- It was groundbreaking in terms of diversity,
diversity of ideas, diversity of cast.
And so, it's not surprising to me that,
that community is also finding a home
within the stories of ‘The Matrix’.
- You were both really young when ‘The Matrix’,
the original ‘Matrix’ film came out.
Can you tell us a little bit
about your first impressions of it?
- My first impression I think I was like,
I might have been, I had to be 14 or something like that,
14, 15.
I'm sitting over at one of my friend's house
and I'm sitting like two feet away from the television,
and I'm glued to it.
And I was just so freaked out by the bugs,
by the bug, the scorpion, well, I forget what it's called.
But, coming out of the belly button, it was just like,
that freaked me out the most. And then by the mouth closing,
it was just, it was like one of the freakiest things
I ever seen in the television.
So for me, "The Matrix"
was a little bit of a horror experience when I first saw it.
I liked the action and things like that too, that was cool.
But that's probably what stuck with me the most.
How about you Jess?
- Wow. Yeah, no, I mean, I had a pretty similar experience.
I too sat at my friend's house glued to the TV.
And yeah, now that you say it, when you say it,
it jogs my memory, (Yahya laughing)
that I was terrified.
But also you know the martial arts thing, that was cool.
Like the bullet time, I remember that,
would do that in school with all the other kids, yeah.
- ‘The Matrix Resurrections’ makes quite a direct reference
to the fan theory that ‘The Matrix’ is a trans metaphor.
I wondered, have you had much time to sit with that theory
and how does it feel to know that
the world's trans and nonbinary community
is really looking forward to this film?
- I personally have not sat with that theory,
but I think that that's one of the cool things
about ‘The Matrix’, is that there's a way in for everyone.
That's, you know, it's made in the spirit of inclusion.
It's made, you know, Jess was pointing out to,
just yesterday that in terms of science-fiction films
and action films, it was one of the most,
it was groundbreaking in terms of diversity,
diversity of ideas, diversity of cast.
And so it's not surprising to me that,
that community is also finding a home
within the stories of ‘The Matrix’.
- Yeah. I love it.
I think Lana was so ahead of the game and,
obviously everything she makes is very personal to her
and yeah, I loved it.
People are excited to see the film.
- You both have pretty amazing outfits in the film.
Did you get to keep any of the clothes?
(Yahya laughing)
- No, I didn't keep.
I would have liked to keep the gold suit,
and maybe some of the shades too, but.
- I have your shades. - Do you?
- Yes. - Well done.
(Jessica laughing)
- I took Morpheus' shades and my shades.
- See, I think by the time we finished filming,
I just wanted to put on my sweats and go home.
(Yahya laughing)
It was such a long shoot.
But if I had a second chance,
I probably will take a look at the gold,
like the gold bathroom suit.
- Could you talk us through
Lana's directorial process a little bit?
What was your impression? Is she very collaborative?
Is she very strict?
- No, not very strict.
I think Lana, she's very hands-on I think,
a centimeter more and she'd be in the frame.
You know, sometimes you know,
she'd even grab the camera from the DP, you know,
and she's very much on her feet in the film.
She's a physical director, you know,
she doesn't direct from the chair,
she's physically and emotionally invested.
She's a teacher also I think, you know,
she collaborates, but she also teaches.
So she will take a moment to teach about lighting or film,
or you know, and she also likes her work.
She's a fan of her work too.
Check this out, this is a really close shot, right?
And then, you know, this is gonna be great.
And she's a dreamer too.
So it's very inspiring to watch someone like her
work for me.
- No, I would agree that Lana is very hands-on,
you know, she's been working with the same crew
for a really long time,
and so they all know that no department is safe.
She will pick up the camera, she will move lights,
she will move props herself,
which is very rare to see a director do.
Normally, that kind of hold off in video village,
but she's that, I know that we had to ADR a bunch of lines,
re-record a bunch of lines in post production,
because she shuffles her feet.
And she's so close to camera, that you can just hear
in so many scenes you just hear
(shuffling noises)
(Jessica laughing)
But yeah,
I would say hands-on is the right way to describe her.