Hal 9000 facts
While investigating facts about Hal 9000, I found out little known, but curios details like:
In 2001: A Space Odyssey, HAL 9000 incorrectly predicts a 'mate in two' in a chess game with the astronaut. Fans have speculated whether this was a filmmaking error, a test by HAL of the human’s reliability, or an early sign that HAL is malfunctioning. Kubrick died without revealing the answer.
The Halcyon, a $2500, LaserDisc-based video game console from 1985. It was entirely voice-activated, and the manufacturer claimed it was as 'intelligent' as the HAL 9000. It never saw commercial release, and fewer than a dozen still exist.
In my opinion, it is useful to put together a list of the most interesting details from trusted sources that I've come across. Here are 15 of the best facts about Hal 9000 I managed to collect.
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The voice actor behind HAL 9000 in 2001: A Space Odyssey has never seen the movie
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The HAL 9000, the iconic sentient machine with a male voice from Kubrick's 2001: A Space Odyssey was originally slated to be named Athena and have a female voice.
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HAL 9000 singing Daisy Bell as he is being shut down is based on the first song a computer ever sang
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An animated, short documentary produced by the National Film Board of Canada influenced Stanley Kubrick to begin work on 2001: A Space Odyssey. The narrator of the short became the voice of the HAL 9000.
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Anthony Hopkins' voice for Hannibal Lecter is a combination of HAL 9000 and Katharine Hepburn.
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Asteroids' names contain a number according to the sequence in which they were discovered. The 9000th asteroid we've found is named "9000 Hal", in honor of the movie 2001: A Space Odyssey
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HAL 9000 (2001: A Space Odyssey) came about by using the letters before IBM
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A university professor (along with 2 PhD students) hacked into Washington D.C.'s official internet voting site and rigged write-in's to cast a vote for HAL 9000.
What is true about hal 9000?
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HAL 9000's "Daisy" was a tribute to a real IBM singing "Daisy"
The character of the The Red Queen in the Resident Evil film series was created by the director Paul W. S. Anderson as an homage to 2001: A Space Odyssey's HAL 9000 - source
HAL 9000 from 2001: A Space Odyssey is meant to represent IBM as each letter in HAL is one off from IBM - source
