Pop culture (2) - 2001 a space odyssey
Archibald
Banned
alternate pop culture, part 2
... the Smithsonian's connection to flight began with the birth of the Institution, first headed by Joseph Henry, a physicist, balloon enthusiast, and sky-watcher. In 1861, Henry made a pivotal contribution to American aviation when he invited Thaddeus Sobieski Constantine Lowe to inflate his hot air balloon on the Smithsonian grounds. This demonstration eventually led to the birth of American aerial reconnaissance during the Civil War.
It is no wonder then, that the Smithsonian's aeronautical collection began well before 1976, when the National Air and Space Museum was constructed on the Mall in Washington, DC. One hundred years before, in 1876, a group of 20 beautiful kites was acquired from the Chinese Imperial Commission, seeding what would later become the largest collection of aviation and space artifacts in the world.
Built in 1918, the Aircraft Building housed most of the Museum's aviation collection for decades. The collections of the Museum were first housed in the Arts and Industries (A&I) Building, then after World War I, expanded to a Quonset hut erected by the War Department behind the Smithsonian Castle. Affectionately known as the "Tin Shed," the new building opened to the public in 1920, and would remain in use for the next 55 years.
In 1946, President Harry Truman signed a bill establishing the Smithsonian's National Air Museum to memorialize the development of aviation; collect, preserve, and display aeronautical equipment; and provide educational material for the study of aviation. The legislation didn't provide for the construction of a new building; however, and the collection soon outgrew the Museum's exhibition space. Since there was no room left in the Arts and Industries Building or the "Tin Shed," WWII aircraft and other items such as engines and missiles were stored at an abandoned aircraft factory in Park Ridge, Illinois, a suburb of Chicago. The U.S. Navy had a similar collection in storage for the Smithsonian at Norfolk, Va.
In 1951 as a result of the Korean War emergency, the Museum had to vacate the Park Ridge premises. In response to the immediate need for space, Paul Garber, the National Air Museum's first curator, located 21 acres in Silver Hill, Md., a suburb of Washington, D.C. With the addition of several prefabricated buildings the site became the storage area for the National Air Museum. Garber had managed to save the collection.
Well before spaceflight became a reality, the Smithsonian took a leading role in funding one of America's most important rocket pioneers. In 1916, Robert Goddard wrote to Secretary Charles Greeley Abbot requesting a grant to support his research. The Smithsonian awarded him $5,000 to conduct his first practical experiments in rocketry, and eventually published his classic treatise, A Method of Reaching Extreme Altitudes.
Over the next fifty years, as the technology continued to advance, and as the collection expanded to include artifacts related to rocketry and spaceflight, it became clear that the Museum was entering a new phase.
In 1966, President Lyndon Johnson signed a law that changed the name of the National Air Museum to the National Air and Space Museum to memorialize the development of both aviation and spaceflight. The Museum's collection on display expanded to include missiles and rockets, some of which were located outdoors near the Arts and Industries Building in an area that was known as "Rocket Row."
Funding to construct a new building was approved in 1971, and with the location determined: it would be on the National Mall between Fourth and Seventh Streets S.W., the Smithsonian Secretary, C. Dillon Ripley, hired former Apollo 11 astronaut Michael Collins as the National Air and Space Museum's director.
Collins would guide the Museum through its construction, hire a team of top-notch professionals, oversee the creation of first-rate exhibits, and launch the Museum's Center for Earth and Planetary Studies. This new division was devoted to active research in analysis of lunar and planetary spacecraft data and the lead center for Earth observations and photography from the Apollo-Soyuz Test Project. Groundbreaking took place on November 20, 1972 with the goal of opening during America's bicentennial year in 1976.
As ground breaking took place the NASM was given a tresure trove: spaceship studio models from Kubrick 2001, a space odyssey.
The museum welcomed five iconic models, some of them just amazingly huge, all extremely detailed. First was the filming model of the Aries 1-B lunar shuttle. This artefact stood approximately 90 cm tall and was 76 cm in diameter. The studio model for the Orion III had a similar size, about 91 cm long. Then was Space Station V model, a whopping seven feet wide and stuffed with tiny lights behind the windows.
Most impressive models, however, where those of the Discovery Jupiter-bound, manned ship. Two models were used to show this ship, and both were huge. A 16 m long model with a 1.8 m command sphere was used for detail shots, while a smaller 4 m - prop was used for long shots.
Question arose about the models fate over the last five years since 2001 filming ended. As with just about anything to do with the making of 2001, the fate of all the models is complicated.
It's true that Kubrick was a fanatic about security and the releasing of imagery. As for the sets - the British had a common practice of stripping down any useful parts and reusing them as stock set pieces and then burning the rest on the backlot to get rid of them.
During the production of the movie, Stanley Kubrick agreed to sell many of the props, costumes, artwork, miniatures, and even some set pieces to a group of people that were trying to establish an International Space Museum & Gallery in Washington, DC. The idea was that these artifacts would form the cornerstone of the museum and would eventually include 'real' artifacts that had flown in space. At the time, there was no dedicated gallery at the Smithsonian for these types of artifacts. Any/all aviation and space related items were displayed in the main Smithsonian Castle building till the new Air & Space building was constructed.
Incredibly Chesley Bonestell donated some of his artwork for the facility as well. A lot of the costumes and almost all of the models were tagged for this exhibit and were crated up and stored till the movie was finished. According to Kubrick advisor Frederic Ordway most of those models were boxed up in the summer of 1967.
Kubrick insisted that the items sold to the Smithsonian future gallery would not be used in other films, as the props from Forbidden Planet had been reused over the years (Invisible Boy, episodes of Twilight Zone, etc). And they agreed to this stipulation. In addition, there were to be many tie-ins with other companies that had supplied information on their plans for the future. All of those were to feature some of the props from 2001 as part of a marketing strategy.
Yet it seems that Kubrick himself had no control over the models fates – they belonged to the MGM and were stored in London. In the early 70's the MGM was in trouble and could no longer afford storage costs. At some point the models were very nearly scrapped or dumped; but, all of sudden, someone come their rescue. It makes for an interesting story.
In 1973 Moonraker was a success at the box office and marked a turn in Gerry Anderson career.
The year after Sir Lew Grade, head of ITC Entertainment, proposed financing a second series of the Century 21 production UFO. Two years after the 26 episodes were completed, the series was syndicated on American television and the ratings were initially promising enough to prompt ITC to commission a second season of UFO.
As the Moon-based episodes appeared to have proven more popular than the Earth-based stories, ITC insisted that in the new season, the action would take place entirely on the Moon.
Gerry Anderson proposed a format in which SHADO Moonbase had been greatly enlarged to become the organisation's main headquarters, and pre-production on UFO 2 began with extensive research and design for the new Moonbase. The Andersons and their team quickly revamped the production, flashing ahead nearly twenty years for UFO: 1999 with Commander Ed Straker and the forces of SHADO fighting their alien foes from a large new Moonbase facility.
UFO: 1999 drew a great deal of visual inspiration and technical expertise from the 1968 Stanley Kubrick film 2001: A Space Odyssey. In fact the programme's special effects director Brian Johnson had previously worked on both Thunderbirds(as Brian Johncock) - and Kubrick's 2001
In order to save money, Brian Johnson wanted to reuse 2001 props, sets and models – and thus he had an inquiry, seeking the models.
Johnson was interested in the Aries 1B lunar shuttle, although he ultimately went with an entirely different design that become the Eagle transporter.
He went to Kubrick, he went to MGM, and finally learned they had been stored in England.
In the half-hour opening episode "Zero-G" Commander Steven Maddox controlled the forces of WANDER, Earth's premier defence organisation, from Moon City, a twenty-mile wide installation on the Moon. Maddox would view all aspects of Earth defence from Central Control, a facility at the hub of the base and accessible only by Moon Hopper craft, which would require the correct pass-code to traverse Control's defensive laser barrier. The Commander would also have access to a personal computer called "Com-Com" (Commander's Computer), which would act as a personal advisor, having been programmed with the Commander's personality and moral sense.
Earth's deep space probes have discovered an advanced extraterrestrial civilisation. Maddox is kidnapped for an interview with the aliens. Angered by humanity's innate hostility and WANDER's defensive posture, they travel to Earth with the intent of isolating mankind within the boundary of Earth's atmosphere. Having judged Maddox a noble example of mankind, they return him unharmed.
The Eagle Transporter was extremely popular with UFO 1999 spectators. The Eagles serve as the primary spacecraft of Moonbase Alpha, which has a fleet of them, and are often used to explore alien planets, defend Moonbase Alpha from attack, and to transport supplies and other items to and from the Moon. The Eagle was designed by Brian Johnson who had worked with Gerry Anderson on Thunderbirds in the mid-1960s and had produced the spacecraft for the 1968 film 2001: A Space Odyssey. The Eagle spacecraft influenced the spaceship designs of Star Wars and other science fiction films and television series.
Although no 2001 models were used for the series, Brian Johnson wadged a successful campaign against MGM to have the models preserved. He learned of Kubrick initial deal with the Smithsonian and decided he would stood as a mediator between MGM / Kubrick and the museum.
Late 1973 the MGM had a couple of trucks (and aircrafts !) loaded with the 2001 models; they were then send to Washington, DC where the Smithsonian awaited them.
Waiting for the NASM new building within four years, the models will be protected under a large tent - near missiles and rockets located outdoors near the Arts and Industries Building, in an area that is known as Rocket Row. So in some way, real rockets will meet sci-fi spacecrafts. After the opening in 1976 a dedicated 2001 gallery will open, centered around the immense Discovery model.
... the Smithsonian's connection to flight began with the birth of the Institution, first headed by Joseph Henry, a physicist, balloon enthusiast, and sky-watcher. In 1861, Henry made a pivotal contribution to American aviation when he invited Thaddeus Sobieski Constantine Lowe to inflate his hot air balloon on the Smithsonian grounds. This demonstration eventually led to the birth of American aerial reconnaissance during the Civil War.
It is no wonder then, that the Smithsonian's aeronautical collection began well before 1976, when the National Air and Space Museum was constructed on the Mall in Washington, DC. One hundred years before, in 1876, a group of 20 beautiful kites was acquired from the Chinese Imperial Commission, seeding what would later become the largest collection of aviation and space artifacts in the world.
Built in 1918, the Aircraft Building housed most of the Museum's aviation collection for decades. The collections of the Museum were first housed in the Arts and Industries (A&I) Building, then after World War I, expanded to a Quonset hut erected by the War Department behind the Smithsonian Castle. Affectionately known as the "Tin Shed," the new building opened to the public in 1920, and would remain in use for the next 55 years.
In 1946, President Harry Truman signed a bill establishing the Smithsonian's National Air Museum to memorialize the development of aviation; collect, preserve, and display aeronautical equipment; and provide educational material for the study of aviation. The legislation didn't provide for the construction of a new building; however, and the collection soon outgrew the Museum's exhibition space. Since there was no room left in the Arts and Industries Building or the "Tin Shed," WWII aircraft and other items such as engines and missiles were stored at an abandoned aircraft factory in Park Ridge, Illinois, a suburb of Chicago. The U.S. Navy had a similar collection in storage for the Smithsonian at Norfolk, Va.
In 1951 as a result of the Korean War emergency, the Museum had to vacate the Park Ridge premises. In response to the immediate need for space, Paul Garber, the National Air Museum's first curator, located 21 acres in Silver Hill, Md., a suburb of Washington, D.C. With the addition of several prefabricated buildings the site became the storage area for the National Air Museum. Garber had managed to save the collection.
Well before spaceflight became a reality, the Smithsonian took a leading role in funding one of America's most important rocket pioneers. In 1916, Robert Goddard wrote to Secretary Charles Greeley Abbot requesting a grant to support his research. The Smithsonian awarded him $5,000 to conduct his first practical experiments in rocketry, and eventually published his classic treatise, A Method of Reaching Extreme Altitudes.
Over the next fifty years, as the technology continued to advance, and as the collection expanded to include artifacts related to rocketry and spaceflight, it became clear that the Museum was entering a new phase.
In 1966, President Lyndon Johnson signed a law that changed the name of the National Air Museum to the National Air and Space Museum to memorialize the development of both aviation and spaceflight. The Museum's collection on display expanded to include missiles and rockets, some of which were located outdoors near the Arts and Industries Building in an area that was known as "Rocket Row."
Funding to construct a new building was approved in 1971, and with the location determined: it would be on the National Mall between Fourth and Seventh Streets S.W., the Smithsonian Secretary, C. Dillon Ripley, hired former Apollo 11 astronaut Michael Collins as the National Air and Space Museum's director.
Collins would guide the Museum through its construction, hire a team of top-notch professionals, oversee the creation of first-rate exhibits, and launch the Museum's Center for Earth and Planetary Studies. This new division was devoted to active research in analysis of lunar and planetary spacecraft data and the lead center for Earth observations and photography from the Apollo-Soyuz Test Project. Groundbreaking took place on November 20, 1972 with the goal of opening during America's bicentennial year in 1976.
As ground breaking took place the NASM was given a tresure trove: spaceship studio models from Kubrick 2001, a space odyssey.
The museum welcomed five iconic models, some of them just amazingly huge, all extremely detailed. First was the filming model of the Aries 1-B lunar shuttle. This artefact stood approximately 90 cm tall and was 76 cm in diameter. The studio model for the Orion III had a similar size, about 91 cm long. Then was Space Station V model, a whopping seven feet wide and stuffed with tiny lights behind the windows.
Most impressive models, however, where those of the Discovery Jupiter-bound, manned ship. Two models were used to show this ship, and both were huge. A 16 m long model with a 1.8 m command sphere was used for detail shots, while a smaller 4 m - prop was used for long shots.
Question arose about the models fate over the last five years since 2001 filming ended. As with just about anything to do with the making of 2001, the fate of all the models is complicated.
It's true that Kubrick was a fanatic about security and the releasing of imagery. As for the sets - the British had a common practice of stripping down any useful parts and reusing them as stock set pieces and then burning the rest on the backlot to get rid of them.
During the production of the movie, Stanley Kubrick agreed to sell many of the props, costumes, artwork, miniatures, and even some set pieces to a group of people that were trying to establish an International Space Museum & Gallery in Washington, DC. The idea was that these artifacts would form the cornerstone of the museum and would eventually include 'real' artifacts that had flown in space. At the time, there was no dedicated gallery at the Smithsonian for these types of artifacts. Any/all aviation and space related items were displayed in the main Smithsonian Castle building till the new Air & Space building was constructed.
Incredibly Chesley Bonestell donated some of his artwork for the facility as well. A lot of the costumes and almost all of the models were tagged for this exhibit and were crated up and stored till the movie was finished. According to Kubrick advisor Frederic Ordway most of those models were boxed up in the summer of 1967.
Kubrick insisted that the items sold to the Smithsonian future gallery would not be used in other films, as the props from Forbidden Planet had been reused over the years (Invisible Boy, episodes of Twilight Zone, etc). And they agreed to this stipulation. In addition, there were to be many tie-ins with other companies that had supplied information on their plans for the future. All of those were to feature some of the props from 2001 as part of a marketing strategy.
Yet it seems that Kubrick himself had no control over the models fates – they belonged to the MGM and were stored in London. In the early 70's the MGM was in trouble and could no longer afford storage costs. At some point the models were very nearly scrapped or dumped; but, all of sudden, someone come their rescue. It makes for an interesting story.
In 1973 Moonraker was a success at the box office and marked a turn in Gerry Anderson career.
The year after Sir Lew Grade, head of ITC Entertainment, proposed financing a second series of the Century 21 production UFO. Two years after the 26 episodes were completed, the series was syndicated on American television and the ratings were initially promising enough to prompt ITC to commission a second season of UFO.
As the Moon-based episodes appeared to have proven more popular than the Earth-based stories, ITC insisted that in the new season, the action would take place entirely on the Moon.
Gerry Anderson proposed a format in which SHADO Moonbase had been greatly enlarged to become the organisation's main headquarters, and pre-production on UFO 2 began with extensive research and design for the new Moonbase. The Andersons and their team quickly revamped the production, flashing ahead nearly twenty years for UFO: 1999 with Commander Ed Straker and the forces of SHADO fighting their alien foes from a large new Moonbase facility.
UFO: 1999 drew a great deal of visual inspiration and technical expertise from the 1968 Stanley Kubrick film 2001: A Space Odyssey. In fact the programme's special effects director Brian Johnson had previously worked on both Thunderbirds(as Brian Johncock) - and Kubrick's 2001
In order to save money, Brian Johnson wanted to reuse 2001 props, sets and models – and thus he had an inquiry, seeking the models.
Johnson was interested in the Aries 1B lunar shuttle, although he ultimately went with an entirely different design that become the Eagle transporter.
He went to Kubrick, he went to MGM, and finally learned they had been stored in England.
In the half-hour opening episode "Zero-G" Commander Steven Maddox controlled the forces of WANDER, Earth's premier defence organisation, from Moon City, a twenty-mile wide installation on the Moon. Maddox would view all aspects of Earth defence from Central Control, a facility at the hub of the base and accessible only by Moon Hopper craft, which would require the correct pass-code to traverse Control's defensive laser barrier. The Commander would also have access to a personal computer called "Com-Com" (Commander's Computer), which would act as a personal advisor, having been programmed with the Commander's personality and moral sense.
Earth's deep space probes have discovered an advanced extraterrestrial civilisation. Maddox is kidnapped for an interview with the aliens. Angered by humanity's innate hostility and WANDER's defensive posture, they travel to Earth with the intent of isolating mankind within the boundary of Earth's atmosphere. Having judged Maddox a noble example of mankind, they return him unharmed.
The Eagle Transporter was extremely popular with UFO 1999 spectators. The Eagles serve as the primary spacecraft of Moonbase Alpha, which has a fleet of them, and are often used to explore alien planets, defend Moonbase Alpha from attack, and to transport supplies and other items to and from the Moon. The Eagle was designed by Brian Johnson who had worked with Gerry Anderson on Thunderbirds in the mid-1960s and had produced the spacecraft for the 1968 film 2001: A Space Odyssey. The Eagle spacecraft influenced the spaceship designs of Star Wars and other science fiction films and television series.
Although no 2001 models were used for the series, Brian Johnson wadged a successful campaign against MGM to have the models preserved. He learned of Kubrick initial deal with the Smithsonian and decided he would stood as a mediator between MGM / Kubrick and the museum.
Late 1973 the MGM had a couple of trucks (and aircrafts !) loaded with the 2001 models; they were then send to Washington, DC where the Smithsonian awaited them.
Waiting for the NASM new building within four years, the models will be protected under a large tent - near missiles and rockets located outdoors near the Arts and Industries Building, in an area that is known as Rocket Row. So in some way, real rockets will meet sci-fi spacecrafts. After the opening in 1976 a dedicated 2001 gallery will open, centered around the immense Discovery model.
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