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Meet the Wachowski siblings

When I saw Bound for the first time, I was completely confused. How could anyone named Andy and Larry Wachowski, aka the Wachowski Brothers, bring such sensual heat and intense believability to a lesbian-themed film?

Well, I still don’t have the irrefutable answer to that mystery, but it’s been reported that Larry Wachowski has recently transitioned to Lana Wachowski. That means the Wachowski brothers are now the Wachowski siblings, and I can have at least a minor “ah ha!” moment of clarity. I don’t care how fleeting the clarity was. (See, it’s gone already.) But what I do know is if what’s being reported proves true, we now have a prominent woman writing futuristic action adventure films! I say yay to any and all sisters doing it for themselves. It matters not how one became a sister; the important part is that Lana Dub (that’s Lana W for the un-hip) is a sistah now, and a creatively talented and respected one at that.

According to the Rated-M blog, Larry began making public appearances as a woman following the release of Matrix Reloaded.

There is some uncertainty as to whether or not Lana has actually made a full surgical transition. To that speculation, I say details, shmeetails. Lana is still Lana, and Lana will share whatever she wants to share about her story if and when she ever chooses to do so, and that may be never and I am OK with that. The Wachowskis (as that seems to be the name they will now go by) will be doing some promotions and interviews related to Speed Racer, due out in May 2008. It’s thought, however, that any real discussion of Lana’s transition will not occur prior to the movie’s release, for fear that such publicity may dampen the “family friendliness” of the film’s target audience. I do hope that something so personal as transitioning from male to female would not cause the Wachowskis’ career to stumble or to be sullied in any way. That would really be a shame, because research suggests that what has been written and directed or produced by Larry has always really been written and directed or produced by Lana.

Obviously, the decision to move forward with the transition brought the associated personal, emotional and professional risks of “losing it all.” So if in fact she went ahead, knowing all about the risks of backlash and rejection, that would simply make me find her decision even more courageous and inspiring. I feel the same way about another recent male-to-female transition, that of Los Angeles Times sportswriter Christine Daniels, who began her sportswriting career as Mike Penner. Yep, a sportswriter. You can imagine the throat-clearing and head-scratching she must have envisioned and feared when she made her transition public, especially given the male-dominated sports world she navigates. Daniels now blogs about her journey and continues her sports reporting. So far, she has been amazed at the overall positive response from the masses. I wonder if Christine and Lana have ever met? (Yes, that’s a joke. You know how everyone assumes that if you’re gay you must know every other gay person on earth?)

As for the Wachowskis, they have turned The Matrix into a bona fide moneymaking franchise, including video game sales — and with moneymaking comes clout. The thought of having Lana Wachowski’s value in this business challenged or devalued based on her personal journey is a troubling thought. Only time will tell, of course, but I hope what time tells will be kind.

But now that Lana is Lana, fully transitioned or otherwise, I really have only one question: When is the Bound sequel coming out? OK, fine, I had that same question for the Wachowski brothers, but now I can ask it with a smile because I do not have to grudgingly ask two men to satisfy my desire. That is, my desire to see what Violet and Corky are up to 10 years later. Keep it clean, people.

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