 | This article needs additional citations for verification .(April 2010) |
 | |
| Industry | Publishing |
|---|---|
| Founded | 2004 |
| Founder | The Wachowskis |
Key people | Spencer Lamm (editor, writer) [1] [2] Geof Darrow (creator, writer, artist) [3] Steve Skroce (creator, artist) |
| Products | Comics |
| Website | Official website |
Burlyman Entertainment is a comic book company created by The Wachowskis, best known as the writer/director duo behind the Matrix Trilogy .
"Burlyman" was The Matrix Reloaded and Revolutions' production codename. According to the films' visual effects supervisor John Gaeta, the title is a reference to a film they all loved; the Coen brothers' Barton Fink . He points out that the Wachowskis agonized and struggled to make the Matrix films, just like Fink had to, to write "The Burlyman" screenplay, a wrestling picture. [4] In the introduction to The Matrix Comics Vol. 1 anthology, editor Spencer Lamm recounts an alternative origin what the Watchowskis ostensibly told him: that The Burlyman was the name of the Watchowskis' first script, a wrestling picture; that Lana Wachowski had not seen Barton Fink because it was subtitled (and when corrected, didn't want to see a movie that sounded like it should be subtitled); and that Lilly Wachowski had seen it and felt that it would have been a good movie if it had at least some wrestling in it. [5] Despite the story, the Wachowskis are familiar with the film and included it in a list of films for people who "want to understand Hollywood". [6]
Burlyman Entertainment first started as the publisher for The Matrix Comics series started by the Wachowskis, which was published into two separate volumes. Burlyman Entertainment also published some new, non-Matrix related comics: Shaolin Cowboy , written and drawn by comic book artist Geoff Darrow, who also served as the conceptual designer for the Matrix Trilogy, and Doc Frankenstein , written by the Wachowskis and drawn by Steve Skroce, the storyboard artist for The Matrix trilogy, and previously worked with the Wachowskis on the comic book series, Ectokid .
Since the start of the company, the release of the two ongoing series was irregular, with a professed bi-monthly release schedule that was not fulfilled. Following the release of an issue in December 2007, the company did not release anything for many years afterwards, leading to speculation it had become defunct. In August 2010, comic book creator Geof Darrow stated the company was still going and Steve Skroce was drawing a new issue for Doc Frankenstein , with plans to collect all issues in graphic novel form. [7] In January 2014, Darrow reiterated that Burlyman is not dead, explaining that periods of inactivity are due to the Wachowskis being busy making movies, and adding that as far as he knows the Doc Frankenstein arc will be completed in 2014. [8]
In June 2014, Steve Skroce was interviewed revealing Doc Frankestein is indeed being collected in two parts the second of which includes the final two issues, [9] while Burlyman Entertainment's webshop was updated to include a message stating they're still in business and "big things [are] ahead". [10] It was later announced that part two of the trade will be released in 2015, [11] but this was later delayed to 2016. [12] A trade of Shaolin Cowboy was also announced for release on December 3, 2014. [13] The rights to the Shaolin Cowboy issues published now belong to Dark Horse Comics who published them in 2018 under the title Shaolin Cowboy: Start Trek. [14]
Oversized deluxe hardcover editions for The Matrix Comics and Doc Frankenstein (completing the story) have been announced for release in November 2019. [15] [16]
Among its seemingly canceled projects, the first volume of The Matrix Comics featured an advertisement for The Art of The Matrix Reloaded, Revolutions. During initial testing a dummy version of the Reloaded book came at 588 pages, bigger and thicker than the original Art of The Matrix book. [17] After Geof Darrow suggested that the books have been canceled due to their immense size and thus cost compared to the perceived demand, [18] the last update on the books status was in 2006 in the form of a forum post by editor Spencer Lamm declaring that they had been sidetracked by the V for Vendetta: From Script to Film book and that they had yet to fully develop the idea of how to create the two Art books. [19] [20]
The company made an appearance at the 2004 Comic-Con in San Diego which included an actual "Burly Man" (looking very much like their company mascot), and two "Burly Babes" passing out giveaways branded with the company logo and ongoing series' titles. Later, the Wachowskis appeared and asked questions from the audience, making it one of their few public appearances over the last decade.
In the movie V for Vendetta , posters for a film 'Burlyman 7' can be seen in the background of a tube train and several street scenes.
The Matrix is a 1999 science fiction action film written and directed by the Wachowskis. It is the first installment in The Matrix film series, starring Keanu Reeves, Laurence Fishburne, Carrie-Anne Moss, Hugo Weaving, and Joe Pantoliano. It depicts a dystopian future in which humanity is unknowingly trapped inside a simulated reality, the Matrix, which intelligent machines have created to distract humans while using their bodies as an energy source. When computer programmer Thomas Anderson, under the hacker alias "Neo", uncovers the truth, he "is drawn into a rebellion against the machines" along with other people who have been freed from the Matrix.
Lana Wachowski and Lilly Wachowski are American film and television directors, writers and producers. The sisters are both trans women.
The Matrix Reloaded is a 2003 American science fiction action film written and directed by the Wachowskis. It is a sequel to The Matrix (1999), and the second installment in The Matrix film series. The film stars Keanu Reeves, Laurence Fishburne, Carrie-Anne Moss, Hugo Weaving and Gloria Foster who reprise their roles from the previous film, while Jada Pinkett Smith was introduced in the cast.
The Matrix is an American media franchise consisting of four feature films, beginning with The Matrix (1999) and continuing with three sequels, The Matrix Reloaded, The Matrix Revolutions, and The Matrix Resurrections (2021). The first three films were written and directed by The Wachowskis and produced by Joel Silver. The screenplay for the fourth film was written by David Mitchell and Aleksandar Hemon, was directed by Lana Wachowski, and was produced by Grant Hill, James McTeigue, and Lana Wachowski. The franchise is owned by Warner Bros., which distributed the films along with Village Roadshow Pictures. The latter, along with Silver Pictures, are the two production companies that worked on the first three films.
The Big Guy and Rusty the Boy Robot is a 1995 comic book written by Frank Miller, drawn by Geof Darrow and published by Dark Horse Comics. The comic book was adapted into an animated TV series of the same name.
James McTeigue is an Australian film and television director. He has been an assistant director on many films, including Dark City (1998), the Matrix trilogy (1999–2003) and Star Wars: Episode II – Attack of the Clones (2002), and made his directorial debut with the 2005 film V for Vendetta to critical acclaim. Since Vendetta he has collaborated with the Wachowskis an additional four times as director on The Invasion, Ninja Assassin and Sense8 and as producer of The Matrix Resurrections.
Geofrey "Geof" Darrow is an American comic book artist, best known for his work on comic series Shaolin Cowboy, Hard Boiled and The Big Guy and Rusty the Boy Robot, which was adapted into an animated television series of the same name, as well as his contributions to The Matrix series of films. Darrow's approach to comics and art has been cited as an influence by a multitude of artists including Peter Chung, Frank Quitely, Seth Fisher, Eric Powell, Frank Cho, Juan José Ryp, James Stokoe, Chris Burnham, Aaron Kuder, Nick Pitarra, and others.
V for Vendetta is a 2005 dystopian political action film directed by James McTeigue from a screenplay by the Wachowskis. It is based on the 1988 DC Vertigo Comics limited series of the same name by Alan Moore and David Lloyd. The film is set in an future where a fascist totalitarian regime has subjugated the UK. It centres on V, an anarchist and masked freedom fighter who attempts to ignite a revolution through elaborate terrorist acts, and Evey Hammond a young woman caught up in V's mission. Stephen Rea portrays a detective leading a desperate quest to stop V.
Doc Frankenstein is an American comic book series created by Geof Darrow and Steve Skroce, written by the Wachowskis, drawn by Skroce, and published by Burlyman Entertainment. The first issue was published in November 2004 and after six issues, the last of which was released in December 2007, the comic entered a long hiatus. An oversized deluxe hardcover trade paperback was released in November 2019, that completed the story.
Shaolin Cowboy is an American comic book series created, written and drawn by artist Geof Darrow. The book was published irregularly by Burlyman Entertainment.
John C. Gaeta is a designer and inventor best known for his work on the Matrix film trilogy, where he advanced methods and formats known as Bullet Time, Volumetric Cinematography and Universal Capture (UCAP). He is also known for exploring emergent and expressive new media platforms such as Photo Anime, NUI, HoloCinema and the Magicverse.
Steve Skroce is a Canadian comic book and film storyboard artist. He is of Croatian descent.
Dave Stewart is a colorist working in the comics industry.
Ectokid is a fantasy comic book series published by Marvel Comics' Razorline imprint that ran from 1993 to 1994. Created by filmmaker and horror/fantasy novelist Clive Barker as one of the imprint's four interconnected series, it starred teenaged Dexter Mungo, the child of a mortal and a ghost, who is able to see and interact with the dangerous, interdimensional Ectosphere.
Peter Doherty is a British comic book artist and colourist.
Frankenstein, in comics, may refer to:
The Matrix Comics is a set of comics and short stories based on The Matrix film series and written and illustrated by figures from the comics industry. One of the comics was written by the Wachowskis and illustrated by the films' concept artist Geof Darrow. The comics and stories were originally presented for free on the Matrix series' website between 1999 and 2003. One of them was printed in 1999 to be given away at theaters as a promotional item for The Matrix, but Warner Bros. recalled it due to its mature content. Most of them were later republished by the Wachowskis' Burlyman Entertainment, along with some new stories and updates with color to some of the existing ones, in two printed trade paperback volumes in 2003 and 2004 and a deluxe hardcover twentieth anniversary edition in 2019.
The following is a list of unproduced projects from The Wachowskis in roughly chronological order. During their long careers, The Wachowskis have worked on a number of projects which never progressed beyond the pre-production stage under their direction. Some of these projects fell in development hell and are presumably or officially canceled.
The Matrix Resurrections is a 2021 American science fiction action film produced, co-written, and directed by Lana Wachowski. It is the sequel to The Matrix Revolutions (2003) and the fourth installment in The Matrix film franchise. Keanu Reeves, Carrie-Anne Moss, Jada Pinkett Smith, and Lambert Wilson reprise their roles from the previous films, and they are joined by Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, Jessica Henwick, Jonathan Groff, Neil Patrick Harris, and Priyanka Chopra Jonas. The film is set sixty years after Revolutions and follows Neo, who lives a seemingly ordinary life as a video game developer troubled with distinguishing dreams from reality. A group of rebels, with the help of a programmed version of Morpheus, free Neo from a new version of the Matrix and fight a new enemy that holds Trinity captive.
