mattropolis
New Member
Does anyone know if any of the monolith's from the film 2001 exist or are on display? Has anyone done replicas of them or know how/of what the film versions were made?
Monolith from 2001
- Thread starter mattropolis
- Start date
ProfKSergeev
Sr Member
The film versions were wood rubbed down with graphite. On set, they had to be swaddled in blankets between takes, as the surface was quite prone to blemishes.
DrStranglove
Sr Member
Yes.
I tried to build one in like 2000 with info from this board and a few who worked on the set. My prototype worked well... for a few hours. It was amazing how hard it was to keep up even in 1/4th scale.
newworld
Well-Known Member
The general rule of thumb with all 2001 props is that most were destroyed post production at Kubrick's instruction. I've never heard of a monolith surviving and if the graphite coating story is correct, it was probably a mess to deal with. If one does survive, I'd love to hear about it.
Best. Movie. Ever.
Best. Movie. Ever.
SKIN JOB 66
Sr Member
A replica of the monolith is part of the Kubrick Archives Exhibition that is traveling around the world... and I think it landed in the US these last days... this to say, GO see it !!! (saw it when it stopped in Paris, the 2001 part of the exhibition displayed amazing original props, photos, artwork + some replicas, among them Hal and the monolith)
Fred
Fred
BAlinger15
Community Founder
I believe that the piece in the traveling Kubrick exhibit you're referring to is actually an art piece created in the 1960s, of different proportions to the 2001 monolith. The description says something like "this piece could have inspired the monolith in the film", or something similar.
You can see photos from the exhibition's recent LA opening on our Facebook page:
Stanley Kubrick Exhibit Opening - Oct 24 2012 | Facebook
Best,
Brandon
You can see photos from the exhibition's recent LA opening on our Facebook page:
Stanley Kubrick Exhibit Opening - Oct 24 2012 | Facebook
Best,
Brandon
DrStranglove
Sr Member
Brandon's right. That thing is no where near 1x4x9
Demetrios2177
Well-Known Member
Hello, all!
You DID come across this, I suppose?
ThinkGeek :: Space Monolith Action Figure
I'm thinking of buying one...
Cheers!
You DID come across this, I suppose?
ThinkGeek :: Space Monolith Action Figure
I'm thinking of buying one...
Cheers!
Awesome
Contec
Master Member
Wrong Stanley Kubrick movie :lol
Melwicker1
Member
Great webpage. but why did the museum guys HAVE to open up the Star Child prop's skull area like that to show the mechanical parts?
A lot of us fans wouldn't really want to see the head of a sculpture opened up like that...it really destroys the "suspension of disbelief" that comes with viewing a human-like sculpture. Not only that, but it's also unnerving and uncomfortable to see the prop like that. In those LA facebook photos, it looks like a pitiful broken doll that has had the top of it's head removed.
I would much rather see the Star Child prop with it's head intact and in one piece, like it was filmed in the movie. The museum exhibits outside the US had shown the prop with it's head intact...why doesn't the LA museum do so?
Anyway, I read that there was a transparent acrylic Plexiglas version of the monolith made...but Stanley Kubrick rejected it because it didn't look very good, (The acrylic block had a greenish tinge to it, so it wasn't crystal clear enough for Kubrick's tastes.) and he subsequently decided to make the monolith opaque black. The transparent version of the monolith survived and was used for something else.
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Colonialone
Member
My favorite is how they state 0 points of articulation. lol
battersbody
New Member
Hopefully this will eventually make its way back to London.
Melwicker1
Member
I don't know if the monolith action figure is officially licensed or not. It's still a cute idea, though.
CaptCBoard
Well-Known Member
Monolith proportions in the film were not 1x4x9. Clarke put that into the novel. Proportions for the film version are more like .70x4x9.
The lucite monolith was sold to a company that has it in their lobby, somewhere in England.
The lucite monolith was sold to a company that has it in their lobby, somewhere in England.
hmmm
This might display well with that......
Caesar 5" Figure - The Rise of the Planet of the Apes Figures
Doh! I take it back.
Monolith is too small with Caeser being 5" tall.
•Dimensions: .75" x 3" x 6.75"
Must be a apeman figure out there that is the right size for the monolith.
ProfKSergeev
Sr Member
Its fate is slightly more bizarre:
"The 12 foot Perspex (Plexiglas) block Kubrick rejected as the monolith was later 'recycled' in 1977 (with a royal motif) as a monument to the Queen's Silver Jubilee."
Source: 2OO1:exhibit - Science & Technology: Big Brother Files
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