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Lana Wachowski reveals painful details about growing up Trans at HRC gala (video)

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Y

yeoz

Member
http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/lana-wachowski-reveals-suicide-plan-382169 said:
The "Cloud Atlas" co-director stuns and moves the crowd at HRC's annual gala dinner with a courageous 25-minute talk.

Cloud Atlas co-director Lana Wachowski is breaking her silence on her traumatic childhood.

In a funny, honest and deeply moving speech delivered on Oct. 20 at the Human Rights Campaign’s gala fundraising dinner in San Francisco, Wachowski revealed painful details related to growing up transgender.

She once suffered a physical beating at the hands of a Catholic school nun after she failed to join a line of boys and nearly committed suicide as a young adult before being stared down by a man who wandered onto an empty subway platform where Wachowski was standing.

“I don’t know why he wouldn’t look away,” Wachowski told the crowd. “All I know is that because he didn’t, I am still here.”

Wachowski, 47, half of the sibling directing team behind The Matrix trilogy, was on hand to accept the Visibility Award for her recent decision to reverse a long-standing policy of eschewing press and public appearances and to openly acknowledge her transition (a word she said she dislikes “because of its complicity in a binary gender narrative”) to womanhood.

Surrounded by brother Andy, their parents and her wife, Wachowski shared her coming-out story with a crowd of 600 at the event, which for 28 years has raised funds for LGBT-friendly causes (past HRC Visibility Award honorees include Portia Di Rossi, Precious director Lee Daniels and Milk screenwriter Dustin Lance Black).

A source at the event -- attended by Joel Podolny, incoming vice president and dean of Apple University, and Ben Cotner, senior vp of acquisitions for Open Road Films -- says the moment Wachowski stepped off the stage after her 25-minute speech, she cried for ten minutes.

“Lana’s willingness to tell her story will impact and change countless lives across the world,” says HRC president Chad Griffin, who introduced Wachowski. “She is a giant in her industry, and for someone with such success and such profile to be willing to tell their personal story to the world sends a tremendous message to LGBT people across the globe that they too can aspire to be a giant in their industry.”

“They’ve been contacting me off and on for a while and I’ve always said no, I don’t do that sort of thing,” Wachowski tells The Hollywood Reporter ahead of Cloud Atlas’ Oct. 24 L.A. premiere, her first red carpet appearance in 12 years. But her schedule worked out “and my wife thought it was a good idea to do it now."
Click to expand...
Links: Video, Transcript: Page 1, Page 2, Q&A (Video+Transcript might be triggery for some.)
 
Oppo

Oppo

Member
She looked super-happy, and at peace, on that (rather surprisingly lighthearted) Cloud Atlas mini-feature on Apple's site.

I get the reasoning behind disliking "transitioning" as a phrase, but I don't think it implies a binary gender construct, FWIW.
 
C

CrudeDiatribe

Member
What a great speech.

I really hope society becomes more accepting over time. It feels like it has already in my lifetime, but maybe it's just as an adult I have vastly more control of the people I surround myself with.
 
U

User 100115

Banned
She has amazing courage. I remember the thread when it came out that she was transgender, and many people were saying how she'd never work again. And now she has a highly anticipated movie coming out. Amazing.
 
E

Emitan

Member
CrudeDiatribe said:
What a great speech.

I really hope society becomes more accepting over time. It feels like it has already in my lifetime, but maybe it's just as an adult I have vastly more control of the people I surround myself with.
Click to expand...

I can't speak for everyone's experiences but I'm surprised at the amount of support I've gotten from friends and even relative strangers on GAF. There's still a very long way to go though.
 
H

harSon

Banned
Powerful stuff.

I had to abandon the video and go to the transcript since her delivery is painstakingly slow, but I'll definitely go back to hear these words uttered from her mouth, since I'm sure it's more emotional that way.
 
B

bjb

Banned
Definitely a mindfuck considering I wasn't aware of his ...transformation...and having known them as the wachowski brothers.
 
J

jorgeton

Member
I have nothing but respect and adoration for Lana. Her speech was powerful and personal. And I love her style/whole vibe. Really glad she's speaking out about her experience, as it will help many others.
 
T

TRios Zen

Member
I have two sons, that I love with all my heart. I hope I can be as supportive as her dad was for her, regardless of what their lives throw my way.

I also applaud her talking like this, the sacrifice of her anonymity she made may indeed help others - that is a powerful thing.
 
K

Kai Dracon

Writing a dinosaur space opera symphony
For all the crap the Wachowskis have gotten as filmmakers they seem to have decided, regardless of their wealth and fame and now being a part of hollywood, to practice Not Giving a Fuck. Which allows them to do things like this.

I kinda think... if one of those "he'll never work again" jokers [intentional use of wrong pronoun] said that straight to Lana Wachowski's face, the response would be "and you think that's the important thing?"
 
Z

zephervack

Member
I remember how secretive they both were during the Matrix years, no interviews, almost no exposure at all in the audio commentaries of the DVDs, crazy.

I wonder if the Andy was secretive like that in support of his sister.



Just read the transcript, nevermind ....
 
D

Demy

Member
Nice to see good news GAF posting after some of the other stuff this morning. Good on her, and after 12 years of avoiding these types of events.
 
O

oatmeal

Banned
So was this the reason she didn't do press for The Matrix?

She was uncomfortable as a man and didn't want to see herself, and Andy just went along with it?

Because they are really putting their faces on this one.
 
A

Aeana

Member
oatmeal said:
So was this the reason she didn't do press for The Matrix?

She was uncomfortable as a man and didn't want to see herself, and Andy just went along with it?

Because they are really putting their faces on this one.
Click to expand...
She makes it very clear in the video that that is not the reason why. They didn't do press because they didn't like giving up their anonymity. Watch the video for her full explanation.
 
bengraven

bengraven

Member
Good on her. Makes me tear up.

Especially since I've seen The Matrix so many times and those two lines from the first film they reference in the intro made me suddenly look at the entire series as something much more personal for her.
 
shira

shira

Member
Good for her.

Unfortunately, most of the world will not accept anything more than binary gender for a long time.
 
C

Cat Party

Member
bengraven said:
Good on her. Makes me tear up.

Especially since I've seen The Matrix so many times and those two lines from the first film they reference in the intro made me suddenly look at the entire series as something much more personal for her.
Click to expand...

This line?

"It seems you've been living two lives. One of them has a future. The other does not."
 
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