I wish Harlan Ellison would just die already...

The words 'fuck' and 'off' will likely be used.

Lots of ignorance was involved in the creation of this thread.

 

This.

 

I think Ellison's a great writer and I enjoy his work. And sometimes, he even has a case when he thinks people ripped him off (IMHO, this is not one of those times though).

That being said, sometimes he just acts like a jackass. He can be an accomplished author and still be a jackass.

 

I think people get so upset when Harlan Ellison stands up for himself because it shatters their romantic notions of the penniless writer bending over and taking up the keister for his art.

 

I have no problem with the guy defending his work, but in this case, the ideas seem different enough that it won't get anywhere.

 

^ Agreed. I don't see any similarities that would stand up in court.

Even the great Harlan Ellison can be wrong sometimes.

 

As I've stated before, the "Angry Young Man" of 1960s Science Fiction has become the
"Embittered Old Man" of Science Fiction...

This will be settled out of court for an undisclosed sum.... And Harlan will go on suing movie/TV producers for anything that remotely seems to be like his ideas..
It's a money making strategy after all...

 

This.

 

This thread title is the single most shameful thing I've seen on this BBS in the ten years or so I've been here.

 

Fuckin' A! And I'm a guy who once wrote a threat titled: "Flush your shit!".

 

I sent Harlan a Christmas card last year. (He's Jewish. I'm an atheist. Wishing him a Merry Christmas made perfect sense.) I decided I would shortly after he said he wasn't attending conventions any more and that he had about a year to live.

I wrote in the card that he wasn't going to die, he was such a rabblerouser that that he'd criticize Death so much when she came to take him that she'd give up and leave him be.

 

Regardless of whether or not people are stealing his ideas, you would have thought that by now because of his reputation, people would go out of there way to NOT write a story that is in any way similar to something he's done (especially his more popular stories).

He may be a bully, but if you don't make Sci-Fi movies that are similar to his stories, he won't have a leg to stand on when he tries to sue you.

 

He's not a bully. People who find him irritating need to just get over it, which would be far preferable to wishing death on someone because they're frustrated.

Of course, given the endorsement by some folks of attempts to profit by lifting from owned intellectual property I suppose some frustration at someone standing up to it is to be expected.

 

QFT. Tom Hendricks should be ashamed of himself.

Harlan Ellison stands up for his rights and I'm always shocked that it seems to attract so much hate. Is it that the haters know that they'd be too damned cowardly to do as he does? Or are they jealous that the man has created so much and they haven't? Or is it that he has a really great record for winning when he sues?

Yeah, he's irrascible quite a bit of the time. But he also stepped up when a mutual friend was in need and helped me raise over $1,200 for her medical expenses. He thought of a way he could help and volunteered, unasked. My interactions with him have always been very pleasant, often funny and very, very intellectually stimulating.

I've also seen him grant permission for his work to be used/republished for ridiculously small amounts of money when people were smart and respectful enough to ask him.

I wish I could wish the same for Tom Hendricks as he wished for Harlan. Stupidity isn't a capital crime nearly often enough.

Jan

 

It's wrong to wish on space hardware.

 

There is a tendency in some fan circles to react in an emotionally violent manner to anyone whose actions threaten in any way to delay or limit the availability of product - be it film and television, comics, etc.

Another common manifestation of it is the vituperation directed at any kind of union action in Hollywood that slows down production. It is, in fact, an addiction mentality - protect the line of access to the "drug supply" no matter what the human cost, because the thought of going without is too frightening and painful in itself.

 

I wouldn't read any if I was planning on writing a screenplay.

 

I found a pretty nice copy of Strange Wine at a thrift store the other day. I snatched it up and smiled all the way home.