STANLEY KUBRICK - DOUGLAS TRUMBULL'S MENTOR

At TIFF Bell Lightbox

Fans of director Stanley Kubrick are in for a huge treat. The Stanley Kubrick exhibition comes to the TIFF Bell Lightbox in Toronto beginning October 31st and will run until January 25th. 

I had the opportunity to see this phenomenal exhibit when it was housed at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA) and I was absolutely blown away.  It is truly one of the most interesting and comprehensive exhibits I have ever seen.  Drawing on extensive archives from Kubrick's home and workplace, the exhibition features rare photographs and letters, original props and costumes, screenplays, production materials, and cameras from his nearly 50-year career. It was eerie yet completely cool to see the axe from The Shining sticking out of the wall, or the amazing costumes from Barry Lyndon,  but what got my complete and undivided attention for well over an hour was Kubrick's personal letters, scripts and notes from Lolita, one of his most controversial films to date. Absolutely fascinating.

Priceless items such as the 'Starchild' from 2001: A Space Odyssey, the dresses of the ghostly sisters from The Shining, the 'Born to Kill' helmet of Private Joker from Full Metal Jacket, and the authentic model of the 'War Room' in Dr. Strangelove are just a few of the other many pieces on display.

Visitors will also learn about Kubrick's famously uncompleted projects Napoleon and The Aryan Papers. Materials such as research papers, costume designs, and shooting scripts document how far Kubrick had developed these projects, and testify to his comprehensive and meticulous working style.

The exhibition also spotlights Kubrick's early documentary shorts and his work as a photojournalist for Look magazine from 1945 to 1950.

2001 A Space Odyssey

Stanley Kubrick: A Cinematic Odyssey

Presented in conjunction with the exhibition Stanley Kubrick, this retrospective of Kubrick's cinematic oeuvre includes a rare screening of the director's early short films. Many of Kubrick's groundbreaking films will be screened and introduced by cinematic legend's associated with each film.  Included are The Shining, Eyes Wide Shut, A Clockwork Orange, and Full Metal Jacket. 

Also on the agenda, the screening of 2001: A Space Odyssey, Kubrick’s science-fiction masterpiece on November 7th  will be introduced by legendary special effects pioneer and filmmaker Douglas Trumbull, who will share his memories of working on the film. On November 8th audiences will be treated to a special presentation and talk from Douglas Trumbull on the Future of CInema. The legendary special effects pioneer and filmmaker will discuss his impressive career, his innovative technological contributions to the film industry and his predictions about the future of cinema, concluding with a special screening of his new short film UFOTOG.  

I had the pleasure of interviewing Douglas Trumbull during the recent Toronto International Film Festival. Here is a short excerpt from that interview where he told me that if it wasn't for Stanley Kubrick, he might not have pursued a career in film.   

Douglas Trumbull

Douglas Trumbull is a visionary master of special effects, whose work changed the industry standard. He designed the groundbreaking special effects for such science fiction classics as 2001: A Space Odyssey (68), which won the Academy Award for best photographic effects, Close Encounters of the Third Kind (77), andBlade Runner (82). He also wrote and directed Silent Running , Brainstorm (1983), and Back To The Future – The Ride (1990). Trumbull received the prestigious Gordon E. Sawyer Academy Award from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences in 2012.