Last Friday night, patrons of the Hollywood Bowl took an evening off from the real 2001 and allowed themselves to be whisked into the "2001" of the imagination. With movie clips showing on a giant screen perched upon its famous "shell," the Hollywood Bowl Orchestra conducted by John Mauceri played the music of science fiction under the stars.

The program titled "The Big Picture — A Night at the Movies: 2001 and Beyond!" included themes from "Star Trek: The Motion Picture" and "Star Trek V: The Final Frontier," both of which were composed by Jerry Goldsmith, who was a special guest at the Bowl that night along with Robert Wise, director of "ST:TMP."

To a packed amphitheater, conductor Mauceri led the orchestra in a prelude that included an arrangement from "The Day the Earth Stood Still," a movie also directed by Wise. The prelude concluded with Goldsmith's themes from "Star Trek V," including "March of the Klingons." Afterwards, a clip from the original "Planet of the Apes" showed on the screen while the orchestra accompanied it with more Goldsmith-composed music. His score from "Alien" was also featured in the first half of the program.

After intermission, Mauceri re-took the stage dressed in a late 23rd-century Starfleet uniform (as first seen in "Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan"), to the audience's delight. After introducing Wise, who stood from his box seat and waved at the enthusiastic crowd, Mauceri then began conducting the orchestra to 20 minutes of clips from "Star Trek: The Motion Picture — The Director's Edition." That version of the movie, which Wise has described as his "completed vision," will be released on DVD and in widescreen VHS on November 6 (see related story here).

Film clips and soundtracks from "2001: A Space Odyssey" and "Star Wars" rounded out the evening, which the audience enjoyed so much Mauceri gave two encores (from "Star Wars" and its parody, "Spaceballs").

Joining Wise and Goldsmith at the Bowl that night were several members of the team that helped Wise realize his "Director's Edition": producer David C. Fein; restoration supervisor Michael Matessino; and visual effects supervisor Daren R. Dochterman. Jon Povill, who was associate producer on the original film, was also present with his wife Michele Billy-Povill, who served as assistant to "TMP" screenwriter Harold Livingston and appeared in the film as a lieutenant at the Epsilon IX monitoring station. Wise's wife Millicent and Goldsmith's wife Carol were also there.

UPDATE: Fellow visual effects designer Robert Abel, who also worked on "TMP," passed away on Sunday, September 23. Robert Wise Productions and STARTREK.COM extend their condolences to his family, friends and associates. Abel's family invites donations to be sent on his behalf to the American Red Cross to aid the families of victims of the Sept. 11 Loss, or to the American Heart Association or the American Cancer Society.