The Matrix Movies stolen?

[Mr. SmartyPants]

all i can saw is... Wow

http://www.slccglobelink.com/news/2004/10/28/Entertainment/mother.Of.The.Matrix.Victorious-785067.shtml?page=1

[MorwenLaicoriel]

Isn't there also an anime they took the plot from, too?

[Mangafanatic]

It's really similar to alot of anime. I once heard a story that when they pitched the story to Warner Brothers, they showed a clip from Ghost in Shell. Could be totally false, but that's just what I saw.

[ShiroiHikari]

the "Matrix" concept came from a pen-and-paper RPG called Shadowrun, waaaay back. I'm surprised we haven't heard more about that.

[Mr. SmartyPants]

yeah, im nto suprised its comprised of many storys and animes and other random stuff, but its so weird

[Rocketshipper]

LOL, Terminator too? That's very amusing because I always though that Matrix ripped off the Terminator series.

[mechana2015]

A lot of it is also very similar to a book called Neuromancer which was written by William Gibson back in the early 80's. He actually used the term Matrix in his books.

[glitch1501]

the "Matrix" concept came from a pen-and-paper RPG called Shadowrun, waaaay back. I'm surprised we haven't heard more about that.

i heard that a shadowrun game is in the works by microsoft

[Warrior 4 Jesus]

Hey guys, just because something is similar doesn't mean it ripped off somethings. Whether its books, movies, music etc they are all inspired by different sources and some can be quite similar to the original source. But in this case it looks like you may be right on the money.

[Link Antilles]

That shocks me quite a bit. I think it's wrong that the Wachowski Brothers have used someone else's work – even without paying this someone anything - and then hope that it won’t be noticed. I hope that they'll pay a sizeable fine. No wonder the sequels sucked. They didn't have any scripts to steal for those.

However, all this doesn't change the fact that the Matrix is (still) an enjoyable film, and it'll continue to be for me - whether written by the Wachowski Brothers or somebody else.

One thing that bothers me more about the article is AOL-Time Warner. I had no idea they controlled that much of the media. It's kind of frightening, really.

[ShiroiHikari]

AOL-Time Warner. I had no idea they controlled that much of the media. It's kind of frightening, really.

how could they own that much with other giants such as Fox, Viacom, Disney, etc...

[Solid Ronin]

the "Matrix" concept came from a pen-and-paper RPG called Shadowrun, waaaay back. I'm surprised we haven't heard more about that.

YEAH! I know that RPG...My freind bought the card game..We thought that was quite strange

Perhaps this Woman will write squeals to her scrpit....That would be good....AlthoughT I dont think the matrix squeals sucked..They could have been MUCH better!

[Rocketshipper]

I like the sequals more the the original. I think Matrix 1 was HIGHLY over-rated. The first time I saw it I was like "everyone said this was the coolest move ever! It sucks" I didn't start liking it until after I saw Reloaded and the Animatrix

[Stephen]

Heh...perhaps this is why the brothers never came out and showed themselves. If I knew I had got all my fame from stealing it from another I would be ashamed too. However, I would have to read her work myself before I buy into any taking of sides. All you guys are seeing is one side to this...*shrug* Would not be the first time this has happend though. Author Stephen King is horrible about it. Never admits it either. His TV movie Rose Red was a dead steal of the Winchester Mansion story....

[Solid Ronin]

I like the sequals more the the original. I think Matrix 1 was HIGHLY over-rated. The first time I saw it I was like "everyone said this was the coolest move ever! It sucks" I didn't start liking it until after I saw Reloaded and the Animatrix

To a point I agree with you...The action and depth in the Sequals surpassed the orignal by far..The only probelm is that the Third one didnt give any answers to the question that gave them that depth.

[Rocketshipper]

His TV movie Rose Red was a dead steal of the Winchester Mansion story....

What's that, I've never heard of it? With Rose Red it seemed to me more like Stephen King was ripping himself off. That story had lots of elements from previous books, like that "stones falling on the house" thing, which came directly from Carrey.

[uc pseudonym]

I will defend the rights of creators to not be analyzed in depth to see if they have taken any elements whatsoever from other sources in the past. Very little is entirely new, originality does not imply that it is new.

But I will not defend the brothers stealing a script. There isn't any justification for that. Disappointing, but as has been said, it is still a good movie.

[termyt]

Hey guys, just because something is similar doesn't mean it ripped off somethings. Whether its books, movies, music etc they are all inspired by different sources and some can be quite similar to the original source. But in this case it looks like you may be right on the money.

That's why I was initially skeptical, too. There aren't really any new stories, just the same ones told again in a different light. But after reading the article, apparently they did knowingly rip the woman off, so I'm glad they got nailed.

[the_lizardqueen]

I was under the impression that the concept of the Matrix is almost identical to Plato's Allegory of the Cave. Plato basically sets up this theoretical situation in which humans are being held prisoner in a cavern and they are only allowed to see shadows their entire lives and only one or two prisoners manage to ever escape to the real world of the sun. He basically uses the scenario to question reality, although it's all supposed to be a big metaphor for 'rising above the world of the senses into the intellectual realm of the mind' (I think my humanities teacher said something along that line..). Not sure my summary made any sense, but I definitely think that the allegory is freakishly similar to the concept of the matrix and the Wachowski brothers are into all that philosophy stuff, aren't they?

[Stephen]

What's that, I've never heard of it? With Rose Red it seemed to me more like Stephen King was ripping himself off. That story had lots of elements from previous books, like that "stones falling on the house" thing, which came directly from Carrey.

The Winchester mansion story, many claim to be real. Winchester firearms. The original guy...a daughter or grand-daughter or something...went to a medium and asked when she would die...she was told she would die when her house was completed. She then kept having more rooms added. I am not aware of the whole story but there are a great deal of similiar things to Rose Red. Stephen King lives like 25 minutes from here....my opinion of him has, and always will be. Overrated. I enjoy some of his stuff...but they act like he is the hottest thing since sliced bread. (Sorry for dragging this offtopic) Back to the brothers stealing a script! ^^;;

[uc pseudonym]

I was under the impression that the concept of the Matrix is almost identical to Plato's Allegory of the Cave. Plato basically sets up this theoretical situation in which humans are being held prisoner in a cavern and they are only allowed to see shadows their entire lives and only one or two prisoners manage to ever escape to the real world of the sun. He basically uses the scenario to question reality, although it's all supposed to be a big metaphor for 'rising above the world of the senses into the intellectual realm of the mind' (I think my humanities teacher said something along that line..). Not sure my summary made any sense, but I definitely think that the allegory is freakishly similar to the concept of the matrix and the Wachowski brothers are into all that philosophy stuff, aren't they?

They may be, but I would personally doubt that they derived the series from Plato's Allegory. My impressions of it (I have not given it a serious reading, however) did not really correlate to the Matrix movies. This could be so, but I personally doubt it.

[the_lizardqueen]

I found a link that does a way better job of explaining the Cave Allegory/Matrix parallels:

http://www.geocities.com/larkspur10/neo/matrixplatoscave.html

If you google 'Cave Allegory' and 'Matrix', there are quite a few other pages out there too.

In the end, I don't entirely know where I sit with the whole plagiarizing issue. I definitely think that it isn't right to directly steal another person's work (written, drawn, painted, ect.), but ideas and concepts tend to be a bit iffier. As an artist, I often struggle to come up with original ideas, and often times, even when I think that I've finally found something original, I later discover that I was unconsciously inspired by something I had read or seen in the past. I sometimes end up wondering if we're going to run out of new ideas at some point. I definitely think my opinion was heavily influenced by Spider Robinson's by Melancholy Elephants, it's basically an odd story/essay on how copyright law will eventually drive mankind crazy.
Hope I'm not getting off topic here..