Filmmakers behind 'The Matrix' are auctioning off memorabilia to support trans kids

Rina Torchinsky

April 24, 2022 / 10:24 am

caption: Lilly Wachowski takes part in The Power of TV: Trans Visibility in Storytelling, a Television Academy Foundation public event focused on representation of trans individuals in television and the pathways to increased visibility, at the Television Academy's Saban Media Center on Aug. 1, 2019 in North Hollywood, Calif.

Lana and Lilly Wachowski — the writers and directors behind The Matrix — are auctioning off props and memorabilia from movies they've made to raise money to support trans youth.

The auction includes more than 180 items from The Matrix Revolutions, V for Vendetta, Sense8 and Speed Racer, among other films. All proceeds benefit the Protect and Defend Trans Youth Fund, which supports a series of organizations across the country that advocate for or serve trans youth.

The fundraiser comes as a wave of anti-trans policy has been moving through state legislatures across the country. Earlier this month, the Alabama legislature voted to ban gender-affirming medical care for transgender youth, while in Texas Gov. Greg Abbot has sought to have certain forms of gender-affirming care investigated as possible child abuse. In March, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis signed what opponents are calling the "Don't Say Gay" bill. The bill bans public school teachers from holding classroom instruction about sexual orientation or gender identity in kindergarten through grade 3.

In 2020 — after long speculation by fans — Lilly Wachowski confirmed in an interview with Netflix that the popular film, The Matrix, was layered with trans themes. Both Wachowskis are trans women, but had not come out publicly when the movie was first released.

"I'm glad that it has gotten out that, you know, that was the original intention, but the world wasn't quite ready – the corporate world wasn't ready for it," Lilly said of the trans narratives in the films.

Lilly Wachowski announced the auction, titled "Enter the Matrix: the Wachowski Collection," in a tweet on Saturday.

"hi youse! so me and Lana have been doing some spring cleaning at our Raiders of the Lost Ark warehouse and have happily decided to pass on some of the best treasures we've been collecting over the years!! no ark of the covenants but some pretty major and magical artifacts!," Lilly wrote on Twitter.

In her Twitter thread, she flagged one item from the collection — latex ears that Channing Tatum wore as Caine Wise in Jupiter Ascending.

"Like who doesn't need these?" she wrote.

Autographed posters from The Matrix Revolution, Cloud Atlas jackets, production-used clapperboards from Jupiter Ascending and Sense8 are among the other items in the auction.