Facts for Editorial Reference		"Life Magazine" on 2001
	"Popular Mechanics" on 2001		"A Primer for 2001: A Space Odyssey"
	Promotional Leaflet		The Theatre Program
	"The Making of Kubrick's 2001" by Jerome Agel		"2001: filming the future" by Piers Bizony
	"The Space Odysseys of Arthur C. Clarke" by George Slusser		"Stanley Kubrick: A Film Odyssey" by Gene D. Phillips
	"The Odyssey File - The Making of 2010" by Arthur C. Clarke and Peter Hyams		"Hal's Legacy: 2001's Computer as Dream and Reality" by David Stork
	"Your Guide to The Best SF On The Internet"

Facts for Editorial Reference

Imagine the year is 1968. You have just created "2001: A Space Odyssey" and the Internet does not exist. How would you go about telling an unsuspecting world? MGM decided to target the press by issuing a booklet describing all aspects of the film that had cost them $10,500,000, in the days when having a million dollars meant you could go out and buy something useful. "The excitement generated by "Dr. Strangelove" had not reached peak intensity before producer- director Stanley Kubrick began to focus his unique attention and energies on 2001: A SPACE ODYSSEY for MGM. With Arthur C. Clarke, author of more than forty books on the subjects of space and the future, Kubrick co-wrote the screenplay for 2001. The following pages contain some of the highlights of the film's own odyssey from conception to the Cinerama screen. For additional material or information concerning 2001: A SPACE ODYSSEY, please contact the MGM Publicity Department..."

This 20-page monochrome (that yellow bit doesn't count) booklet is illustrated with many scenes from the film, including at least one from the material that Kubrick later removed, as well as shots of Kubrick in action and rare pictures of, not only the leading stars, but some of the supporting cast as well, information which my own studies have shown to be very hard to find nowadays. There is a surprising amount of detail compressed in these pages, including a fascinating piece titled "FICTION AND FACT", which compares scenes in the film with predictions of how life would actually be in the year 2001. Example: Screen Fiction: Deep in space, a stewardess strolls down the aisle of a commercial spaceliner carrying a tray of food... Science Fact: Commercial space flights in the year 2001 will be making regular scheduled trips between Earth and the Moon... Example: Screen Fiction: HAL 9000 is an ultra- intelligent computer...capable of emotional responses indistinguishable from those displayed by humans. Science Fact:...ultra- intelligent computers will be constructed within about the next 30 years...capable of performing every intellectual activity somewhat better than any man. Ah, life in the sixties... "The entire electrical requirements of the United States can be met by as few as a dozen nuclear generating stations..."; "Earthly transportation will include travel by ballistic rocket reducing the trip to any place on the globe to less than an hour..."; "cancer, senility, mentally retarded children will no longer exist...". Now, that's what I call facts.

"Life Magazine" on 2001

On March 29, 1968, "2001: A Space Odyssey" was screened by special arrangement with Life Magazine, four days before its World Premiere in Washington. The resulting article was published on April 5. The cover, featuring Tutankhamen's gold and enamel mask in recognition of the issue's lead story, the first part of a series on "the marvels of Egypt's past", carried the intentionally- juxtaposed message "2001 A.D., a fantastic movie about man's future". This lavishly illustrated review, based on the original uncut version of the film, gave no hint of the controversy that would follow, which would lead Stanley Kubrick to remove 19- minutes- worth of scenes on the very day the magazine was published. Instead, we are taken through the movie with the kind of article that journalists raised in the "Me! Me!" era would probably regard as belonging to the same period as King Tut. In other words, it is informative, objective and descriptive without being gratuitously opinionated. Here are the main section headings:

	Fanciful Leap Across the Ages		A shrieking moon slab sets off a weird quest		A lunar stop-off, on to Jupiter		Hal the computer tries to take over		A flight of unearthly beauty transfigures the earthman
The final heading gives a clue to the nature of Albert Rosenfeld's essay, which was perhaps the first of all the philosophical musings which are still being generated to this day on 2001 and "its meaning":									Perhaps the mysterious monolithic slab is really Moby Dick
You may still be able to obtain copies of this fascinating issue from Life Magazine: http://www.pathfinder.com/Life/covers/1968/cv040568.html

"Popular Mechanics" on 2001

"Popular Mechanics" published Richard F. Dempewolff's article on 2001 in April 1967, a full year before the film premiered. It includes a view of the 40- foot centrifuge and several illustrations by Howard Schafer showing how effects such as walking in a weightless environment were staged. Of special interest is a drawing of the "Discovery", with many of the familar elements in place but looking very different from what we finally saw. Dempewolff writes of his visit to MGM's Borehamwood studios in London, accompanied by Arthur C. Clarke, gingerly avoiding treading on any of the fragile moonbase building models: "We were exploring a 30- by- 30 model of the moon's landscape on top of a three- story- high scaffold... Far below, on the floor, several full- scale spaceship command modules were under construction." "For weeks Stanley Kubrick and Arthur Clarke fretted about whether, in the airless lunar sky, you'd see far more stars than we do here... Surveyor confirmed everything we had done". Unfortunately, history has not been as kind in all respects: "As Arthur C. Clarke tells it, by the year 2001 our first moon colonists have established a base of 1000 people...". The reproduction at left is scanned from a black and white photocopy of the original.

"A Primer for 2001: A Space Odyssey" featuring Keir Dullea

This 27 minute long video was made in 1970 in response to the confusion that "2001: A Space Odyssey" engendered on its release two years previously. In it, Keir Dullea ("Dave Bowman" in the film) sports the kind of clothes that make you want to "slide" back to 1970 just to counter your disbelief that anyone ever went around looking like that (he would have looked far more conventional wearing his space suit). If you can tear your concentration away from the sartorial aspects of the video, you will find it full of descriptions, illustrations and "explanations" of what the film was all about. As you would expect of anything to do with 2001, this video takes a far more intelligent view of how to present a film and its background than the wretched "making of..." disease that has cursed Hollywood in recent years. Following are some of the sleeve notes.

'"Thus Spake Zarathustra" was composed by Richard Strauss in 1895 in homage to the contemporary essay by Friederich Nietzsche. "I mean to convey," Strauss wrote, "an idea of the evolution of the human race from its origin through its various phases of development up to Nietzsche's idea of the superman." Starchild as superman? Surely not the victor in election or argument come to reform enemies or claim the spoils of war... but the offspring of instructed genetic progress whose way lies beyond the fears and scruples of his ancestors. The groundwork for this optimism that humbles daily goals is ourselves, one generation hence, treated so matter of factly in the film that we forget that 2001: A Space Odyssey is mostly about our world.' Copyright © 1997 Creative Arts Television Archive Remarkably, thanks to the Creative Arts people, this video is still available today. If you would like a copy, contact: Creative Arts Television Archive Post Office Box 739 Kent, CT 06757 USA E-mail: CATARCHIVE@aol.com Creative Arts also produce a range of other rare cinema- related videos, including "A Conversation with Arthur C. Clarke" and Kubrick's "Clockwork Orange Examined". They can provide videos directly in PAL as well as NTSC format, which results in much better quality than post- production conversion, though be warned, the PAL version requires special processing on their part and does not come cheap.

Promotional Leaflet

This single sheet of paper, printed in monochrome on both sides, featured two of artist Robert McCall's famed paintings, on one side the Orion spacecraft whooshing out of the space station and on the other side that lovely lunar panorama with the suited figures in the foreground and the Aries craft whooshing to and fro from the moonbase behind (McCall's whoosh lines make rather a nice link way back to the days of pulp science- fiction, when Arthur C. Clarke's "Sentinel" story first appeared - see my other page, "From Pulp to Love and Death - Arthur C. Clarke's Odyssey"). A short piece by Clarke entitled "Survival in a Vacuum" faces the lunar scene, while cast and production credits accompany the space station. I am not aware of the circumstances in which this leaflet was made available, or how widespread was its distribution. If anyone can enlighten me I would be most interested to find out.

"Survival in a Vacuum" addresses what at the time was a controversial issue, the scene of Dave re-entering the Discovery through the airlock without his helmet. Many people maintained that, if 2001 had been true to scientific "fact", Dave would promptly have exploded, or at least turned a strange colour. However, according to Clarke, "U.S. Air Force doctors, working with dogs and chimpanzees, have now shown that these animals can survive in a vacuum for relatively long periods - up to two minutes". Certainly, if a chimpanzee could do it, there was no prospect of seeing Dave come to a gruesome end, although if the scene was reshot for "Alien Resurrection" we would no doubt be treated to a graphic view of Dave's insides swapping places with his outsides. If you were lucky enough to get hold of one of these rather flimsy programs at the time, keep it flat, secure, out of sunlight and away from sticky fingers - it is worth good money nowadays.

The Theatre Program

"Facts for Editorial Reference" and flimsy programs may have been enough for some, but real 2001 fans paid their money and bought the glossy program. Full colour this time and with some fancy tissue paper sheets interleaved, this was much more in keeping with the film itself. Biographic information about Kubrick, Clarke, Dullea and Lockwood, Clarke's complete foreword to his novel, and more about the film and its meaning. The text of this program, along with the single- sheet version described above, can be viewed in full in my page, "The Original Programs". The cover is typical of sixties graphics, though showing a different side of the period from the more familiar psychedelic poopy stuff. It is very simple and stylised, and silver was a great colour for Something Futuristic, in contrast to the antique golds and olive greens that were the in- vogue hues for any self- respecting interior designer at the time.

"The Making of Kubrick's 2001" by Jerome Agel

Jerome Agel made life very tough for anyone else who may have wanted to write about "2001: A Space Odyssey", because his book contains just about everything that could possibly be said or found out about the film, and as it was published only two years after the film's release he had access to a great deal of information that has since been lost to posterity. Not so much a book, more a treasure chest of information, opening it at any page will set before your eyes some fascinating insight into 2001. A fat section of photographs includes scenes never used in the film, such as experimental "alien life- form" studies, a shot of a man- ape catching up with the latest news between scenes and Kubrick apparently sniffing a small model of the AE-35 antenna structure, perhaps trying to track down the source of the stench that was later attributed to the carcass of the painted horse- masquerading- as- zebra gradually rotting under the lights (the caption has it that Kubrick is "eyeing" the model, but that's the kind of thing they would say, isn't it? There's no fooling a 2001 fan).

A proofreader of "The Making of Kubrick's 2001" is quoted as saying: "Of course I saw 2001: A Space Odyssey - but now I'm not so sure I did." I can understand that remark. It was not until Piers Bizony put together "2001: filming the future" (1994, see below) that anyone after Agel attempted to publish such a comprehensive study of the movie, while in 1996 the "30 Years On" web site opened and has since grown to offer the widest coverage of 2001 in any medium. Readers of the "30 Years On Guestbook" may be aware of a direct link between Agel and Underman in the form of an entry from Randy Clower, whose response to the early showings of "2001: A Space Odyssey" was selected for inclusion in Agel's book. On page 174, he writes: "It's sort of like a picture reflecting the personality of the painter and at the same time showing beauty and talent. Now that I think of it, a movie such as this could have no other ending... My friend, Stephen Dilling, and I are going to make a movie... called "2001: A Sequel". We would like to purchase or borrow one spacesuit of any color." Randy's response is accompanied by two illustrations of scenes planned for his movie. Thirty years later, Randy found "30 Years On" and his entry in the Guestbook initiated this exchange: "I was most interested in seeing Dave's original helmet as I've been waiting for 30 years for Kubrick to send me one 2001 spacesuit! I think the suit has been lost in the mail. Funny all this renewed interest in 2001... I've been thru my closets and found a lot of cool old stuff... like an original program (one sheet) from the movie and stills I had forgotten I had. (Headshot of Pan Am Stewardess? Jeez! A shot of a barefoot Doug Trumbull plastering a mini- moon set? Man! Cool... I wish I could find my Gary Lockwood headshot in his space coveralls and a pack of Marlboros seen in the front pocket!!!!)"

"2001: filming the future" by Piers Bizony

	The fact that Piers Bizony spent three years working on "2001: filming the future" is also something I can well understand, as the "30 Years On" Web site is nowhere near complete after more than two years of labour. I sometimes catch myself sulking because nobody pays me anything for doing it, but then I realise how fortunate I am not to have to rely on such means for making my living. How Piers Bizony ever convinced himself, let alone a publisher, that a lavish book about 2001 would be a viable project for a man seeking to pay his bills is one of those Great Questions of Life, but every one of us who loves this film is in his debt for going ahead and doing it. It is amazing just how much Piers Bizony was able to find out, so long after practically anyone who was ever involved with it had packed up and gone home. The illustrations, including some not seen before in public as far as I know, are inspiring, the commentary illuminating and the uncovering of so much contemporary information the sign of a man who must have found places to go where no man had gone before.
Bizony's "author's note" describes his own first exposure to a film that was to influence him down the years, at a time that must have coincided almost exactly with my own first viewing in 1968, and it is interesting to compare his impressions with the ones I have written in my "Spectacle" Web page. Being some years older than Bizony, of course, I was able to understand it right from the start (now, you will have to guess for yourself whether or not I am kidding and, if so, what about). Bizony even succeeded in gaining Arthur C. Clarke's attention to the extent of obtaining a foreword from him. "I'm happy to say I'm still in friendly touch with Stanley", writes Clarke. "I'd rather like to see a headline in Variety one day: 'Clarke and Kubrick Together Again!'" Wouldn't we all, Arthur, wouldn't we all. If "2001: filming the future" is ever reissued, I wonder whether the printers will have found their supplies of upper case type...
	Click here to obtain copies of Piers Bizony's books

"The Space Odysseys of Arthur C. Clarke" by George Slusser

George Edgar Slusser's slim, 64- page volume, published in 1978 under "The Milford Series Popular Writers of Today" imprint, may not be the most widely known document related to "2001: A Space Odyssey", but it contains probably the most detailed and thoughtful criticism ever printed of Clarke's work. Slusser's scope is wider than 2001, but the title and the thread running through his discourse make it clear where his inspiration lies. "With the release of "2001: A Space Odyssey", report the notes on the back cover, "Arthur C. Clarke's claim to fame was assured. As the highest grossing science fiction film ever made, "2001" provided financial and critical security for both of its creators, Clarke and film director Stanley Kubrick. But Clarke's career started decades earlier, with the publication of his first story in an obscure British science fiction magazine in 1938."

The heading right at the start of Slusser's treatise makes it clear that this is no superficial treatment: "The Odyssey Pattern: Progress and Clarke's Elegaic Humanism". Since "elegiac" pertains to a song of mourning, Slusser evidently has some intriguing points to make. He writes, "I seek to define a central organizing structure in Clarke's fiction, one which bears interesting and precise analogies to the writer's cultural and social situation and hence to ours. If all literature possesses such significant structures, Clarke's work is of particular interest for its angle of vision - here is a scientist writing about the quandary of modern scientific man, drawing on deep and persistent currents of Western literature." Slusser, indeed, is analysing the work of Clarke, a writer very much in the main stream of popular science fiction, in the way that is more usually associated with such as Stanislaw Lem (writer of "Solaris", subject of closer examination elsewhere in the "30 Years On" Web site), who might be considered more cerebral and more worthy of academic study. He lends Clarke an air of intellectual respectability that sits well with the far more common popularist view of his work, and both for that reason and the fact that Slusser's book is fascinating to read, this one is well worth the attention of anyone who wants to apply a deeper level of reasoning to their appreciation of 2001.

"Stanley Kubrick: A Film Odyssey" by Gene D. Phillips

This is by no means the only filmography of Stanley Kubrick, but this one appears here by virtue of the inspiration it obviously takes from "2001: A Space Odyssey". First published in 1975, it pre-dates "The Shining", but covers in some depth each of Kubrick's films from 1953's "Fear and Desire" through to 1975's "Barry Lyndon". I have always steered clear of extending the scope of "30 Years On" to encompass the entire output of either Stanley Kubrick or Arthur C. Clarke, but it is interesting to see how a work as inspiring as 2001 fits in the context of its creator's life's work. In an age of blanket conformity and "team work", the words on the back cover send an appealing message to those who admire Kubrick the individualist: "This is the story of the most totally independent film director in the world today. It is the story of how one individual has kept his freedom and integrity in a world of corporate giants." A man after my own heart...

What makes Phillips' work the more special is the fact that he remains one of the few critics or writers who has been able to obtain Kubrick's personal involvement. Shortly afterwards, the director withdrew himself almost entirely from public comment, so the quotes that Phillips selected for inclusion give us a rare insight into his real thoughts, as opposed to the more common use of third party voices. Unfortunately, those same quotes are not generally particularly illuminating; thus, Kubrick talking of Hal (surely one of the most eagerly- anticipated exchanges in cinematic history) comes out rather lamely as: "the machine is beginning to assert itself in a very profound way, even attracting affection and obsession". "Even while they were still writing the script under the tentative title of Journey Beyond the Stars", writes Phillips, "Kubrick and Clarke were aware of parallels between their story and Homer's epic poem The Odyssey", parallels such as "a concern for wandering, exploration and adventure." It was not surprising that Kubrick "changed the name of the film on which he was working to 2001: A Space Odyssey before shooting began in December 1965." "Kubrick decided against attempting to present (beings from outer space) in any concrete form..."When you are implying that god- like entities are at work in the universe," he says, "you can't hit something like that head on without its looking like instant crackpot speculation. You've got to work through dramatic suggestion."" Or, to paraphrase Kubrick, you've got to work in a way that is as alien to today's blockbuster movie directors as helping old ladies across the road was to Alex in "A Clockwork Orange".

"The Odyssey File - The Making of 2010" by Arthur C. Clarke and Peter Hyams

	This fascinating little book records the communications that passed between Arthur C. Clarke and Peter Hyams, who directed "2010", the movie "sequel" to "2001: A Space Odyssey", in the days before it occurred to him that there might be more money in inventing the Titanic instead. Or was that Steven Spielberg? I have forgotten already. The candour and friendship that developed between the two men, once Hyams had overcome his initial trepidation over Clarke's likely response, is captured by means of reproducing many of the notes that passed from Clarke in Sri Lanka to Hyams on the West Coast of the USA and back again. Whatever opinions may or may not be held by watchers of "2010", this book makes it clear that Clarke was an enthusiastic supporter of the 2010 project and gave his advice freely to Hyams. The book, published in 1984 to coincide with the film's release, opens with Clarke's own descriptions of his early experiences with personal computers and their use in exchanging e-mail, very much in its infancy at that time.
"Behind the scenes and across the seas to the world of 2010", explains the cover notes. "Arthur C. Clarke sits at his Kaypro-II computer in far off Sri Lanka transmitting files to Peter Hyams, who responds in kind from his office in Los Angeles. Thus a fascinating computer correspondence develops. Now, in The Odyssey File, we get a unique opportunity to tap into the creative process as two of today's gifted writers work on a film of the future using the technology of tomorrow... In the enlightening and entertaining opening section, Clarke discusses his love affair with computers and explains in some detail how this unique correspondence originated and the joys and frustrations in communicating to someone half a world away." Copyright © 1984 by Serendib B.V., Peter Hyams Productions, Inc. and MGM/UA Home Entertainment Group, Inc. 2001 fans will find many revealing insights into the earlier film in this book; some passages may well annoy or exasperate them. I suspect a lot of people would feel some disappointment that no corresponding means existed of capturing the relationship between Clarke and Kubrick some 15 or 16 years earlier...just by way of comparison... Oh, before you write - James Cameron ("Aliens") directed "Titanic"...
	Click here to obtain copies of Arthur C. Clarke's books

"Hal's Legacy: 2001's Computer as Dream and Reality" by David Stork and others

	When a Chief Scientist, Consulting Associate Professor and Visiting Scholar turns his attention to a movie, you can be sure this is no ordinary movie. Such are the impressive qualifications of David Stork, a leading figure in the realms of machine learning and perception, who, long inspired (as so many have been) by the tantalising prospect of a real- life HAL 9000 computer, decided to undertake an exhaustive comparison between real computers as they have developed over the years, and the celebrated fictional "star" of "2001: A Space Odyssey". David was sensible enough to realise he could not possibly do justice to such a huge task single- handedly, and invited contributions from some of the world's leading experts in related fields. Not the least of his concerns was the task of convincing a publisher to take a gamble on producing what could easily have been seen as an esoteric and self- indulgent exercise in creating fodder for the remainder bins.
The result is certainly the most scholarly 2001- related work to date, and a fascinating and beautifully produced exploration of where computers are, in real life, compared to where Hal will be in 2001, as foretold by Clarke, Kubrick and others back in the mid- sixties. Stills from the movie keep the 2001 thread running throughout the book, interspersed with illustrations and figures from the various writers as they develop their own themes. "Inspired by HAL's self- proclaimed birth date, HAL's Legacy reflects upon science fiction's most famous computer and explores the relationship between science fantasy and technological fact. The informative, nontechnical chapters written especially for this book describe many of the areas of computer science critical to the design of intelligent machines, discuss whether scientists in the 1960s were accurate about the prospects for advancement in their fields, and consider how HAL has influenced scientific research. Copyright © 1997 Massachusetts Institute of Technology
	Click here to obtain "Hal's Legacy"

"Your Guide to The Best SF On The Internet" published by Wolff New Media

It was very encouraging to learn that "30 Years On" had been selected as a "YPN Supersite" in Wolff New Media's comprehensive look at science- fiction on the Web: "Your Guide to the Best SF on the Internet". It was even more encouraging to find that this book actually existed and was available off the shelves of major booksellers around the world. I knew nothing of this until I received a virtual tap on the shoulder one day from someone who had got wind of Wolff's intentions. Remarkably, this honour was accorded when "30 Years On" was still quite young. In view of the constant extensions and improvements to the site since then, I like to think Wolff New Media's faith has been justified. Web pages are so transient in nature, and Internet development so mind- bogglingly fast, any site that has been in existence for two years and still draws continuous praise is certainly nothing to be ashamed of.

The "30 Years On" entry features a monochrome reproduction of the home page as it then appeared (click here for a more recent colour version), and proclaims: "Using an interface that's heavy with graphics but light on load- in time, the site points you to everything from transcripts of HAL's conversations to "fan" mail for the site itself. Section names such as Connection, Vision, Discourse, and Interchange guide fans to interesting discussion pieces; themes and issues such as suspicion and lasting images are deftly handled. Die- hard fans will enjoy the site creator's 20,000- plus word opus on the films, their history, and their impact." Copyright © 1996 by Wolff New Media LLC Thanks, guys!