Producers are refuting a claim that Keanu Reeves’ The Matrix 4 broke COVID-19 laws by posing a wrap party as part of the film’s production.
Production on The Matrix 4 is currently underway overseas after starting in San Francisco earlier this year. Filming was put on hold due to COVID-19 like so many others, but have been back in production for some time now. While film productions are following strict COVID-19 protocols, The Guardian and the Bild are claiming that The Matrix 4 violated safety measures by having around 200 people, which reportedly included Keanu Reeves, for a wrap party that was disguised as a film shoot at the Babelsberg film studios.
Berlin and the state of Brandenburg currently have COVID-19 measures put into place that limit party capacity to 50-people. Film productions like The Matrix 4 can bypass these laws, but Germany’s health officials are now on the case. Someone who allegedly attended the 200-person gathering said the following to the Bild:
“The mood was exuberant [at the party]. Everyone was given a corona PCR test in advance. Everyone needed to come wearing a mask but many people didn’t wear them as the party wore on. No directorial instructions were given, there was no clapperboard and no one was filming.”
However, Studio Babelsberg spokeswoman Bianca Markarewicz responded to these claims by stating the 200-person gathering was for a “celebration scene” in the Keanu Reeves-led film, per The Matrix 4 producers. Markarewicz also added:
“The hygiene regulations were complied with. The production team consciously put this shoot with its many participants, right at the end of the filming.”
The Matrix and its two sequels collectively earned a total of $1.6 billion at the worldwide box office. Keanu Reeves and Carrie-Anne Moss portrayed Neo and Trinity, respectively, in all three chapters of the film series, each of which were directed by Lana and Lilly Wachowski.
Directed by Lana Wachowski from a script she co-wrote with Aleksandar Hemon and David Mitchel, the upcoming sequel, The Matrix 4 stars Keanu Reeves, Carrie-Anne Moss, Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, Jonathan Groff, Toby Onwumere, Eréndira Ibarra, Neil Patrick Harris, Jessica Henwick, Priyanka Chopra, Andrew Caldwell, and Brian J. Smith.
The Matrix 4 is currently set to hit theaters on April 1, 2022. Stay tuned for all the latest news on Keanu Reeves’ upcoming film and be sure to subscribe to Heroic Hollywood’s YouTube channel for more original video content.
Sources: The Guardian and Bild
The post ‘The Matrix 4’ Allegedly Broke COVID-19 Laws For Wrap Party appeared first on Heroic Hollywood.
