Development
Who produced "The Matrix" with Warner Bros?
The Matrix
In 1994, the Wachowskis presented the script for the film "Assassins" to Warner Brothers. After Lorenzo di Bonaventura, the president of production of the company at the time, read the script, he decided to buy rights to it and included two more pictures, "Bound" and "The Matrix", in the contract. The first movie the Wachowskis directed, "Bound", then became a critical success. Using this momentum, the brothers later asked to direct "The Matrix". Producer Joel Silver soon joined the project. Although the project had key supporters like Silver and Di Bonaventura to influence the company, "The Matrix" was still a huge investment for Warner Bros, which had to invest $60 million to create a movie with deep philosophical ideas and difficult special effects. The Wachowskis therefore hired underground comic book artists Geof Darrow and Steve Skroce to draw a 600-page, shot-by-shot storyboard for the entire film. The storyboard eventually earned the studio's approval, and it was decided to film in Australia to make the most of the budget. Soon, "The Matrix" became a co-production of Warner Bros. and the Australian company Village Roadshow Pictures.