The Wachowskis chat with Roger Ebert
Roger Ebert has a quirky piece that popped up this week on his website. Turns out he went to see a special screening of "The Godfather" at Kinowerks in Chicago and ran into the Wachowski Brothers.
Kinowerks' post-production sound, editing and screening facilities are state-of-the-art. The screening room has big reclining chairs. Who walked in but Andy and Larry Wachowski and their S.O.s. They're zillionaires after the "Matrix" trilogy, but they looked like guys who had spent way too much time playing "Speed Racer" before making it into a movie. Nice people. Friendly. No Hollywood attitude. The blogosphere paints them as mysterious recluses, which may add to the legend but doesn't match the reality.
I'm guessing that Ebert never read Peter Wilkinson's 2006 article in Rolling Stone about Larry Wachowski, which adds considerably to the legend of "The Matrix" mastermind. Anyway, there's no great revelation in the Ebert piece, it's just a casual encounter between some very passionate students of film. Here's a part with Larry waxing on about "2001: A Space Odyssey":
"I've always been fascinated by films that draw you visually into the picture," he said. "I first experienced that when I was taken as a kid to see Kubrick's '2001.' I told my dad, 'That black box is the key to everything! What do you think it means?' My dad said, 'Maybe it's the consciousness of God.' I went back and was even more deeply drawn into it."
He said if there was one film that inspired the visual look they were trying to create in the "Matrix" films, it was "2001." And digital technology allowed them to hold perfect focus as Willis had inspired them to do. His brother was still talking about "The Godfather" with James McTeigue, also at the screening. He directed "V for Vendetta" (2005), which the brothers wrote and produced. It joined "The Matrix" in IMDb's list of the 250 top films of all time. The Wachowskis are producing McTeigue's "Ninja Assassin," now in post-production at Kinowerks.
"Yeah, we're resurrecting the 'Ninja' craze," Larry said.
I'd love to see the Wachowski brothers find some grand new epic tale to tell, something as complelling, stylish and unique as that first "Matrix" film. I'm guessing, though, that if that ever does happen it won't involve ninjas or the Mach Five.
-- Geoff Boucher
Photo: Anne Moss, Andy Wachowski and Larry Wachowski on the set of "The Matrix" in 1999 Credit: Jasin Bowland, courtesy of Warner Bros and Village Roadshow
