Computer Boy
Encyclopedia
Computer Boy is a 2000 short film
by Australia
n director Abe Forsythe
. It is a parody
of The Matrix
. It gained a cult following after being released over the internet, receiving over 350,000 views on Ifilm. It was filmed in Sydney
, Australia and uses many of the same locations as The Matrix. Scenes from the film were included on the DVD of Ned
, Forsythe's next film after Computer Boy.
It was never fully released, the movie had an injunction put against it, forcing them to never really release it fully. The total production cost was rumoured to only have cost $2500.
The movie homepage used to be http://web.archive.org/web/20031009011807/http://www.geocities.com/cobweb_films/computerboy.html but is long since dead. The film was mostly promoted on internet forums at the time being very well received.
This is the transcript direct from one of the hosts:
Metro has often been appalled by the bloated budgets of Hollywood blockbusters. Now an 18-year-old film-maker from Newtown has laid bare Tinsel Town's shameless profligacy by making his own version of The Matrix - which was rumoured to have cost more than $100 million - for $2,500(AUS)!
Forsythe, who has seen The Matrix three times, was inspired by spoofs of The Blair Witch Project and his own irritation at Matrix audiences who ooh-ed and aah-ed when they recognised chunks of their own city on the silver screen.
He admits he had to cut a few corners to bring Computer Boy in under budget. Besides writing and directing, he took on the role of Agent Smith, the character played by Hugo Weaving in the original.
"I played him as a mixture of Hugh Grant, Dr Evil and Sean Connery," says Forsythe.
Morpheus, the mysterious cyber-guerilla played by Laurence Fishburne, is portrayed by Marcus Pointon. Forsythe says the resemblance is eerie. "He looks just like Fishburne except he's white and from New Zealand."
Not content with paying homage to The Matrix, Forsythe aimed to enhance the original plot. While the original Matrix has neither a chase sequence involving a Wilderness Society koala or action filmed covertly in McDonalds, Computer Boy has them both.
Film
A film, also called a movie or motion picture, is a series of still or moving images. It is produced by recording photographic images with cameras, or by creating images using animation techniques or visual effects...
by Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
n director Abe Forsythe
Abe Forsythe
Abe Forsythe is an Australian film and television actor, director, writer and producer. He is the son of actor and comedian Drew Forsythe.-Career:He first appeared on the TV series The Miraculous Mellops...
. It is a parody
Parody
A parody , in current usage, is an imitative work created to mock, comment on, or trivialise an original work, its subject, author, style, or some other target, by means of humorous, satiric or ironic imitation...
of The Matrix
The Matrix
The Matrix is a 1999 science fiction-action film written and directed by Larry and Andy Wachowski, starring Keanu Reeves, Laurence Fishburne, Carrie-Anne Moss, Joe Pantoliano, and Hugo Weaving...
. It gained a cult following after being released over the internet, receiving over 350,000 views on Ifilm. It was filmed in Sydney
Sydney
Sydney is the most populous city in Australia and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney is located on Australia's south-east coast of the Tasman Sea. As of June 2010, the greater metropolitan area had an approximate population of 4.6 million people...
, Australia and uses many of the same locations as The Matrix. Scenes from the film were included on the DVD of Ned
Ned (film)
Ned is an Australian film, directed by Abe Forsythe. It is satire of Australian outlaw Ned Kelly, and his iconographical status as a "hero."The film was released in the same year as Ned Kelly, starring Heath Ledger....
, Forsythe's next film after Computer Boy.
It was never fully released, the movie had an injunction put against it, forcing them to never really release it fully. The total production cost was rumoured to only have cost $2500.
The movie homepage used to be http://web.archive.org/web/20031009011807/http://www.geocities.com/cobweb_films/computerboy.html but is long since dead. The film was mostly promoted on internet forums at the time being very well received.
This is the transcript direct from one of the hosts:
Metro has often been appalled by the bloated budgets of Hollywood blockbusters. Now an 18-year-old film-maker from Newtown has laid bare Tinsel Town's shameless profligacy by making his own version of The Matrix - which was rumoured to have cost more than $100 million - for $2,500(AUS)!
Forsythe, who has seen The Matrix three times, was inspired by spoofs of The Blair Witch Project and his own irritation at Matrix audiences who ooh-ed and aah-ed when they recognised chunks of their own city on the silver screen.
He admits he had to cut a few corners to bring Computer Boy in under budget. Besides writing and directing, he took on the role of Agent Smith, the character played by Hugo Weaving in the original.
"I played him as a mixture of Hugh Grant, Dr Evil and Sean Connery," says Forsythe.
Morpheus, the mysterious cyber-guerilla played by Laurence Fishburne, is portrayed by Marcus Pointon. Forsythe says the resemblance is eerie. "He looks just like Fishburne except he's white and from New Zealand."
Not content with paying homage to The Matrix, Forsythe aimed to enhance the original plot. While the original Matrix has neither a chase sequence involving a Wilderness Society koala or action filmed covertly in McDonalds, Computer Boy has them both.
Cast
- Michael Falzon as Neo
- Marcus Pointon as Morpheus
- Simone Chapman as Trinity
- Abe Forsythe as Agent Smith
- Marc Turner as Agent Kowalski
- Brett Garten as Agent Jones
- Daniel Peters as Cypher
- Daniel Tobar as Tank
- Andrew Brittain as Hobo
- Alexander Hazelbrook as Spoon Boy
- Justin Hazelbrook as Colour Book Boy
- Sharyn Winney as Sheet Girl
- Charles Falzon as Chuck
- Ryan Tan as Asian
- Miguel Sanchez as Bob/Oracle/Hobo/Juggler/Koala