Trivia from Matrix Reloaded
Trivia from The Matrix Revolutions

Interesting Facts from IMDB.com - The Matrix (1999)

The role of Neo:

• Ewan McGregor was offered, but turned down, the part of Neo.
• Will Smith was approached to play Neo but turned it down in order make Wild Wild West (1999).

The role of Morpheus:

• Val Kilmer was at one time attached to play Morpheus.

The role of Trinity:

• Carrie-Anne Moss twisted her ankle while shooting one of her scenes but decided not to tell anyone until after filming, so they wouldn't re-cast her.

The role of Seraph:

• The role of "Seraph" was originally written specifically for Jet Li. When Li declined, the role was then changed to a female and offered to Michelle Yeoh, who turned it down due to scheduling conflicts.

Art meets reality:

• According to some crew members, Keanu Reeves was really vomiting as shown in the film when his character Neo leaves The Matrix for the first time. It was because of a chicken pot pie he ate, apparently.

References to other movies:

• The scene in which Neo meets the gifted children in the Oracle's apartment is an homage to the similar scene at the end of Akira (1988). The Wachowski brothers acknowledged the influence of anime films in a brief USA Today interview a few days after the film's release.
• There are numerous references to "Alice in Wonderland" and "Through the Looking-Glass and What Alice Found There".
• The blocking moves Neo uses against Agent Smith upon his realization of being "the One", are the exact same techniques Daniel LaRusso uses against Mr. Miyagi upon his realization that he has in fact been Karate training in Karate Kid, The (1984) . Sand the floor, paint the fence, wax on, wax off...

Coincidences:

• Carrie-Anne Moss (Trinity) played Liz Teel in the TV series "Matrix" (1993).
• In Tuskegee Airmen, The (1995) (TV), Laurence Fishburne also had a crewmember named "Tank."

The computer screens:

• The glyphs on the computer screens, with the exception of the call traces, consists of reversed letters, numbers, and Japanese katakana characters.

Numbers:

• Trinity's room number is 303 ("trinity" 3). Neo is The One and number of his apartment is 101.
• The number of the phone Trinity was using at the beginning of the movie is 555-0690.
• Neo's room number is 101. Room 101 was the place in George Orwell's book "1984" where people were sent to be tortured and would end up believing something that wasn't true.
• Neo is often referred to as the "One". One is an anagram of Neo.

Neo:

Some personal information can be seen on Thomas Anderson's "criminal record" that Agent Smith glances at when he interrogates Neo:

• The last update to the file was July 22, 1998
• Neo's date of birth is "March 11, 1962"
• Neo's place of birth is "Lower Downtown, Capitol City"
• Neo's mother's maiden name is "Michelle McCahey"
• Neo's father's name is "John Anderson"
• Neo attended "Central West Junior High" and "Sean Paterson High"
• The name of the company Neo works for is Metacortex.

Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery:

• By the middle of 2002, the famous "Bullet Time" sequence had been spoofed in over 20 different movies.

Timeline:

• The date stamp on the phone trace program in the opening sequence reads "2/18/99". The date stamp on the phone trace program in the closing sequence reads "9/18/99". This means that the events in the movie take place over exactly 7 months.

Double duty:

• When Neo is running away from the agents, the window washers are played by the two directors of the movie.
  

Inspiration

• The movie was inspired by the Hex trilogy of books by Rhiannon Lassiter.