Lana Wachowski: biography and filmography

2024 Author: Leah Sherlock | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 05:25

Until recently, until 2008, there was no Lana Wachowski in the cinematic firmament. Not as a star, not even as a modest extra. But every person, more or less versed in films, knew the Wachowski brothers - American directors, screenwriters and producers, creators of the cult "Matrix". Some advanced moviegoers even knew their names - Larry and Andy. Where did Lana come from? Is she a relative of the brothers or just a namesake who made her way in Hollywood? Everything is much more interesting. The intrigue is that Lana is one of the Wachowski brothers. Read about her life and creative path in this article.

Childhood

Lana Wachowski was born on June 21, 1965. Parents (and obstetrician, and everyone else) thought that a boy was born. That is why they called him the beautiful name Laurens. More than two years later (or rather, on December 29, 1967), another child appeared in the family - Andrew Paul. The surname Wachowski betrays the Polish roots of an American family that has long settled in Chicago.(Illinois, USA). The father of the brothers was a businessman, and his mother was a nurse. So the family was we althy, although not particularly rich. Despite the two-year age difference, the brothers were "inseparable". They had common interests and hobbies. The head of the family was a convinced atheist, but the mother, having been in the bosom of the Catholic Church, began to profess shamanism. This amazing religious upbringing influenced the future work of the brothers. Lawrence and Andrew Paul graduated from the same schools: first primary in their native Chicago, and then secondary, public Whitney Young. In high school, the brothers participated in the activities of the theater circles, but always off the stage.

Youth

When it was time to enter the university, the paths of the brothers parted. Lawrence chose Bard College in upstate New York, and the youngest, Andrew Paul, continued his studies in Boston at Emerson High School. However, the brothers soon realized that chewing on the granite of science was not for them. They were creative. Both had one passion and one hobby - comics. They started their careers with them. Under the creative names of Andy and Larry (now Lana) Wachowski, the brothers opened an agency that painted the facades of houses. This is how wall panels with heroes of popular comics and computer games appeared in Chicago. Creativity brothers did not go unnoticed. They were invited to work at the Marvel publishing house. The first collaboration in this field was a series of drawings for the book Ectokid. And even then, the brothers hatched the idea of "The Matrix". Realizing that the film is a very expensive business, especially with such visualeffects, they postponed their dream until later. In the meantime, they started filming their first film.

The beginning of a career in show business

It happened in 1996. But before that, Andy and Larry (Lana) Wachowski created the script for Hitmen, a film that starred Sylvester Stallone, Antonio Banderas, and Julianne Moore. But director Richard Donner ruthlessly redrawn the work of the brothers, so that little was left of their work in the film. The Wachowskis were upset and in the future firmly decided to film their scripts themselves. In general, the film "Communication" in the style of "noir" appeared. It was a low-cost picture, in which one of the brothers' two sisters, Julie Wachowski, took part. The film failed at the box office, but film critics (as often happens) did not agree with the audience. "Communication" was awarded several awards and opened the way for the brothers in show business. Now, with a "name", Larry and Andy Wachowski could count on a big budget. It's time to fulfill their youthful dream of filming The Matrix.

Cult trilogy

To be fair, Larry has always worked and continues to work in a duet with his brother Andy. The Matrix was immediately conceived as a trilogy. But the viewer did not know about it yet. And so do the producers. Warner Brothers bosses were very skeptical of the $80 million asking price and gave the budding directors only ten. Then Andy and Lana Wachowski created the first ten minutes of the film. The show convinced the film studio to give the brothersthe remaining seventy million. The Matrix, released in 1999, was a bombshell. The viewer was eager to continue, and it did not take long to wait. Two other episodes of The Matrix, "Reloaded" and "Revolution" (2003), were as profitable as the first film. But the public did not manage to communicate with famous screenwriters and directors. In the contract that the brothers signed with the film company, it was stated that they refused to communicate with the press, give interviews and participate in talk shows. Flowers of glory after "The Connection" were enough for them for life.

Lana Wachowski: filmography of recent years

It would seem that the money that the Matrix trilogy brought in will be enough for the brothers for the rest of their lives. But to create is the main purpose of the star duet. And therefore, three years after the “Revolution”, the film “V means Vendetta” appears on the screens, where the brothers acted as screenwriters and producers. A year later, "Invasion" was released, in 2008 - Speed Racer (in the Russian box office "Speed Racer"), in 2009 - "Ninja Assassin". Then a short break followed. And in 2012, Andy and Lana Wachowski reappeared in the Hollywood firmament. Films like Cloud Atlas, Jupiter Ascending and Sense8 received critical acclaim.

Lana Wachowski's personal life

The brothers were a stark contrast in terms of appearance. Andy, a cheerful fat man, and frail bespectacled Larry. In the personal life of the younger brother, there is nothing out of the ordinary and even somewhat surprising. Since 1991Andy has been married to Alice Blessingame for a year, is happy and is not going to get divorced. Larry's personal life was completely different. From 1993 to 2002 he was married to his former classmate Thea Bloom. Everything seemed to be in order. It is difficult to say when he felt like a woman. After a divorce in 2003, he began to appear at secular parties under the name Lana. Since 2005, the paparazzi have sniffed out that the eldest of the Wachowski brothers began to take hormonal drugs to prepare for sex change surgery. In 2006, there was information that the transgender procedure was successful. But for a long time, none of the brothers commented on this news. And in 2012, a photo of Lana Wachowski appeared, a charming woman with fuchsia dreadlocks and a translucent dress. She gave an interview in which she spoke openly about the problems of people with a displaced transgender. For this, she was awarded by the Human Rights Campaign. Lana is currently married to Karyn Winslow.