2001: A Space Odyssey pt. 1

2001: A Space Odyssey. This film is arguably the whitest film since Birth of a Nation. White actors playing white astronauts in a white spaceship trying to discover, on board a spaceship called Discovery One, the secrets of a black monolith. Many consider this the greatest science fiction movie of all-time, despite its lack of diversity. The movie itself did not get a great reception. Many walked out of the premiere screening. For those who left early, and those who stuck it out to the end, many thought “What the hell was that about?” Most reviews were harsh. Stanley Kubrick cut 20 or so minutes from the version of the movie that opened, and over time, the shorter (but still long) film found an audience. The film was far ahead of its time, and, like most films that are revolutionary and cutting edge, people just didn’t get it. The amazing special effects, that still stand up today, and the classical music, the sets, the story, all added together to make something that many would not soon forget. Troy and David will look at the movie, and discuss it with two special guests: Mark Askwith and Robert J. Sawyer. Rob was the special guest for Season 1 Episode 2: Planet of the Apes Mark was the special guest for Season 1 Episode 4: The Prisoner Series Troy and David welcome back Mark and Rob, who had both listed 2001: A Space Odyssey as their fave genre movie. We realized that, with two guests, and a big movie like 2001, we would need two parts to do the movie justice. In Part 1, Troy and David ask Mark and Rob to provide answers to their favourite genre things that were not asked of them before (over the past year more categories were added), and review their previous answers. Mark and Rob talk about their first experience seeing the film. The Dream Casting will look at these roles, played by these actors:

Character	Original Star
Dr. David Bowman	Keir Dullea
Dr. Frank Poole	Gary Lockwood
Dr. Heywood Floyd	William Sylvester
Dr. Andrei Smyslov	Leonard Rossiter
Moonwatcher (the chief man-ape)	Daniel Richter
HAL 9000	Douglas Rain (as the voice of…)
The Monolith	[visual effect]
Star Child	[visual effect]

Mark Askwith is a writer and Television Producer. He has covered the Science Fiction genre for over 30 years. Mark is the creator of the award-winning Prisoners of Gravity, and he is one of the Founding Producers of SPACE, Canada’s National Science Fiction and Fantasy Channel. He has also produced dozens of half-hour television movie specials, featuring interviews with stars like Tom Hanks, Christian Bale, and Sigourney Weaver. As well, he has interviewed dozens of scientists and astronauts including Neil Degrasse Tyson, Buzz Aldrin, and Chris Hadfield. Neil Gaiman called him the Secret Master of Science Fiction. So, I guess that’s no longer a secret.

Robert J. Sawyer is one of only eight writers in history—and the only Canadian—to win all three of the world’s top awards for best science-fiction novel of the year: the Hugo, the Nebula, and the John W. Campbell Memorial Award. The ABC TV series FlashForward was based on his novel of the same name. His latest novel is The Oppenheimer Alternative. A member of both the Order of Canada and the Canadian Science Fiction and Fantasy Hall of Fame, he lives in Mississauga, Ontario.