Monday 2 April 2018

my god, it’s full of stars

On this day fifty years ago, Stanley Kubrick’s theatrical adaptation of the Arthur C Clark science fiction novel had its initial release at the Uptown Theatre in Washington, DC.
The cultural impact of this work is nearly impossible to gauge in totality but among the many ground-breaking firsts of the film (previously here, here and here) was the appeal to the possibility of space-tourism (projected already for the turn of the millennium) and product placement and brand tie-ins with the hotel-restaurant chain Howard Johnson’s (effectively defunct in 2006) presence on the station with its Earthlight lounge. Back on Earth, there was a 2001-themed kids’ menu for years after.