Kubrick's lost prologue to 2001

In 1966, Stanley Kubrick filmed interviews with 21 of the world's premier scientific minds - including Isaac Asimov, Margaret Mead, Sir Bernard Lovell, and Freeman Dyson - and asked them about extraterrestrial life and the future of humanity. Their responses were to comprise the prologue to 2001: A Space Odyssey, but Kubrick ultimately discarded the idea due to the film's length. The interviews were never screened, and the footage has never been found. But recently, the transcripts were (by Kubrick's long-time assistant Tony Frewin), and will be published November 8 in the U.K. as Are We Alone? The Stanley Kubrick Extraterrestrial Intelligence Interviews. (No U.S. release date has been announced.)

This of course begs the question of what other treasures have yet to be discovered in the legendary Stanley Kubrick Archives, which were the subject of my favorite article from last year, my favorite book of this year (discussed in this fascinating interview with Christiane Kubrick), and the incredible touring Stanley Kubrick Exhibition (in Melbourne starting November 25; you can take a virtual tour online).