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2001: A Space Odyssey

Bill Lile via CC/Flickr, https://bit.ly/2KKPuNf

Friday, we're talking about the film 2001: A Space Odyssey. It's such a weird and mysterious film, and it's considered Stanley Kubrick's masterpiece. When it was released 50 years ago it drove the critics crazy, but audiences loved it.

RadioWest divider.

Fifty years ago, Stanley Kubrick released his magnum opus, 2001: A Space Odyssey. A monumental undertaking for the cast and crew, it was slammed by critics as incomprehensible and self-indulgent. And yet, audiences—some in altered states of mind—lined up to see it. How it got made and the intentions behind it are the subject of a new book by artist and filmmaker Michael Benson. Benson joins us to talk about Kubrick’s ‘proverbial “really good” science fiction movie’ and its lasting legacy.

Michael Benson's writing has appeared in the New Yorker, the New York Times, and Rolling Stone. His new book is called Space Odyssey: Stanley Kubrick, Arthur C. Clarke, and the Making of a Masterpiece [Indie bookstores|Amazon|Audible].

Doug Fabrizio has been reporting for KUER News since 1987, and became News Director in 1993. In 2001, he became host and executive producer of KUER's RadioWest, a one hour conversation/call-in show on KUER 90.1 in Salt Lake City. He has gained a reputation for his thoughtful style. He has interviewed everyone from Isabel Allende to the Dalai Lama, and from Madeleine Albright to Desmond Tutu. His interview skills landed him a spot as a guest host of the national NPR program, "Talk of the Nation." He has won numerous awards for his reporting and for his work with RadioWest and KUED's Utah NOW from such organizations as the Society of Professional Journalists, the Utah Broadcasters Association, the Public Radio News Directors Association and the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences.