A film
by
Mark A. Levinson
Director of the Award-Winning Film 
Watch Now
I: Introduction
Synopsis
In a blockbuster paper in 1948, Claude Shannon introduced the notion of a "bit" and laid the foundation for the information age. His ideas ripple through nearly every aspect of modern life, influencing such diverse fields as communication, computing, cryptography, neuroscience, artificial intelligence, cosmology, linguistics, and genetics. But when interviewed in the 1980s, Shannon was more interested in showing off the gadgets he’d constructed — juggling robots, a Rubik’s Cube solving machine, a wearable computer to win at roulette, a unicycle without pedals, a flame-throwing trumpet — than rehashing the past. Mixing contemporary interviews, archival film, animation and dialogue drawn from interviews conducted with Shannon himself, The Bit Player tells the story of an overlooked genius who revolutionized the world, but never lost his childlike curiosity.
II: Claude Shannon
“
Von Neumann, Turing and other visionaries gave us computers that could process information.
But Shannon gave us the modern concept of information.
The debate was not whether he was ahead of contemporaries—
the debate was if it was 20, 30, or 50 years ahead.
One of those rare moments in history where somebody founded a field, stated all the major results, and proved most of them all pretty much at once.
Just about anything that has to do with communication, storage and compression follows in some way directly from the contribution that Shannon made.
A Timeline
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Born in Gaylord, Michigan on April 30, 1916
1916
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University of Michigan, double major in mathematics and electrical engineering
1936
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MIT Master’s Thesis "A Symbolic Analysis of Relay and Switching Circuits"
Relates electric circuits and their on/off character to Boolean Algebra, the "Mathematics of Logical Thought," laying the foundation for machines to make decisions — "to think."
1938
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Noble Engineering Society Prize
1939
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Summer at Cold Spring Harbor lab in NY
1939
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Marries Norma Barzman
1940
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MIT PhD in Mathematics "An Algebra For Theoretical Genetics"
Invented an algebra to study genetic populations
1940
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Sept—Oct, 1940 Institute for Advanced Study, Princeton
1940
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25-year-old Shannon in NYC
1941
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Begins work at Bell Labs
1941
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A Mathematical Theory of Cryptography
Created field of theoretical cryptography
1945
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A Mathematical Theory of Communication
Created field of Information Theory
1948
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Marries Mary Elizabeth (Betty) Moore
1949
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First paper outlining how a computer could play chess
1950
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Presents "Theseus" a maze-solving mouse
1951
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Fellowship at the Center for Advanced Study in Behavioral Sciences at Stanford
1957
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Returns to MIT
1958
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Awarded National Medal of Science
1966
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Formally retires
1978
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"Scientific Aspects of Juggling," paper
1980
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Builds W.C. Fields drop juggling machine
1983
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First Kyoto Prize in Mathematics
1985
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Enters nursing home
1993
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Died February 24, 2001
2001
III: The βit Players
John Hutton
Claude ShannonA consummate theater actor, John Hutton was a core member of the Denver Center Theater Company for over twenty-five years, playing a diverse range of roles that ranged from Shakespeare (Othello, King Lear, Measure for Measure) to David Hare (Racing Demon). In 2014 he returned to the East Coast to stretch his muscles on the New York stage. On film, he has played Charles Sumner in Steven Spielberg’s Lincoln, and has appeared in television roles in series that include Murder of a President and Power.
Judith Ivey
Betty ShannonA versatile actress on both stage, screen and television, Judith Ivey won two Tony Awards (Steaming, Hurly Burly) and was nominated for two more (Park Your Car in Harvard Yard, The Heiress). Other Broadway and theater credits include Piaf, Bedroom Farce, Blithe Spirit, Follies, The Glass Menagerie, and The Audience (with Helen Mirren). Her film roles include Brighton Beach Memoirs, Miles from Home, Compromising Positions, Harry & Son, The Woman in Red, Sister, Sister, In Country, Hello Again, The Lonely Guy, There Goes the Neighborhood, The Devil's Advocate, What Alice Found, and Flags of Our Fathers. Among her many television roles she is most often associated with her one-year run as B.J. Poteet in Designing Women.
Kaliswa Brewster
The InterviewerA classically trained actor who studied at the prestigious American Conservatory Theater and the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art, Kaliswa Brewster has worked onstage at The Signature Theatre, Ensemble Studio Theatre, Hartford Stage (Juliet in Tony Award-winning Darko Tresniak’s Romeo and Juliet), The Williamstown Theater Festival, American Conservatory Theater, The Guthrie Theater, Geva Theatre Center, Ma-Yi Theater Company, and The Contemporary American Theater Festival. On television, she has a recurring role in Showtime's acclaimed show, Billions, starring Damian Lewis & Paul Giamatti, and can be seen in 2017 as a recurring Guest Star on ABC's upcoming new series Time After Time. She also Guest Starred in Season 7 of CBS's hit show, Blue Bloods, and appeared on The Inspectors, Netflix's Daredevil and A&E's Unforgettable.
Mark A. Levinson
Writer | Producer | DirectorBefore embarking on his film career, Mark earned a doctoral degree in theoretical particle physics from the University of California at Berkeley. In the film world, Mark has worked as a writer, director, producer, editor and sound supervisor on over 40 feature films. He has worked on such films as The English Patient, The Talented Mr. Ripley, Cold Mountain, Goya’s Ghosts, The Pledge, Seven, and The Social Network. He is the writer/producer/director of the narrative feature film, Prisoner of Time, about two former Russian dissident artists in the aftermath of the Soviet Union. Most recently, he directed and produced the award-winning documentary feature, Particle Fever, about the discovery of the Higgs boson, the so-called “God Particle,” at the CERN Large Hadron Collider outside of Geneva.
IV: Screenings
a Screening
★ Special online screening during International Symposium of Information Theory
June 26, 2020
ISIT-20 Closing Session
United States
Film screening at 11:15 am PDT followed by panel discussion with Robert Gallager, David Tse, Mark Levinson, Urbashi Mitra.
★ Virtual Screening in the time of Covid-19
June 7, 2020
Ashland Independent Film Festival
Film Festival Flix Virtual Screening, United States
Film available to stream all day including recorded Q&A with Director Mark Levinson
★ Pittsburgh Premiere
March 5, 2020
Osher Lifelong Learning Institute at Pitt
Pittsburgh, PA, United States
★ Colorado Premiere with Director Mark Levinson in attendance!
February 28, 2020
University of Colorado, Boulder
Boulder, CO, United States
Part of NEST Studio for the Arts Sievers Da Vinci Series Program http://nestcuboulder.org/davinci/
★ Texas Premiere in Houston February 22, 2020
February 22, 2020
14 Pews
Houston, TX, United States
February 3, 2020
Herbert Wertheim College of Engineering, University of Florida
Reitz Union Auditorium, Gainesville, FL, United States
★ Science on Screen
January 14, 2020
Michigan Theater
United States
★ Sponsored by Orlando Science Center and Science on Screen
January 12, 2020
Enzian Theater
Orlando, FL, United States
Panel discussion with Mark Levinson, Elaine Raybourn, Nicholas Teague, Azadeh Vosoughi
November 7 — 8, 2019
InScience International Science Film Festival
Nijmegen, Netherlands
Panel discussions with director Mark Levinson
★ Boston Area Premiere
November 3, 2019
LIDS 80th Anniversary
MIT, Cambridge, MA, United States
Panel discussion with Mark Levinson, Robert Gallager, Andrea Goldsmith
★ Science on Screen
November 1 — 3, 2019
ETOPiA
Northwestern University, Evanston, IL, United States
Each film screening will be followed by a faculty-led discussion
★ Paris Premiere
October 28, 2019
Pariscience
Auditorium du Muséum national d'Histoire naturelle Paris, Paris, France
Director Mark Levinson will participate in a Q&A via Video
★ Napa Valley Premiere!
October 15, 2019
Cameo Cinema
St. Helena, CA, United States
Director Mark Levinson will participate in a Q&A via Skype
October 10, 2019
Union College
Reamer Campus Center Auditorium, Schenectady, NY, United States
Screening at 6:30 pm open to all, first come, first serve! Director Mark Levinson will be available for Q&A after screening.
★ S.F. Premiere
September 17, 2019
Alamo Drafthouse, S.F.
San Francisco, CA, United States
Food, drinks, gifts, raffle and Q&A with director Mark Levinson and Jimmy Soni, co-author of A Mind At Play!
August 2, 2019
Computer History Museum
Mountain View, CA, United States
Q&A after screening with director Mark Levinson
★ Open air screening under the stars in the wonderful Elysée gardens
July 2, 2019
World Congress of Science Journalists 2019
Musée de l’Elysée, Lausanne, Switzerland
Director Mark Levinson will attend and participate in a Q&A
★ World Premiere
May 29, 2019
World Science Festival
Museum of the Moving Image, New York, NY, United States
Followed by a conversation discussing Claude Shannon’s legacy and the impact of his work with MIT professor Robert Gallager and director Mark A. Levinson
a Screening
V: Mailing List
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VI: More In⨍ormation
