I will write about Cloud Atlas and why I think it is one of the few truly “groundbreaking” films to be release in some time, but for the moment I will only say for my part that the film has my absolute strongest endorsement as something you should see as soon as possible, in as ideal of an environment as possible.

If you’re still trying to wrap your head around the film, or for some reason need convincing at this point (which, in some arenas, would make you an asshole) there is a new 13-minute featurette about the film. It’s got footage, actors talking, etc, and I’ve only watch a portion that was very entertaining, but you can check out it below.

More importantly though, I’d like to strongly suggest you take 30 minutes to get to know Lana Wachowski, as she has dutifully and elegantly spoken at length about her journey when recently accepting an award from the Human Rights Campaign. The speech has little to do with Cloud Atlas or filmmaking, but it goes a long way towards explaining the Wachowski’s relationship with anonymity over the years.

Andy and I have not done press or made a public appearance including premieres in over 12 years. People have mistakenly assumed that this has something to do with my gender. It does not. After The Matrix was released in ‘99 we both experienced this alarming contraction of our world and thus our lives. We became acutely aware of the preciousness of anonymity — understanding it as a form of virginity, something you only lose once. Anonymity allows you access to civic space, to a form of participation in public life, to an egalitarian invisibility that neither of us wanted to give up. We told Warner Bros. that neither one of us wanted to do press anymore. They told us, “No. Absolutely not. This is non-negotiable. Directors are essential to selling and marketing a movie.” We said, “OK, we get it. So if it’s a choice between making movies or not doing press, we decided we’re not going to not make movies.” They said, “Hang on. Maybe there’s a little room for negotiation.”

Even beyond that trivia of their relationship with doing press, it’s an emotional, passionate, and gorgeously elucidated speech about being a person, about communicating about yourself, and about life.

And see fucking Cloud Atlas. It’s out this Friday.

Source | THR