Keanu Back On Top

The Matrix is eradicating all opposition at the Box Office and as such, Keanu Reeves' acting career is once again back on form. In fact, The Matrix has performed so well that Reeves is now in line for a career best $15 million salary to play a sniper in Shooter. Set to play the role of Bobby Lee Swaggart - a master sniper who has exiled himself after causing the death of an innocent person - Reeves could also receive a chunk of the profits from the film. Paramount plan to start filming late this year after their new golden boy finishes filming The Replacements. In Shooter, Swaggart is eventually lured out of his reclusive life to help prevent an assassination. But he gets double-crossed and is left hunted for murder, desperately trying to guess who sold him out and why. The film is based on Stephen Hunter's 1993 novel, Point of Impact. A film critic for the Washington Post, this is not the first time Hunter's novel has reached the heady hills of Hollywood. First adapted by Nick Kazan, it was once eyed as a starring vehicle for Robert Redford, but as with many Hollywood projects it never came to anything. The demand for Reeves apes his success following the 1994 smash hit Speed, where he first proved his worth as a bankable leading man. Wisely evading Speed 2 in favour of The Devil's Advocate, Reeves has recently taken time out to pursue his music with band Dogstar, though with questionable - if any- success. His current blockbuster, The Matrix, is so far the year's top-grossing film with a whopping 12-day tally of $73 million.