The Matrix Revolutions received a mixed critical reception and performed only moderately in the box office. It became a major box office hit, retaining the spot of the highest-grossing R-rated film for over a decade (until 2016's Deadpool). The Matrix Reloaded received positive critical reception, although not on the level of the original. Lilly and Lana at the 2004 San Diego ComicConĪfter its success, the Wachowskis directed two sequels back-to-back, The Matrix Reloaded and The Matrix Revolutions, both released in 2003. Taking advantage of the positive buzz, the Wachowskis asked to direct their next picture, The Matrix.
The film was well received for its style and craft, and was noted as one of the first mainstream films to feature a same-sex relationship without it being central to the plot. Their next project was the 1996 neo-noir thriller Bound, for which they wrote the script and made their debut as directors. They say the experience gave them the perspective that they should become directors or " never survive as writers in this town". Donner had their script "totally rewritten" by Brian Helgeland and the Wachowskis tried unsuccessfully to remove their names from the film. bought the script and included two more pictures in the contract. In the mid-1990s they went into film writing, including the script for Assassins in 1994, which was directed by Richard Donner and released in 1995.
They also wrote for the series Clive Barker's Hellraiser and Clive Barker's Nightbreed for Marvel's Epic Comics imprint.įilm and television careers Early film projects Each dropped out before graduating, and they ran a house-painting and construction business in Chicago.īeginning in 1993, they wrote several issues of Ectokid for Marvel Comics' Razorline imprint (created by horror novelist Clive Barker), which were credited to Lana. Lana went to Bard College, in New York Lilly attended Emerson College, in Boston.
Former classmates recall them playing Dungeons & Dragons and working in the school's theater and TV program. The Wachowskis attended the Kellogg Elementary School in Chicago's Beverly area, and graduated from Whitney Young High School, known for its performing arts and science curriculum, in 19. Julie was assistant coordinator for the film Bound she is a novelist and screenwriter. Lana and Lilly have two other sisters, Julie and Laura. Ron and Lynne died five weeks apart in the late 2010s. Their uncle is an actor and Primetime Emmy Award–winning producer, Laurence Luckinbill. Their father, Ron Wachowski, was a businessman of Polish descent. Their mother, Lynne ( née Luckinbill), was a nurse and painter. Lana was born in Chicago in 1965 Lilly was born two and a half years later, in 1967. 5 Film production and comic book publishing.Since the series finale of Sense8, the Wachowskis have been working separately on different projects: Lilly directed, wrote, and executive-produced several episodes of Showtime's Work in Progress (2019) with creators Abby McEnany and Tim Mason, while Lana filmed The Matrix Resurrections, written with Mitchell and Aleksandar Hemon, which was released in December 2021. Michael Straczynski, debuted in 2015 the second season of Sense8 ended the series in 2018 and was Lana's first major creative undertaking without Lilly. Their film Jupiter Ascending and the Netflix series Sense8, which they co-created with J. Their next film, Cloud Atlas, based on the novel by David Mitchell and co-written and co-directed by Tom Tykwer, was released in 2012. They wrote and directed its two sequels, The Matrix Reloaded and The Matrix Revolutions (both in 2003), and were involved in the writing and production of other works in the Matrix franchise.įollowing the commercial success of the Matrix series, the Wachowskis wrote and produced the 2005 film V for Vendetta (an adaptation of the graphic novel by Alan Moore and David Lloyd), and in 2008 released the film Speed Racer, a live-action adaptation of the Japanese anime series. They made their directing debut in 1996 with Bound, and achieved fame with their second film The Matrix (1999), a major box office success for which they won the Saturn Award for Best Director. Ĭollectively known as the Wachowskis ( / w ə ˈ tʃ aʊ s k i/), the sisters have worked as a writing and directing team through most of their careers. Lana Wachowski (born June 21, 1965, formerly known as Larry Wachowski) and Lilly Wachowski (born December 29, 1967, formerly known as Andy Wachowski) are American film and television directors, writers and producers.