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The Wachowski sisters are auctioning off ‘Matrix’ memorabilia and more to support trans youth

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The Wachowski sisters are auctioning off ‘Matrix’ memorabilia and more to support trans youth
It wasn’t straightforward to half with among the treasures, Lilly Wachoswki said, together with unique items from among the most iconic moments from the sisters’ works. However the proceeds from the public sale are going towards organizations that advocate for and defend transgender youth, a trigger near the sisters’ hearts.
Lilly Wachowski tweeted that she and Lana had been performing some “spring cleansing” after they “fortunately determined to move on among the greatest treasures we have been gathering through the years!”

“no ark of the covenants however some fairly main and magical artifacts!” she stated.

Followers of the Wachowskis have dozens of limited-edition and one-of-a-kind objects to sift by, like unique art work, mock-ups of well-known setpieces and a few knick-knacks from the Wachowskis’ desks. They’re additionally loads of uncommon finds from their Netflix sequence “Sense8” and movies “Jupiter Ascending” and “Velocity Racer,” with bids starting at $30 for some objects.

The sale of each merchandise, from the sisters’ MTV Film Awards for “The Matrix” to the long-lasting lightning rifle from the primary movie within the sequence, will help the Defend & Defend Trans Youth Fund, launched by Ariana Grande final month. The donations collected by the fund will likely be distributed amongst a number of organizations that serve trans folks, together with the Black Trans Advocacy Coalition and Transanta.
How 'The Matrix' is a trans story, according to Netflix and co-director
Each Wachowski sisters are trans and have decried anti-transgender laws launched (and typically, handed) all through the US.
Lilly Wachowski, who directed and wrote the primary three “Matrix” movies with Lana, stated in 2020 that their seminal sequence is an allegory for transitioning. The story is “all in regards to the need for transformation” from the attitude of Neo, performed by Keanu Reeves. Each sisters publicly got here out as trans years after the discharge of the third “Matrix” movie.
Their sequence “Sense8” took a extra overt method to trans storytelling from the attitude of trans character Nomi, performed by trans actress Jamie Clayton.

Wachowski diehards can entry the public sale on-line. The stay public sale begins Could 12 at 11 a.m. ET.

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Will Reeve of ABC News, Christopher Reeve's son, has a cameo in new 'Superman' movie

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Will Reeve of ABC News, Christopher Reeve's son, has a cameo in new 'Superman' movie

Will Reeve, son of the late “Superman” star Christopher Reeve, is set to make a cameo appearance in James Gunn’s upcoming “Superman: Legacy,” currently in production in Cleveland.

The 32-year-old ABC News correspondent was seen filming a scene for the movie on Tuesday morning, according to Cleveland.com.

Will Reeve plays a TV reporter, Deadline reported, which aligns well with his real-world career as a journalist for ABC News. He is the youngest of the actor’s three children and the only child of Christopher Reeve and widow Dana Reeve.

Christopher Reeve is remembered for his portrayal of Superman in Richard Donner’s 1978 “Superman: The Movie.” This marked the beginning of a legacy that saw Reeve don the iconic cape in three sequels: “Superman II” (1980), “Superman III” (1983) and “Superman IV: The Quest for Peace” (1987).

Gunn, known for his work on the “Guardians of the Galaxy” franchise, is directing the new movie from his own screenplay, which draws inspiration from characters created by Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster. The DC Studios movie is slated for release July 11, 2025.

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The Reeve family has maintained a strong connection to Christopher Reeve’s legacy, with Will Reeve actively involved on the board of directors for the Christopher & Dana Reeve Foundation, dedicated to spinal cord injury research. Christopher Reeve, who died in 2004 at the age of 52 after suffering a paralyzing injury in an accident on horseback in 1995 — left behind a lasting impact on both the entertainment industry and advocacy for disability rights.

The new “Superman” cast includes David Corenswet as Superman, Rachel Brosnahan as Lois Lane, Nicholas Hoult as Lex Luthor, Nathan Fillion as Green Lantern, Anthony Carrigan as Metamorpho, Edi Gathegi as Mister Terrific and Isabela Merced as Hawkgirl. Milly Alcock, who played young Princess Rhaenyra Targaryen in six episodes of “House of the Dragon,” will play Kara Zor-El, aka Supergirl.

Henry Cavill, who played the superhero in “Man of Steel,” “Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice” and “Justice League” and gave up his role in “The Witcher” to return to the franchise, lost the Superman gig in 2022, months after Gunn and Peter Safran were named to lead DC Studios for Warner Bros. Discovery.

“After being told by the studio to announce my return back in October, prior to their hire, this news isn’t the easiest, but that’s life,” Cavill said in a statement that December. “The changing of the guard is something that happens. I respect that. James and Peter have a universe to build. I wish them and all involved with the new universe the best of luck, and the happiest of fortunes.”

Times staff writer Christi Carras contributed to this report.

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Movie Review: 'The Bikeriders' is photography in motion

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Movie Review: 'The Bikeriders' is photography in motion

The Bikeriders starts in the middle of its own story. A man in a “Chicago Vandals” jacket, head hanging over the bar counter.

“You can’t be wearing no colors in this neighborhood,” someone threatens, to which he replies: “You’d have to kill me to get this jacket off of me.”

The man, Benny, approaches most things in his life with this same kind of fervor. His wife, Kathy, describes Benny camping out in her front yard until her boyfriend at the time packed up his car and left.

It’s through Kathy’s eyes that we come to know the Vandals: The leader, Johnny; his right hand, Brucie; and a menagerie of other club members — Cockroach, Zipco, Cal, Funny Sonny, Corky and Wahoo, to name a few. Kathy, with varying levels of exasperation, takes us through the club’s rise and fall over her interviews with Danny, the photojournalist meant to represent the author of “The Bikeriders,” the book on which the film is based.

Johnny’s vision for the club starts simply enough — just guys talking about bikes. But, as The Vandals grow, he realizes what he’s created might have become impossible to control.

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The first, most obvious thing to say about “The Bikeriders” is that it’s gorgeous.

The beauty and effectiveness of Danny Lyon’s photography translates perfectly to film. Although an article by the Smithsonian reports 70% of the film’s dialogue is taken from Lyon’s interviews, you could almost watch this movie with the sound off.

Color, light and framing are used so beautifully here it’s hard not to spend the whole review geeking out. Stoplights, bars and midwestern houses and parking lots become art pieces, dioramas of the tumultuous life of a “bikerider.”

Beyond the surface, though, I’m not sure how to feel about this movie.

When Kathy says Johnny got the idea for the club while watching TV, we cut to him staring, enraptured, as 1953’s “The Wild One” plays in his living room. “Hey Johnny, what are you rebelling against?” The girl in the movie asks. Marlon Brando replies, “Whaddaya got?”

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This listlessness, this sense that Johnny doesn’t have any purpose in mind, that the club doesn’t have much of a point, permeates the film. For me, it extended to the movie itself: At the beginning I thought life in a motorcycle gang would be exciting but dangerous, and by the end I thought the exact same thing.

Maybe it’s Kathy’s perspective leaking through the narration, but the deaths in this movie are, as a rule, abrupt and stupid. Once the shock wore off, I found myself wondering, “What was that all for?”

For all the glamor and power being a bikerider supposedly grants, they don’t die for great causes or in blazes of glory. The end is a car in reverse, an empty parking lot.

“The Bikeriders” is gorgeous and exciting, but doesn’t appear to say very much. Maybe that’s exactly what it’s saying.

Other stories by Caroline

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Caroline Julstrom, intern, may be reached at 218-855-5851 or cjulstrom@brainerddispatch.com.

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Caroline Julstrom finished her second year at the University of Minnesota in May 2024, and started working as a summer intern for the Brainerd Dispatch in June.

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'Despicable Me 4': Mega Minions bring mega bucks to holiday box office

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'Despicable Me 4': Mega Minions bring mega bucks to holiday box office

Audiences are going bananas for Universal Pictures’ and Illumination’s “Despicable Me 4.”

The latest installment in the popular family film franchise opened to $27 million Wednesday at the domestic box office, according to estimates from a studio source and measurement firm Comscore. That number is expected to rise to roughly $120 million by the end of the Fourth of July weekend.

Other titles vying for moviegoers’ business this holiday stretch are Disney and Pixar’s “Inside Out 2,” which grossed $7.3 million on Wednesday for a North American cumulative of $496.6 million; Paramount Pictures’ “A Quiet Place: Day One,” which scared up $4.4 million on Wednesday for a North American cumulative of $68.6 million; Sony Pictures’ “Bad Boys: Ride or Die,” which earned $1.2 million on Wednesday for a North American cumulative of $169.1 million; and Warner Bros.’ “Horizon: An American Saga Chapter 1,” which made $1.1 million on Wednesday for a North American cumulative of $14.8 million.

The promising start for “Despicable Me 4” is good news for exhibitors as the 2024 box office appears to be turning a corner thanks to some much-needed breakout hits such as “Bad Boys: Ride or Die” and “Inside Out 2.”

From directing team Chris Renaud and Patrick Delage, “Despicable Me 4” follows the not-so-nefarious Gru (voiced by Steve Carell), his resourceful daughters and his wacky minions on another daring mission to escape from a new nemesis. Rounding out the main voice cast are Kristen Wiig, Miranda Cosgrove, Dana Gaier, Madison Polan, Will Ferrell and Sofía Vergara.

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The animated feature received a lackluster 55% rating on review aggregation site Rotten Tomatoes, but pulled an A grade from audiences polled by CinemaScore — proving that fans still can’t get enough of Carell’s curmudgeonly antihero and his babbling yellow entourage.

Film critic Gary Goldstein was not so generous in his review for the Los Angeles Times, writing that “this latest installment of Illumination’s mega-grossing animated franchise jams in a grab-bag of physical and visual gags and anything-goes action, plus a barrage of narrative dead ends, subplots and characters, as it strains to fill its 90 or so minutes of eye-popping, brain-draining mayhem.”

“Despite a few chuckles, some capable voice work and plenty of splashy color,” he adds, “it proves a largely empty and exhausting ride.”

So what keeps audiences coming back to this critically soured saga?

The Times’ Samantha Masunaga has reported that a perfect storm of organic social media phenomena (calling all #Gentleminions), Facebook mom memes and multigenerational nostalgia has kept the franchise relevant and lucrative over the past 14 years. “Despicable Me” debuted at $56.4 million domestically in 2010, “Despicable Me 2” launched at $83.5 million in 2013 and “Despicable Me 3” opened to $72.4 million in 2017, according to Box Office Mojo.

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“I’ve been 25 to 28 years in the business. I can’t remember something that created that much excitement for the audiences,” Francisco Schlotterbeck, chief executive of theater chain Maya Cinemas, told The Times.

“The other thing I can compare it to is ‘Toy Story.’”

Coming to theaters Friday is the highly anticipated A24 horror flick “MaXXXine,” followed by the wide releases of Goldove Entertainment’s “Lumina,” Neon’s “Longlegs” and Columbia Pictures’ “Fly Me to the Moon” next weekend.

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