I wonder what the original 1977 Star Wars would have looked like if Douglas Trumbull did the visual effects. Trumbull had to turn down the offer from George Lucas because he already had prior commitments.
Douglas Trumbull is a visual effects legend whose work has been seen in renowned sci-fi films, like Blade Runner, Star Trek: The Motion Picture, and Close Encounters of the Third Kind. His directorial debut was the cult classic Silent Running, and he directed one of my favorite science fiction movies, Brainstorm, which was featured in Ted's MOVIE OF THE WEEK. But perhaps his most significant work achievement was working on visual effects for 2001: A Space Odyssey.
In this day of CG effects, 2001: A Space Odyssey still looks very impressive, especially considering Stanley Kubrick's highly influential science fiction classic was released over 50 years ago. Watching the movie, you can see how it visually inspired Star Wars and other sci-fi films.
George Lucas himself said, "Stanley Kubrick made the ultimate science fiction movie. It is going to be very hard for someone to come along and make a better movie, as far as I'm concerned."
Douglas Trumbull has been widely credited for the visual effects for 2001: A Space Odyssey, but, in actuality, Stanley Kubrick envisioned them in collaboration with three other Special Photographic Effects Supervisors. Still, Kubrick gave the young and aspiring filmmaker free rein, and working on the iconic movie helped launch Douglas Trumbull's career in the film industry.
Groundbreaking is a word that gets tossed around a lot, but 2001: A Space Odyssey came out in 1968, and describing it as groundbreaking would be an understatement. With an ingenious story by Arthur C. Clarke and Stanley Kubrick about a psychotic artificial intelligence computer, 2001: A Space Odyssey remains a science fiction masterpiece, and a lot of credit goes to the incredible production design and visual effects team in which Douglas Trumbull was a member.
Rest in peace, Mr. Trumbull.
And to see what happened to the HAL-9000 and David Bowman, the sequel 2010: The Year We Make Contact is also a must-see.
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