Stanley Kubrick Trivia Questions

False. Kubrick was a skilled amateur chess player and even played at chess clubs, but he was never a professional; his films do show chess-like precision.

False. This is a persistent conspiracy myth. Kubrick had no involvement with NASA’s moon footage; he simply used similar lenses for 'Barry Lyndon'.

False. He was only nominated for Best Director four times total: 'Dr. Strangelove', '2001', 'A Clockwork Orange', and 'Barry Lyndon', missing several films.

True. He built massive sets at MGM-British Studios and used rotating sets and hidden harnesses to create weightlessness without visible wires, a huge technical feat.

False. The line was improvised by Jack Nicholson, and the axe-in-door shot was storyboarded by Kubrick, but the design was collaborative with production designer Roy Walker.

True. After surviving a 1947 plane crash, Kubrick developed a severe fear of flying and never flew again, forcing him to build Vietnam sets near London.

True. Kubrick reportedly had the master negatives destroyed to prevent posthumous re-editing, though Warner Bros. had other prints; he wanted final cut control from the grave.

True. He used a Zeiss 50mm f/0.7 lens originally built for NASA lunar missions, allowing him to shoot by natural candlelight with no artificial lighting.