Karen: This past weekend I had a chance to see the two actors featured in 2001, Keir Dullea and Gary Lockwood, at a show called Monsterpalooza in Burbank, California. They discussed the making of the film and shared memories of it and director Stanley Kubrick. These two men were very entertaining -they came across a bit like The Odd Couple, with Dullea as Felix and Lockwood as Oscar! Both had been fans of Kubrick's work prior to being cast in 2001 (both cited Paths of Glory as a favorite film), and Dullea in particular had been a fan of science fiction, actually recognizing elements in the script as having come from Arthur C. Clarke's short story, The Sentinel, which he had read years before. Both felt like they were making an important film at the time, although neither could have predicted the lasting impact of the film.
Karen: Another amusing tidbit: the fellow playing the voice of HAL on set had a very strong Cockney accent -a far cry from Canadian actor Douglas Rain's smooth tones! Dullea gave us a sample of a Cockney HAL doing the 'Daisy' shutdown speech and it was hilarious.
Karen: Share your thoughts on this classic SF film - you can take this any direction you want. Discuss the film's meaning, influence, effects -have at it.
