2010 - The Year We Make Contact | Read more at in70mm.com The 70mm Newsletter |
| Written by: Press text by MGM/UA 1984. Proofread by Mark Lyndon. Pictures by Thomas Hauerslev | Date: 29.07.2024 |
 For how many years did we gaze into the night sky, wondering "Are we indeed alone? Is man nothing more than an accident in the universe, an orphan race lost forever in the void of space?" Nearly a decade ago, we learned we are not. The year is 2010. Among the moons of Jupiter, an enigmatic black monolith orbits in silence, its age, origin, composition and purpose unknown. All that is known is that it exists -- and it has claimed astronaut David Bowman, the commander of the American spacecraft Discovery, for itself. For nine years, it has confounded our science and religion. Now, a team of Soviet and American scientists have united aboard the Russian spacecraft Leonov on an expedition to investigate this haunting interloper. Before their epic journey to Jupiter is over, they will witness a cosmic miracle, one which will transform their perception of man and his destiny in the universe. And for all time to come, 2010 will be remembered as the year we made contact. "'2010' is a film about our world and our ability to live in peace. It is a film about hope," says producer, director and screenwriter Peter Hyams, whose previous motion picture accomplishments include "Capricorn One," "Outland" and "The Star Chamber." "It is a very accessible story which explains a lot of the elements of "2OO1: A Space Odyssey", he assures. "It is a mammoth concept, an extraordinary notion, and it takes us a quantum leap forward." Roy Scheider stars in "2010," produced, directed and photographed by Peter Hyams from his own screenplay adaptation of Arthur C. Clarke's best-selling novel, 2010: Odyssey Two. An epic adventure about the search for life beyond our planet, "2010" also stars John Lithgow, Helen Mirren, Bob Balaban and Keir Dullea. Douglas Rain is the voice of the H. A. L. 9000 computer. Key members of the motion picture's production team include Albert Brenner, who served as production designer, and James Mitchell, who served as editor. Four-time Academy Award-winner Richard Edlund served as special effects supervisor, and Academy Award-winning composer David Shire created the score for "2010." Jonathan A. Zimbert and Neil A. Machlis served as associate producers. Roy Scheider, an Academy Award nominee for his performance in "All That Jazz," stars as Dr. Heywood Floyd -- a scholar and scientist ousted from his position as head of the American space agency in the wake of the Discovery disaster. Mystified by the bizarre events that occurred among the moons of Jupiter, Dr. Floyd boards the Russian spacecraft Leonov with feelings of curiosity and apprehension about what they will find. John Lithgow, an Academy Award nominee for his performances in "Terms of Endearment" and "The World According to Garp," stars as Walter Curnow, chief designer of Discovery and the man selected to reactivate her during the Leonov mission to Jupiter. Curnow is an improbable space traveller, an engineer more at home with the plans for Discovery II on his drafting table than in the deep recesses of our solar system. Bob Balaban, whose list of motion picture credits to date includes "Close Encounters of the Third Kind" and "Absence of Malice," portrays Dr. Chandra, a Professor of Computer Science at the University of Illinois at Urbana, and the father of the H. A. L. 9000 computer. After years of studying the voluminous data transmitted to Earth from Discovery, Dr. Chandra has only theories about what went wrong -- the answers themselves lie frozen in HAL's silenced memory, out there between Jupiter and its moon, Io, waiting for Chandra to arrive aboard the Leonov to unlock them. Helen Mirren, the distinguished British star of such motion pictures as "The Long, Good Friday" and "Excalibur," portrays Captain Tanya Kirbuk, commander of the Leonov and its crew of cosmonauts. Direct in manner and uncompromising in approach, she is a tough professional determined to bring the dangerous mission to a successful conclusion. In the interest of realism, Peter Hyams selected six expatriate Russians and a Czech, all top talents in their homelands, to portray the crew of the Leonov. The Russians include Elya Baskin, Savely Kramarov and Oleg Rudnik, all of whom appear in Paul Mazursky's "Moscow on the Hudson." Vladimir Skomarovsky, named Best Soviet Actor for his role in "On the Corner of Arbat and Babulinas Streets," makes his American motion picture debut in "2010," as does Victor Steinbach, who turned to playwriting after emigrating to America and won the coveted Playbill Award for Best Play with "The Bathers," his first effort. Noted Czech actor Jan Triska's American film credits include "Uncommon Valor" and "Reds," while Natasha Shneider, a rock n' roll star who left Russia to pursue her musical career, makes her feature film debut in "2010." Keir Dullea, who achieved overnight international stardom for his role in "David and Lisa," reprises his role as David Bowman, the astronaut missing and presumed lost ever since leaving Discovery aboard one of its space pods to inspect the enigmatic monolith at close range. As Dr. Heywood Floyd will learn, David Bowman has survived -- although he has been transformed by his extraordinary voyage through space and time. Douglas Rain, a proud Canadian stage performer, returns to portray the voice of the H. A. L. 9000 computer, whose aberrational behaviour precipitated the failure of Discovery's mission. He has slumbered since being disconnected by David Bowman, and not even Dr. Chandra can predict whether he will be friendly or hostile when awakened. A Peter Hyams film, "2010" is distributed throughout the United States and Canada by MGM/UA Entertainment Co. | More in 70mm reading: 70mm Blow Up List 1984 - by in70mm.com “2010”: The North American 70mm Engagements Stanley Kubrick's "2OO1: A Space Odyssey" in Super Panavision 70 Gallery of Jan Niebuhr at the Imperial Bio, March 1985, running "2010 - The Year We Make Contact" in 70mm |
Cast Biographies | |
 Roy Scheider / Dr. Heywood FloydFollowing his film debut as Jane Fonda's pimp in Klute, Roy Scheider's big break was the role of Popeye Doyle 's partner, detec-tive Buddy Russo, in The French Connection. Jaws and Jaws 2 were next, along with The Seven-Ups and Marathon Man. With All That Jazz, he displayed another side of his persona and landed an Academy Award nomination for Best Actor. In 1983, audiences saw many different sides of Scheider, first with Meryl Streep in Still of the Night, then in Blue Thunder and as the controversial Argentine publisher Jacobo Timmerman in the television movie, Prisoner Without a Name, Cell Without a Number. Born and raised in New Jersey, he started his college career at Rutgers and then transferred to Franklin and Marshall, where he took to the stage. After graduation, he followed up an ROTC commitment with a two year hitch in the Air Force. Scheider returned to Franklin and Marshall to appear in Richard Ill. In the years that followed, he worked at the McCarter Theatre in Princeton, the Boston Fine Arts Festival, the American Shakespeare Festival in Stratford, and the Arena Stage in Washington, D.C. He won an Obie for his performance in the 1968 production of Stephen D., and has played in every type of theatrical production. John Lithgow / Walter Curnow Although he was born into a theatrical family, actor John Lithgow was the first to join the thespian ranks. While at Harvard University, Lithgow acquired the acting bug. After graduating Summa Cum Laude and receiving a Fulbright Scholarship to study Theatre in England, Lithgow spent two years at the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art before returning to New York. Cast as an English rugby player in his first Broadway role, Lithgow won a Tony for his performance in The Changing Room. More plays followed, including The Comedians, Bedroom Farce, A Memory of Two Mondays, Anna Christie, Spokesong and Division Street. He made his motion picture debut in 1979 in Rich Kids, later balancing roles in such films as Blow Out and All That Jazz between plays. Lithgow's career shifted gears when he landed the outrageous role of Roberta Muldoon, the transvestite hero/heroine of The World According to Garp, and won his first Academy Award nomination as Best Supporting Actor. A year later, he was nominated again for his role as a midwestern banker in Terms of Endearment. In between, the actor appeared in Twilight Zone: The Movie, Footloose, Buckaroo Bonzai and the made-for-cable television film, The Glitterdome. Helen Mirren / Captain Tanya Kirbuk Her American motion picture debut in 2010 follows Helen Mirren's performances as a gangster's moll in The Long, Good Friday; as Morgana, King Arthur's evil half-sister in Excalibur; and as Caligula 's wife in Caligula. Mirren made her film debut in 1969 opposite James Mason in The Age of Consent, which led to starring roles in Savage Messiah, O' Lucky Man, in S.O.S. Titanic, Hussy and as a singing policewoman in The Fiendish Plot of Dr. Fu Manchu. A leading figure on the English stage since 1970, she won praise as Julia in Two Men from Verona, and continued to draw plaudits as Lady Macbeth in the Royal Shakespeare Company production of Macbeth and later in Hamlet, Miss Julie, Man of Mode and as Cressida for her daring portrayal in Troilus and Cressida. Other West End appearances were as a Janis Joplin-style singer in Teeth 'N Smiles, as Nina in The Seagull and in The Bed Before Yesterday. Mirren graced Royal Shakespeare Company productions of the Henry VI trilogy as Margaret, as Isabella in Measure for Measure and in The Duchess of Malfi, Faith-healer, Anthony and Cleopatra and Roaring Girl. She has also been prominent on TV most recently starring in Cymbeline and as Titania in A Midsummer Night's Dream. Bob Balaban / Dr. Chandra Until 1981, Bob Balaban was best known as Francois Truffaut's interpreter in Close Encounters of the Third Kind. Then came Altered States, as a sceptical scientist; Prince of the City, as an ice-blooded prosecuting attorney; Absence of Malice, as an overly zealous prosecutor; and Whose Life Is It, Anyway? as the attorney who pleads for his paralyzed client. While studying at the New York University film school, he won the role of Linus in You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown. After ten months in that off-Broadway musical, Balaban appeared in Neil Simon's Plaza Suite in 1968. His motion picture debut the following year was in Midnight Cowboy as the young homosexual who propositions Jon Voight. Later he appeared in Catch 22. On Broadway, Balaban won a Tony Award nomination for his portrayal of the 95 year-old servant in The Inspector General, was Ted Knight's son in Some of My Best Friends, played the title role in The Basic Training of Pavlo Hummel and starred in Marie and Bruce. Recently, Balaban shifted his career focus to directing. His first film, a witty short called SPFX 1140, about a special effects man on a Spielberg-type movie, led to the directing assignment for the debut episode of George Romero 's Tales From the Darkside. Keir Dullea / David Bowman For his film performance in David and Lisa, Keir Dullea achieved international stardom virtually overnight. Born in Cleveland, he considers New York his home town, as he has lived there since the age of three. After making his Broadway debut in 1956 in Sticks and Stones, Dullea later appeared off-Broadway in Season of Choice. In 1961, Dullea made his screen debut in The Hoodlum Priest. His subsequent motion picture credits include The Thin Red Line, Mail Order Bride, The Naked Hours, Madame X and The Fox. Over the years since 2001, Dullea has returned to the stage in Marat/Sade, The Sweet Prince, PS., Your Cat Is Dead and The Hostage Tower. He headlined the cast of the television mini-series Brave New World, and appeared in such series as Starlost and Switch. In 1980, he starred in the television movies No Place to Hide and Loving Friends and Perfect Couples. He has also starred in Friends, Brainwaves, and in the British television production of A Kiss Is Not a Kiss. Douglas Rain / Voice of HAL 9000 Canadian stage actor Douglas Rain studied acting at the Banff School of Fine Arts in Alberta, Canada, and at the Old Vic School in England. He later appeared with the Old Vic Company. He is a charter member of the Stratford [Ontario] Festival Company and is particularly remembered for his portrayal of Henry V in 1966. He also scored in George Bernard Shaw's Arms for the Man in the Shaw Festival at Niagara-on-the-Lake. Following 2001, Rain played the title role in the long running hit Hadrian VII on London's West End. He also appeared in The Heretic and Hamlet, before returning to North America for the role of the fourteenth Earl of Gurney in The Ruling Class in Washington, D.C. Rain won a Tony nomination for his Broadway performance in Vivat! Vivat! Regina!. His other stage credits include Sleuth, Hedda Gabler, Otherwise Engaged, Deathtrap, the North American premiere of Duet for One, The Master Builder in Toronto and Caesar and Cleopatra at the Shaw Festival. Elya Baskin / Maxim Brailovsky Born in Latvia, Elya Baskin became a gifted comedic actor in his native Russia. He made his American film debut as an actor with bad breath in The World's Greatest Lover. Later films include American Pop, Butch and Sundance: The Early Years, Goldengirl, Being There and Raise the Titanic. With countryman and journalist Andrew Polowitz, Baskin founded Panorama, which has become the second largest Russian language newspaper in North America. A graduate of the Moscow Theatre College, his most recent film role was in Moscow on the Hudson as the circus clown. Savely Kramarov / Vladimir Rudenko One of Russia's most important film actors, Savely Kramarov was a screen comedian often hailed as the Soviet Jerry Lewis and made more than 50 films there. He moved to the United States, partly for career but most importantly, in search of religious freedom. He wasted no time in landing one of the principle roles in Moscow on the Hudson as a KGB operative. Well known throughout Russia and Europe, Kramarov became one of the Soviet Union's most admired and decorated actors before his successful two-year battle to emigrate. Oleg Rudnik / Vasali Orlov Before he left Russia in 1976, Oleg Rudnik was a television director in Leningrad and a theatre director in Siberia. In New York, he took a job as a taxi driver by pretending he could speak English. A gentlemen passenger, who he later learned was a prominent publishing executive, sent Oleg to the Berlitz school and gave him $600 to assist in his studies. His next position was with the Defense Language Institute in Monterey, California, He and his family stayed there for four years, until he returned to acting in Moscow on the Hudson. Natasha Shneider / Irina Yakunina A classically-trained Russian rock 'n' roll star, Natasha Shneider makes her screen debut in 2010. She developed her interest in Western music from broadcasts over the progressive Radio Luxemborg, later forming a band in Moscow that went on to become one of Russia's leading contemporary groups. Yet she felt her horizons were too limited in her homeland, and in 1976 she moved to New York with her family. There, Shneider formed a band called Black Russian, which signed with Motown. She is currently working on a solo career. Vladimir Skomarovsky / Yuri Svetlanov Named Best Soviet Actor for his role in On the Corner of Arbat and Babulinas Streets, Vladimir Skomarovsky makes his American motion picture debut in 2010, which follows his appearance in the television film Masquerade. A graduate of the Kiev Institute of Fine Arts, he was a major star in Russia. His stage credits include Look Back in Anger, Desire Under the Elms, Every Wiseman Is a Fool, The Girl a Dowry, My Happiness Is Mockry, Sacrifice, The Philistines, The Lark and The Empress's Conspiracy. Victor Steinbach / Mikolai Ternovsky Born in Russia, Victor Steinbach, the son of an honored and titled actress and a lead-ing director, began his career as an actor. He turned to play writing when he moved to America in 1976. Unable to speak English, he wrote "his only Russian play" The Bathers, which was performed in 1983 by the New Dramatists in New York. It won the Playbill Award for Best Play and was also presented by New Haven's Long Wharf Theatre. Steinbach has written two other plays with more American themes. With his role in 2010, Steinbach has cleared a major hurdle—acting in America. Jan Taiska / Alexander Kovalev Born in Prague, Jan Triska defected with his wife and their two daughters in 1977. Since then, the noted Czech actor started his career anew, first in Toronto and then in New York. He received strong notices for his work in productions of The Master and Margarita, New Jerusalem and Zartiozzi. He spent three seasons in the resident company of the Tyrone Guthrie Theatre in Minneapolis. His feature film credits include Reds, The Amateur, The Ostermann Weekend and Uncommon Valor. On television, he has appeared in Falcon Crest and Fantasy Island, among others. | |
 Peter Hyams / Producer, Director, screenwriterThe creative force behind 2010, Peter Hyams makes his third venture into the realm of science fiction. His first, Capricorn One, was a suspense thriller about a contrived mission to Mars, and his second, Outland, has been referred to as the first western set in outer space. Born in 1943, Hyams is the son of a Broadway publicist and the grandson of impresario Sol Hurok. He pursued an interest in art at Hunter College and Syracuse University. His professional career began in news with a stint at WCBS-TV in New York and then a post as a Vietnam War correspondent for the CBS Network. During his CBS years he began to make documentary films. He moved to Los Angeles in 1970 and sold his first screen-play, T.R. Baskin, to Paramount. He then directed films for ABC television before making his feature debut in 1974 with Busting, starring Elliott Gould and Robert Blake. He followed that effort with Our Time. His intricate story of a mission to Mars that wasn't, Capricorn One, came next. He made his maiden voyage to Jupiter with Outland, starring Sean Connery as the only lawman in a mining colony on a distant moon. He wrote and directed the romantic drama Hanover Street starring Lesley-Ann Down and Harrison Ford, and 1983's The Star Chamber, which starred Michael Douglas and Hal Holbrook. Arthur C. Clarke / Author of 2010: Odyssey Two One of the best known and most admired authors of science fiction novels and short stories, as well as science fact literature, Arthur C. Clarke was born at Minehead, Somerset, England, in 1917. He received first class honors in Physics and Mathematics from King's College, London. During World War II, as an officer in the RAF, he was in charge of the first radar talk-down equipment during its experimental trials. His only non-science fiction novel, Glide Path, is based on that work. Clarke conceived of the communications satellite in 1945. The author of more than fifty books, some twenty million copies of which have been printed in over thirty languages, Clarke is also a past chairman of the British Interplanetary Society, a member of the Academy of Astronautics, the Royal Astronomical Society, and many other scientific organizations. His numerous awards include the 1961 Kalinga Prize, the AAAS-Westinghouse science writing prize, the Bradford-Washburn Award and, for his novel Rendezvous with Rama, the Hugo, Nebula and John W. Campbell Awards. In 1968, he shared an Oscar nomination with Stanley Kubrick for 2001: A Space Odyssey. His thirteen-part television series, Arthur C. Clarke's Mysterious World, has now been seen around the world. Clarke resides in Colombo, Sri Lanka. | |
Cast and Credits | |
 The Cast (rol): Roy Scheider (Heywood Floyd), John Lithgow (Walter Curnow), Helen Mirren (Tanya Kirbuk), Bob Balaban (R. Chandra), Keir Dullea (Dave Bowman), Douglas Rain (HAL 9000), Madolyn Smith (Caroline Floyd), Dana Elcar (Dimitri Moisevitch), Taliesin Jaffe (Christopher Floyd), James McEachin (Victor Milson), Mary Jo Deschanel (Betty Fernandez), Elya Baskin (Maxim Brailovsky), Savely Kramarov (Vladimir Rudenko), Oleg Rudnik (Vasali Orlov), Natasha Shneider (Irina Yakunina), Vladimir Skomarovsky (Yuri Svetlanov), Victor Steinbach (Mikolai Ternovsky), Jan Triska (Alexander Kovalev), Larry Carroll (Anchorman), Herta Ware (Jessie Bowman), Cheryl Carter (Nurse), Ron Recasner (Hospital Neurosurgeon), Robert Lesser (Dr. Hirsch), Olga Mallsnerd (SAL 9000), Commercial Announcers: Delana Michaels, Gene McGarr. Stunt Players: M. James Arnett, Jim Burk, Jim Halty, Robert Harman, Freddie Hice, John Meier, Gary Morgan, Mic Rodgers. Written for the Screen, Produced and Directed by Peter Hyams. Based on the Novel by Arthur C. Clarke. Director of Photography Peter Hyams. Production Designer Albert Brenner. Editor James Mitchell. Visual Effects Supervisor Richard Edlund. Music David Shire. Casting by Penny Perry. Costume Designer Patricia Norris. Associate Producers Jonathan A. Zimbert & Neil A. Machlis. Unit Production Manager Neil A. Machlis. First Assistant Director William S. Beasley, Second Assistant Director Alan B. Curtiss. Set Decorator Rick Simpson. Visual Futurist Syd Mead. Film Editor Mia Goldman. Assoc. Editors Joanna Cappuccilli & Ross Albert. First Assistant Editor Barbara Dunning. Second Assistant Editor Greg Gerlich. Assistant Editors Craig Herring & Ann Martin. Makeup Supervision Michael Westmore. Script Supervisor Marshall Schlom. Camera Operator Ralph R. Gerling, Assistant Camerman Don E. Fauntleroy. Second Asst. Cameraman Michael Wheeler. Chief Lighting Technician. John Baron. Key Grip Tom May. Still Photographer Bruce McBroom. Production Illustrator Sherman Labby. Sound Design Dale Strumpell. Production Sound Mixer Gene Cantamessa. Boom Man Raul Bruce. Rerecording Mixers Michael J. Kohut, C.A.S., Aaron Rochin, C.A.S., Carlos deLarios, C.A.S., Ray O'Reilly, C.A.S. Supervising Sound Editor Richard L. Anderson. Sound Editors Warren Hamilton, David Stone, Michael J. Benavente, Donald Flick, James Christopher. Apprentice Sound Editor John Pospisil. ADR Editor Vince Melanori. Music Editor William J. Saracino. Technical Advisor Dr. Richard Terrile. Special Effects Supervisor Henry Millar. Special Effects Assts Dave Blitstein, Andy Evans. Flying Supervisor Robert Harman. Hairstylist Vivian McAteer. Propmaster Martin Wunderlich. Men's Costume Supervisor Bruce Walkup. Men's Costumer Jim Kessler. Women 's Costume Supervisor Nancy McArdle. Transportation Coordinator Randy Peters. Transportation Captain Candace Wells. Stunt Coordinator M. James Arnett. Production Coordinator Katharine Ann Curtiss. Producer's Secretary Barbara Allen. Production Controller Steve Warner. Location Manager Mario Iscovich. Unit Publicist Don Levy. Effects Project Administrator John James Jr. Graphics Arthur Gelb. Marketing Director Elliot Fischoff Visual Displays and Graphics by Video-Image. Video Effects Supervisor Greg McMurry. Video Playback Coordinator Rhonda Gunner. Video Computer Graphics Richard E. Hollander. Computer Graphics Supervisor John C. Wash. Video Technician Pete Martinez. Production Associate Steven Jongeward. Marine Technical Advisor Dr. Jay Sweeney. Entertainment Effects Group, Los Angeles. Visual Effects Art Director George Jenson. Director of Photography Dave Stewart. Visual Effects Editor Conrad Buff. Matte Department Supervisor Neil Krepela. Mechanical Effects Supervisor Thaine Morris. Special Projects Gary Platek. Model Shop Supervisor Mark Stetson. Optical Supervisor Mark Vargo. Chief Engineer Gene Whiteman. Animation Supervisors Terry Windell & Garry Waller. Chief Matte Artist Matthew Yuricich. Production Advisor Jim Nelson. Business Manager Laura Buff. Prod. Supervisors Michael Kelly & Lynda Lemon. Camera Operators John Fante, John Lambert, Mike Lawler & Bill Neil Motion. Control Technicians David Hardberger, Mike Hoover & Jonathan Seay. Camera Assts Clint Palmer, Pete Romano, Jody Westheimer & Bess Wiley. Assistant Matte Cameraman Alan Harding. Still Photographer Virgil Mirano. Optical Printer Operators Chuck Cowles & Bruno George. Optical Line Up Phil Barberio, Ronald B. Moore & Mary E. Walter. Animators Peggy Regan, Richard Coleman & Eusebio Torres. Technical Animators Annick Therrien, Samuel Recinos, Rebecca Petrulli, Margaret Craig-Chang, Wendi Fischer & Juniko Moody. Stop Motion Randall William Cook. Matte Artist Michelle Moen. Key Effects Man Bob Spurlock. Key Grips Pat Van Auken & Ben Haller. Gaffer Robert Eyslee. Effects Technicians Bob Cole, Robin Kolb & Larz Anderson. Visual Effects Editor Arthur Repola. Assistant Effects Editors Jack Hinkle, Marty November, & Dennis Michelson. Miniatures Crew Jarek Alfer, David Beasley, Gary Bierend, Leslie Ekker, Kent Gebo, Bryson Gerard, Patrick McClung, Thomas Pahk, Robin Reilly, Milius Romyn, Christopher Ross, Dennis Schultz, Nicholas Seldon, Tom Silveroli, Paul Skylar & Ken Swenson. Miniature Mechanical Effects Bob Johnston. Chief Moldmaker David Shwartz. Chief Model Painter Ron Gress. Starchild Personnel Jon Alberti, Lance Anderson, Jon Berg, Tom Culnan, Gunnar Ferdinandsen, Mike Hosch & Stuart Ziff. Artistic Consultants Brent Boates & Adolph Schaller. Video Systems Clark Higgins. Design Engineers Mark West, Mike Bolles, & Rick Perkins. Electronics Engineers Jerry Jeffress, Robin Leyden & Bob Wilcox. Software Programmer Kris Brown, Paul Van Kamp. Illustrator Janet Kusnick. Cinetechnicians George Polkinghorne, Mark Matthew, Ken Dudderar, Michael Nims & Joseph Ramos. Lab Technicians Pat Repola, Brad Kuehn & Mike Lehman. Production Associates Thomas Brown, Richard Johnson, Dan Kuhn, Sam Longoria, L. Mark Medernach & Laurel Walter. Production Accountant Claire Wilson. Accountants Kayte Westheimer, Leslie Falkinburg & Kim Ybiernas. Apprentice Matte Artist Tanya Lowe. Addit. Miniatures Personnel Adam Gelbart, George Pryor, Bob Wilson, Cynthia Czuchaj & Leslie Stetson. Prod. Administration Jill Allen, Jamie Jardine, Mary Mason & Terry Platek Digital Jupiter Simulation Digital Productions. Addit. Display Material Bo Gehring Associates. Prod. Assts Carl Brodene, Allen Cappuccilli, Dan Hutten, Brian Lee, Guy Marsden, Jon Schreiber & Harry Zimmerman. Projectionist Don McLaren. Additional Optical Effects by Cinema Research. Filmed with a Louma Crane by Panavision, Inc. The producers gratefully acknowledge the following for their assistance: The Very Large Array Radio Telescope, an operating activity of the National Radio Astronomy Observatory, which is sponsored by the National Science Foundation Marineland, Rancho Palos Verdes, California, Panasonic, Sheraton Hotels, Pan American Airlines, Ford Motor Company, Sanyo, 3M Company, Adidas, Physio Control, Mag Instruments, Yamaha International, Lightning Sculpture by Bill Parker, Huffy, Carrera, Apple Computers, Inc., Convergence Corporation, Calma G.C. Co., Heartrate Incorp., AT&T Systems, Aquarium World Also Sprach Zarathustra! by Richard Strauss, Lux Aeterna by Gyorgy Ligeti Performed by The North German Radio Chorus Conducted by Helmut Franz Courtesy of Deutsche Grammophon a division of Polygram Classics Electronic Music Produced by Craig Huxley and David Shire. Synthesizer Programmed by Craig Huxley Filmed in PANAVISION® Titles and Opticals MGM Prints in METROCOLOR® Color Timer Bob Kaiser 1984 by MGM/UA ENTERTAINMENT CO., All rights reserved. | |
2010 Production Notes | |
 In a sense, it can be said that production of 2010 truly began on May 15, 1983—the day producer, director and writer Peter Hyams walked onto the MGM/UA lot and agreed to transform Arthur C. Clarke's best-selling novel into an epic motion picture adventure. For on that day, Hyams also agreed to deliver the completed film by Christmas, 1984 - less than one quarter the time required to create its worthy predecessor, 2001: A Space Odyssey. Intent upon remaining faithful to the novel, Hyams set up an unprecedented communications link with Clarke between the filmmaker's Culver City office and the novelist's home in Sri Lanka, 13 1/2 time zones away. Utilizing matching KAY-PRO II computers, Hayes Smartmodems and Wordstar word-processing software, Hyams and Clarke were able to discuss story ideas, technical points and screenplay revisions with the benefit of "hard copies" of all their communications. No sooner had Hyams begun writing than Richard Edlund was selected to supervise the film's extensive state-of-the-art visual effects. Production designer Albert Brenner began planning the interior compartments of the Russian spacecraft Leonov under Hyam 's guidance, to which visual futurist Syd Mead added the intense, claustrophobic detail required for what Hyams conceived of as a "workhorse in space" — " very sober, very Russian, and considerably over-engineered, " according to Mead. And based upon Brenner and Hyams' concept of her interior, Mead began working on her exterior form with Hyams. To create the artificial gravity environment required aboard Leonov during her long voyage to Jupiter, the filmmakers located the majority of the ship's compartments in two clusters which rotate around her cylindrical main structure. Only two important compartments of Leonov — her Bridge and Pod Bay — would remain zero-g areas, enabling her crew to remain fit, and the filmmakers to use their gravity-defying effects to enhance the movie's most dramatic moments without slowing the pace of its transitional scenes. With Leonov's exterior design completed, Edlund's model-making team began tooling up, and Albert Brenner moved on to the planning required to reconstruct the American spacecraft Discovery. Meanwhile, video effects supervisor Greg McMurray and his team of experts began creating the enormous quantity of video and computer effects which would appear on the Leonov's monitors during filming. Hyams continued to write, communicating almost daily with Arthur C. Clarke regarding such complex technical problems as the stunning aero-braking maneuver used by Leonov to achieve her Jupiter orbit, while consulting with the growing number of department heads on their individual areas of responsibility. By October, set construction had begun on Stages 15 and 30, even though Hyams was only halfway through the screenplay. As soon as Hyams completed writing a scene storyboard artist George Jensen executed an illustration of it. Each detail of the film's live-action and effects photography, from camera-framing to lighting and action, were locked in place upon the storyboards to serve as a precise and unchangeable "bible" to the director filming the live-action sequences, and to those responsible for executing the effects sequences which would be mated to them later. And once a scene was storyboarded, every department — from sets to effects, miniatures, props and wardrobe — began working immediately on their respective areas. And somehow, within this atmosphere of simultaneous creativity, Hyams continued to write. Two models of both spacecraft, each in scale to the other but in different overall scale as required for different perspectives, were ultimately constructed. Stage 30 was the setting for the Discovery interiors as well as the exteriors of both Discovery and Leonov, while Stage 15 was reserved for sets representing Leonov's interior. Both stages, as well as the special effects facilities in Marina del Rey where Edlund and his ever-growing staff were located, were held in a state of high-security once the start date of February 5, 1984 was established, both to protect the film-makers from any distraction and to create an air of mystery around the project. Roy Scheider, the director's first choice for the role of Dr. Heywood Floyd, agreed to come aboard with only seventy five pages of the screenplay completed. Three weeks later, John Lithgow and Bob Balaban were cast. Beginning in December, weekly production meetings were held with each department head to ensure everyone knew what was required of them. Shortly before the start of production, Hyams wrapped a copy of his completed screenplay into a brown packing envelope and sent it halfway around the world to Clarke for the novelist's blessing, which he received. Rehearsals with the performers began in late January, followed by a variety of 35mm and 65mm photographic tests on each of the film's complex sets. On Friday, February 3rd, Dr. Heywood Floyd, Captain Tanya Kirbuk and her crew of cosmonauts were assembled before the cameras for the first time, for the videotaping of the television news sequence on MGM/UA's Stage 7. On Monday, February 6th, Dr. Heywood Floyd was awakened from his hibernation chamber in the Medical Bay of Leonov, after months in suspended animation on the journey to Jupiter. Nine days of interior shooting aboard Leonov followed before the cameras moved to Stage 30 for the first weightless sequences within the Leonov Pod Bay and around the exteriors of Leonov and Discovery, where astronaut Walter Curnow and cosmonaut Maxim Brailovsky made their perilous space walk between the two craft. On Thursday, March 8th, Curnow and Brailovsky entered Discovery, the first time it had been occupied since commander David Bowman was lost nine years earlier. For the filming of this first scene within Discovery, the Pod Bay set had been constructed on its side, creating the illusion that actors Lithgow and Baskin are walking along its side wall. The Discovery itself is tumbling wildly in space, creating an artificial gravity environment along its walls rather than its decks. It is also freezing cold within Discovery after nine years without heat or light, an atmosphere that was created for the scene with the use of two industrial-size air-conditioning units which brought the temperature within the set down to a comfortable 30° below zero. As behind-the-camera personnel struggled to stay warm, actors Lithgow and Baskin were thoroughly insulated by costume designer Patricia Norris' adherence to realism in the creation of their space suits. The helmeted garments were completely self-contained, with ventilation, cooling, heating and weight all accounted for, in addition to the use of the same Teflon fabric which comprises the shell of authentic American space suits. A week later, the cameras returned to Stage 15, for further interior work aboard Leonov. On Monday, March 19th, the "flying unit" began working on Stage 30 while the "gravity unit" continued its work on Stage 15. As soon as he completed a shot on one stage with one group of actors, director Hyams would proceed to the other stage to film a shot with a second group. This double-stage process continued at intervals throughout the course of production, whenever the logistics of shooting with two distinct groups of actors were made possible by the screenplay and shooting schedule. It was on just such a day, late in March, that Dr. Chandra began the dangerous process of bringing the H.A.L. 9000 back to consciousness. To make actor Bob Balaban weightless for this sequence, flying supervisor Bob Harman utilized one of the many techniques he perfected for the Superman films fitting a custom-made mold conforming to the actor's body beneath his costume, which is then attached, along with the actor, to a long boom hidden from the camera through the careful framing of the shot. | |
 This makes it possible to rotate the actor 360° around his own vertical axis. It is an experience that occasionally produces the same sort of mild side effects—disorientation, vertigo and nausea—that many American astronauts experience in making the adjustment to a real weightless environment. Yet Balaban took to "the pole," as it is known, like a pro. While stunt doubles were used for the film's most dangerous flying sequences, each of the actors who were required to appear weightless during the course of film trained "on the wires" beforehand under Harman's guidance. As reported by John Lithgow, "I just loved it, traveling about twenty miles an hour high above the sound stage. They kept telling me, 'John, calm down, astronauts in space don't clown around.' But I tell you, it's the best rollercoaster ride there ever was." On April 3rd, David Bowman returned to Discovery, to communicate with Dr. Heywood Floyd and his former crewmate, the H.A.L. 9000 computer. Actor Keir DuIlea's transformation in these sequences, which occured within the now right side-up Pod Bay, were the work of make-up magician Michael Westmore, who initially turned back the clock to help Dullea appear unchanged by the years that have elapsed. Westmore also recreated the stunning aging sequence from 2001, but thanks to the advances in the creation and application of make-up prothestics since the making of the first film, he was able to spare Dullea much of the preparation time and discomfort such elaborate work once demanded of a performer. Near the end of April, the film's most dangerous sequence — the Jupiter escape maneuver — was filmed on Stage 15. The set of the Leonov Bridge has been constructed on a gigantic gimble, which at the appropriate moment rotated and shook violently as Leonov struggles to escape the tremendous gravitational pull of the gigantic planet. Work at the studio continued until May 18th, when the film company made its first location trip in more than three months of shooting. After several days' work at the Very Large Array Radio Astronomy Facility in Socorro, New Mexico, for the film's dramatic opening sequence, the company traveled to Washington, D.C., where Arthur C. Clarke made a cameo apperance as a wino feeding pigeons on a park bench outside the White House. The company then returned to MGM/UA, where Dr. Heywood Floyd's home had been constructed atop an almost-forgotten facility known as the Saucer Tank. Located in a seldom-used corner of the lot, it became the temporary home of the film's aquatic stars, Captain Crunch and Lelani. On Friday, May 25th, one year and nine days after Peter Hyams had agreed to take on the scriptless project, principal photography was completed. Still ahead lay many months of complex post-production work, which would integrate the visual effects created by Richard Edlund and the members of his Boss Film Company with the live-action photography. Along with the talents of BFC department heads Mark Stetson, Mark Vargo, Neil Krepela, Gary Platik and Matt Yuricich, Edlund also tapped one of the world's most sophisticated computers to help create a vision of Jupiter that officials at Pasadena's famed Jet Propulsion Laboratory have pronounced better than their own. Using a Cray computer at a company known as Digital Image, Edlund fed in the raw JPL data obtained during the fly-by missions of the unmanned Voyager spacecraft. When processed and correlated with information about cloud vortexes, this process led to a living image of Jupiter that is more detailed than anything ever seen before by man. Edlund also utilized the blue-flux front-screen projection system, the largest of its kind in the world, to film the live-action elements for many of the approximately three hundred special effects that are a part of the final film. The result? "Magic, in the Houdini sense of the word", according to Edlund. | |
 • Go to 2010 - The Year We Make Contact | |
| Go: back - top - back issues - news index Updated 29-07-24 |