August 03, 2004

Moonwatcher

Some tidbits in this interview with Keir Dullea on 2001: A Space Odyssey. (Free registration required.) Namely:

  • Martin Balsam was originally the voice of HAL.
  • Then Nigel Davenport, a Brit.
  • An assistant to Kubrick did the voice on-set, sounding like Michael Caine. Fortunately, they added Douglas Rain's voice in post-production. Can't imagine anyone else doing it.
  • Dullea claims Kubrick's intention with the scenes in which his character ages rapidly in a series of sterile rooms was to depict a highly evolved alien intelligence's version of a zoo cell for homo sapiens. I guess that works, but it reduces the whole thing to a Twilight Zone episode, which is sort of a letdown.
Here's an early version of the script, which might shed some more light. Also this.
Finally, a 2001 joke courtesy of Underman:

Alien project manager: Give me an update on the monolith plan.
Alien analyst: Do you want the good news or the bad news?
Alien project manager: It's been a bad millennium, let's hear something good.
Alien analyst: The plan worked great, we sped up evolution a zillion times.
Alien project manager: Wonderful! And the bad news?
Alien analyst: Well, you remember those dumb ape creatures we wanted to get rid of? Our security system broke and they reached the monolith first. Now we've got human beings all over the Solar System!

Posted by Vernam at August 3, 2004 10:44 PM | TrackBack
Comments

On the frozen tundra of Jupiter . . .

Harold Ford comes from the Memphis equivalent of the Daley family, only moreso. Though he's been personally free of taint so far, his father and other family members have a history that wouldn't help Jr. in a bid for the presidency. And besides, first he needs to prove he can win statewide office, which won't be easy given Frist and Alexander in the Senate and Bredesen (a Dem) in the governor's mansion.

I love how Deano assumes I "suburbia" as a pejorative. ;^) My self-loathing springs from other wells. I do root for Obama to reach the mountain top, obviously, but my guarded optimism tends to be borne out be daily events -- at best!

Posted by: VC at August 5, 2004 11:07 AM

The only voice-over actors I recognize are James Earl Jones and the late John Facenda.

Obama does look like the man however, I think Harold Ford (D) Tenessee may be the first black President.

Posted by: TOF at August 4, 2004 09:28 AM

holy crap. two, count em, two posts in two days. I was getting used to not visiting. You know, you flip-flop too much.

BTW, Obama is the real deal. Get over the white suburban love! That's old millenium think. He's a true playah. And he will be the first black 'Pres', not VP. You're such a whitey.

wilkommen backenzie cipherdom.

Posted by: deano at August 4, 2004 12:16 AM