2001: A Space Odyssey - Trivia, Questions and Fun Facts

[discussimdb]

Fan of 2001: A Space Odyssey or just want to share your movie knowledge? This topic is dedicated to all trivia and questions related to 2001: A Space Odyssey

[caroline]

By the year 2001, some of the product placements had become outdated. RCA Whirlpool, the maker of the zero-gravity food preparation unit on the moon shuttle, had become Whirlpool. The Bell System had been divested and the long-distance service became AT&T. Pan Am had ceased operations as an international air carrier (in fact, the Whirlpool change had already happened by the time of the film's original release).

[kylie]

HAL's first words are not to Dave Bowman, rather to Frank Poole--"Excuse me, Frank."

[tammy]

In 1977 Marvel Comics published an adaptation of the film by legendary artist-creator Jack Kirby. Kirby - who had explored the idea of godlike extraterrestrials in his Fourth World and Eternals series - took enthusiastically to the adaptation and expanded the concepts in an ongoing series. While the ongoing series was not a success, it did introduce the character Machine Man, a sentient android given a humanoid personality through contact with the monolith. The character remains in regular Marvel continuity with references to the Kubrick film ret-conned out of his origin.

[wesley]

It's been noted that the extremely long production process at the MGM-British Studios in Borehamwood, eventually using every available soundstage, meant that those studio soundstages couldn't be hired out and used for other productions, and effectively led to its later demolition for housing, as happened in a strange parallel, to most of the other MGM backlots, back in Culver City. MGM (UK) would move into the nearby EMI Elstree Studios, in pretty much name only, forming MGM-EMI Elstree Studios, which itself later reverted back to EMI Elstree.

[kristina]

At the beginning, the prehistorical African landscapes are just photographs, not actual clips.

[lynn]

According to Douglas Trumbull, the total footage shot was some 200 times the final length of the film.

[charlie]

At the time of the making of this movie, Pan American World Airways was maintaining a waiting list for commercial flights to the moon. Hence it was natural for Kubrick to use Pan Am as his carrier to the space station.

[ethel]

The documentary film Doroga k zvezdam (1957) is believed to have significantly influenced Stanley Kubrick's technique, particularly in its accurate depiction of weightlessness and a rotating space station. Encyclopedia Astronautica describes some scenes from 2001 as a "shot-for-shot duplication of Road to the Stars". Specific comparisons of shots from the two films have been analyzed by the film-maker Alessandro Cima. A 1994 article in American Cinematographer says, "When Stanley Kubrick made 2001: a Space Odyssey in 1968, he claimed to have been first to fly actor/astronauts on wires with the camera on the ground, shooting vertically while the actor's body covered the wires" but observes that Klushantsev had preceded him in this.

[cameron]

According to Arthur C. Clarke, Stanley Kubrick wanted to get an insurance policy from Lloyds of London to protect himself against losses in the event that extraterrestrial intelligence were discovered before the movie was released. Lloyds refused. Carl Sagan commented, "In the mid-1960s, there was no search being performed for extraterrestrial intelligence, and the chances of accidentally stumbling on extraterrestrial intelligence in a few years' period was extremely small. Lloyds of London missed a good bet."

[jessica]

Film critic Andrew Sarris gave "2001" a negative review when it came out, and one of the things he didn't like about it was the clipped, almost militaristic way the astronauts spoke to each other. Later, after the Apollo 11 moon landing, he said he'd been wrong about that because the real astronauts who landed on the moon spoke in the same clipped, almost militaristic way as the fictional ones in "2001."

[clayton]

Although all advertisements, as well as the soundtrack album and the movie's closing credits, claimed that the film was released in Cinerama, it was not shot in the Cinerama process (three synchronized films that would be shown by three synchronized projectors on a huge, curved screen). All Cinerama films from 1963 on were shot by one camera on 65mm film with a special anamorphic lens that would then project a blown-up image onto the curved screen. This film initially did such poor box office that MGM actually considered pulling it from Cinerama release after completion of a 30-day run. The exhibitors began reporting that audiences were not only increasing, but it was noted that some audience members had come to see the film multiple times. It eventually became one of MGM's biggest hits, yet was the only film to be pulled from Cinerama venues while it was still making a good profit. MGM was anxious to release its completed production Ice Station Zebra (1968).

[javier]

The full text of the Zero Gravity Toilet Instructions: ZERO GRAVITY TOILET PASSENGERS ARE ADVISED TO READ INSTRUCTIONS BEFORE USE - 1. The toilet is of the standard zero-gravity type. Depending on requirements, System A and/or System B can be used, details of which are clearly marked in the toilet compartment. When operating System A, depress lever and a plastic dalkron eliminator will be dispensed through the slot immediately underneath. When you have fastened the adhesive lip, attach connection marked by the large "X" outlet hose. Twist the silver coloured ring one inch below the connection point until you feel it lock. - 2. The toilet is now ready for use. The Sonovac cleanser is activated by the small switch on the lip. When securing, twist the ring back to its initial-condition, so that the two orange lines meet. Disconnect. Place the dalkron eliminator in the vacuum receptacle to the rear. Activate by pressing the blue button. - 3. The controls for System B are located on the opposite wall. The red release switch places the uroliminator into position; it can be adjusted manually up or down by pressing the blue manual release button. The opening is self adjusting. To secure after use, press the green button which simultaneously activates the evaporator and returns the uroliminator to its storage position. - 4. You may leave the lavatory if the green exit light is on over the door. If the red light is illuminated, one of the lavatory facilities is not properly secured. Press the "Stewardess" call button on the right of the door. She will secure all facilities from her control panel outside. When green exit light goes on you may open the door and leave. Please close the door behind you. - 5. To use the Sonoshower, first undress and place all your clothes in the clothes rack. Put on the velcro slippers located in the cabinet immediately below. Enter the shower. On the control panel to your upper right upon entering you will see a "Shower seal" button. Press to activate. A green light will then be illuminated immediately below. On the intensity knob select the desired setting. Now depress the Sonovac activation lever. Bathe normally. - 6. The Sonovac will automatically go off after three minutes unless you activate the "Manual off" over-ride switch by flipping it up. When you are ready to leave, press the blue "Shower seal" release button. The door will open and you may leave. Please remove the velcro slippers and place them in their container. - 7. If the red light above this panel is on, the toilet is in use. When the green light is illuminated you may enter. However, you must carefully follow all instructions when using the facilities during coasting (Zero G) flight. Inside there are three facilities: (1) the Sonowasher, (2) the Sonoshower, (3) the toilet. All three are designed to be used under weightless conditions. Please observe the sequence of operations for each individual facility. - 8. Two modes for Sonowashing your face and hands are available, the "moist-towel" mode and the "Sonovac" ultrasonic cleaner mode. You may select either mode by moving the appropriate lever to the "Activate" position. If you choose the "moist-towel" mode, depress the indicated yellow button and withdraw item. When you have finished, discard the towel in the vacuum dispenser, holding the indicated lever in the "active" position until the green light goes on... showing that the rollers have passed the towel completely into the dispenser. If you desire an additional towel, press the yellow button and repeat the cycle. - 9. If you prefer the "Sonovac" ultrasonic cleaning mode, press the indicated blue button. When the twin panels open, pull forward by rings A & B. For cleaning the hands, use in this position. Set the timer to positions 10, 20, 30 or 40... indicative of the number of seconds required. The knob to the left, just below the blue light, has three settings, low, medium or high. For normal use, the medium setting is suggested. - 10. After these settings have been made, you can activate the device by switching to the "ON" position the clearly marked red switch. If during the washing operation, you wish to change the settings, place the "manual off" over-ride switch in the "OFF" position. you may now make the change and repeat the cycle.

[tamara]

In both the book and film, HAL's creator, Dr. Chandra, has what is almost certainly a deliberately chosen name. Chandra, as well as being a common Indian surname, is a name of the Hindu lunar deity, and the word for "moon" in Hindi. Dr. Chandra's full first name, Sivasubramanian, can be translated as "Dear priest of Shiva". Shiva, the name of a supreme Hindu deity, carries as one of its meanings "the one who admits no imperfection". Therefore Dr. Chandra, the creator of a computer believing itself incapable of mistakes, has a uniquely appropriate first name. Arthur C. Clarke, who spent much of his life in Sri Lanka (where Buddhism is a major religion and Hinduism is a minor religion), would almost certainly have known these meanings.

[tamara]

Steven Speilberg has said that for his generation, this movie was the "big bang" that got them started.

[charlie]

Stanley Kubrick and Arthur C. Clarke expended enormous effort into making everything as realistic as possible. The earth-moving equipment seen on the Moon would actually work on the real Moon.

[carl]

If you consider the relative positions of Bowman when he first arrives in the suite, when he is next standing in the room, when he is in the bathroom, when he is at the table, and when he is in the bed, these points form a star.

[bryan]

The main Discovery set was built by aircraft manufacturer Vickers-Armstrongs inside a 12m-x-2m drum designed to rotate at 5kph. It cost $750,000.

[albert]

Although the film leaves it mysterious, early script drafts made clear that HAL's breakdown is triggered by authorities on Earth who order him to withhold information from the astronauts about the purpose of the mission (this is also explained in 2010: The Year We Make Contact (1984)). Frederick Ordway, Stanley Kubrick's science advisor and technical consultant, stated that in an earlier script Poole tells HAL there is "... something about this mission that we weren't told. Something the rest of the crew knows and that you know. We would like to know whether this is true", to which HAL responds: "I'm sorry, Frank, but I don't think I can answer that question without knowing everything that all of you know." HAL then falsely predicts a failure of the hardware maintaining radio contact with Earth (the source of HAL's difficult orders) during the broadcast of Frank Poole's birthday greetings from his parents.The final script removed this explanation, but it is hinted at when HAL asks David Bowman if Bowman is bothered by the "oddities" and "tight security" surrounding the mission. After Bowman concludes that HAL is dutifully drawing up the "crew psychology report", the computer makes his false prediction of hardware failure. Another hint occurs at the moment of HAL's deactivation when a video reveals the purpose of the mission.In an interview with Joseph Gelmis in 1969, Kubrick stated that HAL "had an acute emotional crisis because he could not accept evidence of his own fallibility".

[chris]

Filming the special effects shots took 18 months at a cost of $6.5 million (the film's total budget was $10.5 million). Stanley Kubrick was determined to make every effects shot look extremely realistic, something previous science-fiction films rarely bothered to do.