Recommended reading - The Stanley Kubrick Archives, by Alison Castle (2008):

The Stanley Kubrick Archives

By Alison Castle.

Made in cooperation with Jan Harlan, Christiane Kubrick and The Stanley Kubrick Estate.

Published by TASCHEN.

Published 2008.

ISBN-10: 3822822841

ISBN-13: 9783822822845

Preface:

The making of this book has been something of an odyssey: two years of traveling through time and space to the heart of Stanley Kubrick's universe, where I not only had the unprecedented privilege of having access to his archives, but also the invaluable guidance of those who were closest to him. Kubrick's wife, Christiane, and executive producer, Jan Harlan, were not only immensely generous in allowing me to "excavate" the various parts of his St. Albans estate where the archives are stored, but they were also exceedingly kind, supportive, and helpful during the entire process. In addition, I was very fortunate to have the aid of Anthony Frewin and Leon Vitali, Kubrick's longtime assistants, who tirelessly answered my questions and offered invaluable advice and assistance.

Endeavoring to uncover each and every artifact that could cast light upon Kubrick's creative process, I scoured the archives, gathering the most illuminating items, from bits of paper covered with hurriedly scribbled notes to photographs taken by Kubrick on the sets of his films. Hunched over hundreds upon hundreds of contact sheets with my loupe, I was able to select images that had never been printed before, let alone seen; rifling through screenplay drafts I found references to scenes that were never filmed, and among the photos I found images of sequences that were abandoned; reading Kubrick's notes and letters, I discovered not only clues to his thought processes but also his curious love affair with various types of stationery, typewriters, and pens. Searching through the often chaotic mountains of material was an exhilarating experience: each and every "discovery" was like a minor miracle, a defining moment, an epiphany.

Part 2 of this book features the result of this gleaning: an eclectic collection of material that represents the nuts and bolts of Kubrick's creative history. To help guide readers through the expedition is a selection of articles and essays by noted Kubrick scholars as well as a generous selection of material "from the horse's mouth" (i.e. Kubrick letters, essays, and interviews), refuting the popular misconception that Kubrick was a recluse who didn't or wouldn't talk about his work.

The items presented in Part 2 offer valuable insight into Kubrick's filmmaking process, though the most important material from the archives is unquestionably the films themselves. Kubrick once said, "The test of a work of art is, in the end, our affection for it, not our ability to explain why it is good." Part 1 offers plenty of opportunities for readers to test their affection: from Killer's Kiss to Eyes Wide Shut, Kubrick's twelve feature films are represented by a vast selection of stills (not including his first feature, Fear and Desire, which he withdrew from circulation). The stills, which were scanned directly from the film reels, are presented chronologically, unadulterated and without text.

In an interview about 2001: A Space Odyssey, Kubrick made a statement that reflects one of his central tenets: "Reactions to art are always different because they are always deeply personal.... [T]he film becomes anything the viewer sees in it." The goal of this book is to allow readers the chance to explore Kubrick's archives intuitively, absorbing the various puzzle pieces and assembling them into a personal interpretation. This is, I hope, the way Stanley Kubrick would have wanted it.

– Alison Castle, Paris, 2004.

On this day in music history - Strauss: Four Last Songs, by Renée Fleming (2008):

Strauss: Four Last Songs

Album by Renée Fleming,

was released on July 24, 2008.

Track list:

Frühling; September; Beim Schlafengehen; Im Abendrot; Ach! Wo war ich? Tot? ...; Ein Schönes war; Es gibt ein Reich; Verführung, op. 33 no. 1; Freundliche Vision, op. 48 no. 1; Winterweihe, op. 48 no. 4; Zueignung, op. 10 no. 1; Zweite Brautnacht!; Eugene Onegin--Letter Scene; Rusalka--Song to the Moon; Otello--Willow Song...Ave Maria; Thaïs--Ah! Je suis seule...Dis-moi que je suis belle; Capriccio--Moonlight Music & Final Scene.

On this day in movie history - JCVD (2008):

JCVD

directed by Mabrouk el Mechri,

written by Frédéric Bénudis, Mabrouk el Mechri and Christophe Turpin,

was released in France on June 4, 2008.
Music by Gast Waltzing.

Cast:

Jean-Claude van Damme, François Damiens, Zinedine Soualem, Karim Belkhadra, Jean-François Wolff, Anne Paulicevich, Saskia Flanders, Dean Gregory, Kim Hermans, Steve Preston, Paul Rockenbrod, Alan Rossett, Jesse Joe Walsh, Isabelle de Hertogh.

On this day in movie history - Synecdoche, New York (2008):

Synecdoche, New York

directed and written by Charlie Kaufman,

was released at the Cannes Film Festival in France on May 23, 2008.
Music by Jon Brion.

Cast:

Philip Seymour Hoffman, Catherine Keener, Sadie Goldstein, Tom Noonan, Peter Friedman, Charles Techman, Josh Pais, Daniel London, Robert Seay, Michelle Williams, Stephen Adly Guirgis, Samantha Morton, Hope Davis, Emily Watson, Dianne Wiest, Frank Girardeau, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Amy Wright, Paul Sparks, Jerry Adler, Lynn Cohen, Deirdre O'Connell, Kat Peters, John Rothman, Amanda R. Phillips, Frank Wood, Deanna Storey, Elizabeth Marvel, Laura Odeh, Mark Lotito, Daisy Tahan, Erica Fae, Raymond Angelic Sr., Cliff Carpenter, Timothy Doyle, Amy Spanger, Nick Wyman, Portia, Dan Ziskie, Chris McGinn, Robin Weigert, Gerald Emerick, Alvin Epstein, Rosemary Murphy, Tim Guinee, Kristen Bush, Greg McFadden, Barbara Haas, William Ryall, Joe Lisi, Alice Drummond, Michael Higgins, Stanley Krajewski, Tom Greer, Christopher Evan Welch, Michael Medeiros, Pete Brennan, David Collihan, Brie Eley, Alan Gary, Don Gomez, Brigitte Hagerman, Scott Hatfield, Takako Haywood, Kyle Knauf, Brittany Krall, Amelia Martin, Rebecca Merle, Brenna Palughi, Sal Rinella, Tomasz Smolarski, Misha Zubarev.

On this day in movie history - Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull (2008):

Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull

directed by Steven Spielberg,

written by David Koepp,

based on a story by George Lucas and Jeff Nathanson,

was released in the United States on May 20, 2008.
Music by John Williams.

Cast:

Harrison Ford, Cate Blanchett, Karen Allen, Shia LaBeouf, Ray Winstone, John Hurt, Jim Broadbent, Igor Jijikine, Dimitri Diatchenko, Emmanuel Todorov, Ilia Volok, Pasha D. Lychnikoff, Andrew Divoff, Venya Manzyuk, Alan Dale, Joel Stoffer, Neil Flynn, Chet Hanks, Brian Knutson, Dean Grimes, Sasha Spielberg, Nicole Luther, Sophia Stewart, Chris Todd, Dennis Nusbaum, T. Ryan Mooney, Audi Resendez, Helena Barrett, Carlos Linares, Gustavo Hernandez, Maria Luisa Minelli, Nito Larioza, Ernie Reyes Jr., Jon Valera, Kevin Collins, Robert Baker.

On this day in movie history - Two Lovers (2008):

Two Lovers

directed by James Gray,

written by James Gray and Richard Menello,

was released at the Cannes Film Festival in France on May 19, 2008.

Cast:

Joaquin Phoenix, Vinessa Shaw, Gwyneth Paltrow, Samantha Ivers, Anne Joyce, Elliot Villar, Craig Walker, Carmen M. Herlihy, Donald John Hewitt, Christian Albrizo, Isabella Rossellini, Moni Moshonov, Julie Budd, Bob Ari, Iain J. Bopp, Jeanine Serralles, Miguel Rivera, Clinton C. Ingram, Doug Wright, David Ross, Elias Koteas, Shiran Nicholson, Marion McCorry, Saidah Arrika Ekulona, David Cale, Sy Fader, Joel Horwitz, John Baker, Kathryn Gerhardt, Luis Dalmasy Jr., Alex Felix, Geronimo Frias, Mari Koda, Pedro Saint Morillo, Anthony Ramos, Diosmer Reynoso, Edwige Sam, Franco Bulaon, Renee Fishman, Bianca Giancoli, Nick Gillie, Andrew Ginsburg, Brian Hopson, RJ Konner, Evan Lewis, Jose Edwin Soto, Uziman.

On this day in music history - The 10,000 Steps, by Biomusique (2008):

The 10,000 Steps

Album by Biomusique,

released May 13, 2008.

Track list:

Ananda; Caeli et Terra; The Tender Greens; Persephone; Ohroo; Redemption; Empty Spaces; 10,000 Steps.

On this day in music history - Unspoken, by Jami Sieber (2008):

Unspoken

Album by Jami Sieber,

released April 22, 2008.

Track list:

Opening; Benediction; The River Between; Night Song; 6 O'Clock News; The Moon Inside; Listening; A Dialogue of Silk; Broken Open; Unspoken; Returning.

On this day in movie history - 88 Minutes (2007):

88 Minutes

directed by Jon Avnet,

written by Gary Scott Thompson,

was released in the United States on April 18, 2008.
Music by Edward Shearmur.

Cast:

Al Pacino, Alicia Witt, Leelee Sobieski, Amy Brenneman, William Forsythe, Deborah Kara Unger, Ben McKenzie, Neal McDonough, Leah Cairns, Stephen Moyer, Christopher Redman, Trilby Glover, Damien Leake, Brendan Fletcher, Michael Eklund, Kristina Copeland, Tammy Hui, Vicky Huang, Bob Stephenson, Philip Moon, Victoria Tennant, Michal Yannai, Paul Campbell, Brenda McDonald, Carrie Genzel, Kaj-Erik Eriksen, Heather Dawn, Julian Christopher, Tim Henry, Mike Dopud, Brad Turner, Michael Adamthwaite, Jean Montanti, Tim Perez, Marcus Hondro, Rebecca Chunn, Elan Even, Celeste White Steele, Linley Subryan.

On this day in movie history - Ghost in the Shell (1995):

Ghost in the Shell

directed by Mamoru Oshii,

based on the Manga comic book series by Masamune Shirow,

was released in the United States on March 29, 1996.
The DVD of the updated Ghost in the Shell 2.0 version was released in the United States on January 12, 2010.

Voice cast:

Atsuko Tanaka, Maaya Sakamoto, Akio Ōtsuka, Iemasa Kayumi, Yoshiko Sakakibara, Kōichi Yamadera, Tamio Ōki, Yutaka Nakano, Tesshō Genda, Mitsuru Miyamoto, Kazuhiro Yamaji, Shigeru Chiba.

On this day in movie history - The Last Lullaby (2008):

The Last Lullaby

directed by Jeffrey Goodman,

written by Max Allan Collins and Peter Biegen,

based on the short story by Max Allan Collins,

was released in the United States on March 28, 2008.
Music by Ben Lovett.

Cast:

Tom Sizemore, Sasha Alexander, Sprague Grayden, Bill Smitrovich, Ray McKinnon, Omid Abtahi, Randall Batinkoff, Jerry Hardin, Smith Cho, Paul Rae, Ritchie Montgomery, Jason Konopisos-Alvarez, Jacob Tolano, Edrick Browne, Odessa Feaster, Kenneth Wayne Bradley, Steve Krieger, Mary Alfred Thoma, Candy Richardz, Marcus Shultz, Breanna Brooks, Mellinda Craig, Brad Dison, Ron Fagan, Evan Helmuth, Rodney Hill Jr., Lori Knighton, Jessica "Ameelah" McDaniel, Terry Milam, Ashley-Anne Parker, Jeannie Perrin, Shawnia Willson.

On this day in music history - Chakra Sound Meditation, with Tryshe Dhevney (2008):

Chakra Sound Meditation

Album by Tryshe Dhevney,

released March 5, 2008.

Track list:

Introduction to the Chakra Sound Meditation; Chakra Sound Meditation Instructions; Chakra One – I have; Chakra Two – I Feel; Chakra Three – I Act; Chakra Four – I Love; Chakra Five – I Speak, I Am Heard; Chakra Six – I See; Chakra Seven – I Know – Harmonic Blessing With Crystal Singing Bowls.

On this day in music history - Chakra Tones Home Audio Course, by Tryshe Dhevney (2008):

Chakra Tones Home Audio Course

Sound Shifting
The Practical Art Of Authentic Expression
Album by Tryshe Dhevney,
released February 26, 2008.

Track list:

Introductions; Chakra Tones Introductions; The Tones And Posture; First Chakra; Second Chakra; Third Chakra; Fourth Chakra; Fifth Chakra; Sixth Chakra; Seventh Chakra; Sonic Blessing.