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The Matrix co-creator hates the iconic movie poster that adorned a million walls
The Wachowskis look at the poster for The Matrix and think it looks like "early AI slop."
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Marketing for a movie like The Matrix is an industry all its own. Even the directors of the films didn’t get the final say on the posters used to promote The Matrix. In fact, the Wachowskis have said that they actually hate the most iconic poster for The Matrix, pointing out that the image of Morpheus, Neo, and Trinity that we all know has the look of early “AI slop” to them.
During a recent interview, Lilly Wachowski discussed her disdain for that iconic image. Keanu Reeves stood in the foreground in an action pose. Carrie-Anne Moss off to the side. Laurence Fishburne looming behind Reeves while Joe Pantoliano is just… kinda there. It is one of the most famous movie posters of all time, but the Wachowskis hated it because it doesn't actually tell anyone what The Matrix is about.
“We didn’t like them,” Lilly Wachowski explained. “Those kinds of composites are always frustrating because the composites never make any sense. They’re like early versions of AI slop, where I look at that poster, and all I see is Morpheus behind Neo; his shoulder is above Neo, but his hand is actually longer than Neo’s hand. So either Morpheus has really long arms or Neo has really short arms. [Laughs] That’s all I see. And the guns! They’re just not interesting. It’s not evocative of anything. That poster doesn’t mean anything. I think we’re always looking for the poster to, you know, be an ambassador for the film – to try and tick a box in terms of what it means, what the movie is about. So, eh. You know. Everybody likes the poster! What do I know?”
Now that she’s pointed it out, we can’t stop looking at Morpheus’ weirdly long arms in The Matrix poster. How did we miss that for so long?
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