Not a creative writer

What a strange comment. Are only people who come up with their own stories capable of human insight? Do the actors not have insight? What about when it comes to music. Are the conductors and musicians not able to express insight because they didn't write the music they are performing?

Agreed. Big fail 🧅

Absurd statement. You wouldn't say Shakespeare wasn't a creative writer because he lifted material from Plutarch's Lives. Arthur C. Clarke's "The Sentinel" is almost unrecognizable from what Kubrick did with it for 2001. I was so familiar with Kubrick's Shining that when I finally read King's novel, it was nothing like the mysterious film I had been so intrigued by. Kubrick uses source material that contains ideas that interest him, but it is only a starting point for his creative process.

First, Kubrick helped craft the screenplay of almost every single film he made. Second, from a young age Kubrick at heart was a photographer. He was fascinated by everything visual. Combined with his interest in literature, I'm sure he felt that adapting a story he admired freed him up from that concern and allowed him to focus on the visuals and screenplay (as if that weren't enough!).

You must not know much about how movies are made.

Kubrick's MO a lot of the time was to keep an eye on what other film makers were doing and to try his hand at it, to take whatever theme or genre and try to make the ultimate example of it.

2001 was his take on the 1950s/1960s outer space sci-fi trend.

Barry Lyndon was his take on the period piece.

The Shining was his take on the supernatural horror trend.

Full Metal Jacket was his take on the Viet Nam trend.

And believe it or not, A.I.'s roots go back to when he saw Star Wars and decided to do his own "futuristic sci-fi version of a classic fairytale story."

Fantastic stuff!