The Wachowskis "The Matrix", a science fiction action film, in 1999. The movie stars Keanu Reeves as Neo, a hacker recruited by a rebellion to aid them in the fight against machines who have taken over the world and placed humanity inside a simulated reality called "the Matrix". Laurence Fishburne, Carrie-Anne Moss, Hugo Weaving and Joe Pantoliano also star. The movie was a critical and commercial hit for Warner Bros. It won four Academy Awards, including for "Best Visual Effects" for popularizing the bullet time visual effect. "The Matrix" came to be a major influence for action movies and has appeared in
Keanu Reeves An unofficial holiday was created when a Facebook fan page declared June 15 as "Cheer-up Keanu Day". On the first anniversary of "Cheer-up Keanu Day", Reeves was interviewed for an article in the British newspaper "The Guardian". In 2008, Reeves was sued in Los Angeles Superior Court by paparazzo Alison Silva. The unsuccessful $711,974 suit claimed that Reeves hit and injured Silva with a Porsche after concluding a family visit at a Los Angeles medical facility. The lawsuit took a year and a half to make it to trial, during which time Silva continued to attack Reeves and demand payment.