#the Wachowski Sisters

[texaschainsawmascara]

The Matrix (1999)

[datasoong47]

[haveyouseenthismovie-poll]

[seizethegay420]

Who was going to tell me that the matrix was directed by two trans sisters that also directed one of the most badass lesbian films I've ever seen

[moviemosaics]

Bound

directed by The Wachowskis, 1996

[nine-frames]

"Go, Speed Racer, go."

Speed Racer, 2008.

Dir. & Writ. The Wachowskis (based on the manga by Tatsuo Yoshida) | DOP David Tattersall

[grossdyke]

you should talk about sense8. if you want to.

lives were changed on this day..

[enbycrip]

Yeah, this is a more detailed version of my theories about The Matrix et al.

I have thoughts about the Oracle being in an alliance with Morpheus too - I think he was a previous “failed” One who got wise to the plan and essentially made an alliance with her to guide another One in a way closer to what she wanted, with the threat of creating a much more destructive revolution if she did not agree, to give himself time to manipulate Neo *and* Zion into creating what actually did happen.

In general I read The Matrix et al as a subtle critique of the Great Man Theory of History that pretends to be a movie about it. It’s so much cleverer than it pretends to be.

[crunchbuttsteak]

If I had a nickel for every director who made a genre-defining movie trilogy in the early 2000s and got their start directing a sapphic crime drama, I’d have two nickels, which isn’t a lot but it’s weird it happened twice.

[texaschainsawmascara]

The Matrix

[abattoirstars]

buying and wearing this tshirt purely out of my love for speed racer (2008)

[heavenlycinema]

The Matrix 1999

Dirs. Lana & Lilly Wachowski

“You take the red pill - you stay in Wonderland and I show you how deep the rabbit hole goes.”

[magicspeedwagon7]

i watched Don (2006) recently, and spoiler: i don't like it.

this film piqued my curiosity because of the poster and in general the aesthetics, which seems quite inspired by the Wachowskis' Matrix (1999). After all, this film sets a new standard for action films.

Action films before The Matrix were power fantasies featuring macho-men and explosions everywhere. The Wachowski sisters came in with their fashionable hero(ine), their choreographed action scenes modelled on Hong Kong action films, their abundant use of slow-motion, spinning cameras and other filmmaking techniques that make Neo look cool. The quintessence of coolness being achieved in the iconic 'bullet time scene' which combines all the above elements.

so when i saw, the theatrical release poster of the film Don (2006) i wondered if it was an Indian remake of the Wachowski sisters' masterpiece because why not ? after a quick Wikipedia research, I realised that it actually was the remake of the Hindi film of 1978 and, on paper, that sounds like a great idea. revamping an action film from the late 70s with new filmmaking techniques in a post-Matrix era; that makes sense, I was quite optimistic.

unfortunately all the inventive filmmaking techniques are used just to make Shah Rukh Khan cool and every other scene is mid. After the intermission, we even abandon the green filter because apparently for the filmmaker The Matrix = green filter. like i said, The Matrix emulated Hong Kong martial arts films for their action scenes, and so did Bollywood films in the 80s. so why does Farhan Akhtar (director of Don (2006)) decides to emulate the worst of Hollywood incomprehensible action scenes. Its countless cunts which create superficial 'smoothness'. why? my little theory is that Farhan Akhtar just want to make his protagonist 'look cool' but with a very superficial understanding of what makes a protagonist cool.

in this film, Shah Rukh Khan plays a dual role: the cruel drug lord Don and his lookalike Vijay, a kind-hearted man from humble origins. but he's too busy trying "to look cool", his acting is identical whether he plays Don or Vijay. moreover, we minimize how cruel Don is because of the "coolness" of Shah Rukh Khan. his "wittiness" defuses the emotional scenes that require seriousness.

to conclude, i'm so happy The Matrix was such an influential film but unfortunately people all around the world liked it for superficial reasons. for so many people, The Matrix is just green filter and slow motion, and that saddens me.

[who-canceled-roger-rabbit]

I like how the Wachowskis and Bob Fosse both gave us stories about women in Chicago being gay and doing crimes

[zippocreed501]

Bound (1996)

directed by Lana Wachowski and Lilly Wachowski

[thekotaroo]

Profiles of Pride: June 16th! 🏳️‍🌈Lana and Lilly Wachowski🏳️‍🌈

Lana Wachowski (Born June 21, 1965) and Lilly Wachowski (Born December 29, 1967) are American film and TV directors, writers, and producers. They are siblings, and are both trans women. After dropping out of college, the Wachowskis ran a house painting and construction business in Chicago while writing for Marvel Comics' Razorline imprint, namely Ectokid (created by horror novelist Clive Barker) in 1993. They also wrote the series Clive Barker's Hellraiser and Clive Barker's Nightbreed for Epic Comics.

Collectively known as the Wachowskis, the pair made their directing debut in 1996 with Bound, and achieved fame with their second film The Matrix (1999), a major box office success for which they won the Saturn Award for Best Director. They wrote and directed its two sequels: The Matrix Reloaded and The Matrix Revolutions (both in 2003), and were deeply involved in the writing and production of other works in that franchise.

During production of the first film, the Wachowskis and Spencer Lamm, who ran the film's official website, developed comics based on the setting of the film, which were published free of charge on the website. These and a few short stories were released in three series from 1999 to 2003, with several of them (along with new material) collected in two print volumes in 2003 and 2004. The Wachowskis themselves contributed "Bits and Pieces", a prequel to the movie that explains the origins of the Matrix, featuring illustrations by Geof Darrow, the movie's conceptual designer. Other writers and artists that contributed to the series include Neil Gaiman, Dave Gibbons, Paul Chadwick, Ted McKeever, Poppy Z. Brite, and Steve Skroce.

After Lilly Wachowski came out as transgender, she encouraged looking back on her and Lana's works "through the lens of our transness", saying that the themes of identity, self-image and transformation are apparent in The Matrix.

Following the commercial success of The Matrix series, they wrote and produced the 2006 film V for Vendetta (an adaptation of the comic of the same name by Alan Moore), and in 2008 released the film Speed Racer, which was a live-action adaptation of the Japanese anime series of the same name. Their next film, Cloud Atlas, based on the novel of the same name by David Mitchell and co-written and co-directed by Tom Tykwer, was released in 2012. Their film Jupiter Ascending and the Netflix series Sense8, which they co-created with J. Michael Straczynski, both debuted in 2015.

The siblings have worked as a writing and directing team through most of their professional film careers, until the second season of Sense8 in 2016. At this point Lilly took an active break from writing and directing, with Lana continuing the TV series solo, which has marked the first time that the siblings worked separately.

Rumors that Lana Wachowski was transitioning spread in the early 2000s, though neither sister spoke directly on the subject at the time. In 2003, Gothamist reported the possible transition. In a 2007 interview, Joel Silver, the producer of numerous Wachowski films, said that the rumors concerning the transition were "all untrue", saying that "they just don't do interviews, so people make things up." Crew members working on Speed Racer said similar things.

Lana publicly revealed her transition after Speed Racer's release in 2008 and by at least December 2010, after which trade magazines and newspapers referred to her as Lana Wachowski. In July 2012, Lana made her first public appearance after transitioning, in a video discussing the creative process behind Cloud Atlas. Lana is the first major Hollywood director to come out as transgender.

In a September 2012 interview with Aleksandar Hemon of The New Yorker, Lana described an incident in third grade at Catholic School when she was hesitant to join the boys' line and unconsciously accepted herself as belonging to the girls'.

In October 2012, Lana Wachowski received the Human Rights Campaign's Visibility Award. In her acceptance speech, she revealed that once during her youth, she had considered suicide because of her feelings of confusion about her gender identity. Her acceptance speech was one of the longest public appearances by either of the reclusive sisters. Lana said that, although she and Lilly had not publicly commented on her transitioning during the previous decade, it was not because she was ashamed of it, nor had she kept it a secret from her family and friends. Rather, she stated, the two are generally shy about the news media and prefer to maintain their privacy. Comparing media exposure to losing one's virginity as an irreversible event that only happens once, the Wachowskis had tried to stay out of the public eye. They feared losing their privacy and the ability to go to public places without being noticed and harassed as celebrities.

In March 2016, Lilly Wachowski also came out as a transgender woman, issuing a statement to the Windy City Times after a visit from a reporter from the Daily Mail newspaper who had attempted to get an interview with her about it. In that article, she said, "I am one of the lucky ones. Having the support of my family and the means to afford doctors and therapists has given me the chance to actually survive this process. Transgender people without support, means and privilege do not have this luxury. And many do not survive."

Her first public appearance since beginning transitioning was a few weeks later, at the 27th GLAAD Media Awards, where she accepted an award for her Netflix series Sense8 for Outstanding Drama Series. She said, "I didn't feel obligated to be here, but I wanted to do something. And it's serendipitous that the awards were a couple of weeks later and our show was up for an award."