Open the Pod Doors, HAL

Keir Dullea, Gary Lockwood, the stars of Stanley Kubrick's 2001: A Space Odyssey

Gary Lockwood, Keir Dullea

 

Gary Lockwood, Keir Dullea

Gary Lockwood, Keir Dullea, Jeff Goldsmith

Gary Lockwood

Keir Dullea

Gary Lockwood and me

Last night, David and I took a journey to the stars. 2001: A Space Odyssey played in glorious 70mm at Beyond Fest at the American Cinematheque in Hollywood. If you are in or near Los Angeles, The Cinematheque has the exclusive rights to show this 70mm film print for the next five years. Seeing 2001 on the BIG screen in 70mm! How much better can it get?

Well, having the stars of the film, Gary Lockwood and Keir Dullea attend for an introduction, a Q and A as well as an autograph session is pretty damn impressive in my book. I had bought an extra ticket "just in case" a few weeks ago (Fandango has a policy that you can return tickets that you don't use.) I drove home early from New Mexico (One thousand miles in about 16 hours) to make it home in time to sleep and get to the screening. To me, being able to meet Lockwood and Dullea, as well as being able to see the film in 70mm is better than Christmas and my birthday combined. 

2001 is one of my top five films. I've been able to see it a couple of times on the big screen. Last night we sat in our favorite seats (the front row) and we were completely immersed in the film. It's a film that stays with you. It's not neatly packaged with a bow. It leaves you with questions no matter how many times you've seen it. I love it all the more for that.

David and I spoke with both Lockwood and Dullea before and after the film. I was fan girling over meeting them and had been building up with excitement for days (my facebook posts are proof of that.) 2001 is one of my favorite films and Gary Lockwood is high on my list of favorite actors.

The second time we got back in line, it was really cool because Jeff Goldsmith (the host) was also in line with us. Being the host, he probably could have cut the line but he had class and stood with the rest of us to ask a question he had forgotten to ask and was curious about. 

When it was my turn, I went up to Gary Lockwood who held my hand while I was talking to him about his upcoming book. I kept telling David that I felt like Marcia Brady and was totally on cloud nine. I told Lockwood that we had been watching The Lieutenant lately. He asked if David was a Marine (which made me laugh as we've been watching it because we're both huge Star Trek fans and Gene Roddenberry created the show.) Lockwood thanked us for our interest in his work as well as his upcoming book and I floated out of the theatre.

Some Interesting Things:

Noticing the PA announcement in the film (for the first time) about a missing blue sweater (it was missing from a shot.) It's a great example of Kubrick's sense of humor.

Dullea kept calling Shelley Duvall, Shelley Long and apparently, no one has corrected him on it. Until now.  

Dullea and Lockwood insisted that Kubrick's image as an autocratic director is completely wrong. Lockwood suggested an idea as to how the actors could easily get in and out of the pod and Kubrick used it. A production designer suggested the bit about HAL reading their lips. Dullea suggested knocking over the glass (trying to solve the problem of getting from one moment to the next.) This important scene has caused a lot of discussion among film fans and critics over the years. All in all, it came down to problem solving and this was mentioned repeatedly throughout the night. 

If you have a chance to see 2001: A Space Odyssey on the big screen and to see both Keir Dullea and Gary Lockwood in person, I can't recommend it enough. The memory of last night will be with me for a very long time.

Additional Links:
An Empire of One (David's Blog)
Gary Lockwood's Official Website 
Keir Dullea (unofficial website)
Stanley Kubrick
Arthur C. Clarke
American Cinematheque
Beyond Fest 
Jeff Goldsmith (who hosted the Q and A, has a podcast called The Q & A here)
Jeremy Bernstein's Interview with Stanley Kubrick
Gary Lockwood and Keir Dullea – 2001: A Space Odyssey Interview
Interview: Keir Dullea, Star Of 2001: A Space Odyssey
TIFF 2001 Interview from 2014