How Keanu Saved 'The Matrix'

Posted Tuesday, January 28, 2003 at 11:37 AM Central

by John Couture

One of the most talked about and well-received Superbowl commercials was for the upcoming The Matrix: Reloaded. But, word out of Hollywood today claims that it took a major sacrifice from star Keanu Reeves to even insure that an audience would see the sequels to The Matrix.

The story goes that Keanu was slated for a huge percentage of the box office gross before the studio recovered its costs. With the special effects budget skyrocketing out of orbit, studio bosses were on the edge of pulling the plug on the costly sequels. Enter Keanu from stage right. He agreed to forego his back-end deal in the interest of saving the movies.

His loss is to the tune of nearly $38 million.

"Whoa!"