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Stanley Kubricks2001: A Space Odysseyis rightfully hailed as a milestone in science fiction filmmaking, but even its most ardent fans would have a tough time explaining the final scenes of the movie.
In a video posted to theEyes On CinemaYouTube page, as discoveredby io9, we see footage of filmmaker Junichi Yaoi on the telephone in 1980, with someone who is purported to be Kubrick. This was all during Yaois documentary on the paranormal, so a natural interview subject would have been Kubrick, who was makingThe Shiningat the time. During the interview, though, Yaoi asks the director what exactly happens at the end of2001, to which Kubrick gives a full explanation, as transcribed by io9:
The Pennsylvania native may be best known for starting The Hershey Chocolate Company in good old Hershey, PA, but he got his start in candy long before hooking up with chocolate. His founded his first company, The Lancaster Caramel Company, when he was 30 years old.
Most modern chocolate comes fromforastero beans,which are considered easy to growthough the crillo bean is believed to make much tastier chocolate.
It wouldnt be Walkens only flirtation with sci-fi: Decades later,his name was batted aroundfor the part of James Kirks great-great grandfather in aStar Trekprequel film project that never got off the ground.
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As with Vader, Lucas was free to mix a physical performer with a voiceover artist for the role of C-3PO. Unlike Vader, he opted to use one man to accomplish it. Anthony Daniels voiced the chirping droid, although animation legend Mel Blanc was considered for a time. It was Blanc who told Lucas that Daniels had abetter takeon the robot.
Marie didnt just love cake, she also loved chocolate, and hot chocolate was frequently served at the Palace of Versailles. It wasnt just the taste everyone lovedit was also believed that the drink was an aphrodisiac.
Droll, droopy-eyed character actor Christopher Walken first garnered notoriety for 1978sThe Deer Hunter,where he played a psychologically immobilized Vietnam veteran. Prior to that, he was one of several actors who visited with Lucas to read for the part of Han Solo, by some accounts doing so well that at one point Lucasnarrowed his choiceto between Walken and Ford: Ford, who had been in LucassAmerican Graffitiand was helping feed lines to auditioning actors, got the part.
Dr. James Baker and John Hannon founded their chocolate companylater called Walter Baker Chocolatein 1765. Thats where the term Bakers Chocolate comes from, not to denote chocolate thats just meant for cooking.
The brooding British actor has been in some of the biggest franchises of the past 20 years, including Christopher NolansBatmantrilogy and theHarry Potterfilms. Lucas wanted him to voice General Grievous in 2005sEpisode III: Revenge of the Sith, and Oldman was apparently agreeableuntil he found out that Lucas was shooting the movie as a non-union project. In apress release, Oldmans management company stated that the snag that made it impossible is that this film is being made as a non-SAG (Screen Actors Guild) film. George Lucas and gang agreed to hire Gary Oldman if he in fact would become a union buster, and perform work illegally overseas. As a resident of America, and also a member of SAG, out of respect and solidarity with the other members, he could not and would not consider violating his unions rules.
As the most contentious character in the entireStar Warssaga, bumbling Gungan sidekick Jar Jar Binks has been a mixed blessing for Ahmed Best, the actor cast for his voice and motion-capture work in 1999sEpisode I: The Phantom Menace. According to Best, though, Jar Jar could have been even more infamous. Discussing the role withVicein 2015, Best said Lucas had taken him to a Michael Jackson concert and told him that Jackson was toying with the idea of playing the alien. [Lucas] said, Well, Michael wanted to do the part but he wanted to do it in prosthetics and makeup likeThriller. George wanted to do it in CGI. My guess is ultimately Michael Jackson would have been bigger than the movie, and I dont think he wanted that.
Milk and dark chocolate come from the cacao bean, which grows on the cacao tree (Theobromacacao), an evergreen from the familyMalvaceae(other members of the family include okra and cotton). This makes the most important part of the sweet treat a vegetable.
Anyway, when they get finished with him, as happens in so many myths of all cultures in the world, he is transformed into some kind of super being and sent back to Earth, transformed and made into some sort of superman. We have to only guess what happens when he goes back. It is the pattern of a great deal of mythology, and that is what we were trying to suggest.
The Aztecs loved and valued the cacao bean so highly that they used it as currency during the height of their civilization.
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Although it hit theaters in 1999, filming onThe Phantom Menacebegan in 1997, with pre-production and auditions taking place in 1996. Thats reportedly when rapper Tupac Shakurpursuedthe role of Mace Windu, the Jedi Knight role that ultimately went to Samuel L. Jackson.
Already a huge star thanks to a string of 1970s hits includingThe Godfather,Serpico, andDog Day Afternoon, Al Pacino apparently had the luxury of being offered the role of Solo without having to audition. Star Warswas mine for the taking but I didnt understand the script, Pacinoadmittedin 2013.
Happy World Chocolate Day! In celebration of this most delicious holiday, lets brush up on our chocolate knowledge.
Despite its regal background and revered status, the cacao bean doesnt just magically turn into chocolateit takes about400 beansto make a single pound of the good stuff.
Cacao was brewed in both Mexican and Aztec culture, though the result was nothing like todays hot chocolateit was a typically bitter concoction that was often used for ceremonial occasions like weddings.
Its believed that inhabitants of these areasfirst started cultivating the beanas far back as 1250 BCE, and perhaps even earlier.
Before landing the part of Freddy Krueger in theNightmare on Elm Streetseries, Robert Englund tried his luck at auditions for the role of Han Solo. He didnt get it, but hedid tell his roommateabout the space film that was about to start shooting, and that he should try out for a part: Mark Hamill decided he was right and paid Lucas a visit.
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Ive tried to avoid doing this ever since the picture came out. When you just say the ideas they sound foolish, whereas if theyre dramatized one feels it, but Ill try.
After cacao and chocolate wereintroduced to Europe, traveling Spanish friars took it to various monasteries, handily spreading it around the continent.
Despite its Amazonian roots, most cacaonearly 70 percent of the worlds supplycomes from Africa. The Ivory Coast is the largest single producer, providing about 30 percent of all the worlds cacao.
That may sound impressive, but thetropical beautiesonly make viable cacao beans for just 25 years of their lifespan.
The 1990s boy band *NSYNC is an anomaly on the list, in part because they were more than just considered for small roles inStar Warsthey actually filmed them. Lucass daughters were so enamored with the group at the time their father was shootingAttack of the Clonesthat he invited them to the set to appear as background characters. Justin Timberlake and Lance Bass declined, but Joey Fatone, Chris Kirkpatrick, and JC Chasez showed up for fittings. All three played Jedi Knights during the battle on Geonosis. The parts were cut for reasons unknown, although fan backlash may have played a part; Fantones familylater insistedhe could still be seen during the fight sequence.
Daniel Peter created the tasty treat in 1875after eight years of trying to make his recipe work. Condensed milk ended up being the key ingredient.
Obviously, the Lucas castled by Mark Hamill, Harrison Ford, and Carrie Fisherworked out just fine. But those inaugural sessions led to a line of performers in the next decades who either auditioned or were strongly considered for roles across the multi-part franchise. With the eighth feature film,Rogue One, arriving in theaters this week, were taking a look at 15 performers who once had a chance at co-starring with a Wookiee.
In 2013,CreedandFantastic Fourstar Michael B. Jordantold pressthat he had gone on an audition forEpisodeVII: The Force Awakens. Jordan had previously worked for Lucas in 2012s Tuskegee Airmen dramaRed Tails, but the creator was not involved in the Disney-produced sequel.
Holiday makers are constantly on the hunt for a reason to munch on chocolate, so the calendar offers plenty of excuses to buy a bar. July 7 is also Chocolate Day, a nod to the historical tradition that the day marks when chocolate wasfirst brought to Europeon July 7, 1550, though a number of sources argue that it might have hit the continents shores as far back as 1504, thanks to Christopher Columbus. Official day or not, we do know that chocolate first arrived in Europe some time in the 16th century. Theres also National Milk Chocolate Day on July 28, International Chocolate Day on September 13, and, of course, National Bittersweet Chocolate With Almonds Day on November 7.
Jodie Fosters role as a teenaged prostitute in Martin ScorsesesTaxi Driverapparently impressed Lucas enough that the 15-year-old actress wasbrought into read for the role of Princess Leia. Discounting the awkwardness of any possible flirtation with a 30-something Solo, she was passed up in favor of 19-year-old Carrie Fisher, who had only one movie credit (Shampoo) to her name at the time.
Its been more than 40 years since George Lucas and director Brian De Palma opened theircommunal casting sessionsforStar WarsandCarrie, pooling their resources in a combined search for actors who could carry either Lucass space opera or De Palmas adaptation of the Stephen King novel.
Leonardo DiCaprio had just come off starring in the then-highest-grossing film in history,Titanic, when George Lucasapproached himto a play a young Anakin Skywalker in 2002sEpisode II: Attack of the Clones. He declined. I just didnt feel ready to take that dive, at the time, he said. The actor might have struggled a bit with the decision, since hes an avowed fan of the series who onceauctioned off a toy collectionvalued at over $100,000. Hewas even in line at 1 a.m.for the release ofPhantom Menacefigures in 1999.
They choose this room, which is a very inaccurate replica of French architecture (deliberately so, inaccurate) because one was suggesting that they had some idea of something that he might think was pretty, but wasnt quite sure. Just as were not quite sure what do in zoos with animals to try to give them what we think is their natural environment.
Because it doesnt contain cocoa solids or chocolate liquor,white chocolateisnt chocolate in the strict sense. But it does contain parts of the cacao beanmainly cocoa butter.
Chocolate is the only edible substance to melt around 93 F, just below the human body temperature. Thats why chocolate melts so easily on your tongue.
The French leader demanded that wine and chocolate be made available to him and his senior advisers even during intense military campaigns.
After conceiving of a wizened old Jedi who would train Luke Skywalker in the squalid swamps of Dagobah for 1980sThe Empire Strikes Back, George LucasaskedMuppet creator Jim Henson to perform the Yoda puppet for his cameras. I thought he was the best puppeteer, Lucas once said. But Hensons schedule didnt allow for it, so the job went to a colleague at the Muppet Workshop, Frank Oz, instead.
Although Lucas needed a complete cast assembled for the start of principal photography in 1976, he had the comparative luxury of deliberating on how best to personify respirator enthusiast Darth Vader. David Prowse was in the suit on set, but his lines could be dubbed over later. For a time, mercurial director and former radio starOrson Welleswas considered. Deciding Welless voice was too recognizable, Lucas opted for James Earl Jones instead.
Eddie Redmayne won an Oscar in 2015 for the Stephen Hawking biopicThe Theory of Everything, but that honor didnt do him much good during auditions forThe Force Awakens. Aspiring for the part of Kylo Ren, Redmayne says the production was so secretive that he really had no idea who the character was or how he fit into the story. To compensate, he tried doing a Darth Vader imitation. Thats a childhood dream crushed, he earlier this year.
The Fry and Sons shop concocted what they called eating chocolate in 1847 by combining cocoa butter, sugar, and chocolate liquor. This was a grainy, solid form of the treat.
As io9 points out, this Kubrick video may be a little too good to be true, especially since theres no definitive visual evidence that hes actually talking. Still, the explanation does hold weight when taken with Clarkes writing, but after 50 years and countless essays and theories on the subject, its doubtful that this will put an end to the discussions on one of the most complex endings in all of film.
The idea was supposed to be that he is taken in by god-like entities, creatures of pure energy and intelligence with no shape or form. They put him in what I suppose you could describe as a human zoo to study him, and his whole life passes from that point on in that room. And he has no sense of time. It just seems to happen as it does in the film.
Way back in 1842, the Cadbury company made the very first chocolate bar. The company is still in existence, and is perhaps most famous for their delightful Easter-themed treats.
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Obviously, thats a lot to take in, but it jives with what Arthur C. Clarke wrote in the2001book, both of which were developed at the same time. In the books ending, astronaut Dave Bowman is very obviously on display in an artificial environment, which resembles a swanky hotel room. Only this room is furnished with dummy drawers that cant open, ornamental books that are simply attached to shelves, and hollow televisions, much like an IKEA showroom; the zoo connection is much clearer as a result as Clarke walks readers through this strange, faux-human habitat.
From the dizzyingly psychedelic stargate sequence to the strange hotel room and the appearance of the nebulous Star Baby,2001signs off with far more questions than answersquestions that have been discussed and dissected for 50 years. But now we might have a concrete explanation of just what was going on from Kubrick himself.
During auditions for the originalStar Wars, Lucas seemingly had few reservations about who he might consider for the roles. Fatigue, however, would sometimes get to him. At one point, Sylvester Stallonewalked intothe room and walked right back out after assessing that a tired Lucas wasnt going to be a receptive audience. Guys in space dont have this kind of face, he said. I get it.
The words areinterchangeable!Its all one bean.