Ellison is pissed
- Thread starter Admiral Buzzkill
- Start date
Ellison is always "pissed" at somebody, it's the only way he can stay in the spotlight. He is a has-been who hasn't done anything worthwhile in years and only raises these stinks to get publicity that his talent hasn't been able to garner him for years.
The Science Fiction Writers of America made him their 23rd Grand Master last year. The man has written or edited 75 books and over 1700 stories and columns. Just because the last thing you noticed his name on was an episode of Babylon 5, that doesn't mean he hasn't done anything worthwhile in years.
Whatever, it doesn't make him any less of an asshole.
Don't feel too down on your luck. Many throughout history have found comfort in the "argument against the man" defense.
If Paramount is using his stuff in the new movie, he will be compensated, according to the terms of his old Writers' Guild contract with Desilu/Norway Corp. However, the producers and/or Paramount's lawyers probably don't have to tell him in advance, or renegotiate a new fee scale. It would all be spelled out by the contract, and any renewals of ownership over the years.
Ellison seems to think that Abrams should have told him first, but Ellison may not have been willing (or trusted enough) to keep a secret. So they chose to say nothing.
The "Crucible" issue was supposedly handled by Pocket Books' legal department, and the results are not for public consumption. Even David R George III, the trilogy's author, did not have to be involved in whatever decision was reached. However, uses of episode characters in licensed tie-ins don't have the same in-built compensations that uses of episode characters in movies or TV series do.
Ellison seems to think that Abrams should have told him first, but Ellison may not have been willing (or trusted enough) to keep a secret. So they chose to say nothing.
The "Crucible" issue was supposedly handled by Pocket Books' legal department, and the results are not for public consumption. Even David R George III, the trilogy's author, did not have to be involved in whatever decision was reached. However, uses of episode characters in licensed tie-ins don't have the same in-built compensations that uses of episode characters in movies or TV series do.
TorontoTrekker said:
Well, he's claiming that he's not pissed, just annoyed that he had to hear about this the same way the rest of us did.
He posted a followup this evening, here, in which he says that his reaction is being overstated. Go have a look - I'm not going to quote the whole thing (I don't want to violate his copyright), but it's the post timestamped 18:12:47 (I'm not sure if that's EST, PST, or some other time zone, but I suspect it's PST).
Meh, I didn't get that from him, and I've met him once and talked to him on the phone twice. Sure, he called me a dwarf, but I was on my knees rummaging through my backpack at the time.
That kind of stuff wouldn't bother me. My most vivid memory was having dinner with him and other writers (I was dating one of their daughters at the time). He spent more time dissecting the problems with the other writers work than the food. Mind you, this wasn't constructive criticism, this was "you are all inferior to me, so go away and DIAF kind of stuff". I actually felt sorry for my former GF's Dad as he was huge influence on his writing, and had arranged the dinner, only to be told in quite unflattering terms how pathetic his work was in comparison to Ellison.
Everyone at the table had the greatest respect for his work, and his behavior was just uncalled for. If he had been wasted, I might have given him a pass, but he appeared to be deadly sober. Then later, when I was working con security, he just continued to make that impression all the more vivid.
He is a huge ass and I've met Ann Rice. She was all flowers and roses compared to Ellison. He was *meh* personified.
As opposed to what, people who haven't done anything worthwhile ever? I mean, if you want to be ad hominem about it you can say the same thing about an awful lot of artists in their later years; diminished output or capacity does not subtract in any way from someone's real accomplishments and Ellison has more to point to than most.
I've rarely seen Ellison angry at someone who didn't merit it. He certainly has a gift for striking at the neurotic insecurities of many in the fan community, though.
Do we have an "applause" icon?
I read a lot of lies about Ellison online. I've met him, I've seen his behavior in a variety of situations over the last forty-odd years - including public appearences in which cases I've read the "appalled reactions" of other people later which did not in fact match what I witnessed. I therefore don't take secondhand tales about the guy at all seriously. He makes a lot of people irrationally angry on the basis of his opinions and of his personality.
Yeah, he's a jerk sometimes. Mercifully, he's one of the few jerks on the planet who doesn't seem to spend most of his time on the Internet tearing down his betters.
IF the Guardian of Forever is in Trek XI, and IF Ellison is legally entitled to royalties based off of creating it all those years ago, then he will receive payment at some point. But Viacom/Paramount owns the character/object/whatever-you-want-to-call-it. Just like they own everything else in the ST universe. They can use it whenever they want, and they do not need to seek out Ellison's permission beforehand.
Of course, it is entirely possible that the Guardian of Forever will NOT appear in Trek XI. At this point, everything about Trek XI's story is speculation and rumor.
Of course, it is entirely possible that the Guardian of Forever will NOT appear in Trek XI. At this point, everything about Trek XI's story is speculation and rumor.
Something about a large, talking donut that allows for time-travel, which he created?
And I would love to see the Guardian of Krispy Kreme in the new movie. Anything but inventing another method of time-travel works for me.
Regardless of his "attitude" or perceived "attitude" by those in the fan-base, Ellison should be compensated if any of his work is featured in the new movie.
Exactly so.
If you subtract the contributions of three real live sf writers - Ellison, Sturgeon and Spinrad - you lose more than half of what made TOS great.
Agreed. If only modern Trek got more of the talent from the SF literary pool, imagine what that could've been like.
People have a hard time separating the "work" from the "man," or rather the myths that have grown over time. The issue here isn't Ellison's "tantrum" but whether or not he is entitled to monetary compensation. The answer is simple, if they use his concepts or portions of his work on TOS, he should be given something. The writer, as they say, always gets screwed. And as a person attempting to make it as a professional writer, I am glad that Ellison is raising hell over something as simple as getting paid.
As my friend says, don't f*ck with my money.