Harlan Ellison Has a Bone to Pick with Star Trek XI's Rumored Plot
Rumors fly! Tempers flare!
According to a recent report at Ain't It Cool News, Star Trek XI's plot hinges on elements from "City at the Edge of Forever," the Harlan Ellison-penned episode of the original series. Problem is, no one bothered to tell (or pay) Ellison.
The AICN report might just be a rumor, but -- as CHUD reports -- it's a rumor Ellison is taking seriously enough to issue a few typically cantankerous threats via his website. Read on:
Would someone go to that site, and suggest to those people there, that "City" and all its elements EXCEPT specific Star Trek characters, belong to Harlan Ellison -- author of that much-lauded episode -- by terms of the Separation of Rights clause of the Writers Guild's Minimum Basic Agreement (MBA), and if Mr. Abrams -- with whom I'm currently on strike -- or anyone else, at Paramount or elsewhere, thinks they're going to use MY creations--whether the City, the Guardians, Sister Edith Keeler, or any other elements CREATED BY HARLAN ELLISON...they had damned well better lose the unilateral arrogance, get in touch with me, or my agent, Marty Shapiro, and be prepared to pay for the privilege of mining the lode I own.
As CHUD points out, Ellison has tangled with studio brass before; his previous battles with Trek brass (not to mention the makers of Terminator) are the stuff of Hollywood legend. Here's hoping Ellison and J.J. Abrams bump into each other on the picket line!
Source: CHUD
The AICN report might just be a rumor, but -- as CHUD reports -- it's a rumor Ellison is taking seriously enough to issue a few typically cantankerous threats via his website. Read on:
Would someone go to that site, and suggest to those people there, that "City" and all its elements EXCEPT specific Star Trek characters, belong to Harlan Ellison -- author of that much-lauded episode -- by terms of the Separation of Rights clause of the Writers Guild's Minimum Basic Agreement (MBA), and if Mr. Abrams -- with whom I'm currently on strike -- or anyone else, at Paramount or elsewhere, thinks they're going to use MY creations--whether the City, the Guardians, Sister Edith Keeler, or any other elements CREATED BY HARLAN ELLISON...they had damned well better lose the unilateral arrogance, get in touch with me, or my agent, Marty Shapiro, and be prepared to pay for the privilege of mining the lode I own.
As CHUD points out, Ellison has tangled with studio brass before; his previous battles with Trek brass (not to mention the makers of Terminator) are the stuff of Hollywood legend. Here's hoping Ellison and J.J. Abrams bump into each other on the picket line!
Source: CHUD
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| Harlan Ellison |
(1-20 of 21 posts) | Reply
on Nov 13 2007 06:58 AM Ooooops... Still, bit of a bitchy post, eh? (Reply to this) |
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on Nov 13 2007 07:50 AM In reply to this comment (#1273076) Aye, but that's our Harlan. Never be moderate when you can go to an extreme! (Reply to this) |
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on Nov 13 2007 08:09 AM Wow, the writers are striking back with a vengeance this year! (Reply to this) |
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on Nov 13 2007 08:13 AM Good for him, he needs to stand up to these jerks. I find it ironic that studios are the first to cry foul, but they are the last to pay dues. (Reply to this) |
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on Nov 13 2007 08:53 AM If Star Trek XI is indeed taking Ellison's plot then, by all means, he should receive credit and be paid. That being said, however, Harlan Ellison often rants as though he invented science-fiction and every potential plotline therein. On the original Terminator, he sued because the story involved time travel and cyborgs--two elements that had appeared in Ellison's work and, apparently, had never been used in science fiction before no matter what H.G. Wells says. Even though it was, at best, a frivolous lawsuit, the studio didn't want to fight it and threatened to sue James Cameron if the case went to trial and the studio lost. In the end, Cameron gave in and granted Ellison an "Acknowledgement to the works of" credit. (Reply to this) |
on Nov 13 2007 09:03 AM Good point Arrowsun! Greedy Excecutives taking all the rewards! (Reply to this) |
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on Nov 13 2007 10:15 AM When did Ellison get a computer? I remember in several of his books he claims not to own one. (Reply to this) |
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on Nov 13 2007 10:38 AM Maybe his secretary cyborg has a computer, and Ellison dictates. (Reply to this) |
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on Nov 13 2007 10:55 AM Why is this guy even on strike, they don't make outer limits or twilight zone anymore. What has he written in the last 30 years? (Reply to this) |
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on Nov 13 2007 11:08 AM Ok... so, the fact that noone contacted Harlan Ellison about a script that "..hinges on elements from "City at the Edge of Forever" means that a rumor posted on AICN is probably false (gasp!) and Ellison is a moron for getting worked up about it. Then again, since the rumor is probably false and therefore doomed to be short lived this was probably his best chance to remind the world that he matters, so can't really fault him there... I guess... (Reply to this) |
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on Nov 13 2007 12:55 PM Wait a minute. Did Ellison just accuse someone else of arrogance? A man who will have "He wrote the greatest episode of any Star Trek ever" engraved on his tombstone (and would probably carve it into the surface of the moon if he could)? It's actually kind of fun to root against him and watch him get all bitter... (Reply to this) |
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on Nov 13 2007 12:56 PM In reply to this comment (#1273266) Arrowsun, the plot to Star Trek XI was written by WRITERS. Like studio executives really know some obscure episode that aired in the 60s. The writers would have to know though in order to use it. So dont blame the studio. (Reply to this) |
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on Nov 13 2007 01:43 PM He's still alive? (Reply to this) |
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on Nov 13 2007 04:36 PM oh poor baby (Reply to this) |
on Nov 13 2007 07:24 PM In reply to this comment (#1273320) BrianInSD: Ellison's lawsuit against Hemdale and Cameron had to do with specific elements taken from the Outer Limits episode "Soldier" that he wrote. If you look at that story in regards to The Terminator, you can clearly see elements that are definitely similar enough that a court of law would have ruled in Ellison's favor. Hemdale didn't threaten to sue Cameron--they simply told him he'd be on his own if this proved true. While Cameron does make visually arresting films with intriguing storylines...most of them tend to be ripped off(I'm sorry, "borrowed") from existing material. If you look at Aliens and compare it to the 1950 movie "Them!" you can see that ALL of Newt's characterization and a large chunk of the underlying plot is taken from there. Ellison has lost a few of his lawsuits, yes...but very few. This newest may or may not be trivial, depending on what the facts turn out to be. Remember that Paramount is famous for ripping off writers("Coming to America", among others). I remember talking to author Peter David("Star Trek: Vendetta") the same year "First Contact" was about to come out, and asked him what he thought of some of the potential similarities between that film and his book. He said(with a wry smile) "I'll be watching very closely." The fact is, writers aren't really ripped off in Hollywood as much as they'd like to think...but those few times it does happen tends to raise eyebrows and make them more wary. Think what you will of Ellison, but the truth is that if he's always at the ready to tell a film company "You can't get away with that!" it might give courage to a lesser known scribe whose work gets stolen, and who wouldn't usually have the nerve to go to court. Frivolous or not, the man serves a purpose. (Reply to this) |
on Nov 13 2007 08:22 PM It would be a neat tie-in nonetheless. And maybe even.... logical. (Reply to this) |
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on Nov 13 2007 08:36 PM In reply to this comment (#1274729) thereign: I stand corrected, thanks for the info. The only account of the story I read was from an interview with James Cameron where he was pissing and moaning about the incident and my summary of it was more or less the way he told it. The general arrogant attitude Ellison has portrayed whenever I've seen him interviewed made Cameron's description of the events seem very plausible. My bad for taking it all at face value without looking into the allegations more. Thanks for setting me straight. Peace. (Reply to this) |
on Nov 13 2007 09:19 PM In reply to this comment (#1274729) Come on, thereign, who are you? That's just, like, too informed to be just another joe post. (Reply to this) |
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on Nov 14 2007 02:11 AM Standing ovation for thereign, ladies and gents. No sarcasm, either. I loved the post. This is why I enjoy RT...it may not have an abundance of intelligent posts, but nonetheless it at least has a few. The big thing to remember here is that it is still a rumor. But, if it is true, the man deserves to be paid. I've posted some of my writing on the internet, only to see a week later that someone is using it as their own. Not a great feeling. If it's his, pay him... Peace. Love. Empathy. XXX (Reply to this) |
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on Nov 14 2007 10:55 AM Imitation is surely the most sincere form of Hollywood. (Reply to this) |
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