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We have no idea if the "newly released photo from a rare public appearance earlier this year" posted in an item at Rated-M.com (as excavated by Cinematical) is evidence of anything but reportedly transgendering Wachowski brother Larry's predilection for dangly earrings and sassy bandanas, but the blog claims that his much-rumored journey towards womanhood is now complete, a transformation that has obvious implications for hopeful 2008 summer blockbuster Speed Racer and the way the directing duo's names will be listed on its one-sheet. Says Rated-M:

The duo will now just be known as "The Wachowskis", dropping the "brothers" part of their name. It is expected that Larry, now called Lana, will actually speak to the press about this for the first time, but not until after the Speed Racer film is out. The current feeling is that his sex change could hurt the family image the Speed Racer film is going for.

It is also expected that Andy will do all the press for the Speed Racer film, with Larry/Lana staying in the background for the above reason.

Dateline NBC is still rumored to have exclusivity of Larry/Lana's first public interview, but it has to be on his terms, not theirs.

If you find any of this reported update confusing, now would probably be a good time to review last January's illuminating Rolling Stone piece on Wachowski's personal life. But with Speed Racer still so far away, we'll have to wait months to see how the Warner Bros. publicity department rises to the challenge of dealing with a delicate situation; while we hope that they'd have the understanding to support their collaborator in an air-clearing TV appearance like the one rumored above, we realize that the far more likely scenario involves the studios sending their potential PR liability on an all-expenses-paid vacation until the movie's had a profitable run, explaining her (or his, you know, depending) conspicous absence from various promotional obligations with a press release asking the media to respect the privacy of Wachowski's genitals during this difficult time.

UPDATE: Larry Wachowski is still a man, reports Fox's Roger Friedman.