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Matrix Reloaded Filming Wants to Shut Sydney Down
ro_len writes "News.com.au is reporting the producers of the Matrix Realoaded are looking to shut down Sydney for the filming of the final scene which involves flying a helicopter across the city at less than 600 feet above ground. It is supposed to be the most complicated sequence ever filmed." Just plain nuts. Here is a
previous story about the trailer, and another one announcing the film.
Guys... it's two too three streets being shut down, for a peroid no longer than two days. Buildings along George and Sussex streets are being evacuted for public safety reasons. Other than that, its business as usual in our fair city.
I repeat. They are *not* shutting down all of sydney.
Janie took my gun...
Yeah. It's not unheard of, though. I remember hearing that the main eccentric guy in "Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil" got severely pissed about some network filming a civil war miniseries down south had all of the roads covered with dirt and other stuff... apparently, he took pains to piss movie people off. Something I'd be all for.
I remember when they were filming some movie about the Brinks robbery in Boston, they forced people to take down TV antennas from their houses, so it would look more authentically 1930's (this was back in the 70's, before cable). Apparently strong-arm tatcics were used.
Finally, I was watching a TV show about a famous local chef, who was contacted by movie people, who wanted to use his restuaunt as a setting in a movie. Great, he thought. The people came in, and completely changed over his place, making it look nothing like the original. He asked "uh, so why did you want to film here if you wanted to change everything about the place?" "Oh, because the *light* was just *perfect*."
One wonders why they need to actually fly an helicopter over an actual city, resulting in the shutting down of said city. Even if computer graphics can't give them what they want as far as flying over the city, surely they could use one of those light-weight robotic camaeras on a radio-controlled helicopter to film the scene. That would be a lot less dangerous to the general populace, meaning it would be a lot less disruptive.
Geez. It's all just freakin' entertainment. I'll be glad when it all goes virtual, and we won't have to deal with these people who think movies are more important than real life.
Filmmaker: "Please have a look at this script, it's specially printed for you on green paper with some transparent parts for the so called `special effects'".
Okay, while Sydneysiders do seem to make up a disproportionate fraction of Slashdot readers, I'll go ahead and spell this one out for the rest of the planet.
Aussie money is printed on plastic-coated paper in various colors. Each bank note has a little transparent plastic "window" in it as a counterfeit-countermeasure. (Heh.)
So green pieces of paper with little transparent bits are Aussie $100 notes. So the joke is that the mayor is being bribed by the W brothers.
Get it? Huh? Get it? Hah!
(More info about Aussie money can be found here.