From the diary of Arthur C Clarke, on the writing of 2001:A Space Odyssey.
August 1, 1964.
Ranger VII impacts on Moon. Stay up late to watch the first TV close-ups. Stanley [Kubrick] starts to worry about the forthcoming Mars probes. Suppose they show something that shoots down our story line? [Later he approached Lloyd’s of London to see if he could insure himself against this eventuality].
2001: short version
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kGGXoEzoVKA
It’s very brisk, but I think it loses a little something in its abbreviated form.