This thread saved me, so I just wanted to contribute back a little bit more detail to help someone else in the same spot I was in with a dead battery and unable to get into either trunk because the levers were locked. I tried to release the levers by sticking various small flat things between them as recommended by others, but it's hard to know what you're trying to do when you don't have an image. Once that failed and I took off the whole cover, I was surprised to see the mechanism was not as I envisioned at all based on descriptions here (probably my lack of mechanical competence). Hopefully to help someone else, I've included a picture of what's underneath the levers so you can envision what you are trying to do to get them to release.
If you have to take the cover off, I'll also add the key detail that it needs a 5mm Allen wrench. The screws are recessed back quite a way from the hole cover, and it took me a while to figure out which size key was needed.
KEY!: You only need to loosen the screws a few turns to remove the cover. If you over-loosen to the point they come out of their holes, they may fall into a gap out of reach when you remove the cover. I did this, and it took me 30 min to get a screw out of a deep gap. The cover won't feel like it's ready to remove as it's stuck down by several other connectors. I've included two other pictures of the whole assembly to show this.
(2000 Boxster)
