2001 between Kubrick and Clarke: The Genesis, Making and Authorship of a Masterpiece

The story of how '2001: A Space Odyssey' came to be made is in many ways as epic as the events portrayed in the film itself—and until now, just as mysterious. In 1964, with 'Dr. Strangelove' ready for release, Stanley Kubrick was uncertain about what his next project would be, and considered making a film dealing with several contemporary themes. It was only when he encountered Arthur C. Clarke that he decided to make a science fiction film. Yet it took more than four years for '2001: A Space Odyssey' to reach the screen—a productive and creative odyssey that involved experimentation, last-minute rethinks, strokes of genius, quarrels, ultimatums, feats of will, and mental breakdowns. Drawing extensively from never before seen material, including production documents and private correspondences, '2001 between Kubrick and Clarke' gives for the first time a complete account of the two authors’ creative collaboration; one which casts lights on their on-again, off-again relationship, as well as revealing new information about the genesis, production, and reception of the first and most important film about space, the origin of humankind and its destiny among the stars.

Filippo Ulivieri (1977) is Italy's leading expert on Stanley Kubrick. Since 1999, he has been running archiviokubrick.it, a database of factual information about the life and work of Stanley Kubrick. His research on 2001: A Space Odyssey, A Clockwork Orange, Kubrick's unrealised films, and the myths surrounding his public image have been presented in several international conferences and published in Italian and English. He is the author of Stanley Kubrick and Me: Thirty Years at His Side (Arcade Publishing, 2016), the biography of Emilio D'Alessandro, personal assistant to the director. He is co-writer of S is for Stanley (Alex Infascelli, 2015), winner of the David di Donatello award for Best Documentary Feature.

Simone Odino (1974) works as a librarian in Bologna. For the past five years he has been researching 2001: A Space Odyssey, visiting archives in Italy and abroad, and interviewing cast and crew members. This book was possible thanks to his visit to the 'Arthur C. Clarke Collection of Sri Lanka' at the Smithsonian Air & Space Museum. He gave papers in the conferences 'Stanley Kubrick: A Retrospective' (De Montfort University, Leicester, 2016) and 'Stanley Kubrick: Nouveaux Horizons' (Université Bordeaux Montaigne, Bordeaux, 2017), and was a guest speaker at the event 'Kubricks 2001: 50 Jahre A Space Odyssey' (Deutsches Filmmuseum, Frankfurt am Main, 2018). He has been running the website 2001italia.it since 2013.