Showing posts with label Keanu Reeves. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Keanu Reeves. Show all posts
Every ’90s kid had a crush on Keanu Reeves! Come on. Speed, Matrix, the works-Priyanka Chopra
8:14 AM
Renuka Vyavahare (BOMBAY TIMES; December 22, 2021)
Priyanka Chopra Jonas’ unwavering ambition to push boundaries outweighs her inner fears.PC will be seen in a significant role in the upcoming Matrix movie — The Matrix Resurrections, starring Keanu Reeves and Carrie-Anne Moss, which hits the theatres this week. In a chat with us from the US, the actress speaks about her big Hollywood release, crushing on Keanu, lack of opportunities in Hollywood and why she decided to drop her surname on social media.
Your scenes in the film demand you to be calm while mouthing some jargon-heavy lines in front of Keanu Reeves. He’s one actor, who every ’90s kid had a crush on. Growing up, did you, too, feel the same? How did you navigate your way on set in the presence of an actor like him?
Every ’90s kid had a crush on Keanu Reeves! Come on. Speed, Matrix, the works. However, when I was playing the character that I do in the film, you didn’t think about those things. I was very intimidated just being there. I had all my scenes in one night. All those scenes have lots of words and I had to say them all in one night. I had 45 minutes to say them, so I was totally focussed on my job. I went in well-rehearsed, yet was very nervous to say all those words in front of the whole cast and Lana (director Lana Wachowski). I told myself, ‘I’ve done this for 21 years. I got this,’ and I did. When you are batting in the big league, you’ve got to pull your socks up. After we finished the movie and started promoting it, I allowed myself to get a little giddy! (smiles).
The internet is flooded with some beautiful anecdotes on how great a human Keanu is. Is he indeed the nicest guy in Hollywood?
Keanu is considerate, gentle and a kind person. He is socially aware and has the ability to read the room. That’s what makes him kind and compassionate. He is just very aware of everyone around him.
As an Indian actor in America, you’ve been vocal about the need for representation and inclusion in Hollywood and how society needs to become colour-blind if we aspire to be truly global. Have you seen a change since?
I don’t think that’s accurate. I feel people need to be conscientious about creating opportunities for people of colour. As South Asian actors, we definitely don’t have enough opportunities in Hollywood. We have to fight much harder to get lead parts or prominent roles in big commercial movies. It takes a lot of work. I have been working in Hollywood for almost 10 years, and just about now, I am finally doing the work that I was looking forward to. It takes a lot of work to educate the world about the talent and recognition that South Asian entertainers deserve. We are one-fifth of the world population, but you don’t see that represented in English language entertainment. I hope that I can shoulder the responsibility to get more opportunities. It took a lot of pounding the pavement to be able to even create that for myself.
Something as basic as dropping your surname ‘Jonas’ from your Instagram profile became a topic of scrutiny. It even sparked speculation about a rift in your marriage. Why did you drop the surname, and what did you think of the uproar that followed?
I don’t know! I wanted the username to match my Twitter, I guess. I just find it really amusing that everything becomes such a huge deal to people! It’s social media, guys. Just chill out!
I got a chance to go to the edge of the Ganges, and sit and see the wheel of life-Keanu Reeves
8:24 AM
Keanu Reeves talks about his love for India, and how the Matrix franchise is influenced by Indian philosophy
Sugandha Rawal (HINDUSTAN TIMES; December 19, 2021)
From watching the rituals of death to experiencing the hustle bustle of life, Hollywood star Keanu Reeves lived through the circle of life at the banks of Ganges. And that’s something which continues to stay alive in his mind.
“During my first time in India, I remember just being on the streets and seeing the amazing life... I got a chance to go to the edge of the Ganges, and sit and see the wheel of life,” Reeves tells us over a video call from New York, USA.
Refraining from divulging specifics about his visit to the country, the actor continues, “[I saw] people mourning and the ritual of death. And at the same time, all the shamans, the families and the animal life, water, the trees, the air… The [whole] breath of life. I was grateful to sit there, be a part of it and have that experience.”
Reeves, 57, who will soon be back as Neo with The Matrix Resurrections, also reveals that he has been to Mumbai for “a little bit of time”. And it is not just Indian culture which has found a place in his heart. Bollywood has also impressed him, as he says, “I have seen a few films. But I wouldn’t know the titles of the projects.”
Opening up about his Indian connection, he points out how the concept of “being and not being, in permanence and resurrection” links Indian philosophy to the Matrix universe in some way.
The latest instalment of the film franchise also stars actor Priyanka Chopra Jonas, and Reeves says, “Priyanka is fantastic. She is a lovely actress and a person. It was really great to work with her.”
Priyanka Chopra in talks to join Matrix 4; to share screen with Keanu Reeves
7:52 AM
Continuing her knack of bagging big-budget offerings, Chopra sets her eyes on franchise’s next edition headlined by Keanu Reeves
MID-DAY (January 30, 2020)
After a two-year stint of consistently springing surprises on cinephiles, Priyanka Chopra Jonas has yet again made fans go: How did she do that?
After reports of her teaming up with Avengers: Endgame directors Russo Brothers hit headlines, it is now suggested that Chopra is in talks to feature in the coveted forthcoming franchise of The Matrix.
The upcoming fourth film will be headlined by Keanu Reeves again. Warner Bros and the Village Roadshow Limited film is being directed by series co-creator Lana Wachowski. Carrie-Anne Moss, Yahya Abdul-Mateen II and Neil Patrick Harris are also associated with the project. Details about Chopra’s prospective character are currently under wraps.
The Matrix 4 cast has been in fight-training for weeks before production work starts in Northern California. The first film in the series released in 1999, and depicted a dystopian future where artificial beings have taken over humanity, which is unknowingly trapped inside a simulated reality, called the Matrix. It spawned two sequels, The Matrix Reloaded and The Matrix Revolutions, which released back-to-back in 2003.
Chopra, who was last seen in the Farhan Akhtar-starrer The Sky is Pink, will next be seen in Netflix’s We Can Be Heroes, by Robert Rodriguez, and an adaptation of the Man Booker Prize winning novel The White Tiger. She will film Matrix 4 in tandem with Citadel, an Amazon series with Richard Madden, from the Russo brothers.
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