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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 Stratfor

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?

dwighttk 9y ago
at some point it must have become a point of pride...
- fenwick67 9y ago
  Certain actors don't view their films either, intentionally.
  - ghostbrainalpha 9y ago
    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.
    - efficacydivis 9y ago
      What evidence do you have that artists lie like this? I don't think the incentives you speak of really exist.
      - randcraw 9y ago
        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."
        toomanybeersies 9y ago
        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".
      - coldtea 9y ago
        >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.
mieseratte 9y ago
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.
- contravariant 9y ago
  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.
  - fdej 9y ago
    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.
- hvidgaard 9y ago
  Don't you think that is counter productive if you're actively trying to improve?
  - nothrabannosir 9y ago
    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.
  - mieseratte 9y ago
danso 9y ago
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-scores-are-not-very-m-1798255699 https://news.avclub.com/john-williams-says-his-star-wars-sco...
jedberg 9y ago
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".

dwighttk 9y ago

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

fenwick67 9y ago
Certain actors don't view their films either, intentionally.
- ghostbrainalpha 9y ago
  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.
  - efficacydivis 9y ago
    What evidence do you have that artists lie like this? I don't think the incentives you speak of really exist.
    - randcraw 9y ago
      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."
      - toomanybeersies 9y ago
        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".
    - coldtea 9y ago
      >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.

mieseratte 9y ago

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.

contravariant 9y ago
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.
- fdej 9y ago
  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.
hvidgaard 9y ago
Don't you think that is counter productive if you're actively trying to improve?
- nothrabannosir 9y ago
  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.
- mieseratte 9y ago

danso 9y ago

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-scores-are-not-very-m-1798255699 https://news.avclub.com/john-williams-says-his-star-wars-sco...

jedberg 9y ago

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".