Ellison Suit Aimed at Abrams' Movie? - Possible Spoilers!

[Carpe Occasio]

About that lawsuit filed by SF author Harlan Ellison against Paramount over his Star Trek episode, "City on the Edge of Forever"?

Reports have surfaced that the lawsuit may have something to do with the rumored plot of J.J. Abrams' upcoming Star Trek reboot movie, which (spoilers ahead!) may feature elements of that episode—specifically, the time-travel device called the Guardian of Forever.

Fans know that in "City on the Edge of Forever," Kirk (William Shatner) and Spock (Leonard Nimoy) travel back in time through the mysterious alien portal to 1930s Earth to rescue Dr. McCoy (DeForest Kelley) and inadvertently upset the timeline by saving a woman named Edith Keeler (Joan Collins).

When Abrams' film was coming together, various rumors circulated that the plot would hinge on time travel, specifically dealing with the Guardian of Forever. Since then, there's been no confirmation that the device would figure in the story, though it is widely believed the story will deal with a Romulan villain, Nero (Eric Bana), who travels back in time to wipe out Kirk (Chris Pine) before he becomes captain of the Enterprise. None of this has been officially confirmed by Paramount.

In any case, Ellison—who has jealously guarded his rights to his creations over the years—has previously warned Paramount not to use any elements of "City on the Edge of Forever" that he takes credit for creating (which would include everything except the main Trek characters) without compensating him.

http://scifiwire.com/2009/03/is-harlan-ellisons-star-t.php

 

[shapeshifter]

I hope it's true. This films possible potential just keeps growing by leaps and bounds.

 

[M'Sharak]

About that lawsuit filed by SF author Harlan Ellison against Paramount over his Star Trek episode, "City on the Edge of Forever"?

Reports have surfaced that the lawsuit may have something to do with the rumored plot of J.J. Abrams' upcoming Star Trek reboot movie, which (spoilers ahead!) may feature elements of that episode—specifically, the time-travel device called the Guardian of Forever.

Those reports surfaced last year during the writers' strike and were debunked. Hear it from Harlan's own mouth, in an interview conducted while has was walking the picket line. (Skip ahead to about 1:30, to get right to it.)

 

[Admiral Buzzkill]

About that lawsuit filed by SF author Harlan Ellison against Paramount over his Star Trek episode, "City on the Edge of Forever"?

Reports have surfaced that the lawsuit may have something to do with the rumored plot of J.J. Abrams' upcoming Star Trek reboot movie, which (spoilers ahead!) may feature elements of that episode—specifically, the time-travel device called the Guardian of Forever.

Those reports surfaced last year during the writers' strike and were debunked. Hear it from Harlan's own mouth, in an interview conducted while has was walking the picket line. (Skip ahead to about 1:30, to get right to it.)

Give it up for SCIFIWIRE, the lastest witht the leastest!

This is, BTW, either the fifth or sixth thread on TrekBBS devoted to Ellison's lawsuit. Prepare for the deluge of kneebiters...

 

[M'Sharak]

Yeah. Here's the TrekMovie article (dated December 10, 2007, so more than a year ago) which accompanied the above video interview.

In summary:

No Guardian in Star Trek
So there you have it folks…rumors that the The Guardian of Forever are not true, it is not in the film. TrekMovie.com has also independently verified this.

Some old rumors refuse to die.

Edit:

Aha, this is funny.

The SciFi Wire article cites as the source of their "reports have surfaced" one blog affiliated with Wired (written by someone named John Scott Lewinski) which cites in turn a RottenTomatoes article dated November 13, 2007, which gives as a source a CHUD report of an AICN rumor (no links found for the last two.)

Tag - you're it!

 

[shapeshifter]

CRAP!

 

[Samuel T. Cogley]

Yeah, I covered this a while back.

Here:

http://www.trekbbs.com/showthread.php?t=39939


And here:

http://www.trekbbs.com/showthread.php?t=38175

 

[Gepard]

http://www.trekbbs.com/showthread.php?t=38175What would Colonel Tigh do?

Get drunk. Then get sued by Ellison.

 

[Samuel T. Cogley]

What would Colonel Tigh do?

Get drunk. Then get sued by Ellison.

Gaius... Frakkin'... Ellison!

 

[WendellM]

Reports have surfaced that the lawsuit may have something to do with the rumored plot of J.J. Abrams' upcoming Star Trek reboot movie

Those reports surfaced last year during the writers' strike and were debunked. Hear it from Harlan's own mouth

Thank you for clearing that up - but did you have to use the medium of the Internet, which "should be bombed out of existence immediately"? Surely you could have mimeoed typewritten copies of that to mail to all the people in this thread, or perhaps telegraphed it, or drawn it on a cave wall? I like Harlan and really respect his work, but technophobia doesn't become an SF writer.

 

[M'Sharak]

Reports have surfaced that the lawsuit may have something to do with the rumored plot of J.J. Abrams' upcoming Star Trek reboot movie

Those reports surfaced last year during the writers' strike and were debunked. Hear it from Harlan's own mouth

Thank you for clearing that up - but did you have to use the medium of the Internet, which "should be bombed out of existence immediately"? Surely you could have mimeoed typewritten copies of that to mail to all the people in this thread, or perhaps telegraphed it, or drawn it on a cave wall? I like Harlan and really respect his work, but technophobia doesn't become an SF writer.

I doubt very much that he meant that seriously, since his own name is attached to a fairly busy internet website with a discussion forum at which he is seen to post with some regularity. That comment was an exaggeration for effect such as Harlan has been known to employ on occasion, in this case to point up the speed and efficiency with which the internet is able to magnify and distribute erroneous information like it did this rumor.

 

[PowderedToastMan]

wow is this the month for old rumors to come back from the dead or what? Hey anyone here that Tom Cruise has a cameo






/joking

 

[WendellM]

I doubt very much that he meant that seriously, since his own name is attached to a fairly busy internet website with a discussion forum at which he is seen to post with some regularity. That comment was an exaggeration for effect such as Harlan has been known to employ on occasion

I've been to his site and agree that you're probably right - it's classic, grumpy Harlan (and I love him for it). But still, I do get a little bit of the "walking uphill in the snow... and we liked it vibe" from that, which seems at odds with his profession. I know that he's one of the most humanistic/question-technology writers in the field, but still...

to point up the speed and efficiency with which the internet is able to magnify and distribute erroneous information like it did this rumor.

True, but I'd say that the 'net hasn't fundamentally changed things (whether positive or negative: rumors, both false and true, were still spread far and wide back in the day, it just took longer). It's just a coefficient, not a new term. "Paleo-TrekBBS" existed before the Internet as fanzines, and the turnaround time was months or weeks. Now we exchange ideas in hours or minutes. As he mentioned, the "soapboxes" (if you choose to regard fan communication as such) have gotten bigger (or, at least, faster), but they're still only "soapboxes," and anyone can read the labels.

 

[Carpe Occasio]

Since this rumor has legs from way back in Novemeber 2007 couldn't there be something to it? Long running rumors many times end up being at least partially true. Maybe Harlan denied it a while back as a courtesy to the filmmakers. Just playing devils advocate here.

 

[pookha]

no because from what i have seen it is more about the books that have used the guardian and a hallmark onrament.

it appears someone was looking for something to add for thier story and didnt bother to check the dates or do any followup on what they found.

 

[section9]

About that lawsuit filed by SF author Harlan Ellison against Paramount over his Star Trek episode, "City on the Edge of Forever"?

Reports have surfaced that the lawsuit may have something to do with the rumored plot of J.J. Abrams' upcoming Star Trek reboot movie, which (spoilers ahead!) may feature elements of that episode—specifically, the time-travel device called the Guardian of Forever.

Those reports surfaced last year during the writers' strike and were debunked. Hear it from Harlan's own mouth, in an interview conducted while has was walking the picket line. (Skip ahead to about 1:30, to get right to it.)

Give it up for SCIFIWIRE, the lastest witht the leastest!

This is, BTW, either the fifth or sixth thread on TrekBBS devoted to Ellison's lawsuit. Prepare for the deluge of kneebiters...

Sci-Fi Wire=LoadOCrap.com

 

[Jackson_Roykirk]

I thought that the confusion was because of the "fan film" Star Trek: Of Gods and Men -- which was in post-production at the time that Guardian of Forever (GOF) rumor concerning Abrams' film came out.

Star Trek: Of Gods and Men coincidentally featured a storyline in which someone used the GOF to go back in time and kill Kirk's mother before Kirk was born, thus changing the timeline.

I could see how the plot of ST:OGAM could be confused with the alledged plot of Abrams' film, and I think that's where the "Abrams using the GOF" rumor came from.

 

[RAMA]

I've been a supporter of Ellison for years, but he should bow out gracefully...he's a really loony these days.

RAMA

 

[Carpe Occasio]

Do you think I should be worried about an Ellison lawsuit over my avatar?

 

[M'Sharak]

I doubt very much that he meant that seriously, since his own name is attached to a fairly busy internet website with a discussion forum at which he is seen to post with some regularity. That comment was an exaggeration for effect such as Harlan has been known to employ on occasion

I've been to his site and agree that you're probably right - it's classic, grumpy Harlan (and I love him for it). But still, I do get a little bit of the "walking uphill in the snow... and we liked it vibe" from that, which seems at odds with his profession. I know that he's one of the most humanistic/question-technology writers in the field, but still...

That "walking uphill in the snow... and we liked it" vibe you describe is exactly the sort of thing which pervades a lot of Harlan's non-fiction writing, which is arguably even better and more entertaining than his fiction writing. If you're looking for thorough and well-informed rants on practically any subject, it's hard to find better than Harlan Ellison's.

to point up the speed and efficiency with which the internet is able to magnify and distribute erroneous information like it did this rumor.

True, but I'd say that the 'net hasn't fundamentally changed things (whether positive or negative: rumors, both false and true, were still spread far and wide back in the day, it just took longer). It's just a coefficient, not a new term. "Paleo-TrekBBS" existed before the Internet as fanzines, and the turnaround time was months or weeks. Now we exchange ideas in hours or minutes. As he mentioned, the "soapboxes" (if you choose to regard fan communication as such) have gotten bigger (or, at least, faster), but they're still only "soapboxes," and anyone can read the labels.

All true, and I don't doubt he was fully aware of it at the time. I think I recall reading that his phone had been ringing off the hook as news of the rumor broke, and he was probably expressing some irritation at the internet for being the agent by which so many interruptions had been visited upon his time. Just Harlan barking, nothing too unusual.

Since this rumor has legs from way back in Novemeber 2007 couldn't there be something to it?

no because from what i have seen it is more about the books that have used the guardian and a hallmark onrament.

it appears someone was looking for something to add for thier story and didnt bother to check the dates or do any followup on what they found.

That's it, really -- just sloppy fact-checking. Someone was probably in a hurry.

Do you think I should be worried about an Ellison lawsuit over my avatar?

Pay him royalties on every dollar you earn off that avatar and you shouldn't have to worry about a thing.