Andy Wachowski, has come out as transgender. Wachowski announced Tuesday via a statement that he will now go by Lilly Wachowski. The announcement follows one by Wachowski’s older sibling and co-director of “The Matrix,” formerly known as Larry Wachowski, who said in 2012 that he’s transgender and would be going by Lana. The statement that Lilly, 48, issued to Windy City Times began with the forceful lede “SEX CHANGE SHOCKER — WACHOWSKI BROTHERS NOW SISTERS!!!” The Times reported that a popula
“Everything is connected,” reads the tagline for Cloud Atlas . As it is with life and the history of time and humanity, so it is with film reviews; sharply divided reactions have been coming out of Toronto, where the ambitious, history-spanning epic had its world premiere. Seldom do movies garner such polarizing critical reads: Is Cloud Atlas a triumph of ambition or, as one critic spat, ” a unique and totally unparalleled disaster ?” [ PHOTOS: First Images From The Wachowskis’ Cloud Atlas ] That biting reaction comes courtesy of The House Next Door ‘s Calum Marsh ( full review here ), whose beefs — and there are many — range from technical shortcomings to wider structural issues… which, in the case of a film about human interconnectivity and spirit, which interweaves six disparate storylines set in different eras that are filmed in varying tones and genres and feature the same actors in multiple characters (and, sometimes, in yellow- and white- and whatever-face), can be a problem: “‘What is an ocean,’ one character asks smugly, ‘if not a multitude of drops?’ And what’s Cloud Atlas if not a multitude of terrible details and unwatchable moments? The problem isn’t that this is one of the worst films I’ve ever seen in my life; the problem is that it’s seven of the worst films I’ve ever seen in my life glued together haphazardly, their inexorable badness amplified by their awkward juxtaposition. Tom Tykwer and Andy and Lana Wachowski wanted to make a movie unlike any other, and they certainly did: Cloud Atlas is a unique and totally unparalleled disaster.” But one critic’s disaster is another’s transcendent cinematic opus. Devin Faraci, reviewing in Badass Digest ( full review here ), gives high marks to Lana Wachowski, Andy Wachowski, and Tom Tykwer’s reach as scripters and co-directors, arguing that while imperfect, Cloud Atlas is “one of the great pictures of the 21st century so far”: ” Cloud Atlas is sometimes silly, and it’s sometimes pretentious and it’s sometimes overstuffed. But every single one of those things, to me, is a positive. It’s an exceptional piece of filmmaking, one of the bravest works I have ever seen. The Wachowskis have followed the poorly received final two Matrix films and the bomb of Speed Racer with a three hour meditation on the nature of human interaction, featuring a few actors in many make-ups. Some may see that as self-destructive, but I see it as incredibly heroic.” Most early reviews thus far fall at various points between Marsh and Faraci ( Cloud Atlas is currently at 60 percent on Rotten Tomatoes with 10 reviews counted * ). That’s not too surprising, given the difficulty of the undertaking at hand; adapting David Mitchell’s 500+ page novel into their own structure, no less, can be a tricky feat; doing so while pushing a sentimental theme, even moreso. Critics may agree on how the parts fit, but whether or not they see the larger picture congealing is another story. Cloud Atlas jumps around from narrative to narrative, from an 18th century sea voyage to 1970s San Francisco to the dystopian “Neo Soul” future and beyond. At least it has stars Tom Hanks and Halle Berry, who appear in multiple characters throughout, to lend some star wattage. (Jim Broadbent, Jim Sturgess, Hugh Jackman, Ben Whishaw, Doona Bae, Susan Sarandon, and Hugo Weaving fill out the cast.) Did I mention it’s three hours long? The strange thing about these early reviews is that I’m inclined to believe them all. Both sides of the coin: Triumph and, perhaps, disaster. (Then again, I loved Speed Racer . That turned out to be both at once.) * The film’s Tomatometer rating is now up to 73 percent with 15 total reviews, 11 fresh and 4 rotten. Goes to show how quickly the tide can shift so early on. We’ll be keeping an eye on the critical reaction as it builds toward week of release . Stay tuned for more on Cloud Atlas , in theaters October 26, and catch up on Movieline’s coverage of the Toronto Film Festival. Follow Jen Yamato on Twitter . Follow Movieline on Twitter .
The long, arduous journey that Priest has taken to theatrical release is fairly well-documented (check out Jen Yamato’s report on the matter — and the exciting footage Team Priest debuted at WonderCon — here ), but now that the film is just about one month away from release, all that red tape can be forgotten. Taking its place? Some awesome vampire killing!
I’m Still Here star Joaquin Phoenix might cancel his early retirement to co-star in Paul Thomas Anderson’s much anticipated Scientology film, which was at one point titled The Master . Philip Seymour Hoffman will star as a charismatic leader a la L. Ron Hubbard; Phoenix would play Freddie Sutton, “an alcoholic drifter who becomes [Hoffman’s onscreen] right-hand man only to begin questioning his manipulative mentor.” Most importantly, this casting development brings us hope that the film, which was postponed last September before acquiring a 25-year-old financier , will actually be made. [ Variety ]
The Mortal Kombat: Legacy web series starring Michael Jai White as Jax and Jeri Ryan as Sonya Blade has finally premiered, sustaining director Kevin Tancharoen’s tacit promise to do justice to the beloved ’90s video game where Paul W.S. Anderson’s 1995 feature film version decidedly did not. After the jump, watch the first 12-minute episode and decide if it delivers enough action, Mortal Kombat references, and fatalities to satisfy.
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 ]
The ever-fascinating, never predictable Wachowski Brothers seem to have taken to bold new levels those recent viral videos of military men stationed in Afghanistan blowing off steam with Lady Gaga and Ke$ha impersonations with news of their purported next feature as co-directors, a hard-R gay Iraqi love story that the chatterati has already nicknamed The Hard Locker , Brokeback Locker and Desert Storm Hearts .
