Tag Archives: david mitchell

Press-Shy Wachowski Siblings Go Public For ‘Cloud Atlas’ And LGBT Cause

Despite their enormous successes, the Wachowskis are known for being among the more press-shy filmmakers in Hollywood. But for their latest opus, the sprawling, soul-stirring Cloud Atlas (co-directed with Tom Tykwer), the duo have blazed a trail talking up their ambitious passion project — partly, as Lana Wachowski explains, because of the film’s deeply personal connection to her own recent transformation. The film, adapted from David Mitchell’s novel, tells six interconnected nested stories across the span of hundreds of years, following the same souls evolving through multiple lifetimes. The cast, including Tom Hanks , Halle Berry , Jim Sturgess , Jim Broadbent, Ben Whishaw , James D’Arcy, Hugh Grant, Hugo Weaving, and Doona Bae, play multiple parts often under make-up and prosthetics in the gender- and race-bending ensemble. [ GALLERY: First images from sci-fi opus Cloud Atlas ] Lana Wachowski, a bubbly and luminous presence on the Cloud Atlas press tour with her bright pink dreads and beaming smile, spoke of the privacy she and brother Andy fought for years to protect — and why it was important to trade that veil now, with the world watching. “Anonymity enables you to inhabit civic space, and that way of being in the world is very important to us,” said Lana over the weekend in Beverly Hills. “We like the access that anonymity gives you to the world. As soon as you give it up, you give up a part of your human experience, your humanity.” The decision to peel back the curtain for the first time in 13 years was a tough one, but co-director Tykwer’s experience with press was encouraging and Lana’s opportunity to raise awareness for and give voice to the LGBT experience compelled the Wachowskis to submit to interviews and appearances for their $100 million indie film (which incredibly enough given their past work on the game-changing Matrix series, is their most ambitious and challenging project to date). “When I was a kid one of the reasons that I was depressed about my life and my situation was that there weren’t people like me — there weren’t transgendered people in Hollywood,” Lana offered. “I didn’t even know a writer that was transgendered. There was this feeling that because I was the way I was I would not be able to do something that I imagined that I wanted to do. It would be closed to me, it would be denied me just because of who I was.” “By being more public I, perhaps, am fulfilling a role in my own life in terms of a sort of Cloud Atlas ian consequence, a past life and future life,” she continued. “In a way, I am a future life for that younger part of me looking for someone like me, a role model like me. And if I can suggest to younger people or other LGBT people that it is possible to be in Hollywood and be trangender or is possible to be a writer and be transgender and that gives them hope or lets them shed fear about being who they are, then it’s worth it to sit down with [journalists].” Added Andy: “It’s worth it for me to give up my anonymity as well for that young Lana out there as well. Solidarity to all of our LGBT brothers and sisters out there.” Cloud Atlas hits theaters October 26. Read more on the film here . Follow Jen Yamato on Twitter . Follow Movieline on Twitter .

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Press-Shy Wachowski Siblings Go Public For ‘Cloud Atlas’ And LGBT Cause

Ambitious Cloud Atlas and Lana Wachowski Debut With First Trailer and Images

October’s Cloud Atlas is as dense and ambitious as it sounds from what I hear, and the newly unveiled five-minute trailer is almost as confounding as it is beautiful to look at. But regardless of how vaguely The Fountain -ish the nested story feels — jumping through time and various incarnations of cast mates (including Tom Hanks, Halle Berry, and Jim Sturgess) as they repeat life in six different eras from the 19th century Pacific to the post-apocalyptic future — the trio of directors at the helm, including Lana Wachowski in her first post-Larry feature credit, should make things very interesting. Fittingly, Cloud Atlas explores themes like rebirth and transformation, so in a way the adaptation of David Mitchell’s award-winning novel feels like a perfect project for Lana’s debut. (She directs alongside brother Andy and Tom Tykwer.) One of the storylines involves a seafarer, a futuristic clone, and another Tom Hanks in the wild; all of them, and all of us, are connected, according to the trailer. But Tykwer and the Wachowskis know theirs is a tough movie to sell, so they put together an adorable director’s commentary to introduce their trailer: “I think it started as a joke,” the trio begin, finishing each others’ sentences. “‘Why don’t we make a movie together?’ But it became this ongoing fantasy. It had to be something we’d never seen before, but it had to remind us of the kind of movies we watched over and over, the kind of movies that made us want to watch movies. Big screen movies! Massive in scope! But relevant to a normal life, to human beings. It would have drama and comedy. Romance! But it had to be political, philosophical. Lots of action, set in the past and the future, every genre.” Verdict: Iiiiinteresting . Still a tough sell for most audiences, but interesting … gorgeous imagery, a somewhat unwieldy trailer, but Lana and Tom and Andy won me over with their giggly enthusiasm. Meanwhile, new images from the film have debuted, showing more of the cast and their divergent (but connected, somehow) stories. Click on the image below for more and leave your impressions below.

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Ambitious Cloud Atlas and Lana Wachowski Debut With First Trailer and Images

Faux-Kush Chronicles: The New Popularity Of Legal Synthetic Mary Jane Is Sending People To The Hospital…And The Morgue!

Why the hell would you want to roll up some fraudulent funk??? It’s legal. It’s as easy to buy as aspirin. And a teenager you know has probably tried it. It’s “synthetic pot,” sold in corner stores as herbal incense or potpourri, and doctors and politicians say it’s becoming a dangerous scourge in the city. Dozens of people looking for a quick high are winding up in emergency rooms with alarming symptoms ranging from hallucinations and seizures to panic attacks and violent behavior. The problem is growing so fast that a major medical journal issued a warning last week about about the substance, often referred to as K2 or Spice. And Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) is pushing for a nationwide ban that would make it illegal to hawk the condom-sized packets, which sell for $15 to $75 at stores and online. “People have the mind-set that this is ‘just pot,’ but it’s not,” said Dr. Lewis Nelson, a medical toxicologist at NYU Langone and Bellevue hospitals and director of training at the city’s poison control center. “Synthetic marijuana is really a misnomer. It’s really quite different, and the effects are much more unpredictable. “It’s dangerous, and there is no quality control in what you are getting.” There have been several reports of people acting irrationally and violently after a few tokes of the kounterfeit kush. Several teen deaths have been blamed on the Mary Jane substitute: Last week, a 17-year-old who was reportedly high on it fatally stabbed a sleeping schoolmate, Jasmyn Tully, 17, in Washington State because he felt “an urge to hurt someone,” authorities said. Last June, Max Dober, 19, was killed after he bought Aroma at an Illinois mall and crashed his car into a house at 100 mph. In June 2010, Iowa teen David Mitchell Rozga, 18, committed suicide in a frenzy of anxiety that his parents believe was triggered by K2. There’s nothin’ like the real thing baaaaybay! Source More On Bossip! The Swirl: Meet Dwight Howard’s Colorful Assortment Of Baby Mamas [Pics] Played PT. 2: The Most Embarrassing Ways These Celebrities Got FIRED! You’re Outta Here! Shaq Dumps Hoopz And Calls Security On Her To Get Her Things! Twitter Files: Breezy Takes Karrueche To Cancun For Some Fun In The Sun Loving

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Faux-Kush Chronicles: The New Popularity Of Legal Synthetic Mary Jane Is Sending People To The Hospital…And The Morgue!

’60 Second Adventures In Thought’: David Mitchell Narrates Open University Educational Videos

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Listen up, class — someone has finally found a foolproof way to make learning enjoyable. Open University , an unconventional learning institution based in the UK, is smartly appealing to its students (we are all students here!) through animated YouTube videos that explain dry subjects with humor and clarity. Their latest series, ” 60-Second Adventures in Thought ,” is narrated by David Mitchell, of… Broadcasting platform : YouTube Source : The Huffington Post Discovery Date : 24/11/2011 17:28 Number of articles : 2

’60 Second Adventures In Thought’: David Mitchell Narrates Open University Educational Videos

Tom Hanks Attached to Cloud Atlas Adaptation

Tom Hanks will star in Cloud Atlas , an upcoming Focus Features adaptation of David Mitchell’s 2004 book about six interconnected stories with settings ranging from the 19th century South Pacific to the post-apocalyptic future. Matrix directors Andy and Lana Wachowski and Run Lola Run director Tom Tykwer will helm and co-write the movie. Honestly, Hanx; another post-apocalyptic movie? Punchline was quite enough. [ Deadline ]

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Tom Hanks Attached to Cloud Atlas Adaptation