Article Image

IPFS News Link • Hollywood-Entertainment Industry

12 Out-of-This-World Facts About 2001: A Space Odyssey

• By Sean Hutchinson Mental Floss

Stanley Kubrick's 2001: A Space Odyssey was a watershed moment in filmmaking. The epic sci-fi story of extraterrestrials and higher planes of existence bridged the gap between studio pictures and art films, all because of the inimitable genius of its writer/director. Here are 12 facts about the sci-fi classic, on the 50th anniversary of its release.

1. THE BOOK AND THE MOVIE WERE DEVELOPED CONCURRENTLY.

<span data-mce-type="bookmark" style="display: inline-block; width: 0px; overflow: hidden; line-height: 0;" class="mce_SELRES_start">?</span>

2001: A Space Odyssey sprang from a February 1964 lunch between director Stanley Kubrick and Roger Caras, the publicist for Kubrick's previous film Kubrick told Caras that for his next movie he wanted to do a movie about extraterrestrial life, which prompted Caras to suggest he get in touch with his friend, collaborator, and science fiction author, Arthur C. Clarke.

Caras introduced the two, with Clarke sending a telegram saying, "Frightfully interested in working with enfant terrible," and soon the two were working on expanding Clarke's short story "The Sentinel" into a movie treatment. Per Kubrick, "The novel came about after we did a 130-page prose treatment of the film at the very outset. This initial treatment was subsequently changed in the screenplay, and the screenplay in turn was altered during the making of the film. But Arthur took all the existing material, plus an impression of some of the rushes, and wrote the novel."

2. IT HAD A FEW ALTERNATE TITLES.

During development on the movie, Kubrick and Clarke humorously referred to their lofty project as "How the Solar System Was Won," a play on the title of the 1962 western epic, How the West Was Won. It was never a serious title option, though in author Jerome Agel's 1972 book, Clarke admitted, "[It] was our private title. It was exactly what we tried to show."

The pair's first working title for the movie was Project: Space, which is listed in their first outline. Other temporary titles included Across the Sea of StarsUniverseTunnel to the StarsEarth EscapeJupiter WindowFarewell to Earth, and Planetfall. The official MGM press release for the movie from February 1965 lists the title as Journey Beyond the Stars, though two months later Kubrick selected2001: A Space Odyssey for the final title, as an homage to Homer's Odyssey. "Stanley selected 2001: A Space Odyssey," Clarke said in his book, The Lost Worlds of 2001. "As far as I can recall, it was entirely his idea."


thelibertyadvisor.com/declare