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| Steven Spielberg and Harrison Ford meet the late, great Arthur C. Clarke in 1983. |
Late
yesterday evening (8th March 2008), the news came through on the
television that celebrated British science fiction writer Arthur C Clarke died
at his home on Sri Lanka, at the age of 90 (alongside the equally tragic
passing of British film-maker Anthony Minghella). As a big fan of Clarke’s work,
I was very sad to hear of his passing-not only has the world lost a literary
giant in the greatest sense- an expert not only in the field of science
fiction, but in writing in general, but we have also lost someone who was a
great fan of science fiction in other mediums as well, especially relating to
film and, like the equally acclaimed late author Isaac (I, ROBOT) Asimov, was a
huge fan of the STAR WARS films (of which Clarke’s own prior work on his short
story, THE SENTINEL, would later become expanded and filmed as the movie
generally regarded as Stanley Kubrick’s masterpiece: 2001: A SPACE ODYSSEY, and
a movie which, in itself, would inspire George Lucas in the creation of the
STAR WARS SAGA that we know and love today (and also using many of the talented
behind the scenes personnel who helped Kubrick bring his epic vision, from
Clarke’s original words, onto the screen).
As
a little dedication and tribute to Clarke, I have enclosed the late author’s
own nice little personal message to George Lucas, congratulating him when STAR
WARS celebrated its Tenth Anniversary in 1987. This appeared in the celebratory
STARLOG TRIBUTE magazine that came with the Anniversary convention event held I
Los Angeles-the inside pic with the dedication, used opposite, shows Steven
Spielberg and Harrison Ford with the author at his Sri Lankan home during a
1983 filming break for INDIANA JONES AND THE TEMPLE OF DOOM.
Here
is the full tribute:
“First, let me join a few million of you out
there and thank George for enriching my life. You did what most of us thought
was impossible-you brought our visions to the screen, and so created a new
universal myth for our times, with heroes and villains the whole world now
recognises. Of course, you were tapping the pre-existing SF culture-but if
anyone criticises you for that, George, point to the excellent precedent of W.
Shakespeare, Esq., and remind them: “Talent borrows-but genius steals.”
I don’t want to dampen the festivities by ending
on a serious note, but much as I’ve enjoyed your marvellous trilogy, my pleasure
has often been alloyed with a subsequent sense of guilt (St.Augustine, I think,
once said something like that in a slightly different context).
The very week you celebrate the 10th
Anniversary of STAR WARS, I’ll be receiving the 10th Charles A.
Lindbergh Award in Paris-and the title of the address will be “Star Peace.” I’d
like to quote briefly from it.
“We have already met Darth Vader-and he is us. If
we are to survive, we must exorcise the demons of our haunted childhood, and
grow out of our fascination with “technoporn”-gleaming weaponry and beautiful
explosions. Whatever armaments may be needed to preserve peace in the immediate
future, in the long run only political solutions can save us… The real problem
is not military hardware, but human software...”
No one is in a better position to create that
software than we science fiction fans. Let’s get on with the job!!”
Funny,
isn’t it-twenty one years on, and Clarke’s final words of his tribute still
hold much resonance today…
If
anyone out there hasn’t had a chance to read any of Mister Clarke’s work, we
seriously do recommend them, especially CHILDHOODS END (whatever happened to
the movie version to have been done by David (FIGHT CLUB, SEVEN, ZODIAC)
Fincher? Oh, what a terrific movie that would have been), RENDEZVOUS WITH RAMA,
his many excellent short stories, and, of course, THE SENTINEL/ 2001: A SPACE
ODYSSEY. All of these were groundbreaking works of literature and science
fiction literature, and still hold up well today.
Mister
Clarke, we shall miss your journeys into the unknown, the pursuit of discovery
in the worlds of science fiction and the exploration of the human, and alien,
spirit. May the Force be with you..always, and God speed!!!
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