Andy Wachowski and Lana Wachowski's globetrotting TV Netflix series Sense8 already sounded insanely ambitious. And the two Jupiter Ascending directors just cranked up the crazy even higher with promises of orgies and live births (not at the same time).
Top image from Sense8 filming by photographer Steve Rhodes.
The Matrix trilogy creators have teamed up with Babylon 5 creator J. Michael Straczynski to co-write and produce Sense8. The series setup itself is pretty intense. Now pile on their elaborate and extensive world-wide shoot and you've got a huge series that could really be something special. According to earlier reports, the series is centered around eight strangers all from various parts of the world. Each one experiences a tragic death that then links them all both mentally and emotionally. As they each begin their journey, they also become hunted by someone named Mr. Whispers. The character is part of a larger organization that wants to assassinate those that are connected in this manner. Each episode will center around one character and jump all across the planet.
While talking with the directors about their upcoming movie release Jupiter Ascending, we asked them both about Sense8, and leapin' lizards, does the scale of insanity of this series sound both crazy ambitious and super nutty. Take our money now, please.
What can you tell us about Sense8, and if it does well would you consider quitting movies and just making content for Netflix or Amazon?
Andy Wachowski: Well, it's really hard work, the TV gig, we're finding. The density of your work day it's manifold from what we're used to. Right now we're in the editing process. We finished the first four episodes and we're cutting them basically an episode a week. By the end of two weeks that's two hours. That's basically a feature film. And basically on a feature film you get ten weeks. That's DGA minimum.
We shot the show all over the world. One of the ideas of the show was to juxtapose location and culture. Putting these 8 disparate lives up against one another so that you can feel the differences and the similarities between all of us. And in doing so, we ended up having 100,000 miles of flight time for all of last year. That's four times around the globe.
Yeah you guys really shot everywhere.
Andy: Yeah. We shot in San Francisco, Chicago, Mexico City, ReykjavÃk, London, Berlin, Nairobi, Seoul, Mumbai.
Lana Wachowski: But it's trying to get at the human question of how are we the same, and how are we different. Is there a universalness to the human condition or is it all culturally formed. Well that's sort of an intellectual idea, we began to actually experience it as we were going through the journey. I was really enlightening and beautiful.
Andy: Going from the Best Western Hotel in Nairobi to the Park Hyatt in Seoul was…
Lana: Coming from ReykjavÃk, like the whitest city in the world 250,00 white people who are practically related. And then going to Nairobi.
Andy: Where we're basically aliens landing there walking...
Lana: With my pink hair and I'm just freaking out.
Andy: So the culture shock was an amazing thing to experience. But it was also amazing to capture that. We think it's going to make the show very special There's not anything like it on TV. There's not really anything like it in the movies as well. We're super excited about that.
I'm glad you think that's reflected in the footage; I'm excited to see that. Is it more supernatural or science fiction?
Lana: You gotta wait for it. It's everything.
Andy: It's science fiction but it's more about humanity. It's about everything.
Lana: We wanted to make a thing that's about everything. We told Netflix we were like, "We're only interested in doing this. It's going to be so hard, it's not very much money. We're only interested in it if we can do anything. And I mean anything. Like crazy psychic orgies with all sorts of different bodies." And they were like, "Yeah sure, cool great."
Andy: We have live births.
Lana: Live births even.
Andy: Babies coming out of vaginas.
What? No.
Andy: Yes. Tune in. In May, you'll see.
