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[JoshuaJSlone]

I've gotta ask, hell maybe one of you have gotten a sex change and can answer me: Why is their new name almost always very similar to their previous name? Why not pick something completely different to reflect the new them, or whatever

Not coming from personal experience, but... it's not a completely new them. It's not a Bruce Wayne / Batman secret identity.

 

[White Man]

Re: the name thing

Another reason for the similar name thing is that getting a name change to something with the same first letter generally makes things "easier." You can get away with using initials for all sorts of things.

 

[Future]

I get where you're coming from here, but your second paragraph basically boils down to the "What will we allow people to marry next? Trees?" argument used against homosexual marriage.

Gender dysphoria has been given a lot less attention than other similar issues, and I think that's why people recoil from it so much. But, there is science behind it and it's also not a decision that a person is allowed to make lightly. As you've noticed though, even with all of the hard work and ostracization involved, people who go through gender reassignment for the most part are happier. Some of these folks might have killed themselves, or led an incredibly pained life otherwise. And as someone working in the mental health field, that's good enough for me.

I didn't make that comparison to make a "what will people be allowed to do next?" argument. If someone wants to replace their fingers with penises, then by all means have at it (and recommend me a doctor).

It's more about what classifies the difference between some basic mental identity issues that can be resolved without such extremes, and SNIP..gettin a sex change! But as you said, I guess this is never the first solution and I suppose there is some science behind it all. I just have a hard time seeing how it could ever be truly a solution

As mentioned, what classifies "gender" is not the sex but instead "behavioral, cultural, and psycological traits," which I assume are defined by society. So how does changing your "sex" solve anything? Especially since I doubt society will be any more accepting. It seems like this solution would lead to nothing but even more disappointment and problems. Even with surgery and whatever changes you can make on the outside, you still are what you are.

 

[Yixian]

Man, good for... her. That takes guts.

 

[Hitman]

No wonder the Matrix movies have so much damn talking

 

[RaymondCarver]

compelling read: http://www.rollingstone.com/news/story/9138137/the_mystery_of_larry_wachowski

I don't get these people, but I find the human condition and strange lives interesting. No longer do I like Margaret Cho, nor talk of bondage clubs, nor Marylin Manson~esque portrayal, but the taboo of alternative worlds remain fascinating.

Throw science fiction and technology into the mix, and as Stanford's study by Laub & Fisk notes of male-to-female sexual reassignment candidates, and interesting phenomenon emerges. Many of the male-to-female potential transsexuals enjoy science and math, probably even fiction based on these interests. I've always suspected that. I've thought to myself many times, over the last twenty years, that science fiction harbored strange gender and sexual images and subtexts. Somewhere between the Borg and Burroughs, I knew there lived something strange.








[El Hazard, Ranma 1/2, and the like also possess these similar gender and sexual qualities.]

 

[Visualante]

I heard he was spending all his money on a dominatrix after the first movie.

 

[Patrick Bateman]

That's a real tranny surprise.

 

[Spainkiller]

Amazing that a board that shows such incredible tolerance and open-mindedness toward homosexuality would behave in such redneck-like fashion to TG/TSs.

Indeed.

 

[typhonsentra]

And how do you feel about homosexuals?

I know you're trying very hard to connect the two issues, but they aren't really the same thing. The objection to transsexuals isn't the same as an objection to homosexuality or even transvestites. Calling someone a she when they were born a man is just deluding the person. Also, I understand some people might be born with a condition that makes them reject their given genitalia, but I want you to look at what you're suggesting as a solution: complete body mutilation. And don't parse words, that's exactly what it is. Society tells people all the time to just accept/be happy with who you are but this seems to be one of the few exceptions, and I can't fathom why.

 

[pxleyes]

I know you're trying very hard to connect the two issues, but they aren't really the same thing. The objection to transsexuals isn't the same as an objection to homosexuality or even transvestites. Calling someone a she when they were born a man is just deluding the person. Also, I understand some people might be born with a condition that makes them reject their given genitalia, but I want you to look at what you're suggesting as a solution: complete body mutilation. And don't parse words, that's exactly what it is. Society tells people all the time to just accept/be happy with who you are but this seems to be one of the few exceptions, and I can't fathom why.

No, and no. These people are mentally another person. The luxury for them is that we live in a day and age where they can physically change their appearance to match what is going on in their head. Who are you to call it mutilation when they are living out who they truly believe they are. They have the right to be called who they want, look who they want to look like, and act how they want to act. You are fundamentally questioning their rights as human beings, which quite frankly is sick.

 

[otake]

I have no problems with homosexuals but I seriously think transsexuals are sick...

then again; I also think all the people getting unnecessary plastic surgery are sick too. so I guess that's where I'm coming from.

I just can't understand body mutilation I guess.....

 

[JayDubya]

The act of voluntarily getting one's genitals removed is behavior that deserves neither sympathy and praise nor scorn and hatred, it simply is what it is.

I would argue that transsexuals are as fair game for mockery as fat people or furries; of course, I would also argue that you shouldn't mock people for who they are because it's an asshole thing to do (and everyone does it, and they should know they shouldn't, and try not to).

They have the right to be called who they want, look who they want to look like, and act how they want to act. You are fundamentally questioning their rights as human beings, which quite frankly is sick.

They have a right to express themselves. They don't have a right to determine how you express yourself in reaction. You don't have a "right to be called who you want" because that would violate the right to free speech / freedom of expression.

Which is the right that allows people to assert themselves in the first place. Hopefully you see the contradiction and understand what I'm saying.

 

[Nolan.]

Iv'e never met a transexual but If I had i'd call the person by whatever I knew them as originally. If it was someone I went to school with for instance that was a guy originally forgive me but there is no way i'd be saying ''her/she''. I'd find it a slightly insincere to do so, call it insensitive but thats just the way I am.

 

[typhonsentra]

We're now at the point where saying it's weird to cut off your dick is "questioning their rights as human beings" and calling someone born a man "he" isn't politically correct because he might identify himself as masculine. I consider myself pretty progressive too, but this is where I draw the line. Do you even hear yourself? You can't just pick whether you're a man or a woman, that's just not the way it works. I'm sure some gaffers would've preferred being born Asian yet they're white. What would you tell them? That they can be Asian now and that we have no right to say otherwise?

 

[pxleyes]

We're now at the point where saying it's weird to cut off your dick is "questioning their rights as human beings" and calling someone born a man "he" isn't politically correct because he might identify himself as masculine. I consider myself pretty progressive too, but this is where I draw the line. Do you even hear yourself? You can't just pick whether you're a man or a woman, that's just not the way it works. I'm sure some gaffers would've preferred being born Asian yet they're white. What would you tell them? That they can be Asian now and that we have no right to say otherwise?

It goes back to your complete misunderstanding of the difference between gender and sex.

They have a right to express themselves. They don't have a right to determine how you express yourself in reaction. You don't have a "right to be called who you want" because that would violate the right to free speech.

They have the right to call themselves whatever they want. If, as you said, want to be an asshole and ridicule them for it, fine. That just means that in the end they look righteous and you look close minded. And, you do have a right to be called who you want because you can get an official name change.

 

[JayDubya]

They have the right to call themselves whatever they want.

Yup.

If, as you said, want to be an asshole and ridicule them for it, fine.

Yup. But I'm not going to.

That just means that in the end they look righteous and you look close minded.

Pretty much. Free speech is not a privilege. People can look at what you're saying and how you say it, then make up their own opinions about you and your thoughts.

And, you do have a right to be called who you want because you can get an official name change.

I could call you Steve every day for the rest of your life and you would be annoyed but you would have no recourse.

Edit: Unless you happen to be ACTUALLY named Steve, but you get the drift.

 

[typhonsentra]

It goes back to your complete misunderstanding of the difference between gender and sex.

And again, up until very recently it was still perfectly acceptable to use sex/gender interchangeably without challenge. Even in official dictionaries as shown by Hatorade it still can be used as a synonym when talking about whether a person is male/female. I was never talking about the masculine/feminine secondary definition and I thought that was pretty clear. When a TG calls him/herself the female/male or she/he is the issue here, not whether their behavior is that which is typically associated with the opposite sex.

 

[BobJustBob]

He/she looks like Matthew Lillard now.

 

[perryfarrell]

That dominatrix Wachowski is hanging out with must be a bad influence on people.

That dominatrix' previous lover was Buck Angel, the 'man with a pussy'. (Don't Google Image that if you haven't had breakfast yet.)

 

[Spainkiller]

Iv'e never met a transexual but If I had i'd call the person by whatever I knew them as originally. If it was someone I went to school with for instance that was a guy originally forgive me but there is no way i'd be saying ''her/she''. I'd find it a slightly insincere to do so, call it insensitive but thats just the way I am.

Why though? I honestly can't understand why some people see it as a problem.

 

[pxleyes]

And again, up until very recently it was still perfectly acceptable to use sex/gender interchangeably without challenge. Even in official dictionaries as shown by Hatorade it still can be used as a synonym when talking about whether a person is male/female. I was never talking about the masculine/feminine secondary definition and I thought that was pretty clear. When a TG calls him/herself the female/male or she/he is the issue here, not whether their behavior is that which is typically associated with the opposite sex.

The psychological community moved past your level of understanding of the difference between sex and gender years ago. I'm not going to dumb down my understanding of it or my opinion of the difference simply because you fail to acknowledge a difference between the two terms.

Yup.
Yup. But I'm not going to.
Pretty much. Free speech is not a privilege. People can look at what you're saying and how you say it, then make up their own opinions about you and your thoughts.
I could call you Steve every day for the rest of your life and you would be annoyed but you would have no recourse.

Edit: Unless you happen to be ACTUALLY named Steve, but you get the drift.

your point has been made, but you will still be viewed as an ass. Suit yourself. (though it isn't like most people here don't already see you as one)

 

[Nolan.]

Why though? I honestly can't understand why some people see it as a problem.

Because most of my memories of that person would be of the original and I think i'd find it really hard to reconfigure. And rather than trying to make the person feel comfortable by being forced about it i'd rather be comfortable with what felt more natural to me. Equally I don't understand why people make such a big fuss about the he/she thing why should they be offended by that.

 

[Spainkiller]

Because most of my memories of that person would be of the original and I think i'd find it really hard to reconfigure. And rather than trying to make the person feel comfortable by being forced about it i'd rather be comfortable with what felt more natural to me. Equally I don't understand why people make such a big fuss about the he/she thing why should they be offended by that.

Because it seems quite disrespectful, as if you're dismissing all the effort and difficult choices they've had to go through in just one word - their name.

 

[Deleted member 1235]

do we have any transgenders or transvestites here?

If so, can you please make a thread and explain things to the masses, I have many questions.

 

[Nolan.]

Because it seems quite disrespectful, as if you're dismissing all the effort and difficult choices they've had to go through in just one word - their name.

Disrespectful.? So you're telling me it's disrespectful for me to recall those memories in their original form what should I do try and alter them in my head. This is what I dislike about things like this sometimes. A lot of people want for what ever reason for people to make space for them but they hardly ever do the same thing for those people. It's not the persons fault that they've known you as the opposite sex to what you've chosen for what sometimes seems like an eternity so surely you can understand that and try to not be so offended by it.

Surely you would understand that the person whoever it was if close to you would not mean it as an offensive thing. If it was someone newly met or something I can understand otherwise not so much. Again maybe i'm just insensitive but i'm not the kind of person that can just throw away things just like that in order to ''respect someones wishes''. I'll respect your new look and everything but respect my memories of you instead of the warped one you want me to forge.

 

[Spainkiller]

It's hardly warped...

I'd imagine that a new identity would be far more important to the person who'd gone through the process of living as somebody else for years, made the decision to have extensive surgery and test their relationships with everyone they know than it would to you. It seems that calling them by their previous name would be a measured action in passive aggressiveness. It wouldn't be too much trouble to alter how you get their attention/refer to them by a syllable. And doing this would be an action of understanding and acceptance, and in no way throwing away any memory of who they once were.

 

[typhonsentra]

The psychological community moved past your level of understanding of the difference between sex and gender years ago. I'm not going to dumb down my understanding of it or my opinion of the difference simply because you fail to acknowledge a difference between the two terms.

Yeah, I guess dictionaries and definitions don't matter anymore once you "Know" you're right about something. That's cool.

 

[twinturbo2]

I heard about this for years, but I never heard about pics. I'll pass on them, though. Still, this honestly doesn't bother me as much as the last two Matrix movies, V for Vendetta and especially their Speed Racer movie. Horrible miscasting, playing it straight when half of the fun was the horrible dubbing... I smell disaster.

 

[pxleyes]

Yeah, I guess dictionaries and definitions don't matter anymore once you "Know" you're right about something. That's cool.

Keep being close minded. It will get you far.

 

[Nolan.]

It's hardly warped...

I'd imagine that a new identity would be far more important to the person who'd gone through the process of living as somebody else for years, made the decision to have extensive surgery and test their relationships with everyone they know than it would to you. It seems that calling them by their previous name would be a measured action in passive aggressiveness. It wouldn't be too much trouble to alter how you get their attention/refer to them by a syllable. And doing this would be an action of understanding and acceptance, and in no way throwing away any memory of who they once were.

Like you said it's a word...so why would they be so unwilling to let people close to them use it. Using a word in relation to a person doesn't show understanding to me. Understanding comes in the form of you continuing your relationship with the person reguardless and still maintaining that bond you had with them prior. If michael jackson wanted people to suddenly think of him as white would you think of it in the same light if his family didn't want to.

 

[Segata Sanshiro]

Like you said it's a word...so why would they be so unwilling to let people close to them use it. Using a word in relation to a person doesn't show understanding to me. Understanding comes in the form of you continuing your relationship with the person reguardless and still maintaining that bond you had with them prior. If michael jackson wanted people to suddenly think of him as white would you think of it in the same light if his family didn't want to.

So if a female friend of yours gets married will you refuse to call them by their married name? Even if they ask you not to call them by their maiden name? I mean, you made the point earlier that it's about their feelings vs yours, and obviously if you want to look out for your own feelings above others I'm not going to scold you for it, but surely you can see why they wouldn't like it?

As for if there are any TG/TS on these boards, I know of at least two, but I'm not going to name them if they don't feel like coming forward about it (again).

At any rate, all I can say is that gender dysphoria is a recognized disorder that for some can cause considerable suffering and all the risk factors that come with it. One of the stipulations of diagnosing any disorder is that it has to be preventing the individual from leading a functioning life. In the (somewhat rare) cases where gender reassignment is recommended, it's generally a case of that person choosing between the difficulties of gender reassignment or spending the rest of their life feeling so wrong in their own skin that they cannot function on a fundamental level.

I've seen people bring up race as a comparison, but I've yet to see an otherwise healthy individual unable to function due to not feeling they are the right colour. It's important to note the medical community recognizes gender reassignment as an appropriate treatment in certain cases of gender dysphoria. If you are uncomfortable with it, or a friend goes through it and you don't want to support them, or you just plain think it's wrong...well, go ahead, but I think if you step outside of the argument and look at the things people are saying for each side, I don't know how favorable doing such things would look to you.

The brain operates differently on a physiological level for males and females. Different pathways are used for different things, different areas light up for different activities, etc. Gender dysphorics in most cases physiologically show the brain patterns of the gender they identify with, not their physical sex. Is it environment? Is it genetics? Who knows. But it is, which means we cannot ignore the potentially life-threatening mental ailment these folks are suffering from.

 

[UnholySpectacle]

OK, I've read places that this fake as hell. Is "she" real or is this some major hoax?

 

[JoshuaJSlone]

I don't mock transgendered people, but I do find it hard to understand the situation. Homosexuals, sure; they're attracted to a different type of person. I'm attracted to women, so I have some basis for comparison if another male is attracted to non-women. But to feel so uncomfortable in one's own body that one feels one must radically alter it... hell, I even let my hair do what it pleases as much as I can. So, never particularly thinking "Yeah, man... this body is ME!", I find it hard to understand an "Oh no... this body isn't me." point of view going to such an extreme.

 

[Nolan.]

So if a female friend of yours gets married will you refuse to call them by their married name? Even if they ask you not to call them by their maiden name? I mean, you made the point earlier that it's about their feelings vs yours, and obviously if you want to look out for your own feelings above others I'm not going to scold you for it, but surely you can see why they wouldn't like it?

As for if there are any TG/TS on these boards, I know of at least two, but I'm not going to name them if they don't feel like coming forward about it (again).

At any rate, all I can say is that gender dysphoria is a recognized disorder that for some can cause considerable suffering and all the risk factors that come with it. One of the stipulations of diagnosing any disorder is that it has to be preventing the individual from leading a functioning life. In the (somewhat rare) cases where gender reassignment is recommended, it's generally a case of that person choosing between the difficulties of gender reassignment or spending the rest of their life feeling so wrong in their own skin that they cannot function on a fundamental level.

I've seen people bring up race as a comparison, but I've yet to see an otherwise healthy individual unable to function due to not feeling they are the right colour. It's important to note the medical community recognizes gender reassignment as an appropriate treatment in certain cases of gender dysphoria. If you are uncomfortable with it, or a friend goes through it and you don't want to support them, or you just plain think it's wrong...well, go ahead, but I think if you step outside of the argument and look at the things people are saying for each side, I don't know how favorable doing such things would look to you.

The brain operates differently on a physiological level for males and females. Different pathways are used for different things, different areas light up for different activities, etc. Gender dysphorics in most cases physiologically show the brain patterns of the gender they identify with, not their physical sex. Is it environment? Is it genetics? Who knows. But it is, which means we cannot ignore the potentially life-threatening mental ailment these folks are suffering from.

I have married friends all of which I call by first name. So I don't go about calling someone for example ''kate mcqueen'' instead of ''Kate harling''. It's still Kate and she's still a woman. And if in the rare instance I had to call them by their full name i'm sure they'd allow me the luxury of calling them by what I felt comfortable.

 

[Cauliflower of Love]

do we have any transgenders or transvestites here?

If so, can you please make a thread and explain things to the masses, I have many questions.

There's already been one, pretty indepth too.

 

[bengraven]

This is awesome. Go Lana.

 

[temp]

your point has been made, but you will still be viewed as an ass. Suit yourself. (though it isn't like most people here don't already see you as one)

How is he an ass for pointing out that it's not a RIGHT to be called what you please? I understand the plight of trans-gendered people, but I still know it's not their RIGHT.

 

[Segata Sanshiro]

I have married friends all of which I call by first name. So I don't go about calling someone for example ''kate mcqueen'' instead of ''Kate harling''. It's still Kate and she's still a woman. And if in the rare instance I had to call them by their full name i'm sure they'd allow me the luxury of calling them by what I felt comfortable.

But what if doing that bothered Kate, and you knew that it did? Would you still do it?

I don't mock transgendered people, but I do find it hard to understand the situation. Homosexuals, sure; they're attracted to a different type of person. I'm attracted to women, so I have some basis for comparison if another male is attracted to non-women. But to feel so uncomfortable in one's own body that one feels one must radically alter it... hell, I even let my hair do what it pleases as much as I can. So, never particularly thinking "Yeah, man... this body is ME!", I find it hard to understand an "Oh no... this body isn't me." point of view going to such an extreme.

It's extremely difficult to understand, and trying to explain it out is almost as difficult. I can't even say "imagine waking up tomorrow as a woman but otherwise unchanged" because that really doesn't fit the situation properly. In the end, it's as hard to explain their experience as it is to explain a clinically depressed person's experience, or a schizophrenic's experience. I think this difficulty in understanding is the main reason why our society looks down on mental disorders and ailments in a way they would never deign to with physical ailments.

 

[twinturbo2]

OK, I've read places that this fake as hell. Is "she" real or is this some major hoax?

If they didn't have this annoying radio silence, then we might know. Gawd, I hate it when entertainers don't talk to the press...

 

[Deleted member 1235]

There's already been one, pretty indepth too.

link?

 

[pxleyes]

How is he an ass for pointing out that it's not a RIGHT to be called what you please? I understand the plight of trans-gendered people, but I still know it's not their RIGHT.

He's an ass for refusing to be accepting of other people's choices. I have as much of a right to call him an ass as he does to deny their choice though.

 

[Cauliflower of Love]

link?

http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?t=109626

The first page and a half are basically jokes.


Also in my search, thread and article about Larry Wachoski

http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?t=81049

 

[temp]

He's an ass for refusing to be accepting of other people's choices. I have as much of a right to call him an ass as he does to deny their choice though.

He didn't deny anybody's choice; pointing out that something isn't someone's right isn't the same as not granting it to them. And I didn't say you didn't have the right to call him an ass, I'm telling you that you have no reason to.

 

[OmniGamer]

I don't see what's so hard to understand about someone not feeling "like themselves" in their physical body. I mean, think about some less extreme examples, such as a person in their 60s who doesn't "feel" 60, but feels quite younger, or a young person who feels the opposite, or an obese person who feels that underneath lies a fit healthy person, etc. Some may be able to dress a certain way or live a certain way to match how they feel, but obviously matching your physical body as it relates to being "male/female" to how you identify yourself requires more than just "dressing hip" or "losing weight". If you're a male, how "not like yourself" would you feel if you suddenly woke up the next morning in a female body? It wouldn't just be like "Well, I like chicks, so i'll just be a lesbian"...you identify yourself as a "male". That's the face you want to see, that's the voice you want to hear yourself speak, and that's the body and lifestyle you'd want to have.

 

[Nolan.]

But what if doing that bothered Kate, and you knew that it did? Would you still do it?


It's extremely difficult to understand, and trying to explain it out is almost as difficult. I can't even say "imagine waking up tomorrow as a woman but otherwise unchanged" because that really doesn't fit the situation properly. In the end, it's as hard to explain their experience as it is to explain a clinically depressed person's experience, or a schizophrenic's experience. I think this difficulty in understanding is the main reason why our society looks down on mental disorders and ailments in a way they would never deign to with physical ailments.

Again though I don't see in which position I would be in that would require me to call her by both names unless I was marrying her myself. Or signing for something. And again maybe the people I know are different but I highly doubt they'd be uncomfortable with something thats so trivial. And if someone was uncomfortable with it I think I would decrease the amount of time I spent with them. Then it becomes much less likely for me to come out with whatever it was. Also I wouldn't want to purposely make someone feel uncomfortable nor would I want to feel uncomfortable knowing that they feel so strongly about something thats so small in comparison to the rest of our relationship.

Edit:
To me it kinda seems like an ''all or nothing'' kind of idea. You either take me as this this and this or i'll be upset. People are varied with their interpretation of things so why would the person not be willing to hear someone elses take on why they would want to call them that.

 

[pxleyes]

He didn't deny anybody's choice; pointing out that something isn't someone's right isn't the same as not granting it to them. And I didn't say you didn't have the right to call him an ass, I'm telling you that you have no reason to.

your opinion of course.

 

[Fixed2BeBroken]

Really? Calling it gross and disgusting and saying he has a chemical imbalance isn't being childish? I must be crazy.

Nope, not really.

Do you know what a chemical imbalance is? Do you want me to choose other words than "Gross and disgusting"? That helped described my opinion on it. Being childish would have been something like...oh i dont know..."LOL THAT FAGGOT" or something retarded like that.

Maybe you think only children use the words "gross and disgusting"?

What's with all the congrats tho? The guy was dating a dominatrix.

I don't understand how everyone has to accept someone who obviously couldn't accept himself. It's not like he was an hermaphrodite or something.

But whatever, who knows what he went through in his life. I still don't accept this stuff as something normal.

yea, judging from some posts, you would think some of the posters are the same way as him.

 

[karasu]

So, I'm the only person who doesn't see any difference outside of weightloss?

 

[ManaByte]

Don't know if this was posted or not:
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,295909,00.html

Larry Wachowski is still a man.

The co-director of the "Matrix" movies was rumored to have had a sex-change operation recently. Internet sites started buzzing recently that Larry was now called Lana. Someone even edited his Wikipedia entry to that effect. The Wachowski Brothers, they said, were about to become the Donny and Marie of filmmaking.

I must say, returning from a two week trip to Africa, I found this news rather startling.

Of course, Larry Wachowski — who’s reportedly into a lot of wild, tough stuff — has encouraged this kind of speculation among his fans and the press. He dates a dominatrix and publicizes it.

He let his wife’s vague angry language in their divorce filing make it seem as though as he was on the verge of a huge announcement. Either he was becoming a woman or turning into a pygmy.

Either way, Larry Wachowski’s purported sex change is right up there with "Paul Is Dead" and the "Beaver Died in Vietnam."

And it’s not true.

On Wednesday, I had lovely chats with people at the sound studio in Germany where the Wachowskis have been making the live action version of the Japanese cartoon "Speed Racer." The folks I spoke to got quite a kick out of the whole thing.

I asked one man in building operations, "Have you seen Larry lately? Does he have breasts now, as rumored? Is he wearing a dress, wondering if it’s making him look fat?"

Laughter. “He looked like a man to me,” was the response.

And what about this Lana business? Said one woman who worked in the "Speed Racer" office: “On the call sheets, it still says Larry. There’s no Lana.” She laughed too.

Rats! Where is the gossip when you need it? An assistant to one of the producers got on the phone.

“None of it is true,” he said. We spent several minutes rehashing all the stories that were floating around out there.

Finally, I did speak with Joel Silver, who executive produces the W Brothers' movies.

“It’s all untrue,” he reconfirmed for me. “They just don’t do interviews, so people make things up.”

Disappointed? I know. I am too.

But I think Larry, er Lana, has gotten the last laugh, at least for now.