Matrix Star Sues Makers
Jilted actor seeks compensation...The actor who starred as hover-ship pilot and all round hero Tank in the first Matrix movie is suing the makers of the series for failing to cast him in the two sequels.
Marcus Chong has filed a lawsuit at Los Angeles Superior Court against Warner Br
os and parent company AOL Time Warner.It said Warner breached a 1998 verbal agreement, and a contract signed in 2000, to revive the character for the forthcoming Matrix Reloaded and Revolutions.
Chong, 35, also alleges that the film-makers defamed him by publishing false statements that he was a terrorist, and claimed he was effectively blackballed in Hollywood following the row.
However a bail receipt posted on a fan website suggests the actor was arrested on 18 October 2000, for making threats shortly after the collapse of talks with the studio.
Spokesmen for Matrix directors Andy and Larry Wachowski and Warner declined to comment on the court case.
Industry sources claim the actor made repeated phone calls of a threatening nature after a breakdown in talks caused by his salary demands, and was subsequently written out of the second and third films in the series.
Tank is replaced as ship operator by a new character called Link, played by Harold Perrineau Jr.
