The Wachowskis | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Lana Wachowski at theBerlin International Film Festival in 2025 | |
| Born | Laurence Wachowski (1965-06-21)June 21, 1965 (age 60) Lana Andrew Paul Wachowski (1967-12-29)December 29, 1967 (age 58) Lilly Chicago, Illinois, U.S. |
| Other names | Collectively:
|
| Occupations | Film and television directors, writers, producers |
| Years active | 1994–present |
| Notable work | |
| Spouses | Lana: Lilly: |
| Relatives | Laurence Luckinbill (uncle) |
Lana Wachowski (/wəˈtʃaʊski/;[1][b] formerlyLarry Wachowski, born June 21, 1965) andLilly Wachowski (formerlyAndy Wachowski, born December 29, 1967) are American film and television directors, writers and producers.[c] Together known asthe Wachowskis, the sisters are bothtrans women and have worked as a writing and directing team throughout most of their careers.[d][e] They made their directing debut withBound (1996), and achieved fame withThe Matrix (1999), a major box-office success for which they won theSaturn Award for Best Director. They wrote and directed two sequels,The Matrix Reloaded andThe Matrix Revolutions (both in 2003), and were involved in the writing and production of other works in theMatrix franchise.
Following the commercial success of theMatrix series, the Wachowskis wrote and produced the 2005 filmV for Vendetta, an adaptation ofthe graphic novel byAlan Moore andDavid Lloyd, and in 2008 releasedSpeed Racer, a live-action adaptation ofthe Japanese anime series. Their next film,Cloud Atlas, based onthe novel byDavid Mitchell and co-written and co-directed byTom Tykwer, was released in 2012. Their filmJupiter Ascending and theNetflix seriesSense8, the latter of which they co-created withJ. Michael Straczynski, debuted in 2015; the second season ofSense8 ended the series in 2018 and was Lana's first major project without Lilly.[9][10]
Since theseries finale ofSense8, the Wachowskis have been working separately on different projects: Lilly directed, wrote, and executive-produced several episodes ofShowtime'sWork in Progress (2019) with creators Abby McEnany and Tim Mason, while Lana filmedThe Matrix Resurrections, written with Mitchell andAleksandar Hemon, which was released in December 2021.
Lana was born inChicago in 1965; Lilly was born two and a half years later, in 1967. Their mother, Lynne (née Luckinbill), was a nurse and painter. Their father, Ron Wachowski, was a businessman ofPolish descent. Their uncle isLaurence Luckinbill, an actor andPrimetime Emmy Award-winning producer.[3][11] Ron and Lynne died five weeks apart in the late 2010s.[12] Lana and Lilly have two other sisters, Julie and Laura.[13][14] Julie was assistant coordinator for the filmBound;[15] she is a novelist and screenwriter.[16]
The Wachowskis attended the Kellogg Elementary School in Chicago'sBeverly area, and graduated fromWhitney Young High School, known for its performing arts and science curriculum, in 1983 and 1985.[17] Former classmates recall them playingDungeons & Dragons and working in the school's theater and TV program.[17]
Lana went toBard College, in New York state; Lilly attendedEmerson College, inBoston. Each dropped out before graduating, and they ran a house-painting and construction business in Chicago.
Beginning in 1993, they wrote several issues ofEctokid forMarvel Comics'Razorline imprint (created by horror novelistClive Barker), which were credited to Lana.[18][17] They also wrote for the seriesClive Barker's Hellraiser andClive Barker's Nightbreed for Marvel'sEpic Comics imprint.
In the mid-1990s, they went into film writing, including the script forAssassins in 1994, which was directed byRichard Donner and released in 1995.Warner Bros. bought the script and included two more pictures in the contract.[19] Donner had their script "totally rewritten" byBrian Helgeland[20] and the Wachowskis tried unsuccessfully to remove their names from the film.[13] They say the experience gave them the perspective that they should become directors or "[they will] never survive as writers in this town".[21]
Their next project was the 1996neo-noir thrillerBound, for which they wrote the script and made their debut as directors. The film was well received for its style and craft,[22] and was noted as one of the first mainstream films to feature a same-sex relationship without it being central to the plot.[23] Taking advantage of the positive buzz, the Wachowskis asked to direct their next picture,The Matrix.[19]
They completedThe Matrix, ascience fiction action film, in 1999. The movie starsKeanu Reeves asNeo, a hacker recruited by a rebellion to aid them in the fight against machines that have taken over the world and placed humanity inside asimulated reality called "the Matrix".Laurence Fishburne,Carrie-Anne Moss,Hugo Weaving andJoe Pantoliano also star. The movie was a critical and commercial hit for Warner Bros. It won four Academy Awards, including for"Best Visual Effects" for popularizing thebullet time visual effect.The Matrix came to be amajor influence for action movies and has appeared in several "greatest science fiction films" lists.[24][25][26] In 2012, the film was selected for preservation in theNational Film Registry by theLibrary of Congress for being "culturally, historically, and aesthetically significant".[27]
After its success, the Wachowskis directed two sequelsback-to-back,The Matrix Reloaded andThe Matrix Revolutions, both released in 2003.The Matrix Reloaded received positive critical reception, although not on the level of the original.[28] It became a major box office hit, retaining the spot of the highest-grossingR-rated film for over a decade (until 2016'sDeadpool).[29]The Matrix Revolutions received a mixed critical reception and performed only moderately in the box office. Although profitable, it was slightly less so compared to the original film.[30][31]
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 byGeof Darrow, the movie's conceptual designer. Other writers and artists that contributed to the series includeNeil Gaiman,Dave Gibbons,Paul Chadwick,Ted McKeever,Poppy Z. Brite, andSteve 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 inThe Matrix.[32]
The Wachowskis' next feature film wasV for Vendetta, an adaptation ofAlan Moore andDavid Lloyd's graphic novelof the same name, starringNatalie Portman andHugo Weaving. They wrote and produced the film withMatrix producerJoel Silver, who had previously purchased the film rights to the graphic novel. The Wachowskis offered the film toJames McTeigue, the first assistant director ofThe Matrix trilogy, as his directorial debut. Moore did not participate in the production, as he was disappointed by previous Hollywood adaptations of his work, and disagreed with differences between his graphic novel and the screenplay. Following a statement to the press by Silver that Moore was supposedly excited to learn more about the movie, Moore demanded that Silver retract it, and had his own name removed from the credits when he did not.[33] The film's controversial storyline and themes have been both criticized and praised by sociopolitical groups. It was released in 2005 and was well received critically; it was a box office success but did not rank on the scale ofThe Matrix films.[34] The film popularized the image of theGuy Fawkes mask, as the version designed byDavid Lloyd for the graphic novel and used in the movie was adopted as a symbol by the onlinehacktivist groupAnonymous two years later.[35]
In 2006, Silver had the Wachowskis and McTeigue hired to revampThe Invasion for Warner Bros. The studio was disappointed in the original cut of the film by directorOliver Hirschbiegel and hired the Wachowskis to rewrite a portion of the script and add new action scenes, which McTeigue directed. The film, the fourth adaptation of the novelThe Body Snatchers, was released in 2007 and was not a critical or box office success. The Wachowskis and McTeigue are not credited on the film.[36]
The Wachowskis returned to directing withSpeed Racer (2008) which starredEmile Hirsch. The film, which was again produced by Silver, was an adaptation of a1960s Japanese manga series originally calledMach GoGoGo, which had previously been adapted as ananime television series in 1967. The Wachowskis were attracted to the project because the series was the first anime they had watched, and they wanted to make a family-friendly film for their nieces and nephews to enjoy.[37][38] In an effort to simulate the look of anime in live action, the Wachowskis had cinematographerDavid Tattersall shoot the moviedigitally on adigital backlot with the intention of adding extensive visual effects in post-production. The movie was considered a critical andcommercial failure.[39] While its special effects were noted as outstanding, the storyline is considered lacking.[40] It was nominated in the category of "Worst Prequel, Remake, Rip-off or Sequel" for the29th Golden Raspberry Awards. Its box office gross was $93 million compared to a production budget of $120 million. Since then, critics periodically have put the film on lists of underrated orcult films.[41][42][43][44][45]
The Wachowskis' next film project wasNinja Assassin, amartial arts film starringRain, which was released in 2009. It was inspired by Rain's fighting scene inSpeed Racer.[46] It was produced by the Wachowskis in their last involvement with Silver, and directed by McTeigue. The screenplay was written by Matthew Sand andJ. Michael Straczynski, whom the Wachowskis called six weeks before filming to ask him for a total rewrite completed within a week, because they were dissatisfied with the earlier drafts and were running out of time.[47]Ninja Assassin received negative reviews and performed lukewarmly in the theaters but respectably on home video.[48][49][50][51]
Their next directorial outing wasCloud Atlas, which was adapted fromDavid Mitchell's2004 novel of the same name and starred anensemble cast which includedTom Hanks andHalle Berry.Cloud Atlas was written and directed in collaboration with German filmmakerTom Tykwer, to whom the Wachowskis had introduced the novel several years earlier. The filmmakers failed to secure funding from a studio (save for $20 million by Warner Bros.) and the film was produced independently after much trouble.[52][53] With a budget of over $100 million it was noted as the most expensive independent movie to that date and the first attempt at a German blockbuster.[54] The movie opened at the37th annual Toronto International Film Festival in September 2012 to acclaim and received a loud and lengthy standing ovation.[55][56][57] In its general release a month later, it received polarized reviews and eventually appeared in both "Best Film" and "Worst Film" lists. Overall reviews were mixed to positive.[58] The film received many nominations and awards, particularly for its technical aspects, including 10 nominations for theGerman Film Award, out of which it won five. It also received fiveSaturn Award nominations, out of which it won two. David Mitchell liked the script ofCloud Atlas, spent some time on the set (including filming a cameo), and had a positive impression about the result.[59][60] According to the Wachowskis the movie was the hardest of their films to make, the one they are the most proud of, and the one they have been told has touched people's lives the most. They believeCloud Atlas will be the film for which they will be remembered.[21][61][62]
The Wachowskis subsequently produced and directedJupiter Ascending, an originalspace opera screenplay they wrote. The film was released in 2015.[63] It starsChanning Tatum andMila Kunis, and features the Wachowskis' regular collaboratorsJohn Gaeta on visual effects andKym Barrett on costumes. According toDeadline, the financial and critical failure ofJupiter Ascending caused their business relationship with Warner Bros, that began withThe Matrix franchise, to be terminated.[64]
Their next project was theNetflix science fiction drama seriesSense8, created and written with J. Michael Straczynski.Sense8 features an internationalensemble cast and was shot in multiple cities around the world. The Wachowskis directed most of the episodes of the first season, with the rest being handled by McTeigue, Tykwer, and their go-to visual effects supervisor on their movies, Dan Glass, in his directorial debut.[65] The first season premiered in 2015 to generally positive reviews, particularly for the scale of the production and the presentation of diverse andLGBT characters and themes, winning theGLAAD Media Award forOutstanding Drama Series.[66][67] It also received aPrimetime Emmy Award nomination forOutstanding Original Main Title Theme Music.[68] After the first season, Lilly took a break from it, for what turned out to be the remainder of the series. AChristmas special was released on December 23, 2016, with the remainder of the show's second season released in May 2017.[69] Subsequently, the third season was canceled, andSense8 concluded with a two-hour finale which aired in June 2018.
In June 2016, theAcademy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences invited the Wachowskis to join its ranks.[70] However, in April 2025, Lilly Wachowski said "I'm not in the Academy. I'm not going to join the Academy" during an interview.[71]
In May 2019, it was reported that Lilly would co-write, and co-showrun the eight-episode first season of thedrama-comedy seriesWork in Progress, created by Abby McEnany and Tim Mason forShowtime.[72] The series premiered in December 2019.[73] In January 2020, the series was renewed for a 10-episode second season, with which Lilly would continue to be involved.[74]
In August 2019, it was announced that Lana would be returning to write, direct and produceThe Matrix Resurrections, the fourth installment of theMatrix series, with Reeves and Moss also reprising their roles; it marks the first film made by only one of the Wachowskis. Lana wrote the script with David Mitchell and Aleksandar Hemon.[75] The film was released in December 2021.[76]
In February 2024,Collider announced that Lilly would directTrash Mountain, a film about a younggay man returning from Chicago to ruralMissouri to deal with the aftermath of his hoarder father's death. The film, Lilly's first directorial effort sinceJupiter Ascending, will starCaleb Hearon, be written by Hearon and Ruby Caster and will be produced byColin Trevorrow, Eddie Vaisman and Julia Lebedev.[77]
In April 2024, it was announced that Warner Bros. was developing a newMatrix installment withDrew Goddard attached to write and direct, for which Lana will serve as an executive producer.[78]
In October 2024, Lilly revealed toAutostraddle that she and her partner Mickey Ray Mahoney had written a queer/trans script titledThe Hunt. She also announced her plans to make adaptations of novels authored by trans authors, specificallyManhunt byGretchen Felker-Martin andConfessions of the Fox by Jordy Rosenberg, as well an adaptation ofEmily Andras' comic bookCosmoknights.[79]
In July 2025, it was announced that Lilly would serve as executive producer forDolls, a short film directed byGeena Rocero.[80] The film was described as an adaptation ofThe Stepford Wives with an all-trans cast.[81][82]
J. Michael Straczynski, who has worked with the Wachowskis onNinja Assassin andSense8, has said that the sisters told him they were reading his column on scriptwriting for theWriter's Digest magazine, for inspiration and pointers.[83] Straczynski contributed to the magazine from 1981 to 1991.[84]
In 1998, in the context of explaining how they got their start in filmmaking, the Wachowskis mentionedRoger Corman's bookHow I Made A Hundred Movies in Hollywood and Never Lost a Dime, and indicated, with laughter, that they liked his movies, and began by wanting to "make a low-budget horror movie".[85] In the same interview they stated that they felt flattered, after their first film, by comparisons others had made between them and theCoen brothers, who had "made five, maybe six great movies..." at that time.[85]
Speaking to Bernard Weintraub ofThe New York Times in April 1999, the Wachowskis mentioned explicitly that they prepared for their firstMatrix production by studying the works ofJohn Woo "and other Hong Kong filmmakers", as well as reading and rereading Homer'sOdyssey, and studying the works ofJohn Huston,Stanley Kubrick,Fritz Lang,George Lucas,Ridley Scott, andBilly Wilder.[86]
Mark Miller, writing inWired in 2003, also listedHomer,Hermann Hesse,Fyodor Dostoyevsky, and philosopherCornel West.[17] In an interview withGadfly in 1998 (after their first movie), the Wachowskis reiterated their influence by or enjoyment of Huston (e.g.Treasure of the Sierra Madre) and Wilder (e.g.,Sunset Boulevard andLost Weekend), and added to these the impacts ofAlfred Hitchcock (e.g.Strangers on a Train andPsycho),Roman Polanski (e.g.Repulsion), andFrancis Ford Coppola (theGodfather movies, andThe Conversation).[85]
Ken Wilber has been cited as an influence.[87]
The Wachowskis admit to a love for telling multi-part stories. "Because we grew up on comic books and theTolkientrilogy, one of the things we're interested in is bringing serial fiction to cinema," Lana has said. Lilly says: "We think movies are fairly boring and predictable. We want to screw with audiences' expectations."[88] In terms of themes expressed in their body of work, Lana has cited "the inexplicable nature of the universe [being] in constant dialogue with our own consciousness and our consciousness actually affect[ing] the inexplicable nature of the universe",[89] "interconnectivity and about truth beneath the surface",[90] "the paradox of choice and choicelessness",[91] "transcendence ... transcending archetypal boxes, stereotypes", "race ... an important component" and "gender ... it's one of our most significant cultural subjects".[92]
The Wachowskis cited the art of comic book artistGeof Darrow as an influence on the look ofThe Matrix. Also, they said thatGhost in the Shell,Ninja Scroll, andAkira were anime that inspired them, saying "in anime, one thing that they do that we tried to bring to our film was a juxtaposition of time and space in action beats".
The Wachowskis citedStanley Kubrick's2001: A Space Odyssey as a major influence forCloud Atlas.[93] They first saw the film when they were ten and seven, respectively.[13]
Lana has most been influenced by2001: A Space Odyssey,Blade Runner,Ma vie en rose, andMy Neighbor Totoro.[94] Both Wachowskis are fans of theGhost in the Shell,Akira,Wicked City,Ninja Scroll andFist of the North Staranime films.[95] Lilly has singled outThe Silence of the Lambs with criticism for its portrayal oftransgender characters throughTed Levine'sBuffalo Bill, accusing the film in herWindy City Times coming-out statement from March 2016 for having "demonized and vilified" the transgender community, with the media often using it for anti-transgender attack ads to painttrans women as potential predators to prevent them from using women's bathrooms, arguing "We are not predators, we are prey".[96]
None of thehome video releases of their films feature anydeleted scenes. Lana says that despite often having to cut scenes from their movies, they do not want to include deleted scenes in such releases, as this would suggest that their films suffer from incompleteness. They love their finished products and believe them complete.[97][98] For the same reason, they have not released their films for home video withdirector's orextended cuts. They also avoid recordingaudio commentary tracks, having participated only on the track recorded for theLaserDisc ofBound. The sisters say they learned that offering an interpretation of their films means that viewers will be less likely to express their own interpretation.[99][100]
The Wachowskis frequently hire the same basicfilm crew to make their movies. Lana says they do it in part to ensure a positive environment. "It's like family. Everyone is very respectful of each other," says Lana.[101] They used the same practice while selecting thetelevision crew for theirNetflix show,Sense8.
Some of their most notable frequent collaborators are:
| Crew member | Bound | The Matrix | The Matrix Reloaded | The Matrix Revolutions | Speed Racer | Cloud Atlas | Jupiter Ascending | Sense8 | Roles | Additional collaborations |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kym Barrett[102] | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Costume designer | Also credited inEnter the Matrix. | ||
| Hugh Bateup[103][104] | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Production designer,(supervising) art director | ||
| Alexander Berner[105] | Yes | Yes | Film editor | |||||||
| Geof Darrow | Yes | Yes | Yes | Uncredited | Uncredited | Uncredited | Conceptual designer, conceptual artist | Also worked onSpeed Racer,Cloud Atlas,Jupiter Ascending.[106][107] FoundedBurlyman Entertainment along with the Wachowskis andSteve Skroce and worked onShaolin Cowboy,Doc Frankenstein andThe Matrix Comics. | ||
| Dane Davis[108][109] | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Sound designer,supervising sound editor | Also credited inThe Animatrix,Ninja Assassin andEnter the Matrix. | |
| Don Davis[110] | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Composer | Also credited inThe Animatrix,Enter the Matrix andThe Matrix Online. | ||||
| John Gaeta[111][112] | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Visual effects supervisor,visual effects designer | Also credited inNinja Assassin,Enter the Matrix andThe Matrix Comics. | |||
| Dan Glass[113][114] | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Visual effects supervisor,TV episode director | Directed an episode ofSense8. Also credited inV for Vendetta,Ninja Assassin andEnter the Matrix. | ||
| Michael Giacchino[115] | Yes | Yes | Composer | |||||||
| Grant Hill[116] | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Producer, executive producer,unit production manager | Also credited inV for Vendetta,Ninja Assassin andEnter the Matrix. | ||
| James McTeigue[117][118] | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | First assistant director,second unit director, TV episode director | Also worked onThe Invasion andEnter the Matrix.[119] Also director of the Wachowski-producedV for Vendetta andNinja Assassin. | |||
| Owen Paterson[120] | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Production designer | Also credited inV for Vendetta andEnter the Matrix. | ||||
| Bill Pope[121] | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Director of photography | Also credited inEnter the Matrix. Pope says he hasn't been asked to work again with the Wachowskis since a fall out they had duringThe Matrix Reloaded andThe Matrix Revolutions.[122] | ||||
| Joel Silver[123] | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Producer | Also producer ofAssassins,The Animatrix (executive producer),V for Vendetta,Ninja Assassin,Enter the Matrix andThe Matrix Online. According to a March 2017 article byThe Hollywood Reporter, Silver has a strained relationship with the Wachowskis.[124] | ||||
| Steve Skroce | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Uncredited | Uncredited | Uncredited | Storyboard artist | Also worked onCloud Atlas,Jupiter Ascending andSense8.[125][126] Also credited inV for Vendetta andNinja Assassin. FoundedBurlyman Entertainment along with the Wachowskis andGeof Darrow, and worked onEctokid,Doc Frankenstein, andThe Matrix Comics. | |
| Zach Staenberg[127] | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Film editor | Also credited inEnter the Matrix,The Matrix: Path of Neo. | |||
| Ethan Stoller | Yes | Yes | Yes | Music consultant,music editor, composer | Also provided music for the extras in the home video releases ofSpeed Racer and was credited inV for Vendetta,Ninja Assassin andGoogle Me Love. He has known the Wachowskis since high school.[128] | |||||
| John Toll[129][130] | Yes | Yes | Yes | Director of photography, executive producer | ||||||
| Tom Tykwer[131][132][133] | Yes | Yes | Yes | Composer,co-writer,co-director, TV episode director | ||||||
| Jeremy Woodhead[134] | Yes | Yes | Yes | Makeup, hair and prosthetics designer | Also credited inV for Vendetta andNinja Assassin. |
| Cast member | Bound | The Matrix trilogy | Speed Racer | Cloud Atlas | Jupiter Ascending | Sense8 | Additional collaborations |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| James D'Arcy[135] | Yes | Yes | |||||
| Bae Doona[136][137] | Yes | Yes | Yes | ||||
| Kick Gurry[138] | Yes | Yes | Yes[139] (Season 2) | ||||
| Tuppence Middleton[140][137] | Yes | Yes | |||||
| Christian Oliver[141][142] | Yes | Yes | |||||
| Joe Pantoliano[143][144] | Yes | Yes (the first film) | Yes | ||||
| Susan Sarandon[145] | Yes | Yes | |||||
| Hugo Weaving[146] | Yes | Yes | Also starred inV for Vendetta, made an appearance inEnter the Matrix and was credited inThe Matrix: Path of Neo for the use of clips fromThe Matrix films in which he featured. |
DuringThe Matrix Reloaded,The Matrix Revolutions,The Animatrix andEnter the Matrix production, the Wachowskis created EON Entertainment (not to be confused withEon Productions), their production company to coordinate and direct all involved partners.[147] It is also where the films were edited together, after the variousFX vendors sent their finished work.[148] EON's internal VFX team, ESC, did a number of visual effect shots for the twoMatrix sequels and coordinated the other vendors.[148] ESC was shut down in summer 2004.[149] Anarchos Productions (credited inCloud Atlas as Anarchos Pictures)[150] is their production company[151][152] that has been billed for all their films starting withV for Vendetta up to the first season ofSense8.[153] In the second season and following Lilly's break from the show, Anarchos is replaced by Venus Castina Productions,[154] a production company created by Lana Wachowski and her wife Karin Winslow.[155]Venus Castina is an epithet of the Roman goddess Venus, who in this form, was supposedly associated with "the yearnings of feminine souls locked up in male bodies". In theSense8 series finale, the real bookVenus Castina: Famous Female Impersonators Celestial and Human makes an appearance as the unlikely object that brought a lesbian couple together;[156] according to Lana and the actresses that portray the couple, the duo have been based on Lana and Karin.[157][158][159]
Kinowerks is their pre- and post-production and effects studio, based in theRavenswood neighborhood of Chicago.[160] It has been acclaimed for itsgreen-friendly design, including solar panels, a planted roof, countertops and floors made of recycled materials, plug-in car stations, a water reuse and filtration system, skylights, and a pneumatic elevator.[161][162]Roger Ebert was invited to watch a restored print ofThe Godfather in theKinowerks facilities and met the Wachowskis,[163] but he was oblivious to the fact the studio belonged to them. According to theChicago Tribune's Christopher Pirelli, the facility is very low-key: "an industrial building that appears neither old nor especially new" and "It could be an upscale dentist's office" while the "inside is rather unexpected" and has numerous mementos of past film projects.[164] On October 22, 2018, the Wachowskis announced their plans to close and listKinowerks for $5 million.[162]
In 2003, they createdBurlyman Entertainment and released comic books based onThe Matrix[165][166] as well as two original bi-monthly series:
The Wachowskis' first script was a thriller calledCarnivore.[21] It has been described as "aCorman-style, low-budget horror movie that dealt withcannibalism or, more specifically, rich people being eaten by cannibals".[86] The writing was well received and the script achieved notice for the duo;[13][86] however, interest in making the movie was low, for executives told them: "This is a bad idea. I can't make this. I'm rich."[86] Years later, on April 6, 1999, a week afterThe Matrix opened in American theaters,Variety reportedTrimark was looking to buy the script and were in talks withGeorge A. Romero to direct it with production scheduled to begin in August.[169] In April 2001, news of the Wachowskis producing it forLionsgate and looking for a director surfaced again,[170] and in August 2003 a second time, with their go-to cinematographerBill Pope rumored to be making his directorial debut with it.[171] The film ultimately went unproduced.[13]
Another two of their earliest scripts which were never produced werePlastic Man, based on the DC Comicssuperhero of the same name andVertical Run based on the book of the same name byJoseph R. Garber.[17][172][173]
After completingThe Matrix, the Wachowskis were looking to make an animated adaptation ofFrank Miller'sHard Boiled graphic novel.[174] The comic was drawn by Geof Darrow, the conceptional designer ofThe Matrix and later its sequels. The project didn't move forward because Miller didn't want it to be an animated film.[175]
In November 2000,Variety reported the Wachowskis would produce, co-create and direct second unit on a newConan the Barbarian movie for Warner Bros. which was to be written and directed byJohn Milius and which could seeArnold Schwarzenegger make an appearance. The Wachowskis were planning to juggle their pre-production involvement on the movie and work onThe Matrix sequels at the same time.[176] In January 2004 it was reported that development onKing Conan: Crown of Iron had stalled for years because of the Wachowskis' involvement inThe Matrix sequels and now that the movies were complete they decided to abandon the project of their own volition because of the frequent clashes they had experienced with Milius concerning the tone and direction of the movie.[177] Lana once suggestedConan the Barbarian as her favorite movie based on comics, to which Lilly also responded enthusiastically.[174]
In 2008,[178] the Wachowskis were producing forMadhouse an animated film based on theircomic book company'sShaolin Cowboy,[179][180] titledShaolin Cowboy in The Tomb of Doom.[175] The feature is co-directed by the comic book's creator Geof Darrow andSeiji Mizushima, a Japanese director.[178] When the American financiers backed out, the film was left half-finished and in need of $3 million. Darrow does not believe that the required amount of money to finish it will be found.[181]
In December 2009,Arianna Huffington tweeted pictures of herself on the set of "a Wachowskis movie on Iraq from the perspective of the future".[182]CHUD.com reported what the Wachowskis were doing was camera tests and shooting of test footage on theRed digital camera for a future movie, but not shooting the movie itself.[183] In March 2010,Jesse Ventura said he had also shot for the project right before Huffington. Both of them were dressed as people from roughly 100 years in the future and they were asked to improvise without a script about theIraq War.[184] In May 2010,Deadline reported the movie was going to be a hard-R story that would begin in the future but move back to the then-current war in Iraq and center on the homosexual relationship between an American soldier and an Iraqi. The Wachowskis completed the script and were searching for funding to direct it.[185] In July 2010, the movie was reported to have begun casting under the codenameCN9 (orCN-9),[186] and in August 2010 the full name was revealed asCobalt Neural 9.[187] In September 2010,Vulture posted additional details about the script and revealed the movie would be told infound footage-style from the perspective ofdigital archaeologists from the future. An estimated $20 million budget was reported although they were told a studio would "never, ever" finance it but perhaps the Wachowskis could do it themselves.[188] In December 2010,The Hollywood Reporter wrote thatSalman Rushdie andCornel West had also shot talking head sequences along with the previously reported involvement of Huffington and Ventura but the Wachowskis were looking into other movies because of troubles financing it.[189] In September 2012,Aleksandar Hemon wrote about the making ofCloud Atlas and recalled he too was one of the people the Wachowskis had invited to interview in December 2009, to help inspire the script ofCobalt Neural 9.[13] The last update on the film was in October 2012, when the Wachowskis were asked about it and they responded they were still keen to make it, because they had invested both financially ($5 million) and emotionally into it, even if that ends up being in a different form than film.[190]
In December 2010,The Hollywood Reporter wrote that the Wachowskis were planning to direct for Warner Bros. a script of theirs calledHood, which was a modern adaptation of theRobin Hood legend. The Wachowskis were said to be reaching out to actors, includingWill Smith.[189]
Lilly married Alicia Blasingame in 1991.[191] In 2016, Lilly mentioned having a boyfriend.[192] In 2019, she said Mickey Ray Mahoney was now her partner and that they had moved in together.[193][194] Mahoney is an adjunct professor at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago and atrans man.[192]
Lana married Thea Bloom in 1993. Following the release ofThe Matrix, Lana began attending the Los AngelesBDSM club The Dungeon, where she met Karin Winslow, who worked there as adominatrix under the name Ilsa Strix. Bloom divorced Lana in 2002 after discovering the relationship.[195] Lana and Karin made their first public appearance together at the premiere ofThe Matrix Reloaded in 2003, and married in 2009.[13][196] Winslow is a board member of the Chicago House and Social Service Agency.[197][198]
Raised by a "hardcoreatheist" father and an "ex-Catholic turnedShamanist" mother,[89] the duo once described their religious beliefs asnon-denominational.[97] Lana is avegetarian.[199] During theDemocratic Party presidential primaries of 2016,The Advocate posted a video message of Lana talking about why she would be supportingBernie Sanders.[200]
Rumors that Lana Wachowski wastransitioning spread in the early 2000s, though neither sister spoke directly on the subject at the time.[201] In 2003,Gothamist reported the possible transition.[202] 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 onSpeed Racer said similar things.[203]
Lana publicly revealed her transition afterSpeed Racer's release in 2008[204] and by at least December 2010, after which trade magazines and newspapers began to refer to her as "Lana Wachowski",[189][205] and to the duo as "Andy and Lana Wachowski".[206] On some documents her name is shown as Laurenca Wachowski.[207] In July 2012, Lana made her first public appearance after transitioning, in a video discussing the creative process behindCloud Atlas.[208] Lana is the first major Hollywood director to come out as transgender.[5]
In a September 2012 interview withAleksandar Hemon ofThe New Yorker, Lana described an incident in third grade at her Catholic school where she was hesitant to join the boys' line and unconsciously accepted herself as belonging to the girls' line.[209]
In October 2012, Lana Wachowski received theHuman Rights Campaign's Visibility Award.[210] In her acceptance speech, she revealed that once during her youth, she had considered suicide because of her feelings of confusion about hergender 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.
Explaining her decision to appear at the HRC event, Lana said:
There are some things we do for ourselves, but there are some things we do for others. I am here because when I was young, I wanted very badly to be a writer, I wanted to be a filmmaker, but I couldn't find anyone like me in the world and it felt like my dreams were foreclosed simply because my gender was less typical than others. If I can be that person for someone else, then the sacrifice of my private civic life may have value.[211]
In February 2014, Lana received the Freedom Award fromEquality Illinois at their annual gala in Chicago.[f]
In March 2016, Lilly Wachowski also came out as a transgender woman, issuing a statement to theWindy City Times after a visit from aDaily Mail reporter who had attempted to get an interview with her about it.[g] 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."[218]
Her first public appearance since beginning transitioning was a few weeks later, at the27th GLAAD Media Awards, where she accepted an award for her Netflix seriesSense8 for Outstanding Drama Series.[219] 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."[220]
The Wachowskis are self-proclaimedgamers. As teens, they spent their weekends in the attic playingDungeons & Dragons.[13] They liken the process of their gaming sessions to their process of filmmaking. Along with some of their friends, they wrote a 350-pagerole-playing game of their own calledHigh Adventure.
On the video game front, they had been exchanging letters withHideo Kojima and met him during aFamitsu interview in late 1999.[221]Metal Gear Solid was the first video game they played after finishing work onThe Matrix. Candidates for an adaptation of the firstMatrix movie to video game form included Kojima,Bungie andShiny Entertainment, whoseMessiahPC game impressed them.[222][223] Shiny'sDavid Perry, who ultimately had his company develop and collaborate with them on theEnter the Matrix andThe Matrix: Path of Neo video games, was impressed with their familiarity with the medium; this proved helpful during development.[224] The Wachowskis owned both aPlayStation 2 andXboxvideo game console and played several games such asSplinter Cell andHalo 2.[225] They reportedly destroyed their Xbox during aHalodeathmatch.[222] ActorCollin Chou recounts an instance of visiting their office and finding them playing video games on the floor.[226] Lilly is a fan of theDeath Jr.PlayStation Portable game.[227]
Asked about their feelings about turning the tightly controlledMatrix saga to the unpredictable form of anMMORPG withThe Matrix Online, the duo appeared enthusiastic about the nature and possibilities of video games:
The "vagaries of an MMO where unpredictable player behavior is the rule," is the reason for doing it. Our films were never intended for a passive audience. There are enough of those kinds of films being made. We wanted our audience to have to work, to have to think, to have to actually participate to enjoy them. This may be because while we enjoy movies, we also spend a lot of time (as in crack-den amounts of time) gaming.
Gaming engages your mind actively whereas most genre films (the films we tend to watch) are designed to provoke as little thinking as possible. Consider why the films in which everyone knows exactly what is going to happen are the films that make the most money.
Yet the fact thatThe Matrix films are three of the most successful adult films in history (despite of what much of the media would have us believe), suggests that there are other people like us. Those are the people, the people who thought about it, who worked at it, who we ultimately made the trilogy for and it now makes perfect sense to us that they should inherit the storyline. For us, the idea of watching our baby evolve inside the virtual bubble-world of this new radically developing medium, which has in our opinion the potential of combining the best attributes of films and games, of synthesizing reality TV with soap opera, RPGs and [Mortal Kombat], is fantastically exciting.
— The Wachowskis[228]
| Year | Title | Budget | Box office[229] |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1995 | Assassins | $50 million | $83.3 million |
| 1996 | Bound | $6 million | $7 million |
| 1999 | The Matrix | $63 million | $463.5 million |
| 2003 | The Matrix Reloaded | $150 million | $742.1 million |
| The Matrix Revolutions | $150 million | $427.3 million | |
| 2005 | V for Vendetta | $54 million | $132.5 million |
| 2007 | The Invasion | $65–85 million | $40.2 million |
| 2008 | Speed Racer | $120 million | $93.9 million |
| 2012 | Cloud Atlas | $146.7 million | $130.5 million |
| 2015 | Jupiter Ascending | $176 million | $184 million |
| 2021 | The Matrix Resurrections | $190 million | $156.6 million |
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| Year | Title | Functioned as | Notes | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Directors | Writers | Producers | |||
| 1995 | Assassins | No | Yes | No | [20][13][85] |
| 1996 | Bound | Yes | Yes | Executive | |
| 1999 | The Matrix | Yes | Yes | Executive | |
| 2001 | The Matrix Revisited | No | No | Executive | Documentary |
| 2003 | The Animatrix | No | Yes | Yes | Direct-to-video Wrote: "Final Flight of the Osiris" Story by: "The Second Renaissance Part I & II" and "Kid's Story" |
| The Matrix Reloaded | Yes | Yes | Executive | ||
| The Matrix Revolutions | Yes | Yes | Executive | ||
| 2005 | V for Vendetta | No | Yes | Yes | Second unit directors (uncredited)[13][230][231][232][233][234] |
| 2007 | The Invasion | No | Uncredited | No | Rewrites[36][235] |
| 2008 | Speed Racer | Yes | Yes | Yes | |
| 2009 | Ninja Assassin | No | No | Yes | |
| 2012 | Cloud Atlas | Yes | Yes | Yes | Co-directed withTom Tykwer |
| 2014 | Google Me Love | No | No | Executive | Short film[236] |
| 2015 | Jupiter Ascending | Yes | Yes | Yes | |
| 2021 | The Matrix Resurrections | Lana | Lana | Lana | |
| 2025 | Castration Movie Anthology ii. The Best of Both Worlds | No | No | Executive Lilly | [237] |
| Dolls | No | No | Executive Lilly | Short film[238] | |
| TBA | Trash Mountain | No | No | Executive Lilly | [239] |
| Year | Title | Functioned as | Notes | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Creators | Showrunners | Writers | Directors | |||
| 2015–2018 | Sense8 | Yes | Season 1: The Wachowskis Season 2: Lana only | Season 1: The Wachowskis Season 2: Lana only | Season 1: The Wachowskis Season 2: Lana only | Co-created withJ. Michael Straczynski[10] |
| 2019–2021 | Work in Progress | No | Lilly | Lilly | Lilly | Episodes: "Oh Say Can You See" and "I Release You" |
| Year | Title | Functioned as | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Directors | Writers | |||
| 2003 | Enter the Matrix | Yes | Yes | [240][241][242][243] |
| 2005 | The Matrix Online | Yes | No | [228][244][245] |
| The Matrix: Path of Neo | Yes | Yes | [246][225][247] | |
| 2021 | The Matrix Awakens | Lana | Lana | [248] |
| Year | Title | Functioned as | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Writers | Publishers | |||
| 1989–1994 | Clive Barker's Hellraiser | Lana only | Issues: 8–9, 12–13 andHellraiser: Spring Slaughter – Razing Hell | |
| 1992 | Clive Barker's Nightbreed | Lana only | Issue: 17 | |
| 1993 | Clive Barker's Book of the Damned | Lana only | Volumes: 1–2 and 4. | |
| 1993–1994 | Ectokid | Lana only | Issues: 3–9 | |
| 1999–2004 | The Matrix Comics | Yes | Yes | Written "Bits and Pieces of Information" |
| 2004–2007, 2019[106][249] | Doc Frankenstein | Yes | Yes | [168] |
| 2004–2007 | Shaolin Cowboy | Recap only | Yes | [167] |
| Year | Title | Artist | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2009 | "Epilepsy Is Dancing" | Antony and the Johnsons | [250][251] |
The Art of the Matrix book credits them for including their screenplay and additional art. The Wachowskis also wrote an introduction to the 2005 publishedVol. 2: Tag[252]trade paperback ofEx Machina comic book, being big fans of it.[253] Additionally Lana Wachowski wrote the introduction to the 2012 publishedNo Straight Lines: Four Decades of Queer Comics collection ofLGBTQ comic book stories.[254]
Additionally classifying themselves as "lifelong rabid Bulls fans" they created a revamped introductory animation forChicago Bulls to open the2006–2007 regular season.[255]
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