The Story of a Voice: HAL in ‘2001’ Wasn’t Always So Eerily Calm | Hacker News Reader

The Story of a Voice: HAL in ‘2001’ Wasn’t Always So Eerily Calm

nytimes.com

85 pointsdwighttk21 comments

This part surprised me:

Douglas Rain [the voice of HAL] himself has never seen “2001: A Space Odyssey.” For the retired actor who spent decades at the Stratford Festival and turns 90 in May, the performance was simply a job.

This was his best-known role by far, and he's never been curious, in 50 years, to see the movie?

I'm not much of an artist but for a while I was dabbling in graphic design, and would make desktop background images. Problem was, I could always spot the flaws. Every. Single. Time.

If I made art for a living, I'd want to avoid the final product. I'd surely torture myself with the little flaws that no one actually notices.

Interestingly it seems to be common for artists to try to keep perfecting their art, but very rarely is their most popular work the last one they made.

There are exceptions, notably among classical composers. Bach composed the Mass in B minor and The Art of Fugue in the last years of his life (the former completed the year before his death, the latter unfinished). They are among Bach's most complex and ambitious works, clearly made in the pursuit of artistic perfection and to eclipse all previous works (or rather, soli Deo gloria). It's debatable which of Bach's works are really most popular, but they are both up there.

Don't you think that is counter productive if you're actively trying to improve?

Maybe with graphic design, but not necessarily with acting. The death of an actor is self awareness. The last thing you want to do on stage is think about the fact you’re acting. You’re not. You’re there, you’re feeling this, this is happening. Not knowing what you look like can be very liberating.

Let your coach look at the performance and tell you what to change.

This is why Stanislavski himself, the alpha and omega of modern acting, said never to rehearse in a mirror.

I've heard, second-hand, of a friend's chef-friend back home. The chef in question is an excellent chef at a top-dollar restaurant, but he eats the simplest of meals. Bread, salami, cheese levels of simple. I heard this story around a decade ago but it has always stood out in my mind.

Being able to recognize flaws, areas for improvement, etc. are great in the context of trying to improve. Having a keen eye for these things is absolutely a boon in this context.

Unfortunately, that same keen eye makes attempting to enjoy or appreciate one's own work rather hard. Stoic as I may try to be, it would just get to me. Funnily enough, I've since moved towards enjoying cooking since my tongue is much less discerning.

Apparently, John Williams has never seen "Star Wars", and doesn't think much of his work for the movies: https://news.avclub.com/john-williams-says-his-star-wars-sco...

I was speaking to one of the stars of Star Trek once, and he mentioned that he'd never actually seen an episode of the show. When I asked him why, he said, "I'm not really a fan of the sci-fi genre, I prefer old Westerns".

at some point it must have become a point of pride...

Certain actors don't view their films either, intentionally.

From a marketing perspective..... if an Artist claims never to have seen their own work, they get a free story in the press about their 'unique' attitude. They also get a free soundbite for talk shows, or interesting anecdote for Wikipedia. On the flip side, if they do listen to their own album or whatever... no one gives a shit, or if they do it too much, they are considered an egomaniac. Everyone laughs at Kanye for listening to his own records for enjoyment.

My point is... most artists are incentivized to lie about this behavior.

You can reply to this, but probably shouldn't. I don't have time to check my comments replies, because I'm off doing really important stuff.

What evidence do you have that artists lie like this? I don't think the incentives you speak of really exist.

>What evidence do you have that artists lie like this?

Practical human experience would probably be enough.

>I don't think the incentives you speak of really exist.

They sound totally reasonable, and on par of what I know of how artists/interviews and so work (from stints in the media).

Here's a casual laugh at an artist admitting to listen their own production:

"Later on in the bit, Ansari talks about visiting West at his house and finding him enjoying his own album 808s and Heartbreak. "I was like, 'Are you listening to your own album in your own house bopping your own head?' He was like, 'Yo, these beats are dope.'"

Most humble brag that they don't consider (their biggest works) anything special, they say that they never listen to them after production, that they always look to the "next album" and so on.

Actors famously have big egos. What egoist misses a chance to hear audiences ooh and ahh at their work? It's much more likely that Rain saw the movie in public a dozen times, but knows it's sexier to downplay his interest.

"Ah shucks, 'twas no big thang."

I've never seen 2001.

Admittedly I'm not very old, but I can understand how Rain hasn't seem the movie.

He's most likely seen clips of it though. I find it very hard to believe that he's gone several decades without seeing scenes of his, unless every time he sees a scene he blocks his ears and sings "la la la".

I think if they had gone with their first take on it, where the AI even cries, the movie would be much less famous. I think that's not terribly believable. Emotion has a strong visceral component.

The possibility of somehow adding emotion to an AI was explored in I, Robot. But I suspect that robots and computers as emotionless intelligence fits with them not being organic, living creatures. I don't think it is mere coincidence that the word feeling applies to both emotion and tactile sensation.

Your comment reminds me of a character in a show called "The Good Place". The character is basically an AI construct in a human shape. There's a whole line of jokes about people forgetting that "she" isn't human, or even alive.

Anyhow, at some point in the plot, someone is going to push a button to destroy her. She reminds them that she will attempt to persuade them not to "kill" her, as part of a self-preservation protocol. Whenever someone approaches the button, she starts sobbing, pleading for her (non-existent) family, and so on.

HAL was manipulative. If the scene was carefully written to show that the crying was a form of emotional manipulation, I could see that working. Of course, the version used in the movie highlights HAL's inhuman qualities nicely. It's a tough call which would be more interesting.

I looked, and couldn't find any audio from the Martin Balsam version anywhere. I assume Kubrick sat on these tapes, which means they might be buried in his extensive archive [1], since it seems he never threw anything away. I hope they'll surface someday.

[1] http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1263704/

Paul Bettany (Jarvis from Iron man) claimed he did not watch the iron Man movies either. [0]

[0]: https://www.cinemablend.com/new/Paul-Bettany-Says-He-Never-S...

Tangentially related (probably most HN readers know this?): Back to the Future was originally filmed with Eric Stoltz as Marty. Kurt Russell auditioned for both Han Solo and Luke Skywalker.

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