Reloading The Matrix with Jada - Mrs. Smith that is!
It has been nearly two years since the fabulous Mrs. Smith has graced audiences with her presence on Hollywood’s silver screen. This month, Jada shows audiences that the wait is over, starring in the highly anticipated film The Matrix: Reloaded.
In the film, Jada plays the tough as nails Captain Niobe whose sheer tenacity, and strength adds to her being one of the most crucial new characters involved in the Zion Resistance. “Niobe is captain of the Logos,” mentions the actress “which is the smallest and fastest Hovercraft in the rebel fleet.” For all you die hard Matrix fans in this particular installment of the film you will find that “choice is an illusion created between those with power and those without” and the name of the game is to save the city of Zion. As a refresher in 1999, The Matrix was unleashed worldwide as an epic story exploring themes of free will, alienation, the cost of ignorance and the price of knowledge. Now in this second part of the film, new characters such as Jada’s Captain Niobe, make the story all the more alluring. Much like Jada, Niobe is a personality of great courage and intelligence whose relation to the Zion Resistance is relative to the choices she makes for her fellow crew members. “Niobe doesn’t believe in anything but herself,” states Jada of her character. “She’s extremely arrogant in that once she’s got her mind set on something, you’re not gonna change it,” adds the star. Originally shot as a single film to be told in two parts (The Matrix Reloaded, and The Matrix Revolutions) the film is one of the most tantalizing visual benchmarks of action filmmaking to date. Needless to say, it tops the first one. Infused with furious action sequences, the film allows audiences to see a very different side of Jada. In her brutal yet elegant presentation of Captain Niobe, Jada proves that she is a full-fledged contender within mainstream films. Whether she knows it or not, she is not only breaking new ground in the mainstream realm, but is quickly becoming a power player in revolutionizing entertainment as w know it. Through this character, black actors worldwide will be living vicariously through her work. In short, the woman is making history. Thinking back to her career pre-A Different world, the vivacious actress states “I always knew this was for me, A Different World was a stepping stone, so when I look at my life today, I say ‘ok you’re on point – you gotta keep it moving’.” In getting involved with Reloaded, Jada mentioned that she had the opportunity to meet the Wachowski Brothers (writers/directors of the film) after the first installment of The Matrix. To her pleasant surprise, they had written a character tailored for her in Reloaded, Revolutions and the video game. “Matrix for me is the dream project,” says the actress. “The Wachowski Brothers shows a woman’s strength and vulnerability – they are the first white men that have a concept of what being a true woman is about,” added Jada. In short, these filmmakers managed to capture the beauty, power and strength of a woman- moreover a black woman with her character. In the film, Captain Niobe, as you may have guessed is the only black female character who possess the power to make choices that historically only men in films have been allowed to make. Niobe was one of the two undeniably powerful female characters within the film – the other was Trinity (played by Carrie-Ann Moss) and one of three powerful black characters in the core cast, Captain’s Morpheus and Lock are the others (played by Laurence Fishburne and Harry Lennix respectively). One of the biggest challenges incurred by the actress, was being away from familiar surroundings on location in Austrailia for several months – not to mention the death of a young woman who reminded Jada of herself at the beginning of her career. “I was very troubled when I learned of Aaliyah’s death,” says Jada. “She was so revved to go – she was such a bright light, it was really refreshing to have that young, energetic energy” further adds the screen siren. Jada was taken aback by Aaliyah’s, not only as admirer of her work, but moreover as a mother. “To me knowing that energy that I’d seen was gone – and being a mother I felt myself trying to understand what her family was going through, she had it all and in an instant she was gone.” Aaliyah was later replaced by on the rise
actress Nona Gaye in the film. On being a mother, Jada is more sentimental than one might think. For one thing, she embraces her role as a mother and wife more than we know. “Being a mother definitely, put things into perspective for me,” says Jada. “It let me know that none of this [fame, and celebrity] really matters, but at the end of the day the Hollywood thing can not being your life – it can be part of your life,” adds the screen maverick. Motherhood has given Jada added wisdom – “my kids and my husband are my life that’s where the joy and love is.” In a business where people love you today and hate you tomorrow – Jada does not trip over the politics within the entertainment industry because she knows that her kids will love her forever and that is where her priorities remain. Speaking with Jada is like speaking with an old friend whose wisdom and compassion oozes from their soul. Her refreshed, carefree demeanor indicates that she is at peace with the way things are going in her life. “Motherhood, changes everyone – whether for the good or the worse – for me luckily it brought the best out of me,” says Jada. “It brings you a lot of insight, a lot of strength, patience and it is extremely challenging- but not impossible,” adds the actress. Moreover, it doesn’t hurt being the wife of Will Smith either. In a town, where people place value on the blockbuster project in which you are involved – Jada places family first. While many have dared to vocalize disdain towards her marriage to box office phenom and music’s Fresh Prince Will Smith – Jada sets the record straight in more ways than one. “I think being Will’s wife is not a bad thing,” the actress chuckles. “The thing about being his wife and being a young black couple happy to be married I find actually more important than this movie,” mentions the stunning actress. For all you haters out there, Jada, takes pride in being referred to as Will’s wife. “I take pride in people acknowledging how important our relationship is, how much we work on our relationship and how important the concept of family is for black people,” clarifies Jada. On the celebrity tip, Jada states that people really do not approach her with ‘when are you getting back on screen.’ Supporters of her work tend to uphold her and Will as being a nurturing family. “Most of the time both older and younger people come up to me and say ‘ we love what you and Will represent for our people and that to me means more than anything,” reinforces Jada. Through talking with her, it was clear that she is a woman in which young girls aspire to be – not only for her accomplishments but for her compassionate nature and undoubting strength. It is rare that I ever find myself awes-stricken over anyone – but speaking with Jada was truly an amazing experience. I admire her charisma and determination – not to mention the fact that she too is from my hometown of Baltimore, MD and rose well above the challenge of being a black woman in a town ruled by white men and became synonymous with un-jaded success. So what’s up next for the actress? Aside from playing Captain Niobe in The Matrix Reloaded, The Matrix Revolutions, and The Matrix videogame Jada and Will produced and wrote a pilot for television called “All of Us” which is loosely based on family life, and will soon know if it gets picked up. Aside from conquering her dream role – Jada plans to relax with her family and enjoy Mothers Day. The Matrix Reloaded is sure to be the film of the year – in its one of kind story and tremendously multi-ethnic cast for a mainstream film it is wonderful to see Jada involved in a film of this magnitude – but at the end of it all if her fame and fortune ended tomorrow – Jada is just as human as the rest of us happy in knowing that she is an inspiration to her biggest fans of all – her family. Let’s support our sista on May 15, 2003 by seeing her in The Matrix Reloaded. Believe me, it’s a film you don’t want to miss!!
About the Author
Angee Fielder is an Arts and Lifestyle journalist whose work has appeared in several notable entertainment publications. Fielder was the co-author of the 2001 Black Film Report, and is currently working on her first book, "The Untitled Biography of Stanley Kramer". She is the Executive Producer of the Fox Searchlab/8th Wonder Film "P3" and currently resides in Los Angeles, Ca.
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