Harlan Ellison Sues CBS-Paramount, WGA

COMMENTS (40)

• Quite a bit of umbrage considering Roddenberry did a rewrite of the script. Also in the filing, one of the pieces of merchandising mentioned is a “talking” Christmas ornament. I’m sure Paramount raked in millions for that alone. Pathetic.

  Comment by Elfwatch — Monday March 16, 2009 @ 7:20am PDT  Reply to this post

  • Watch the Harlan Ellison film “Dreams with Sharp Teeth.” The part where he describes this episode and what HE wrote and thought it should be, will be evidently clear that his work is NOT what was immortalized by Star Trek. Ellison shoots himself in the foot (as it pertains to his lawsuit) by describing in detail his version of the episode, which bears NO resemblance to what made it to the small screen.
    Harlan’s a bit of a paranoid megalomaniac sometimes. It’s a good way to keep getting free publicity, and he knows it.

    Comment by Harlan Fan — Monday September 14, 2009 @ 12:59am PDT  Reply to this post

• Harlan Ellison spoke of his earlier settlement with Paramount over this episode back at a Science Fiction convention I attended in Boston waaay back in ’82.

  He said that he settled the case, but the terms prohibited him from disclosing the amount of compensation that Paramount paid him, something he clearly regretted quite soon.

  So, he bought a billboard right outside Paramount’s front gate, and had it say

  This Billboard costs $1900 a month,
  but I can afford it.

  — Harlan Ellison

  Comment by Thad Beier — Monday March 16, 2009 @ 7:33am PDT  Reply to this post

• Give them hell Harlan.

  Comment by ReelBusy — Monday March 16, 2009 @ 7:38am PDT  Reply to this post

• The irony here is that although he received sole writing credit, Harlan Ellison’s story was deemed “unfilmable” by Star Trek producers and was never used. Most believe that it was the late Gene L. Coon who actually wrote the shooting script for “City on the Edge of Forever.”

  Comment by Trek Nerd — Monday March 16, 2009 @ 7:39am PDT  Reply to this post

• Good Grief! What is wrong with this guy, is he suffering from terminal PMS? He’s a brilliant writer but geez, look at him crosseyed and he’s liable to rip your face off! Someone get him some Xanax! The only reason I can think of him doing this now is that no one wants to deal with him anymore, all his income sources have dried up and he’s desperate for dough and this looked like his best chance to get some. {Wonder if he invested with Mr. Madoff also, that might explain his actions}

  Comment by YEKIMI — Monday March 16, 2009 @ 7:42am PDT  Reply to this post

• Go Harlan Go.

  Make them pay. With interest. Much, much interest.

  Comment by Mike Cane — Monday March 16, 2009 @ 7:48am PDT  Reply to this post

• Now this shows how no one in Hollywood ever learns their lessons. If the folks running Paramount didn’t know that he would fight them tooth and nail over this, they don’t deserve to be running the company.

  Getting into a lawsuit with Harlan Ellison is like poking a sleeping badger with a stick. You might survive, but you can easily lose a lot of blood in the process.

  Comment by Furious D — Monday March 16, 2009 @ 7:57am PDT  Reply to this post

• I believe he’s only suing the WGA for $1, though, so it’s more about shaming them than trying to get money from them.

  Comment by James T. — Monday March 16, 2009 @ 8:49am PDT  Reply to this post

• Harlon Ellison – working hard to cement his legacy as a kook.

  Comment by Britt — Monday March 16, 2009 @ 9:22am PDT  Reply to this post

• Okay, Star Trek TOS smackdown. Taste of Armageddon, where they go to the planet where the two warring countries fight their war by computer and then people are forced to commit suicide in order to account for the losses is twice the episode City on the Edge of Forever is, with it’s ridiculous “Guardian of Eternity” and Spock building a duotronic computer out of radio tubes. Hell, Patterns of Force, the one where they all go to the Nazi planet, is better.

  Comment by jamie — Monday March 16, 2009 @ 9:39am PDT  Reply to this post

• And I want all the Rice-a-Roni I would have accrued through interest! (with apologies to King of Queens.
  Professional curmudgeon sounds about right.

  Comment by KofQ fan — Monday March 16, 2009 @ 10:54am PDT  Reply to this post

• Perhaps this is opportunistic timing, what with the new movie coming out in a couple of months.

  Comment by Melba — Monday March 16, 2009 @ 12:36pm PDT  Reply to this post

• Harlan might be a bit pugnacious, but he’s right on the money when it comes to both HIS rights from the Star Trek episode as well as other royalties issues. Have you guys forgotten that he has lobbied on behalf of fellow sci-fi writers that have had ENTIRE novels posted word for word on the net without their permission (including some instances where the publishers themselves turned over electronic rights without even bothering to get the author’s permission first).

  Don’t give me this “Roddenberry had the script rewritten so Harlan has no real claim” nonsense. Unless Paramount is going to lobby the WGA to remove Harlan’s sole writing credit from the episode, then it’s pretty pointless for some of you to demean his LEGAL claim by rehashing rumors.

  Comment by Pete — Monday March 16, 2009 @ 12:42pm PDT  Reply to this post

• I had an interesting experience with Mr. Ellison, when I decided not to option one of his pieces. No big deal, enjoyed the story, but it ultimately didn’t fit with what I wanted to do creatively, so I advised his agent “thanks, but no thanks.” End of story, or so I thought. Months later I got an expletive laden rant on my voicemail from him demeaning me, my company, my intelligence and “people like me.” As a great fan of his writing and a person who would have loved to do something with him, I was a bit surprised.

  I guess his work now falls in the “wait until I can deal with estate instead” category!

  Signed,
  John Doe
  (now in the Federal Development Exec Protection Program, in Yuma, AZ… I mean, Kansas City, damn it…)

  Comment by hollywood goy — Monday March 16, 2009 @ 1:49pm PDT  Reply to this post

• Anyone can see the actual complaint (PDF), as well as press release (in two file formats), at harlanellison.com/heboard/unca.htm. No need to speculate on the particulars.

  Here is a section of the allegations that seems meatier than the Christmas-Tree-ornament argument:

  “In another instance, Paramount licensed to Simon & Schuster/Pocketbooks—one of its sister corporations—the right to base a series of books on the City teleplay (the Crucible series) that make use of all the key aspects of that teleplay including the so-called Guardian of Forever entity specific only to that episode and, pivotally at the core of all three books, Ellison’s creation of Sister Edith Keeler and the significant question of the impact of her life or death on the course of events, plus unique time-travel concepts and singular themes, plot points, mood, an entire storyline set in the era of America’s 1930’s Great Depression, and pacing—all present in the City teleplay. Simon & Schuster/Pocket Book used references to the City episode in marketing materials developed to promote and sell the books. No one reading the books would have any doubt that they were reading a work fundamentally derivative of the ideas, expressions and concepts contained in the City episode, and would probably not otherwise purchase the books. Paramount, through its licensor and sister company, Pocket Books/Simon and Schuster carefully and, Ellison asserts, with flagrant intent, purposely avoided any mention of Ellison anywhere on or in the trilogy though his WGAW-Award-winning authorship of City is universally acknowledged.”

  Even if his script was substantially rewritten—and I remain amazed by Ellison’s decades-long ire toward the people who dared edit his precious script, who (other than story editor D. C. Fontana) are long dead—it really was probably unfilmable as written, despite winning the WGA-West award in that form; I’ve read it.

  By the way, he is suing WGA for one dollar only, plus acknowledgment that it could’ve done better in defending his asserted rights.

  Comment by gottacook — Monday March 16, 2009 @ 2:39pm PDT  Reply to this post

• This is just research for his new book “Paycheck on the Edge of Whenever”

  Comment by Star Carlton — Monday March 16, 2009 @ 2:41pm PDT  Reply to this post

• >>>with it’s ridiculous “Guardian of Eternity”

  FAIL Alert.

  It is “Guardian of Forever.”

  And it is “its,” not “it’s.”

  Try again, lame-ass Paramount Suit Monkey.

  Comment by Mike Cane — Monday March 16, 2009 @ 2:43pm PDT  Reply to this post

• Well, he’s got a shot — he did force that thief Cameron to settle for stealing THE TERMINATOR.

  Comment by Luzid — Monday March 16, 2009 @ 2:51pm PDT  Reply to this post

• Ellison is looking to have his cake and to eat it too. He complains for years that his original teleplay was ruined by Roddenberry, accepts an award for the script (that wasn’t made into the episode), writes a book about how much better his script was (“The City on the Edge of Forever: The Original Teleplay that Became the Classic Star Trek Episode”), reaches a reaches a settlement with Paramount on the episode (that he hated), and now sues for lost profits.

  Do you think the timing of Ellison’s claim has anything to do with the timing of the new Star Trek movie coming out? Hmmmmm…..

  Comment by Anonymous — Monday March 16, 2009 @ 3:14pm PDT  Reply to this post

• I’m a huge Harlan Ellison fan and a huge Terminator fan. I’ve read the story he claims the film was based on. Personally, I don’t see the connection.

  Comment by 398 — Monday March 16, 2009 @ 3:17pm PDT  Reply to this post

• Roddenberry didn’t re-write any scripts–he wasn’t a writer.

  Ellison’s story was unfilmable because of cost, not concept.

  Comment by Alan Coil — Monday March 16, 2009 @ 3:52pm PDT  Reply to this post

• @ 398:

  You might not, but the court certainly did.

  Comment by Luzid — Monday March 16, 2009 @ 4:38pm PDT  Reply to this post

• It is “Guardian of Forever.”
  And it is “its,” not “it’s.”
  Try again, lame-ass Paramount Suit Monkey.

  I’m a little embarrassed that I screwed that up, but you gotta admit it’s a pretty subpar, Manny Coto-level storyline. Then again, he did that awesome 2-part Enterprise where they go back in time and discover that the Dominion is helping the Axis in WW2.
  And I’m writing from my dubbing room at Sony, you insensitive clod!

  Comment by jamie — Monday March 16, 2009 @ 5:21pm PDT  Reply to this post

• Given that this is Paramount vs. Harlan Ellison, I tend to think Ellison’s got a genuine beef. Depends on what the contract says. If Par is supposed to provide accounting info, and won’t, you have to wonder. It wouldn’t be the first time Paramount was on the wrong side of contract law with a writer.

  I wish I could put my hands on the books “The Glass Teat” and “The Other Glass Teat,” Ellison’s scathing columns on television, particularly L.A. television, during the 1960s. Deliciously mean and apparently rightly so. I’m not originally from L.A. but I think they ran in a pre-L.A. Weekly era counter-culture rag. They were on the reading list for a film and TV college course I took.

  Comment by Boomzilla — Monday March 16, 2009 @ 7:04pm PDT  Reply to this post

• This is the episode where Kirk and Spock go back in time and restore earth’s history. In doing so, it causes Harlan Ellison to lose his mind.

  Comment by Kevin — Monday March 16, 2009 @ 7:38pm PDT  Reply to this post