Month: June 2015

Across the world, eight people begin having vivid visions of a woman in the last moments of her life – the last moments before she takes her own life before her pursuers catch up with her. In Chicago, in London, in Mumbai, in Seoul, in Kenya, and elsewhere, eight otherwise unconnected men and women witness the suicide as if they were there. Then they begin seeing each other, or momentarily seeing things from one another’s perspectives, with no explanation for why this has started to happen. A Chicago cop, rattled by a recent experience on his beat, sees a DJ from London appear in the abandoned church where they both realize the suicide occurred. But every vision and every shared experience ends, sometimes leaving them stranded in desperate situations…and with inexplicable new perspectives.

Just before she takes her own life, the woman named Angelica is confronted by two men – one who knows she must remain in hiding, the other who is looking for her. Both men will be looking for the others, whose awakening awareness of one anothers’ presence has just begun.

written by The Wachowskis & J. Michael Straczynski
directed by The Wachowskis
music by Johnny Klimek & Tom Tykwer
additional music by Gabriel Isaac Mounsey and Ethan Stoller

Cast: Aml Ameen (Capheus van Damn), Doona Bae (Sun Bak), Jamie Clayton (Nomi Marks), Tina Desai (Kala Dandekar), Tuppence Middleton (Riley Blue), Max Riemelt (Wolfgang Bogdanow), Miguel Angel Silvestre (Lito Rodriguez), Brian J. Smith (Will Gorski), Freema Agyeman (Amanita), Terrance Mann (Mr. Whispers), Anupam Kher (Sanyam Dandekar), Naveen Andrews (Jonas), Daryl Hannah (Angelica), Max Mauff (Felix), Ness Bautista (Diego), Joseph Mawle (Nyx), Paul Ogola (Jela), Christian Oliver (Steiner), Matt Stokoe (Jacks), William Burker (Deshawn), Felicia Fields (Head Nurse), Margot Thorne (Sara Patrell), Maxwell Jenkins (young Will), Katrin Sara Olafsdottir (young Riley), Edward Ashley (Nocker), Chichi Seii (Shiro), Margaret Akech (Older Woman), Godfrey Ojiamo Muyungi (Passenger), T.K. Kitana (Hawker), Sylvester Groth (Sergei), Marina Weis (Sergei’s Wife), Matthew Burton (Dunkle), Rainer Reiners (Priest), Viola Meinecke (Teacher), Bernhard Schutz (Anton), Rafaela da Silva (Natalie), Lenius Jung (young Wolfgang), Georg Ebinal (Steiner’s Bodyguard), Ari Brickman (Director), Cassandra Sanchez Navarro (Nun), Arnoldo Picazzo (Padre), Rocio Garcia (Key Makeup Artist), Jeronimo Best (Assistant Director), Ki-Chan Lee (Joong-Ki), Heon Tae Jeon (Yuen Tan-Wu), Hana Hwang (Sun’s Assistant), Sean Dorsey (Sean), Jamison Green (Jamison), Shawna Virago (Shawna), Tina D’Elia (Dyke #1), Jeanette Aguilar (Dyke #2), Max Kelly (Dyke #3), Tino Rodriguez (Green Fairy), Virgo Paraiso (Purple Fairy)

Notes: Created by the Wachowski siblings (The Matrix trilogy, Cloud Atlas, Jupiter Ascending) and J. Michael Straczynski (Babylon 5, Crusade, Jeremiah), Sense8 was pitched to traditional cable outlets before landing at Netflix, which expanded the show’s ten-episode order to twelve at the showrunners’ request. All twelve episodes premiered on June 5th, 2015 via Netflix’s streaming service, the latest of several major series to bypass existing broadcast and cable channels altogether. This was Straczynski’s first TV project since his frustrating experiences working on Jeremiah for MGM; he had worked chiefly in movies (Thor, World War Z, Changeling) and major comics titles in the interim. Naveen Andrews was previously one of the stars of Lost, while Freema Agyeman had traveled aboard the TARDIS as Martha Jones in Doctor Who. Daryl Hannah has a long list of big-screen credits, including several genre movies (Blade Runner, Memoirs Of An Invisible Man), while Brian J. Smith was one of the stars of Stargate Universe.

LogBook entry by Earl Green

Officer Will Gorski’s growing obsession with the site of the suicide he experienced is interrupted by a visit from the Department of Homeland Security, briefing the Chicago PD on the presence in Chicago of a dangerous man known as Jonas Maliki. No information is provided about why he is wanted, so it’s a huge surprise to Nomi when she spots Jonas staring intently at her at a LGBQT pride parade, causing her to fall from the back of a motorcycle. The hospital only allows Nomi’s birth family to see her, denying her girlfriend Amanta’s requests to see her. Nomi’s mother – who insists on called Nomi by her male birth name – reveals that a growth has been found in Nomi’s brain, a growth that the doctors feel must be removed immediately. Jonas appears to Nomi, telling her that she must not allow the surgery to happen. Around the world, Riley, Lito and Kala each face their own personal crises, trapped by society’s expectations or more direct dangers. Jonas appears to Gorski, telling the rookie cop that what he thinks he knows about Jonas is wrong.

written by The Wachowskis & J. Michael Straczynski
directed by The Wachowskis
music by Johnny Klimek & Tom Tykwer
additional music by Gabriel Isaac Mounsey and Ethan Stollar

Cast: Aml Ameen (Capheus van Damn), Doona Bae (Sun Bak), Jamie Clayton (Nomi Marks), Tina Desai (Kala Dandekar), Tuppence Middleton (Riley Blue), Max Riemelt (Wolfgang Bogdanow), Miguel Angel Silvestre (Lito Rodriguez), Brian J. Smith (Will Gorski), Freema Agyeman (Amanita), Terrance Mann (Mr. Whispers), Anupam Kher (Sanyam Dandekar), Naveen Andrews (Jonas), Daryl Hannah (Angelica), Purab Kohli (Rajan Rasal), Ness Bautista (Diego), William Burke (Deshawn), Sandra Fish (Janet), Anfonso Herrera (Hernando), Erendira Ibarra (Daniela), Adam Shapiro (Dr. Metzger), Ron Dean (Duke), Cedric Young (Friend #1), Danny Goldring (Friend #2), Howie Johnson (Miller), Larry Clarke (Police Captain), Kevin R. Kelly (Agent Stiles), Maxwell Jenkins (young Will), Eddie Martinez (Convenience Attendant), Darshan Jariwala (Manendra Rasal), Natasha Rastogi (Priya Dandekar), Huzane Mewawala (Daya Dandekar), Mita Vasisht (Sahana Rasal), Shruti Bapna (Devi), Amy Mubul (Anja), Max Mauff (Felix), Wanja Gotz (Thug), Avantika Akerkar (Aunty Ina), Dilnaz Irani (Lab Co-Worker #1), Palomi Ghosh (Lab Co-Worker #2), Rene Azuela (Cristina), Annie Munch (Teagan), Tara Mallen (Day Nurse), Hanna Dworkin (Surgical Nurse), Masahin Munor (Lola)

LogBook entry by Earl Green