Warner Bros.

The Matrix was produced by Joel Silver, of Silver Pictures, with Warner Brothers Studio and the Australian based Village Roadshow Pictures. Warner Bros actually bought the rights to the Wachowskis' script for the movie along with their scripts for Bound and Assassins.

Their writing and directing of their second film, Bound, was successful enough that, with the support of Silver and the Warner Brothers executive Lorenzo di Bonaventura, Warner Brothers forked over some serious cash (around $60 million! Dang!) to produce The Matrix.

It's hard to say what influence Warner Brothers had on The Matrix. They produce just about everything from horror movies like The Exorcist and The Big Bounce to video games like Happy Feet Two where you can perform some wicked moves to fend off hungry seals. What's important was the Wachowskis' ability to capture the attention of the media mogul to get the funding they needed for their groundbreaking (and time-breaking) special effects.