The following article was taken by me from the Longevity Report. It was
written by Robert Ettinger and tells of his fascinating experiences with
Stanley Kubrick regarding cryonics. I thought with the current discussions
on film this would be timely.
sincerely,
John Grigg
Kubrick kaput
or 1999 - An Annihilation Odyssey
by Robert Ettinger ettinger@:aol/com http://www.cryonics.org
Film director Stanley Kubrick has died at age 70--a mere stripling. I guess
he never grew up. Recent comers to cryonics--those within the last 25 years
or so--may be mildly amused or bemused by the following reminiscences.
In the mid Sixties, when THE PROSPECT OF IMMORTALITY was getting some press,
Kubrick was impressed by it and gave away dozens of copies to his friends.
Also interested was a fellow named Ben Schloss. Ben was a biochemist, Ph.D.,
but mainly a wannabee entrepreneur. He learned of Kubrick's interest, and
arranged a meeting in New York among Kubrick, some of Kubrick's rich
friends, some physicians and cryobiologists, Schloss, and myself. The idea
was to try to arouse some practical support for cryonics, although in
Schloss' mind the idea was mainly to mine a little gold.
The meeting produced nothing noticeable at the time. I didn't ask for
anything specific (a mistake, perhaps)--just tried to motivate them to save
their keesters. The physicians and cryobiologists said it wouldn't work and
even if it did it was a bad idea and it shouldn't be tried until first a lot
of people had died and been revived and lived forever. Schloss didn't say a
whole lot at the time, but later, as it transpired, he was successful in
putting a small hit on Kubrick for seed money for a company promoting
cryonics or/and other life extension ideas.
As I understand it, the money disappeared into Schloss' pocket and Kubrick
was annoyed. Schloss hung around for a while on the fringes of cryonics and
antisenescence, trying to sell biological age evaluation systems, then up
and died. Kubrick decided it was more fun to play with films and disappeared
into the wilds of England.
The only specific reservation about cryonics that Kubrick ever made to me
was the problem in getting prompt attention in an emergency. "You can't even
get a plumber when you need him." But obviously the main problem was the
same one as with other people, and celebrities in particular--too much
trouble, too unpleasant, too likely to make your friends look at you funny,
too hard to get institutional support, and too many other things to do that
seem more pressing and more enjoyable.
He made his choice, but now he won't have to live with it.
However, the adults among us are beginning to realize that maybe there
really will be a tomorrow, and maybe it really will be different and better,
and sometimes if you want something you have to do a little work and make
some decisions that actually require thought.
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