Arthur C. Clarke

Sir Arthur Charles Clarke (born 16 December 1917) is a British author and inventor, most famous for his science-fiction novel ', and for collaborating with director Stanley Kubrick on the film of the same name. Clarke is considered one of the Big Three of science fiction, along with Robert A. Heinlein and Isaac Asimov.

The adapted screenplays of Arthur C. Clarke

2001: A Space Odyssey

Clarke's first venture into film was the Stanley Kubrick-directed '. Kubrick and Clarke had met in 1964 to discuss the possibility of a collaborative film project. As the idea developed, it was decided that the story for the film was to be loosely based on Clarke's short story "The Sentinel", written in 1948 as an entry in a BBC short story competition. Originally, Clarke was going to write the screenplay for the film, but this proved to be more tedious than he had estimated. Instead, Kubrick and Clarke decided it would be best to write a novel first and then adapt it for the film upon its completion. However, as Clarke was finishing the book, the screenplay was also being written simultaneously.

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Due to the hectic schedule of the film's production, Kubrick and Clarke had difficulty collaborating on the book. Clarke completed a draft of the novel at the end of 1964 with the plan to publish the novel in 1965 in advance of the film's release in 1966. After many delays the film was released in the spring of 1968, before the book that was credited to Clarke alone "Based on a Screenplay by Stanley Kubrick and Arthur C. Clarke". Clarke later complained that this had the effect of making the book into a novelisation, that Kubrick had manipulated circumstances to downplay his authorship. For these and other reasons, the details of the story differ slightly from the book to the movie. The film is a bold artistic piece with little explanation for the events taking place. Clarke, on the other hand, wrote thorough explanations of "cause and effect" for the events in the novel. Despite their differences, both film and novel were well received. http://www.boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=2001.htm http://movies.go.com/moviesdynamic/movies/movie?id=479433 http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/search-handle-url/index%3Ddvd%2526field-keywords%3Dspace%2520odyssey%2526results-process%3Ddefault%2526dispatch%3Dsearch/ref%3Dpd%5Fsl%5Fov%5Ftops-1%5Fdvd%5F4138659%5F1/104-5000595-8600727

Related Topics:
1964 - 1965 - 1966

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In 1972 Clarke published The Lost Worlds of 2001, which included his account of the production and alternate versions of key scenes. The "special edition" of the novel ' (released in 1999) contains an introduction by Clarke, documenting his account of the events leading to the release of the novel and film.

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2010: The Year We Make Contact

In 1982 Clarke continued the 2001 epic with a sequel, '. This novel was also made into a film, 2010: The Year We Make Contact, directed by Peter Hyams for release in 1984. Due to the political environment in America in the 1980s, the novel and film present a Cold War theme, with the looming tensions of nuclear war. The film was not considered to be as revolutionary or artistic as 2001, but the reviews were still positive and it has earned over 40 million dollars since its release in North America. http://www.boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=2010.htm

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Clarke's email correspondence with Hyams was published in 1984. Titled ', and co-authored with Hyams, it illustrates his fascination with the then-pioneering medium and its use for them to communicate on an almost daily basis at the time of planning and production of the film. The book also includes Clarke's list of the best science-fiction films ever made.

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Rendezvous with Rama

Early in the millennium, actor Morgan Freeman expressed his desire to produce a film based on Arthur C. Clarke's novel Rendezvous with Rama. The film was to be produced by Freeman's production company, Revelations Entertainment.http://www.revelationsent.com/flash/index.html Freeman has not given up on the project, but claims that funding for a movie of this type is hard to procure. A popular science-fiction web site (Sci Fi Wire) posted an interview with Freeman about his troubles with the production. http://www.scifi.com/scifiwire/art-main.html?2003-03/14/12.00.film

Related Topics:
Morgan Freeman - Revelations Entertainment

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