharing the bill at Tivoli Park, Kurashiki on October 14 with an opera singer. I wonder if they will have someone filming tour footage, because this has Spinal Tap written all over it.

Miho also has a scan from a magazine called "Heat" (I've never heard of it) that has a look at Keanu's hairstyles through the years. You can see it in one piece over at 999.squares, I broke it down for commentary...

Behold the power of cute. I see that even at 6 years old, he didn't use a comb. I love how he's bitting his lower lip. He definitely would have been one of the boys I chased and kissed on the playground.

WTF? with this caption? It's obvious even at thirteen, he's destined to be a heartbreaker.

Skipping ahead 17 years, you wouldn't think he could make such a short haircut look disheveled, but he does. And as always, it works on him.

Scary? Not. As I've said before, I find this look really sexy.

Says who? You wish you could roll out of bed and look this good.

Yes, he does clean up nicely. And as beautiful as he was 10 years ago? He gets better exponentially with age. Like a fine wine.
A while back there was some article saying that once his looks "go" (I don't think they ever will) that "fans" will discard him for some other pretty boy. Maybe some will, but personally, I think I will adore him even more at 45, 50 and beyond. Because although he truly is beautiful to behold, he's so much more.

I'm wicky-wick-wicked bored today, so I decided to run a google search of the two things on my mind: Keanu and lunch.

In the results, I found some fanfiction (which I won't even link to because I hate the stuff), a fun fangirl story, and a couple things that had nothing to do with my our Keanu.

A little girl's story of what she did over Xmas holiday included this paragraph:

"When Sarah and the others came we had a lolly fight. I threw one in the air and JP caught it. I threw five up in the air and then Keanu got them and then stole one out of my hand. Then JP screamed "give it back!" Then Keanu ran away. I whispered to JP just say please. Then JP said "can I have my lolly back please!". Keanu gave it back."

Then there's "Keanu"s livejournal (which is NOT REAL, look at the disclaimer people).
This pretty much falls in the same category as fanfiction for me. And whoever is writing it really makes him sound like an ass.
There was one funny portion...

"She came over to my house with her rented Viper. I'm sitting in the car, trying to figure out what we were listening to. Then I just wanted to swallow my tongue. She had Ludacris on full blast. "Roll out, roll out, I got me and so much money, me and my homies, so drop that. Roll out, roll out." I wanted to piss myself laughing. My face probably turned blue. Then she turns around to me and asked, "How do you like the rims? Don't they bling?" That was the point where I debated on throwing myself from the car."

I also found this article, "Yearning for Keanu", from the set of Feeling Minnesota. It has, among other things, the reporter's impression of watching the scene by the pool rehearsed (yeah, you know what one I'm talking about) and a little chat with Vincent D'Onofrio and Courtney Love.
Go read it.

Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to try and figure out who delivers ice water.

I have a confession to make.
I'm really not big on Shakespeare.
Not sure why, maybe I can blame the whole semester I had to take in high school of it, taught by one of the most boring teachers I ever had. I imagine I'd like it, had I ever seen it performed well. But I haven't. I like the Sonnets, but I just can't get into reading the plays. I hear you should read them aloud. In any case, I'd much prefer something by Sartre or Shepard.
Keanu has many times professed his love for The Bard. Maybe someday he can teach me an appreciation. You know...after I've flung the chessboard at him enough times.

In the beginning of 1995, Keanu took on the role of Shakespeare's Hamlet at the Manitoba Theatre Centre in Winnipeg, Canada. It's choices like this that makes me have so much respect for him as an actor.
Fans came from literally all over the world to see him. I certainly would have liked to have been there, just for the experience. Hopefully sometime in the future he will again choose to hit the stage. I would like to see him in something more contemporary, but the idea of him doing the Scottish play has been mentioned.

KeanuWeb has a great thorough page on Keanu's Hamlet, complete with pictures and quotes.

To check out a couple articles, click "MORE"...

Kenneth Branagh, who cast Keanu as Don John in Much Ado About Nothing, had this to say about Keanu in this interview.

What if Keanu Reeves is Hamlet? Would that qualify as agonizing?

I didn't see it. [smiles coyly] But I commend Keanu enormously for his courage and his commitment to it. He's, to me, a very genuine individual and I think a much more talented actor than anybody gives him credit for.

You have worked with him...

I have.

And you got a lot of flack for casting him in Much Ado About Nothing.

Yeah. I personally think it's just because people find it much harder to drop the baggage that actors may have. Maybe because movies are so huge here in America. When people are in a successful movie, the image from that picture goes with them. [Keanu was in] Bill and Ted, those two movies, and that image of Keanu is one that people carry. And actors that don't fall naturally into a way of presenting yourself in all this circus of media, you know, so that people think, well, that's who he is. I think, for instance, he did a beautiful job in that Bill and Ted film, but actually doing that kind of stuff is not remotely as easy as it looks. If it were, everybody would be doing it much better. It has real charm, real lightness of touch, real kind of comedic ability. I mean, he worked like a dog on Much Ado, he's really easy to work with. And I think when you're in his position and you know that you're gonna get flack out of every corner for doing something like Hamlet, people would say it's an act of hubris or vanity, I'd say an act of great courage.

Here's a review from the Toronto Star, found at Heather's Keanu site

Here's one of the better reviews, thanks to wrygrass for this article.

Keanu Shines as Hamlet
by Stu Slayen

When movie giant Keanu Reeves signed on to play Hamlet at Winnipeg's Manitoba Theatre Centre the critics, and some fans, were skeptical. He's a little more than skin, some said of the heart throb. They were less than kind. The were also less than correct.

The 30-year old Reeves has proven himself a legitimate acting force time and time again in film hits like Speed, Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure, My Own Private Idaho, River's Edge, Dangerous Liaisons and more. His performance as Hamlet, Prince of Denmark, on a midwinter prairie stage confirmed what I already believed-Keanu Reeves is a most excellent actor.

William Shakespeare's Hamlet has long been considered one of the theater's most grueling roles. Demanding an exhaustive emotional range, physical agility and the delivery of some 1 500 lines, the role is reserved for the select few. Reeves proved himself worthy of the part with fluid body movement, convincing facial expressions and clean, well-enunciated delivery of the bard's script. Most of the cast was strong (Gary Reinke was brilliant as the ghost of Hamlet's father) with exception of Liisa Repo-Martell who played Ophelia, the love of Hamlet's life. Keanu Reeves outperformed her by miles and their scenes together were somewhat uneven as a result.

Hamlet, as I recall from my Coles Notes, is the story of a prince whose mother and uncle marry after the death of his beloved father. His father's ghost comes to Hamlet and reveals that he was poisoned by Uncle Claudius who wanted the queen and the throne. The ghost wants Hamlet to take revenge on his step-father, the new king.

To see his uncle/step-father's reaction, Hamlet stages a play wherein a king is killed. Uncle Claudius is scared out of his tights and banishes Hamlet to England where he is to be killed. Hamlet escapes, returns to Denmark and finally gets to fulfill the ghost's wishes.

But the real story here wasn't the prince, the poison or even the performance but rather the presence. The fact that Keanu Reeves was here at all was big news.

The show sold out and people came from all over the worked to catch a glimpse of Keanu. One of the local newspapers had a "Keanu Hotline" so people could calling when they spotted the guy. A local TV station interviewed the manager of the restaurant where Keanu spent New Year's Eve. The newspaper reported how he accidentally left his credit card at men's clothing store. Mall security paged him and shoppers flocked to the store in anticipation of him coming to pick up the card. (They were disappointed when a friend returned instead.) One of our music writers saw him alone eating a piece of cake at a local pastry joint on Christmas Eve. His every move was watched of this eight week stay.

My favorite story is about a couple of young girls who saw Keanu and some fellow cast members eating lunch at a restaurant on a rehearsal break. They pad the busboy two bucks for Keanu's cutlery and even dove into a garbage can after his half eaten bread roll.

Keanu Reeves' visit was big news, but apparently not big enough to tell the world. The theater, Reeves and the actor's managers decided that there would be no national or international media interviews during his stay. He's uncomfortable being interviewed, rumor has it, and his management probably didn't want to make a big deal about their $7 million per movie star doing regional Canadian theater.Keanu did eight interviews-ten minutes each-with two local papers, four local TV stations and two local radio stations. The interviews were done on the day he arrived (December 8), probably before the plane had even cooled on the tarmac. What! A Magazine's request for an interview was turned down as were request from People, A Current Affair and other international media.

(I watch two of the local TV interviews. During one particular, Keanu was so uncomfortable it looked like he was sitting on thumb tacks. And the interviewer asked such riveting questions like, 'what do you like better, film or stage?'. Keanu must have stunned the viewers when revealed that he likes them both.Wow! I hope the National Enquirer doesn't get a hold of that tidbit! It could be splattered allover supermarket checkouts!)

So Keanu was here. Canadians didn't get to hear any great insights and only a few spent any time with the man. But we did get to see a true master at work. And that's what's important. After all, it was Shakespeare himself who wrote- "The play's the thing."

~What! (Ca), February/March 1995

Thanks to kaz for sending me this article from the aussie mag, Juice.
*slight spoiler warning*

In searching for some stuff on Hamlet (for a future post), I found an article from U magazine, October 1995

"He's Hollywood's latest heartthrob and was catapulted to superstardom in the film, Speed. Adored by millions of women he remains an enigma.
There are two words guaranteed to reduce most women to quivering lumps of jelly - Keanu Reeves. The six-foot tall Canadian hunk has become one of the world's biggest sex symbols since the smash-hit flick Speed, which also made him one of Hollywood's richest actors. He owes his chiselled features and olive skin to an Hawaiian-Chinese father and English bohemian mother who, in a burst of abandon during the 1960s, eloped to Beirut where Keanu was born. It's a romantic streak which Keanu claims to have inherited. But if you're wondering which lucky girl benefits from it, you'll have to stay wondering. Though he admits to wanting a wife and kids, Keanu is notoriously shy about his private life. We do know he has angrily dismissed rumours he's gay, says his longest relationship with a woman lasted two years and recently dated a girl called Autumn.
Perhaps he's more interested in his acting career. Next month he opens in A Walk in the Clouds. And with any luck this film should do for him what Legends of the Fall did for Brad Pitt. It's his first romantic lead and is sure to set all his female fans into overdrive. The plot concerns a World War II soldier, Paul Sutton, who meets a tearful woman on a train and learns she's pregnant out of wedlock, heading home to face the wrath of her father, a wealthy vineyard owner. The soldier gallantly volunteers to pose as her husband for a night, meeting her parents, sleeping on the floor of her bedroom, then ducking out before dawn so the baby will seem legitimate. Soon, of course, he's picking grapes and locking eyes with his new love across the vines.
Keanu, apparently, is painfully shy and when asked about himself, he squirms like a schoolboy or lapses into silence. His own family experiences have been fraught; with his mother's family alien to him and his recently jailed father a stranger to him for over half his life.
Keanu moved to LA in 1986 and since then his list of film credits is impressive: beginning with Youngblood, Permanent Record, The Prince of Pennsylvania and then moving on to Dangerous Liaisons, I Love You to Death, Point Break, Parenthood, cult film My Own Private Idaho, Much Ado about Nothing, Bram Stoker's Dracula and Little Buddha. And of course there was the adrenaline filled Speed which set millions of hearts throbbing and rocketed at the box office."

There's an interview included where Keanu talks about some things that I normally wouldn't post about, but since these are his own words I'm going to go ahead and include it, as it's pretty interesting.
If you'd like to read on...click "MORE"

--------
"Speed was your breakthrough as an action hero. Will A Walk in the Clouds do the same for you as a romantic lead?

Hopefully. That's part of the reason why I wanted to do it. It was very sensual and sexy and the script really appealed to me.

Is it up to you entirely what films you do?

I have my agent and other than that, my interpretation of the part, so there's a lot of me in it. I certainly feel my interpretation of the part comes from my interpretation of my own life and what I see in the part. The character is very romantic and I feel I am too.

Your character Paul Sutton is a very honourable guy. Is there something similar in that respect in yourself?

I don't know. A good actor can make you believe anything. He can make someone seem like a saint. But I'm not always a good man. I'm only human, I can also be a rat! Everybody has their dark sides.

But you seem like an honourable person. We don't often hear about Keanu Reeves in a sordid tabloid scandal!

I know. That's what makes me so boring. It's not that I work all the time and that makes me boring. I'm boring in my spare time too! That's why people make things up about me, I'm sure. (Keanu laughs). They're like, "God, we've got to give this guy life, if only in print."

You laugh about it but does it sometimes make you angry?

No. Well, not until it's so intrusive or insulting or in really bad taste, then it gets to the stage where I can't ignore it. I wish they wouldn't say things about the people I love.

Why do stars like Charlie Sheen and Hugh Grant pay for sex but you never seem to get caught up in anything like that?

As I said, I lead a boring life. I don't do anything. That's why people manufacture stories about me. I don't think what Hugh Grant did is much to do with being a movie star or actor - prostitutes aren't exclusively for stars. It's to do with the kind of person you are and whether you obviously get off on that kind of thing.

Do you think what Hugh Grant did was somehow a reaction to his sudden fame?

I don't think Hugh Grant did it out of guilt because he's suddenly successful. It's not like he said: 'I must pay penance! I'm too good!' I think it's just human behaviour. I don't know him so I can't see the whole picture but I don't suppose work pressures would send a guy like that to, say, a prostitute or to hit the bottle. Not like they did with someone like Spencer Tracey, who was supposed to have been a priest before he became and actor. He used to go on two-week drinking binges. They used to stop filming and he'd go and lock himself up and just drink. So he needed that release. It was just natural behaviour for him. I visit prostitutes. (He laughs). No. I play music, I read. I spend time with my friends.

How do you feel about the rumours that you are gay? Do you get angry over that?

For a long time I'd say to people who asked me that, "It's none of your business!" But eventually I was told by my manager and agent that I should address the question because if you don't collaborate with the press to a certain extent, they get quite venal. And that starts to get in the way, especially in Hollywood, when you're perceived in terms of your media image. One has to address it, especially if there's no end to the rumour.

What about the rumour that you're married to David Geffen (gay record mogul)?

I didn't know it was going around until recently. Someone told me and I was amazed because it seemed so ridiculous. Then the rumour just took on a life of its own so that's why I started addressing it.

Who were your screen idols when you were growing up?

I don't know anybody who really influenced my acting or my style, if there is a style. But I loved English actors like Peter O'Toole. He's really the one I looked forward to seeing. I hear him and Richard Harris used to do a lot of boozing together!

Your background is a mixture of different races. Do you feel that contributes to a dual nature?

Yes, I do think that. I'm half English, a quarter Hawaiian and a quarter Chinese. I guess from my English mother I inherited the good manners (Keanu laughs). That's very important. And from the Hawaiian side I guess I have my earthy aspect which makes me very well-grounded. I know Hawaii is an island and so I should associate that side of me with water and lighter stuff. But if you look at Hawaiians they have these very broad feet, big toes and big thumbs.

So you have big feet?

(Keanu lifts up one leg to reveal a huge hiking boot) Yeah, they're pretty big! And that's why I'm well-grounded. That's the earthy aspect of me.

What about your Chinese side?

I don't know about that. It's one thing I've always wondered about. What does that part of me mean? It's weird because my family is Hawaiian and so I get a sense of that tradition from them but I don't have Chinese family. Those roots are Polynesian, I guess, in correct terms.

That's on your father's side. How close are you to your mother's side of the family?

My mother has a divorced relationship from her family so I don't know who my grandparents are on that side. I don't know anything like that about them.

In A Walk in the Clouds the girl doesn't see eye-to-eye with her father. Are you still estranged from your own father?

Very much so. Otherwise I'm fairly close to my family. (Appearently, Keanu counts his sister Kim as his best friend) I wouldn't say that we are as traditionally close as the Aragon family in the film. Their traditions are important to keeping the family together. What I love in the film is the way it shows how relationships within the family struggle or harmonise as they do in real life. The character Victoria is interesting. She is confused and tries to establish her independence from the family, or from her father, by going to school and then by getting pregnant by the English professor. The traditions of family are valuable but that incident shows how they can smother a person and cause them to react against the family if the traditions are too wilful.

Does it hurt that you're not close to your father?

(Keanu takes a deep breath) I don't know if it hurts anymore but it did in the past and I can't forget that. The experience of what I felt as a young child is very much who I am today. Very much so. I live with that every day of my life.

Do you feel that part of your ambition and drive to prove yourself comes from the rejection you felt as a child?

Yeah, of course. The rejection has fuelled the need for me to be accepted, accepted on a wider scale. There's also the quest to do something with my life so that I can feel proud of myself and not feel like the rejected child. A lot of what being an actor is about is proving yourself for similar reasons.

Do you talk to your father at all now?

No, I haven't heard from him since I was 15 years old. It's part of my life that is very complex and unresolved. There are a lot of issues and some that are very painful. Perhaps too painful still.

Are you ever able to deal with such issues in your own life through playing out roles, such as Hamlet, who sees his father as an idol?

I never felt that when I did Hamlet (on the stage in Canada last year). I've never felt that with any of my roles. I think Hamlet is as much about the mother as the father. It's the first think he speaks about.

But the father is the key element.

Right, but it's the nature of the father. It depends on your interpretation of that. The first soliloquy is about his mother. I've never had a personal catharsis from acting but what has come out subconsciously have been things that are contained in me. You know, feeling for my mother. What I really felt playing Hamlet was anger. It was anger not toward my father but toward my mother.

That must have been cathartic.

No it wasn't because it wasn't freeing from the event. Acting has never brought me freedom from trauma but it's introduced me to perhaps a trauma that's been contained in expression. It's never brought release. It does give me that moment of freedom from it so I get to live.

Is it true you live in hotels?

Yeah, especially when I'm working. Now I just need a suitcase with my stuff in it. That's all I've been using. I think I now want to get an apartment.

Are you a loner?

Yes, I'm a loner. I like to be alone. But I also like to be among people. When I'm in the right mood.

What are your best qualities?

My manners, thanks to my mum. But manners are not much. So I don't really have much to go on.

Do you like to watch yourself on screen?

When I'm good because then I don't really see myself. I just see the character. When I'm bad I just see myself and that's painful to watch. They say that you learn from your mistakes but I don't think it helps me to improve when I see myself (he laughs)."

------------------Chris Carbury.

As Cheryl would say, this must have been before the filters...

I especially appreciate the last question, about watching his own work, because I've always wondered that about him.

Oh, and the part about his big feet....*snerk*

Matrix-y stuff in the August issue of Empire(UK) magazine.

I haven't seen it yet, but I'm going to swing by a bookstore on my way home tonight.
Providing I survive the sauna that is my office today.
I might even buy it if there's some new pictures.
They'll have to be GOOD pictures, though, for me to buy something with Tom on the cover.

Thanks to Jena for this info.

UPDATE: More lemur love for Jena for typing out the article.

It may be a bit spoilerific (not terribly) so if you want to read it, click "MORE"

THE MATRIX RETURNS
EMPIRE VISITS FOX STUDIOS AUSTRALIA FOR AN EXCLUSIVE FIRST LOOK AT THE SPECTACULAR SEQUELS THAT WILL RULE 2003.
Exclusive Report from Australia
On Saturday evening, May 18, Joel Silver snuck into the back of a theatre in Westwood, L.A., showing Attack Of The Clones. He was not interested in the film (although he liked it), he was there to watch the trailers. Or more precisely: watch the audience watch the trailers. "The first trailer that came up was Minority Report," Silver recalls, "which had a very tepid response, and then Sum of All Fears, which kind of got a nice response, and then our trailer started and it was unbelievable: the kids went crazy and they stayed crazy. When it ended there was this thundering reaction I've never heard before. I've never seen a collective response for a piece of entertainment like that before - ever."
Said trailer, of course, was for Matrix sequels: Reloaded and Revolutions. After three years of near-silence punctuated by the occasional disturbing rumour, it took only one minute and 15 seconds of slow-mo tease for everybody to be certain: The Matrix is back, baby - and nothing will ever be the same again.
Today, back in his production office in Fox Studios Australia, overlooking Sydney Cricket Ground, Silver is taking a break from overseeing the marathon production which begain in Oakland, California, in March 2001 and is not scheduled to be completed until July 2002. ("This is day 209," Silver smiles, "I think.") It is a working holiday, with Silver meeting a select handful of the world's press - including Empire - while "the boys," as he paternally dubs the Wachowski brothers, Larry and Andy, continue shooting in any one of the six huge sound stages currently occupied by 'The Burly Man' (Warner Bros' transparent code for The Matrix).
Silver shyly informs Empire that he has not yet told "the boys" about the Westwood incident, acutely aware that the brothers are already starting to feel the burden of expectation. Empire wonders whether Silver himself is showing any nerves. He rubs his beard and grins: "No, because we got it. We got it. We got the movie right here."
Exactly what Silver and the boys have got, though, remains something a mystery. During a week on set in Sydney, Empire catches glimpses of some of the mammoth sets (in total 150 have been built, including, for one climactic car chase, nearly two miles of freeway at the former Alameda Naval Base in California!), but hears very little about the plot, "We've all agreed," Silver confirms, "to not really say what it's about because we really want people to experience the picture."
What Silver will confirm is that the expanded storyline was fully in place before The Matrix became a $460-million global phenomenon. "Actually the first script ended further than the movie - you actually went to Zion (the last remaining human city), which we really felt we just couldn't do. We had too much story, so we just backed up a little bit. But we knew that the story continued."
Of this continuing story, Silver offers only tantalising details:
- It is not two movies - "It is one enormous movie that's being cut in half." (The action apparently takes place over one 24-hour period.)
- The aforementioned is a "mind-boggling" car chase that takes place within the rules of the Matrix.
- Much of Reloaded is set in the Matrix and concerns itself with Neo coming to terms with "superhero" powers and the ability to "perceive" the mulitple levles and different "programs" of the Matrix.
- Multiple Neos and Agent Smiths will fight. (Look out for a table-top confrontation in a Chinese restaurant and a fight in a mirrored room.)
- The returning principals are joined by Monica Bellucci, who plays an evil Matrix temptress, as well as Nona Gaye (who replaced the late Aaliyah) and Jada Pinkett Smith who play warriors in the PVC-clad Trinity mould.
- Both movies, but mainly Revolutions, will visit "scorced Earth," where "biomechanical machines" terrorise Zion.
All this, and the Wachowskis are not scheduled to start the most ambitious action scene for another couple of weeks. "That," Silver smiles, "is a 14-minute sequence that is the most complicated sequence ever put on film." Indeed, you can forget the widely-copied 'bullet-time' - Silver promises effects shots so complex and expensive that "they will never be attempted again." (The combined budget of the two films is rumoured to be $300 million.) As Silver says of the special effects, "I really think the bar has been raised so high, that there is no bar."
So as long as there's still no spoon...
- Colin Kennedy

(but we really love his mind)

...That was the tag line for the cover story of Sky Magazine's 1993 interview with Keanu.

On a cool grey Los Angeles morning, Keanu Reeves throttles up the street on his red vintage Norton motorcycle, dressed in aging jeans, wine coloured shirt, leather jacket and hiking boots. He removes his scarred black helmet and shakes loose his long dark hair. Smiling, he extends his hand and settles onto a white canvas couch.

Reeves first grabbed the attention of audiences and film critics in 1987, for his role in Tim Hunter's disturbing real-life murder story, River's Edge. Starring alongside Crispin Glover, Dennis Hopper, and Ione Skye, it was Reeves (with Skye) whose character alters the final outcome of the film. River's Edge remains a popular cult movie to this day, and It's not surprising that Reeves is still proud of it.

Since that time, Reeves has titillated women (no other actor elicits more heated moans at the mere mention of his name) and the critics alike by offering moviegoers a myriad of roles. "I want to fall into all categories -- and no categories!" he says. "That makes it the most fun."

He's played a rich teenager in Brotherhood of Justice (1986); an offbeat high-school senior on a prom date in The Night Before (1988); the best friend of a teenager who commits suicide in Permanent Record (1988); a goofy time-traveler named Theodore Logan III (Ted) in Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure (1989); an 18th-century courtier in Dangerous Liaisons (1989); a troubled teenager in Parenthood (1989); a reprise of Ted Logan (who this time goes to heaven and hell) in Bill and Ted’s Bogus Journey (1991); a stoned-out hitman in I Love You To Death (1990); a young sports-writer in Aunt Julia and the Scriptwriter (1990); a surfing FBI agent in Point Break (1991); a troubled, bisexual hustler and son of the city's mayor in My Own Private Idaho (1991); and the dashing Jonathan Harker in Bram Stoker’s Dracula (1992).

I suggest to him that the trend among audiences today seems to be that people go to the movies to learn a lesson, which was the original idea behind movies, rather than simply for entertainment. "I think there should be both," suggests Reeves, adjusting himself on the couch. "If it's going to be entertainment, then keep it entertainment. A film like A Few Good Men was very confusing. It was almost asking for both. It was trying to ask a question, and be sociopolitical, and be entertaining. I don't like that. But I like it sometimes, like, when it's total-Henry-Rollins-in-your-face. 'Truth, man!' We need that, because it’s inspirational."

Keanu Reeves appears this month in the role of Don John, the half-brother of Don Pedro (Denzel Washington), in Kenneth Branagh's new film of Shakespeare's Much Ado About Nothing. Although obviously one brother is black and the other white, Branagh felt it really didn't matter. He chose Reeves for the film because he wanted a cast who made interesting choices in their acting careers. "I wanted actors who seemed to have an appetite for doing different types of work," says Branagh. "What I like about the best American films acting is when it's emotionally fearless -- full-bodied and gutsy. That's what Shakespeare demands, and I think that American film actors have that. I've certainly seen it. I've also seen a truthfulness in Keanu's work. When I met him, he was someone I admired for his sort of curiosity and enthusiasm.

"He's also a tremendously passionate creature," Branagh continues, "and he cares a great deal. He will do two things [while working]: one, he'll go along with you. For instance, he would go with my way of working -- he rehearsed the way I wanted to rehearse, he learned it in advance the way I wanted him to do so. He would also fight for his own choices of the way he wanted to do it. I remember him wanting an extra take here or there. I was impressed that he was as disciplined as he was. I don't want to sound so cosy about the whole thing," Branagh chuckles, "but I was genuinely impressed by what I thought was a very grown-up individual who was utterly serious about his profession."

According to the background information on Much Ado About Nothing, the Villa Vignamaggio (midway between Florence and Sienna, where the movie was shot) was once the home of the Gherandini family, who had commissioned a portrait of their daughters sometime around 1503 by Leonardo Da Vinci. The daughter, who later became better known by her married name, La Gioconda, is today more commonly referred to by her given name: Mona Lisa.

"Supposedly," laughs Reeves, running his hands through his dangling hair. "That's what they say -- that the Mona Lisa was painted in that villa. It's one of those things like 'Elvis was here.' I'm finding out in Los Angeles that every big house it's like 'Charlie Chaplin lived here; Errol Flynn lived here.' But this one seems to have a strong presence. The villa is very impressive. It's on top of a hill overlooking a valley. It's one of the largest chateaus in the area.

The films ongoing theme of eating, drinking, parties and sex would be any modern-day man or woman's idea of heaven. "It's the way of the kings or royalty lived," says Reeves. "The Italians know how to live -- how to drink -- the art, and life! La Dolce Vita! There's no French existentialism or deconstruction, or American angst. The Italians are like, 'Whatever. Michaelangelo, cool.' I went to Florence a couple of times and I got to see the David. It was very cool. I was there for five weeks, and it was a very enchanted summer."

Performing Shakespeare is not new to Reeves: he has also performed the role of Trinculo alongside Andre Grefory's Prospero in the Shakespeare & Company's production of The Tempest, in Lenox, Massachusetts. Aside from the fact that is was Shakespeare, Reeves chose the role in Much Ado in order to work with Kenneth Branagh. "Branagh is a very exuberant, intelligent, witty man, and he's driven," says Reeves. "His drive and energy is remarkable. And the more I read the play, the more I enjoyed it."

"I love it. I love the soliloquies. I read Shakespeare and I love to speak it. I love acting Shakespeare, and it was Don John. And what was it he says?" Reeves begins to reenact his role in the film under his breath, before coming out with the favoured line, at which point he comes to life: "'In this, though I may not be a flattering honest man, it must not be denied that I am a plain-dealing villain'! I love that: 'I am a plain-dealing villain'."

One of the accouterments of being an actor is traveling to exotic locations to film, and Keanu Reeves has had his share of traveling -- one of his favourite parts of the business. "Traveling is, ahh," he sighs, throwing his arms up in the air. "I've been to Katmandu, Paris, London, Italy, Munich and Bhutan." Bhutan, a remote and secretive kingdom hidden in the Himalayas, was the site chosen by Bernardo Bertolucci for the location of his latest production, Little Buddha, which stars Reeves.

"Aah, Bhutan," smiles Reeves, "the snowy mountain. Two hundred and fifty dollars a day! No, Dharma bums, thank you. It’s very primitive and it feels like ancient air. You almost expect to see some kind of dinosaur peek out from behind a tree. When they're in public, the Bhutanese have to wear traditional clothing, but at home, in private, they're allowed to wear western clothing. I met some of the kids who'd wear jeans, sneakers and T-shirts underneath their traditional clothing. They are beautiful people; they were very kind to me. And there is one aeroplane there -- Druk Air. The king wants to protect his country so there is no television but they have VCRs.

"I play Prince Siddartha in the movie," Reeves continues, "who, after the Enlightenment, is referred to as Buddha. But I only go halfway through the Enlightenment; there is no depiction of Buddha. I'm post-Enlightenment.

Possibly it's Reeves' enlightenment that directors see: he has been directed by Francis Ford Coppola, Kenneth Branagh, Bernard Bertolucci, Ron Howard, Lawrence Kasdan and Gus Van Sant, to name a few. "How much of an actors success is luck?" I ask. "Oh, I don't know the answer to that at all!" he moans, pulling his dark hair away from his face. "I don't! It's a lot of things. It's being in the right place at the right time. Karma, who you know, who you don't know, what you've done lately. Anything and everything. I don't know!"

Reeves recently completed a small role in Gus Van Sant's new film based on Tom Robbins’ book, Even Cowgirls Get The Blues -- "A cameo-cowgirl-cameo," he says, laughing. Due out later this autumn, Cowgirls is the story of Sissy Hankshaw (Uma Thurman), the worlds greatest hitchhiker. During her travels, she continues her lucrative career as a spokesmodel for a line of women's hygiene products made by an effeminate entrepreneur known as the Countess (played by John Hurt) and meets -- and almost marries -- an asthmatic Mohawk Indian named Julian Gitche (Reeves). Produced by Laurie Parker, the film also stars Rain Phoenix, Angie Dickenson, Crispin Glover and Roseanne Arnold.

This is Keanu Reeves' second film (After My Own Private Idaho) with director Gus Van Sant. In that much-talked-about film, Reeves portrayed Scott Favor, alongside River Phoenix, James Russo, and Red Hot Chili Peppers bassist Flea. Set in Portland Oregon, it was the story of a group of street hustlers, but concentrated on the relationship between Reeves and Phoenix, in which Phoenix's narcoleptic character was secretly in love with Reeves.

Keanu Reeves describes Van Sant as "soft-spoken, creative in the sense of ideas of what to do. He's got a really good sense of humour -- and when I say that, it's not a really aggressive, loud kind of 'Har, har, har!' But his humour is human stories. He's very respectful and he sets up an environment that feels very creative. He wants you to play and cultivate a situation. You can do anything -- even where you're not supposed to do something. It's an invitation to play. It's remarkable."

In Francis Ford Coppola's Bram Stoker's Dracula, adapted by Hook screenwriter James V Hart from Stoker's 1897 novel, Reeves played the innocent young Jonathan Harker, who is forced to fight the forces of Gary Oldman's Dracula for the love of Mina, played by Winona Ryder. In an all-star cast, Coppola followed an artist's story-board, along with approximately 1,000 photographs, to bring the lusty horror film alive.

"From Coppola I got to witness a creative, industrious life," says Reeves.
"He's a man of many, many ideas and man who can enjoy the simple things in life. He creates things; he has ideas. He has plates made for his houses, you know what I mean? I know that is a very silly thing to say, but he loves the simple things in life, sitting, family, eating. But he also takes ideas and builds them, makes them. Oh gosh, Francis -- I can’t pay him enough due. A simple example would be," continues Reeves, as he leans into the recorder -- "I hope you don’t mind me saying this, Francis, but he has a place in Belize. He saw an article in the New York Times, I believe in '85, about this country that had gained it's independence and said: 'Hmmm, I'm going to go there and see what's happening.' He found a way, although it was very difficult to get there. He went there, and through dealing with the government and the people, he found this old hotel, and worked out a situation with the people there. Now he's helping them link up with making a museum. He wants to develop educational systems there. And he also has this groovy estate there. But that's how he is -- looking, searching, finding, building, creating, living. He throws down a gauntlet with a challenge of almost life or death in a sense. He sets up a creative situation where you can explore. He's forever writing and writing. When you work with him, it's like: 'OK, do it like the script. Now, improvise.' He really pushes." But while Reeves might love to act it's the trappings of publicity and stardom he doesn't particularly enjoy.

"The part of that which is un-enjoyable is sometimes the forum and the questions are out of balance," he says "In the sense that if it's a more popular magazine, the interviewer will ask you something like, 'why did you want to become an actor?' and I feel that there is an expectation. There's no real respect in the listening, or in the conversation that you're speaking about. That's frustrating. I generally don’t like to talk to strangers about myself in an open forum -- about personal things. I'm very happy to speak about what happened, generally, in what I did, felt and saw in my work. Outside that parameter I’m not very public. I’m also a fairly awkward speaker."
What are some of the favourite dumb questions? "So, what kind of girls do you like? What’s your dream date?" Reeves laughs. "In the early days I got questions like that. Hello? Is anybody out there?" And being photographed? "It depends on the day," he replies, looking a little restless. "What kind of photograph, how I’m feelin'. Greg Gorman [who shot these pictures] wants you to feel comfortable, so he directs a lot of attention on that. He sets up a situation that's very easy to be in. If you're feeling self-conscious or uncomfortable, he tries to make it so that you’re not. He'll make it work for you."

When he's not working, which is a rarity these days, Reeves does "as much as I possibly can -- and nothing. The past year was pretty intense, but I've been off work now for two or three months. There's always a transition. You finish, and classically what's happened to me in the last couple of years is that I've finished a project, and all of a sudden I come out on the other side, look around me and I’m a little bewildered and in wonder of it all. The second day after I finish work I’m full of angst, and the classic feeling of 'I'm never going to work again.' That usually lasts for a month, and after that, I sit down and enjoy the days."

Interview: Jim Turner
Photographs: Greg Gorman

I had no idea what to title this...

ANYWAY...
Here's an old article I found in my bookmarks.
An enjoyable read. I like this part...

(referring to working with William Hurt)
"He's a real serious, tense guy, you know? So I went up to him, asked him, 'Hey, Bill, what kind of movie do you think we're in?' And he said, 'Well, Keanu, if your name is Marlon and my name is Harlan, I guess we're in a comedy."

Hee.

I also have to mention this article, originally noted by zel at keanublog.
With a tagline like

Keanu Reeves's band, Dogstar, isn't very good--but since he's in it, who cares?

[Keanu speaking:]"...And Bret's wah-wah pedal is just a nightmare. It works, it doesn't work, it works, it doesn't work." Suddenly, he segues into a display of poetic gibberish that only his nonexistent twin might understand: "It wah. It just wah-wahs. It wahs, we wah over the wah that we wah." Then, as if some Ritalin had just taken effect, he's back to normal. "But those have been good tests--kind of fun, kind of wacky. We've had some really great shows and met a lot of great people. We're halfway through the tour, and all systems are go."

I see that this was her second to last article written for Westword.
Perhaps she was fired before the Bacon Brothers came to town so she didn't embarass herself further.

Geez, I'm all riled up now.
I'd better go read this article.
It always makes me feel better.

I was going through my word files last night and came across this interview/chat thing from somewhere. You know how when you cut and paste something that looks fine on the page, but when you copy it into a document it runs all together?
I hate that. Anyway, that was what this did.
Of course, I didn't bother to tidy it up before saving.
Anyway,there's a credit to Jean-Paul Chaillet, so I want to mention that. And CineLive has something to do with it, too
I think this was around the time The Gift was released.
I'm just going to share a couple of the more timeless and thoughtful questions and his answers.

Is it difficult to live your life when you are loved for being what you are not and hated for who you are?

Wow! As for friends, I have a handful who date back to school. I have had very strong relationships with them since that time. The fact that I am famous doesn't change anything. But you know, being famous usually means to be greeted by a guy who crosses your path while walking down the street. It's nothing more than that! You have to look at the good side of being a celebrity: you are famous because people enjoy your work and so, it brings you more work! But, as far as my friends go and the way they perceive me, it's... Well, you have to be in my place to understand! (laughs) As far as my private life... I cannot lie about my real personality - even though some may think otherwise - and, in an intimate relationship, it is possible not to be one's self, to hide our innermost person... That is inconceivable to me.

Are you romantic? Have you accomplished any acts of chivalry? And, do you have any models?

(A bit ill at ease) Yes... Sometimes, I've acted like a knight! In a whole, I'm quite romantic. However, it's useless to ask me for any specifics. I am not the type to give out my little secrets. As an actor, I do not feel the obligation to share my private life with the public... They appreciate my films because of my acting performances. In that, I always try to do the best that I can. But, I don't owe them anything else.

Quintessential Reeves, no?
That's a second confirmation of Keanu's romantic side *swoon*.
I also asked him the question in a chat for Sweet November.
There's some daydream fodder, eh?

Thanks to Ann for this news from Cinema Confidential:

FROM THE NEWS ARCHIVES OF CINEMA CONFIDENTIAL

Keanu Reeves as Constantine?
POSTED ON 07/01/02 AT 2:00 A.M.
BY THOMAS CHAU

Variety also reports that Keanu Reeves may be tapped to replace Nicholas Cage as the main star in "Constantine," the project based on the Hellblazer comic series.

Cage dropped out due to the departure of "The Cell" director Tarsem. Unless a new director is found, the trade reports, a deal with Reeves will not be made.

A comic character, eh?
I'll have to do a little infoseeking, as I've never heard of this one.
This comic thing seems too trendy (Spiderman, Daredevil) for Keanu to really be serious about.
I don't see this happening....but who am I?
I'd rather see him in a nice well written indy film next. It's not like he's gonna need the money from another blockbuster effects driven spectacle.
Not that that describes The Matrix Trilogy. But you know what I mean.

**Well fuck.
After a little investigating, I think I would like to see him play John Constantine. Especially since he's desribed as a "total bastard"...
Great. More comics for me to buy.
Of course, the first and foremost question being....
KEANU AS A BLONDE???

I'm not sure how I feel about that, and I know how the fanboys hate Hollywood altering crucial things like hair color in their idolized graphic novel mages.

OK, so that last statement was just so I could use the tems "fanboy" and "mage".
What do you want from me?

***After even more exhaustive research, I have decided that....
No. Keanu shouldn't play John Constantine.
The character was actually based on Sting, so WB should shell out and secure him for the role.
Jeez, can't the movie industry get behind an ORIGINAL concept/story for a change?
That being said, I would like to see Keanu play some type of "total bastard" again.

Thanks to Charlize, who pointed out that today's poll over at the Internet Movie Database is on Keanu!
You have to register, but it's quick and painless.

Go check it out.

I'd really like to see the response that's currently in the lead, well...not be.

I got Photoshop 7.0 today so I'll be busy playing with that.
If you'd like something to read, Petra from the DogstarFans egroup has graciously typed up and posted an Interview with Keanu from Interview Magazine from 1990 online.
It's an interesting read. As I read it, I thought about how much Keanu has changed in the past 12 years. But then....haven't we all?
Thanks Petra.

I can't fucking stay connected this evening so I can't go on and on about how great kaz is for sending me these scanned articles or I'll get booted YET AGAIN before they get posted, but trust me, kaz is really really great:

-From The Sydney daily Telegraph May 8, 2002

-Page one of an article on Keanu. (In a SOAP mag of all things...but look at those eyes! sigh....)

-Page 2 of same article. (oh crap, it looks like the bottom is cut off that second page...try here if it's cut off on your screen.)

kaz rulez.

"..it was the themes [in 'The Matrix'] that attracted me. I loved that this movie is about truth and a quest for the truth. Questioning absolutely everything has always been a part of my nature." - Keanu Reeves [Calgary Sun 3.27.99]

Thanks to kaz for this tidbit:

from the Daily Telegraph 24.04.02

The night before, Keanu Reeves bought three books at the Performing Arts Bookshop in Pitt St. One book was on Shakespeare, one on American Theatre, and one on acting. What a good boy.

So, maybe Reeves is thinking about doing a little stage work next year.
I wonder if he's really going to tackle The Scottish Play? I know it's been mentioned before.
If you're unfamiliar with the work, or maybe just want to learn the story in simpler terms, here's a summary.
By the way, Shakespeare's 29th play? It's cursed, you know....

Thank you to kaz for this little tidbit from the Sydney Morning Herald (5.04.02)

At the Old Fitzroy Hotel in Woolloomooloo they're performing "a raunchy sex-and-greed play", Dogs Barking. The other night, Keanu Reeves visited the show and one of the bar staff asked a big favour. Could they have his cigarette packet? And that's why, each night, when Christopher Tomkinson smokes a cigarette from a packet of Marlboros, the cast draws thespian inspiration from a packet that has been handled by a real Hollywood star. We thought we should share this.

Sayyyyyy, I could use a little inspiration now that I've taken up the guitar again. Maybe something that's been on stage at a real rock and roll concert? Like, say, maybe......
THIS SWEATY T-SHIRT

C'mon baby, support the arts!

So, the upside down header pic is about all I got in me that's April Foolish this year.
I tried searching Google for Keanu+April+fool, but that didn't turn up much of anything besides this 1993 Detour article at KeanuWeb.com. It's good. Read it if you haven't already.
Other than that, I got nothing....
Oh, I still have A FREAKING BUTTLOAD of QF CDs, so if you've bought something from the keanuvision store but don't have the means to take a picture of yourself in your stylin' new t-shirt, email me and as long as I can confirm your order, I'll send the CD anyway.
It's not as much fun as the picture, but hey, I'm easy.
It's springtime and I'm overcome with terminal ennui.
I'm sure I'll snap out of it before too long.

If anyone wants me, I'll be off playing Kung Fu Chess.

or not...

Here's another portion of that AOL chat from last year in which Keanu talks about getting (and not getting) roles:

Mr. Moviefone: SJoe0021 says: Do the costars influence you accepting a role in a movie, or is it purely script? Good question.

Keanu Reeves: Generally, my experience has been -- the past few years, it's been script and then director and then part. You know, so kind of yes, script, character, director, part.

Mr. Moviefone: I guess you pretty much get to do what you want now, don't you?

Keanu Reeves: No.

Mr. Moviefone: No?

Keanu Reeves: No. Of course not. No.

Mr. Moviefone: Really?

Keanu Reeves: No, of course not.

Mr. Moviefone: Come on.

Keanu Reeves: No, really. I mean, life is odd sometimes, where you know, you think, oh, OK, this is -- you know how when you do something and you think this is going to get easier, the more I do it?

Mr. Moviefone: Right.

Keanu Reeves: And then sometimes it doesn't? You know, and when you think it does, all of a sudden you have a moment where you go, wow, I thought I knew what I was doing, but I don't.

Mr. Moviefone: Right.

Keanu Reeves: And in work, you know, being an actor, you know, you always -- there's always a part that you want that maybe the director doesn't feel you're right for or the studio doesn't feel you're right for, you know. And I've had that experience, where it's just been like, you know, I had the begging bowl, and no one took it away from me. I still had it. I read the script and I still had the bowl.

And here is a part where Keanu talks about high school:

Mr. Moviefone: Let's take another question. Were you popular when you were in school?

Keanu Reeves: Which year?

Mr. Moviefone: High school, I guess.

Keanu Reeves: High school? The first year, no. The second year -- it depends. It was kind of depended who you -- I went to four high schools in five years.

Mr. Moviefone: Thrown out of a few? Trouble?

Keanu Reeves: I got kicked out of two.

Mr. Moviefone: Is that true?

Keanu Reeves: Yeah.

Mr. Moviefone: For what?

Keanu Reeves: They wouldn't let me back into the performing arts high school in grade 11 because, well, I had problems with the principal.

Mr. Moviefone: OK. We can leave it at that.

Keanu Reeves: Yeah.

I would SO have had a crush on him in high school.

Well, I was going to save this to post on Valentine's day, but what the hell....
This is from Keanu's AOL chat last February promoting Sweet November. I think this was the best question of the entire chat, and I'm not just saying that because it was mine.....Oh alright, maybe a little.

Mr. Moviefone: That's amazing. It looks like Matrix-something (note: that would be me, MTRXHZU) says: Thanks for spending part of your Valentine's Day with us, Keanu. Would you consider yourself a romantic?

Keanu Reeves: Yeah.

Mr. Moviefone: How?

Keanu Reeves: Not only in romance, but there's a certain part of me, especially coming out of a lot of like the kind of -- if you consider the tragedy of "Hamlet" or Romeo and Juliet, in the kind of melancholic aspect, and in romance, being with someone and saying, "Let's go. Let's get out of here." Impromptu acts or letters or phone calls or paying attention to what they like or love, and surprises, all those kinds of things to me are -- if you're in that situation, are quite fun to not only give, not only to receive, but also to give, you know.

Mr. Moviefone: All the young girls are crying over their computers right now. They're broken down, weeping.

For a full transcript of this chat and others, AOHell users can search keyword:LIVE for Keanu Reeves.
God, I sound like a shill for Time/Warner......ick.

"I enjoy a good suit, I have a nice car, I like a nice Bordeaux but I haven't bought any shrines" -on what he does with his money

"I got to perform some Shakespeare and it felt like a kind of epiphany, or something that I wanted to do more of.
So I pursued that and that same feeling of playing and investigation still exists today, except now I've matured and gotten older so a lot of my sensibilities and feelings about life have developed alongside with that original impulse to play." -on discovering acting when he was young

"I had a great time there and the people were extraordinary - although occasionally I'd read somewhere which store I'd been into and which book I had bought and that was a bit alarming when you think you're anonymous."-on Sydney

"I look at it like I'm marrying The Matrix and there is just such a true core commitment to creating it and being there every day focusing on realising what the directors want to see." -on filming

"When you see it, it's got the kind of mythical figures that make a great classic; the hero, the wise man, the warriors, the guides, the prophesy, the oracle and the Messiah, but it also has a contemporary experience to it." -on The Matrix trilogy

"For the past few years especially I feel like I've really enjoyed acting more and more by just doing a lot of it and getting more of a sense of my own technique." -on acting

"So whether it's true or not to someone who's watching my work, my own sense has been that I am coming more into my own craft." -more on acting

Keanu is like the missionary position?

That article came up in a google search for the terms "Keanu" and "Sex"

So did some Matrix slash* ,
a page with some sound clips,
this almost interesting article
and this stupid one.

*(slash is homoerotic fan fiction, consider yourself warned)

So, I'm going through the pile of stuff that 'Tash sent. I'll be keeping all the photos but most of the clippings are either going to get clipped further (for the pictures) or just tossed. I have enough chaos in my life without savng pages of magazines. By the way, she TOLD me I could toss what I didn't want, so don't think I'm an ingrate or anything. There are a couple of magazine articles that I'm reading before I make my final "cut" and I'm going to type up any really good quotes I find, and maybe make a page or something with them.
Anyway, I found this one from Movieline:

Two great 21st century mysteries wait to be solved:
How will the Chinese look in Mustang convertibles, and when will Keanu Reeves face the camera and smile?
Of course, if Reeves ever does, half of his sexual allure will go out the window. Harder to read than a doctor’s prescription, Reeves has bounced all that physical allure around for years like a heavy metal electron looking for a nucleus party to crash. It’s good to see an actor who cares more about taking chances than doing Vanity Fair covers. Even when he became a mute action hero in Speed (there were more sparks coming from the sideswiped cars than between him and Sandra Bullock), it didn’t slow down his grand evasion. Then came The Matrix and all the qualities in Reeves’ arsenal of inscrutability came together. And why not? The guy is a frigging load, a great big building of sexual empathy who could probably keep a woman out of the rain with just his big ol’ Fender bass-hugging hands –and still get her wet.

...Emphasis mine.....

Also in a little "What are you listening to?" blurb Keanu says:

Seconds Before the Accident
by Archers of Loaf
"It's new and good"

So, naturally.... I just ordered it... I'm such a lemming.

A Google search for the terms Keanu and philosophy returns over 3,000 results.

Here
Are
A
Few

And the recap is # 29. Wheeeee!

I'm alive!
And none worse for wear. Had a nice time last night, the fireworks display was impressive and I still have a fondness for K cider.
I woke up groggily this morning and turned on the computer, hoping it didn't suck.
I still need a new video card or something but I'm getting used to the brightness.
I'll spend half the day today finding good things about the new monitor, convincing myself to keep it.
Lobby and Dojo are homeless now, however. They can't live on my pillow like they did last night can they? That would be weird. Last night was special circumstances. And thankfully, I have the day off, because I don't want ot explain the tiny Keanu face imprinted in my cheek this morning.
Yeah, I have to find a place for them.
In other news~ A Keanu quote made it in to Metroactive's memorable quote's of the year.

"I mean really wonderful. In teaching. Personal epiphanies. About life. About different perspectives--help with different perspectives that you have. You know what I mean? Relationships to nature. Relationships with the self. With other people. With events."

--Actor Keanu Reeves, 36, on the "wonderful experiences" he's had with drugs

Time for the first caffiene of 2002.....

Well, I have been meandering around the web most of the morning and have a couple things to blog about.
Actually, I have more than a couple. I don't know where to start.

First off, I found an interview with photographer Chris Buck that has some Keanu content and a great picture. (I'm not sure if that is Chris with him in the pic or not)

I also found someone who did Keanu's astrological chart if you are into that kind of thing. I'm not sure how accurate it is, but it's kind of interesting.

I also found this adorable picture