[HN Gopher] A book Stanley Kubrick didn't want anyone to read is...
       ___________________________________________________________________
        
       A book Stanley Kubrick didn't want anyone to read is being
       published
        
       Author : SirLJ
       Score  : 145 points
       Date   : 2024-05-05 11:40 UTC (2 days ago)
        
 (HTM) web link (www.theguardian.com)
 (TXT) w3m dump (www.theguardian.com)
        
       | napierzaza wrote:
       | So the guy writing the book wanted Lolita to be a lot hornier?
        
         | dirtyhippiefree wrote:
         | He refers to deviations from the book...I see what you did
         | there...
        
         | block_dagger wrote:
         | Well, she is a "nymphette" in the book. That novel is so well
         | written and not even in the author's native language.
        
           | aaplok wrote:
           | Actually in the book she is really not. She is a 12 year old
           | child being sexualised in the mind of the narrator. She
           | doesn't _act_ seductively, the narrator sees whatever she
           | does in a perverted way.
           | 
           | There is a famous interview on French TV where Nabokov says
           | as much (in French) [0]
           | 
           | [0] https://www.ina.fr/actualites-ina/mon-archive-
           | preferee/mon-a...
        
             | themaninthedark wrote:
             | I suppose that your interpretation would be dependent on if
             | you are postmodernist or not and if you believe in the
             | death of the author.
             | 
             | I have never read the book or seen the file but the work is
             | very interesting to me as when it get brought up people
             | will start claiming all sorts of things from it.
             | 
             | I think the most insane from my point of view was when I
             | heard/saw(can't remember if online or in person) an
             | argument that all men are perverted and want to rape
             | children. The proof was quotes from Lolita....
        
               | aaplok wrote:
               | I recommend you to read the book, I think that the film
               | doesn't (can't?) do it justice. The book being written
               | from the point of view of the narrator is crucial: the
               | reader is put in the mind of a pedophile (we are told
               | that he is in jail). I also suggest imagining the girl as
               | a child, before puberty at the start of the story.
               | 
               | The case study of Lolita is interesting because there are
               | two competing readings. The fact that the character is
               | often associated to seduction and jailbait in popular
               | culture is arguably symptomatic of a culture of blaming
               | the victims of this kind of crimes. Obviously not all men
               | are perverts but I sometimes wonder if those of us who
               | aren't don't underestimate the number of those who are.
        
         | fermigier wrote:
         | Kubrick's film simplified the psychological depth and literary
         | nuances of Vladimir Nabokov's 1955 novel, adapting its themes
         | and character dynamics to fit both the cinematic form and the
         | censorship norms of its time. Constrained by the Hays Code and
         | societal taboos of the 1960s, it toned down the explicitness of
         | the sexual elements of the story. The was more overt humor and
         | satire in the film, partly as a way to address the censorship
         | regulations of the time. This approach changes the tone from
         | the intensely personal and tragic to something lighter and more
         | accessible, though still deeply disturbing.
         | 
         | Note that Nabokov was credited as the screenplay writer for the
         | movie (Kubrick is uncredited).
         | https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0056193/fullcredits/
        
           | ghaff wrote:
           | The criticism seems pretty fair. Not sure how filmable the
           | book is especially given the constraints of the time.
        
             | trwm wrote:
             | The constraints of today would be much worse. I'd go so far
             | as saying that making even Kubricks version today would be
             | impossible.
        
               | ghaff wrote:
               | That may be fair. Arguably different constraints. But
               | would probably be pretty radioactive especially with a
               | Lolita at an age faithful to the book.
        
           | Detrytus wrote:
           | How does that compare to 1997 "Lolita" with Jeremy Irons?
        
       | victorstanciu wrote:
       | I guess it shows that no matter how objectively successful you
       | are, your skin can still be see-through thin.
        
         | dmonitor wrote:
         | It sounds like Kubrick felt betrayed. He collaborated with the
         | author extensively up until receiving a draft.
        
         | miguelazo wrote:
         | I was thinking the same, but it's easy to do so when it's not
         | _your_ life's work-- especially something that took so much
         | time and dedication. The quote about the Lolita film was pretty
         | damning, and imagine the shame of accepting that you had
         | botched the adaptation of such a prolofic novel.
        
           | iainmerrick wrote:
           | So what, everyone is supposed to pretend that everything
           | Kubrick touched was completely perfect?
           | 
           | That would be a hagiography, not a serious artistic critique.
           | 
           | It seems more than fair to point out that Kubrick was touchy
           | and thin-skinned. You could argue that it's an inseparable
           | part of his overall genius -- but only if you're allowed to
           | criticise him in the first place!
        
       | ashurov wrote:
       | So, why can they publish it now? His death doesn't nullify the
       | agreement, does it?
        
         | ggm wrote:
         | I would think it does, yes. It's personal rights, not concrete
         | assets.
         | 
         | Dead people have no right to privacy in law as I understand it.
         | 
         | Not a lawyer, not in the economies involved in this.
         | 
         | "it depends"
        
           | Kinrany wrote:
           | Was it because of the privacy laws that they needed his
           | agreement in the first place?
           | 
           | It seems he contributed, so I assume otherwise.
        
             | bhaney wrote:
             | My understanding is that they _didn 't_ need his agreement
             | in the first place, but they voluntarily entered into a
             | contract with Kubrick that gave him the final say on
             | publishing in exchange for him agreeing to be interviewed
             | for the book.
        
               | ggm wrote:
               | Contracts to personal affairs not real property, I
               | believe would terminate on his death unless deliberately
               | constructed to use e.g. a trust. I repeat, I'm not a
               | lawyer.
        
               | FrustratedMonky wrote:
               | If they didn't need his agreement, but entered into
               | contract anyway that gave so much power. Why? Seems like
               | we are still missing something here. The article didn't
               | get into the legal side.
        
               | bhaney wrote:
               | I said it in my previous comment and it's also in the
               | article. The "why" is so Kubrick would agree to be
               | interviewed for the book. They gave him publishing veto
               | rights that he otherwise wouldn't have had in exchange
               | for that, which is pretty common and typically well worth
               | it.
        
           | tiborsaas wrote:
           | > Dead people have no right to privacy in law as I understand
           | it.
           | 
           | Grim reminder to better control privacy while we are still
           | alive.
        
             | notnaut wrote:
             | I mean. Or a relieving reminder that we have nothing to
             | hide but our skeletons and everything comes out in the
             | wash.
        
           | chefkd wrote:
           | Does that mean dead people have no copyright rights as well?
           | Curious what makes image likeness different than any other
           | asset
        
             | ggm wrote:
             | In some economies, Copyright falls to the heirs or assigned
             | owner for a stated period after death. From the University
             | of Melbourne:
             | 
             |  _Copyright generally lasts 70 years after the death of the
             | creator or after the first year of publication, depending
             | on the type of material and /or when it was first
             | published: Artistic works, including photographs, Dramatic
             | works._
             | 
             | https://copyright.unimelb.edu.au/shared/basic-principles-
             | of-...
        
         | prmoustache wrote:
         | I don't think a contract still stands when one of the party do
         | not exists anymore.
         | 
         | And dead people don't have rights past what they have decided
         | on inheritance and even this can be sometimes overturned by
         | justice. This is the reason wealthy people sometimes give their
         | wealth to a foundation but if the foundation doesn't find a way
         | to make it sustainable and money runs out it also ends up
         | dissolved regardless of the cause it was bound to serve.
        
           | toast0 wrote:
           | Generally, a party has successors that would benefit from the
           | contract.
           | 
           | But without seeing the contract, we don't really know.
           | Perhaps it only bound the original publisher, and not the
           | author, but some other contract had bound the author to only
           | publish through that publisher, and that publication contract
           | is no longer in force. Who knows, the article doesn't tell
           | us.
        
       | fastball wrote:
       | Doesn't seem that controversial. A publisher commissioned a book
       | about the films of Stanley Kubrick, agreeing that Kubrick would
       | be able to veto publishing of the text if he didn't like it.
       | 
       | He didn't like it, didn't sign off on it, and the book was never
       | published.
        
         | textfiles wrote:
         | From the article, it appears the big sadness for the author was
         | he wrote back and said he was happy to work with Kubrick to
         | discuss getting it to where he was more comfortable with it,
         | Kubrick never responded, and then sent lawyers. That's all
         | that's rough for the writer, here.
        
           | fastball wrote:
           | That's not very surprising either though.
           | 
           | I don't know many artists who would enjoy the prospect of
           | justifying their art to someone who was skeptical of its
           | merit from the start.
           | 
           | Not saying Kubrick did the right thing, just that it seems
           | very on-brand for most people in his position.
        
           | ZiiS wrote:
           | The problem is, if you have a veto and don't use it; you are
           | basically endorsing the book.
        
             | chefkd wrote:
             | I'm confused isn't sending lawyers basically the same thing
             | as a veto? Or am I misunderstanding
        
               | ZiiS wrote:
               | I this case the author agreed that Kubrick would read the
               | final book and agree if it should be published. This
               | removes the option he chose with all other books of
               | simply ignoring them. Very different then Streisand
               | effecting an independent author.
        
           | lelanthran wrote:
           | > From the article, it appears the big sadness for the author
           | was he wrote back and said he was happy to work with Kubrick
           | to discuss getting it to where he was more comfortable with
           | it, Kubrick never responded, and then sent lawyers. That's
           | all that's rough for the writer, here.
           | 
           | Very. Who knows how many hours of sweat he poured into it,
           | only to get it shelved when it was done.
           | 
           | This, IMHO, is a good reason to recommend everyone read The
           | Mom Test at some point in their adult life.
           | 
           | What _probably_ happened was that the author got the initial
           | agreement from Kubric by being so persistent that Kubric
           | agreed just to make them go away. A lukewarm reception from
           | someone is just their polite way of saying  "no".
        
             | latexr wrote:
             | > This, IMHO, is a good reason to recommend everyone read
             | The Mom Test at some point in their adult life.
             | 
             | It is not. These things aren't comparable. Most people will
             | get nothing out of that book.
             | 
             | > What _probably_ happened was that the author got the
             | initial agreement from Kubric by being so persistent that
             | Kubric agreed just to make them go away.
             | 
             | Why speculate to excuse Kubrick and victim blame Hornick,
             | when the answer is in the article? He was commissioned to
             | write the book:
             | 
             | > He had been commissioned to write the very first book on
             | Kubrick by cinema specialist The Tantivy Press more than 50
             | years ago.
        
           | yareal wrote:
           | Saying I'd like to work with you to get this shippable is
           | saying "I'm willing to let you put in an enormous amount of
           | free labor as an editor."
        
         | smitty1e wrote:
         | The question raised is whether one can be as great an artist as
         | Kubrick without succumbing to taking oneself too seriously.
        
           | tacocataco wrote:
           | We enjoy art from artists deep in addictions or mental health
           | crisis.
           | 
           | Art can be morbid. Like an ongoing disaster that unfolds
           | before us, we can't look away sometimes.
        
         | FrustratedMonky wrote:
         | From article it sounded like the clause to 'veto' was really
         | meant as a fact check. Kubrick would be able to get chance to
         | leave sections out, or clarify. That he just rejected the whole
         | thing was the surprise.
         | 
         | Like if someone hired you to do a Web Site, and there was of
         | course some stipulation that you get to review it. Then you
         | complain the buttons are the wrong color and just reject the
         | whole thing.
        
       | Hard_Space wrote:
       | I have to say that the 'critical' quotations from the book are
       | uncharacteristic of a project where the target of the biography
       | (and this is a kind of biography) is cooperating and
       | participating - and particularly when they have veto.
       | 
       | Most writers know the score in this respect: unauthorized
       | coverage is harder-hitting and may be more accurate, whereas
       | authorized coverage has inside scoops, but is unlikely to be
       | allowed to contain very critical barbs.
        
         | FrustratedMonky wrote:
         | Think the issue is, Kubrick was so sensitive, that even the
         | most mild criticism was taken badly. So the author knows the
         | score, and treads lightly, and is still jumped on.
         | 
         | The author was hired to do a 'nice' book, and was pretty nice
         | but the customer was a Prima donna and rejected it anyway.
         | 
         | Think we've all encountered bad customers like this.
        
           | Hard_Space wrote:
           | I don't know - I think the author was hoping for tremendous
           | indulgence from Kubrick when attempting to get him to green-
           | light quotes like:
           | 
           |  _' There are good things in Lolita. But in too many respects
           | it squanders, impoverishes and conventionalises its source
           | material, draining it of its complexity, nymphetry and
           | eroticism.'_
           | 
           | It's valid criticism, because it's a point of view, but I
           | wouldn't expect anything quite that harsh in a collaborative
           | work.
        
             | FrustratedMonky wrote:
             | Since Kubrick had opportunity to respond, he was able to
             | respond to the draft, he could have used it as opportunity
             | to explain the censorship of the time that lead to that
             | outcome. The article even mentions that later Kubrick
             | tended to agree with that view of Lolita.
        
       | makingstuffs wrote:
       | Fun fact you can visit Stanley Kuberick's old house in North
       | London (near Elstree).
       | 
       | You can't go inside, mind. It is surrounded by lots of farm and
       | woodlands, however, so theres that.
        
       | lqet wrote:
       | > "There are good things in Lolita. But in too many respects it
       | squanders, impoverishes and conventionalises its source material,
       | draining it of its complexity, nymphetry and eroticism."
       | 
       | I think anyone who has read Nabokov's novel would agree that
       | Lolita _really_ isn 't a great adaptation of the book. I think it
       | is by far Kubrick's weakest film. There is a deep cynic darkness
       | to the book that the movie misses completely. In later
       | interviews, Kubrick always tried to downplay this and only
       | admitted that the movie lacked eroticism:
       | 
       | > "If I could do the film over again, I would have stressed the
       | erotic component of their relationship with the same weight
       | Nabokov did," the director admitted. "But that is the only major
       | area where I believe the film is susceptible to valid criticism."
       | 
       | I sometimes wonder how a Lolita movie by Francis Ford Coppola
       | would've turned out (maybe with Gene Hackman).
        
         | cubefox wrote:
         | There are also things that are still in the realm of the
         | acceptable in a book but that would go too far in a movie.
        
           | JKCalhoun wrote:
           | Perhaps in 1962, a big studio. But if _Lolita_ had been
           | tackled just a decade later when we had entered in the
           | anything-goes era of filmmaking....
        
         | onemoresoop wrote:
         | There's another version of Lolita by Adrian Lyne starring
         | Jeremy Irons. It's quite a bit different having that it was
         | filmed in a different era.
        
       | lqet wrote:
       | I highly recommend the documentary _Filmworker_ to anyone
       | interested in Stanley Kubrick 's character.
       | 
       | It's about Leon Vitali, the actor who played Lord Bullingdon (the
       | neurotic brother of Lady Lyndon) in _Barry Lyndon_. After filming
       | Barry Lyndon, he quit acting and became Kubricks personal
       | assistant  / factotum for over 20 years. Although some would say
       | he was Kubrick's personal slave. It is utterly shocking to see
       | how badly Kubrick treated him at times. Vitali did the work of
       | 4-5 assistants, completely neglected his family, destroyed his
       | health, spend the best years of his life re-cutting scenes until
       | 5 in the morning while listening to Kubrick's violent tantrums,
       | and ended his successful acting career for him. But apparently he
       | was paid so little by Kubrick that he ran into financial trouble
       | after the director's death. Yet for some mysterious reason, he
       | remained completely loyal to his master until his own death in
       | 2022.
        
         | voltaireodactyl wrote:
         | There are many people who believe that something outside
         | themselves is more important than their own personal happiness
         | or even basic sustenance/stability. Whether that's something to
         | be admired, damned, or merely observed -- it would seem Vitali
         | made choices for reasons worth it to him, personally.
        
           | crazydoggers wrote:
           | Lots of people make bad choices for themselves and others due
           | to psychological control, manipulation, and/or abuse, such as
           | people who willingly join cults.
           | 
           | I'm not saying that is what happened to Vitali, but I think
           | it's the open question being alluded to.
           | 
           | It is important to be aware and concerned about cultures or
           | industries that foster cult like personality leaders.
        
           | slibhb wrote:
           | Exactly right. But people today are extremely resistant to
           | this fact.
           | 
           | It's very clear that many, many people would give up nearly
           | anything -- including years of their lives -- to work with
           | someone as talented as Kubrick. Is that crazy? I wouldn't do
           | it, but others would.
        
           | kjs3 wrote:
           | He had a family. While clearly he thought it was worth it
           | personally, he wasn't making choices just for himself.
        
         | ycombinete wrote:
         | Sounds like a two person cult.
        
           | bitwize wrote:
           | Sounds like an Apple employee to Steve Jobs.
        
         | throw310822 wrote:
         | > Lord Bullingdon (the neurotic brother of Lady Lyndon)
         | 
         | It's her son from the first marriage.
        
           | lqet wrote:
           | You are right of course!
        
         | blaerk wrote:
         | Leons daughter Vera talked a bit about her father, his
         | relationship to Kubrick, art and family in "Sommar i P1", a
         | Swedish national radio show where people in "public interest"
         | talk about whatever for an hour or so. It's pretty interesting
         | and provide some insights, but unfortunately it's only in
         | Swedish
         | 
         | https://sverigesradio.se/avsnitt/1319508#
        
           | raymond_goo wrote:
           | can someone post some cliffnotes please?
        
         | itsthejb wrote:
         | Also very enjoyable, Emilio D'Alessandro's book Stanley Kubrick
         | and Me
        
         | moosemess wrote:
         | How is this any different than say working at Tesla today?
        
           | sangnoir wrote:
           | Shades of that Twitter executive who shared a picture of
           | herself in a sleeping bag at the office, presumably doing
           | "hardcore engineering". She later got fired regardless.
        
             | scottyah wrote:
             | Anecdotally, some managers like to show how they're present
             | physically yet they don't actually contribute anything.
        
         | freejazz wrote:
         | He also played the red cloak.
        
       | xchip wrote:
       | Nice sales trick
        
         | latexr wrote:
         | Not publishing a book at the height of the subject's
         | popularity, but instead launching it half a century later when
         | the money and recognition won't matter is a nice sales trick?
        
           | psychoslave wrote:
           | Sure, maybe this would have provided more attention then, but
           | also more troubles to the author and publisher. So the "look
           | that stuff that a famous person absolutely didn't want this
           | to be read by anyone" is still a good click bait.
        
       | amanzi wrote:
       | I love Kubrick movies, but my one bit of criticism I'd give (from
       | me - a random guy on the internet, who's never made a movie), is
       | that both 2001 and The Shining both require the viewer to have
       | read the respective books to fully appreciate them.
       | 
       | I know it's a cliche to harp on about the ending of 2001, but it
       | really does make a lot more sense after having read the book,
       | which in turn makes the movie a lot more enjoyable.
       | 
       | With The Shining, you really need to read the book to fully
       | understand the back-story to Jack's issues, and Danny's
       | premonitions. I was amazed at how much the movie left out, and
       | after reading the book, the movie is so much better.
        
         | mateus1 wrote:
         | I do not think you have to fully rationally grasp the ending
         | for 2001 to be an impactful film.
         | 
         | I'd argue it is a masterpiece _because_ of that uneasiness and
         | befuddlement and that is one of the ways it leaves a mark on
         | you.
        
           | onemoresoop wrote:
           | I agree with the befuddlement aspect that makes the mind
           | rummage on it from time to time long after watching the
           | movie. It's an incomplete resolution that causes us to think
           | about the movie. It could be frustrating at times but I guess
           | that's the whole point.
        
         | ghusto wrote:
         | Agreed, and I'd be comfortable calling this incompetence.
         | 
         | Triggers cinemaphiles to hear a director that's supposed to be
         | ome of the finest being called incompetent, but I can't see how
         | it's defendable. He failed at the _one thing_ a film is
         | supposed to do.
        
           | bondarchuk wrote:
           | Cinemaphiles TRIGGERED by this simple critique! (come on
           | man...)
        
           | latexr wrote:
           | > Agreed, and I'd be comfortable calling this incompetence.
           | 
           | You do know that in the case of 2001, the movie and book were
           | done simultaneously, right? There's no failure of adaptation
           | because it wasn't one. It makes no sense to fault the movie
           | by comparing with the book in this case.
           | 
           | > He failed at the _one thing_ a film is supposed to do.
           | 
           | Which is what? Entertain? Make a profit? Be culturally
           | relevant to an extent that is still felt decades later?
           | 
           | There is no rule which says a movie has to be a coherent
           | linear story that spoon feeds you to be significant, good, or
           | artistically relevant.
        
             | ghusto wrote:
             | > You do know that in the case of 2001, the movie and book
             | were done simultaneously, right? There's no failure of
             | adaptation because it wasn't one. It makes no sense to
             | fault the movie by comparing with the book in this case.
             | 
             | Yes, I know that. I don't see how it makes it a nonsensical
             | comparison though. One form was done well, the other
             | incompetently. It's not like they marketed it as "hey, you
             | really need both for the full experience".
             | 
             | >> He failed at the _one thing_ a film is supposed to do.
             | 
             | > Which is what? Entertain? Make a profit? Be culturally
             | relevant to an extent that is still felt decades later?
             | 
             | To convey something in the audio/visual format. It doesn't
             | get more basic. Whether that's for pure entertainment,
             | artistic intent, whatever.
             | 
             | > There is no rule which says a movie has to be a coherent
             | linear story that spoon feeds you to be significant, good,
             | or artistically relevant.
             | 
             | Neither is there anything saying that you're safe from
             | criticism if your work isn't coherent either. There was a
             | very clear, coherent story to 2001, and Kubrick failed to
             | convey it.
        
           | garyrob wrote:
           | > but I can't see how it's defendable
           | 
           | Perhaps the key here is what YOU don't see, not the merit of
           | the film.
           | 
           | 2001 was ranked the 6th greatest movie of all time in the
           | Sight and Sound poll, which is probably the world's most
           | respected poll of industry professionals.
           | 
           | And it was ranked #1 by their poll of directors:
           | https://www.bfi.org.uk/sight-and-
           | sound/directors-100-greates...
           | 
           | Could it possibly be that these directors know something you
           | don't?
           | 
           | For my own part, it's been my favorite movie since I first
           | saw it in 1968 and I've probably seen it 20 times since then.
        
             | ghusto wrote:
             | Appealing to authority doesn't negate what I said. There
             | was a clear narrative to the story, Kubrick failed to
             | convey it. That is poor film making.
        
               | garyrob wrote:
               | Ooookay. You are the world's greatest expert in film-
               | making. Thank you.
        
           | WalterBright wrote:
           | I've heard that 2001 was very much enjoyed by people who
           | would come to the theater high. The visuals were a great trip
           | for them, and helped make the movie a big success!
           | 
           | P.S. I've seen the movie countless times (never high), and
           | sometimes I'll put it on as simply moving wallpaper.
        
           | tacocataco wrote:
           | Art is subjective. There is nothing wrong with having your
           | own interpretation
        
         | tambourine_man wrote:
         | "Leaving things out" is sometimes one of cinema's greatest
         | strengths.
         | 
         | I'll never forget a documentary I saw on martial arts film
         | editors. They will deliberately cut the very frame where a fist
         | would touch an actor's face. And not at all because it was
         | badly choreographed. Instead, they realized that the strongest
         | punch is the one you never see. It's the one you complete with
         | your imagination. And there's no competing with that.
         | 
         | Likewise, leaving some of the plot to be inferred by the
         | audience is a powerful narrative mechanism.
        
         | eggoa wrote:
         | It would have been tough since the book and movie for 2001 were
         | created concurrently.
        
         | pinewurst wrote:
         | I'm pretty sure Clarke's 2001 book was post-screenplay and
         | possibly post-movie.
        
           | munchler wrote:
           | No. It was developed concurrently with the film version and
           | parts of it were even based on Clarke's earlier short stories
           | (e.g. The Sentinel).
        
           | WalterBright wrote:
           | The book was written concurrently with the movie. See the
           | book "The Lost Worlds of 2001" for various versions of it.
           | 
           | https://www.amazon.com/Lost-World-2001-Arthur-
           | Clarke/dp/0451...
        
         | munchler wrote:
         | I have to disagree with you about 2001. Both endings were epic,
         | but Clarke's vision in the book was more rational and
         | scientific, while Kubrick's is more impressionistic and
         | mystical. As a result, the two effectively diverge at the end
         | and the book doesn't really "explain" the movie. (Although I
         | certainly do encourage everyone to read the book as well.)
        
         | slibhb wrote:
         | Those movies don't require you to read the books. They leave
         | something to the imagination, which some people don't like. But
         | other people do like it!
        
         | freejazz wrote:
         | >is that both 2001 and The Shining both require the viewer to
         | have read the respective books to fully appreciate them.
         | 
         | They do not in any way require that, at all.
        
       | numeromancer wrote:
       | Stanley Kubrick was one of that kind of people who cannot take
       | criticism of anything they do.
        
         | JKCalhoun wrote:
         | That's too bad. I understand that as a young filmmaker with an
         | ego, but your supposed to lose that ego as you mature both
         | emotionally and as an artist.
        
           | psychoslave wrote:
           | As surprising as it might be, narcissistic personality
           | disorder won't go away simply as people age, especially if
           | they live in a social bubble where they are sent overall
           | continuous positive feedback that society is very pleased at
           | the global result of their behavior.
        
             | onemoresoop wrote:
             | Do you suppose Kubrick may have suffered from narcissistic
             | personality disorder?
        
               | psychoslave wrote:
               | Actually, no.
               | 
               | Apart that he was a film maker, I don't know anything
               | about him. If anything, this thread thrown more claims on
               | the person than I have ever read before, as I couldn't
               | care less about topics that can perfectly fit gossip
               | magazines.
               | 
               | Plus not being a doctor, I'm not even qualified to make a
               | compelling diagnosis.
               | 
               | All that said, cliches don't come from anywhere, and
               | tyrannic personalities who destroy everybody around them
               | as sure as they get social glorification for practicing
               | some art is a well established one, so I wouldn't be
               | surprised that it would be the case. However I would
               | rather have Picasso coming to my mind.
        
           | Towaway69 wrote:
           | Directors to a certain extent need to dominate, it's the
           | nature of the job.
           | 
           | If you're the one organising 30 to 50 people on a set with a
           | good many of them also being egos (think actors for example),
           | you have to make hard decisions and to certain extent be that
           | unpopular leader.
           | 
           | On the other hand, there also plenty of soft spoken directors
           | that use soft power to manage a set.
           | 
           | Just want to point out that directing isn't an easy job at
           | times and how that gets handled various from director to
           | director.
        
             | onemoresoop wrote:
             | Kubrick movies left a big impact on me, whatever he did it
             | seems to have worked. But I also think he was a bully who
             | it was very hard and damaging to work with.
        
       | danjoredd wrote:
       | Good, if Stanley was going to bully them into not publishing I am
       | glad it got published eventually. I like Stanley Kubrick's films
       | but every time I read about him he comes off as a generally
       | unlikeable guy.
        
       | dmead wrote:
       | I am a literate adult. When I read this title I saw Aurthur C.
       | Clarke's face.
        
       | Nostromos wrote:
       | If you don't want your art to exist beyond you, destroy it. Once
       | you die, whatever remains is fair game.
        
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