Home Cool News Coaxial Reviews Zone Chat Contact Us Sign in

Talkbacks

I've only read one of his stories
by Bobo_Vision
Apr 18th, 2007
09:21:25 PM
The one which was the inspiration for James Cameron's 'Terminator', and it was a great story. He was able to convey much with so few words. I'll check out the ones you've mentioned, Mori.
looking forward to this
by Volstaff
Apr 18th, 2007
09:33:22 PM
I love Ellison, it was funny reading his influence on you because I too was first exposed to his stories from "Shatterday".. I first saw him on Tom Snyder's "Tomorrow" show. I think it was the famous Star Trek episode and that he'd written "City On the Edge of Forever".. I remember reading his film reviews ( or if I remember right, he called them film essays)as well. Amazing writer,great storyteller. What always impressed me was when he was pissed off about some injustice he didn't give a shit about going off and naming names of people who screwed him over in the business.
Adrfit Just Off the Islets of Langerhans...
by Det. John Kimble
Apr 18th, 2007
09:45:15 PM
deserves to be brought to the screen.
He broke a guy's pelvis with the Seaview model!
by Bob Cryptonight
Apr 18th, 2007
10:05:00 PM
Do they mention the incident where he attacked the t.v. exec and the guy fell backwards and the VOYAGE TO THE BOTTOM OF THE SEA model fell off of the wall and cracked the guy's pelvis?! Classic! Ellison is a champ!
Olsen is an anti-semite
by rainbowtrout1265
Apr 18th, 2007
10:07:22 PM
Josh Olsen wrote some anti-jewish remarks on a Springsteen board I used to read. He's not just "angry". He's an arrogant, self-absorbed, foul-mouthed, mean-spirited prick.
Too Bad
by topaz4206
Apr 18th, 2007
10:27:03 PM
Damnit, for a second it looked like a movie based on a Harlan Ellison SCRIPT was being produced. I'd totally drop $20 for that. For a Bio... notsomuch.
Dangerous Visions
by flossygomez
Apr 18th, 2007
10:31:18 PM
A pioneer sci-fi editor with an ascerbic and dry wit, pungent viewpoints and insane creative energy. As a personality he can be trying, but for all the things he has produced I don't give a fuck...small potatoes if you ask me. I rebought both hardcover volumes of Dangerous Visions and am surprised how valid these anthologies still remain today. I've waited forever for a film like this and look forward to it immensely.
Bob...
by TheRealMoriarty
Apr 18th, 2007
10:37:56 PM
... they run down some of the most infamous Ellison stories and ask him which ones are true and which ones are false. It's a great, fun sequence.
Partners in Wonder
by flossygomez
Apr 18th, 2007
10:40:35 PM
"I See a Man Sitting on a Chair and the Chair is Biting His Leg", even though a collaboration between Ellison and Robert Sheckley gets my vote as a short story I would want to see filmed...it very well might have to have an X rating for full effect.
I'm curious about his B5 stint
by flossygomez
Apr 18th, 2007
10:43:28 PM
I always howl at his appearance as a Psi Cop in a B5 episode and would love to hear what he had to say about his influence on that show.
Does anyone ask him what the hell happened to...
by BurnHollywood
Apr 18th, 2007
10:49:29 PM
..."Last Dangerous Visions"? All the same, the grouchy little bastard's a true national treasure.
Robin Williams
by flossygomez
Apr 18th, 2007
10:50:44 PM
They should have a depressurization salon after viewing it, those 2 energy sources bouncing off each other is bound to be harrowing.
I have a whole shelf overflowing with Ellison.
by vroom socko
Apr 18th, 2007
10:52:50 PM
I actually was first introduced to Harlan via the shitty Sci-Fi Buzz in the early days of the Sci-Fi Channel. The first book of his I read was Mind Fields, which featured the damn amazing artwork of Jacek Yerka. Since then, I've managed to track down nearly every book he's published. Not all of them, but close.

I actually met him at a Powell's signing about ten years ago. Funny story, I shook his hand and told him what an honor it was to meet him. His response, "Well, thank you for sharing your emotions in public like that." Since I'm a smartass, I replied, "Well, thank you for thanking me for sharing my emotions in public like that!"

Harlan's response: "Er, ah... bah..."

And then I beat a hasty retreat, secure in the knowledge that *I* had somehow managed to flummox Harlan Ellison and live.
Like Volstaff, I first saw Harlan on The Tomorrow Show.
by kabong
Apr 18th, 2007
10:54:25 PM
But I soon learned that I had been impressed by his work much earlier--when as a kid I saw The Outer Limits episode, Demon With A Glass Hand. He has been inspiring for the aspiring. Getting the Seaview to crack the TV exec sounds like probably a true story. I think I'd go with Sam Peckinpah's tactic of throwing a hunting knife.
Ellison at Disney-
by RenoNevada2000
Apr 18th, 2007
11:19:45 PM
Does Harlan confirm or deny the oft-told tale of his half-day of working on the Disney lot?
Harlan says thanks
by Josh Olson
Apr 18th, 2007
11:21:43 PM
Hey, Moriarty - I just got off the horn with Harlan, and he asked me to relay to you that he was just plain tickled by your review of the movie. (Harlan doesn't do the internet, really, so I'm acting as his humble messenger here. He also asked me to ignore the moron who's posting libellous comments about me, so in deference to our fearless leader, I will.) I hope you'll make it tomorrow - hell, I hope ALL of you make it tomorrow. It's going to be a real blast. The film's terrific, and I suspect Harlan will be in fine form for the festivities afterwards. As for your observations about what attracts some of us to Harlan's work, I think you're pretty spot on. The man's enormous personality - as well as his sense of decency - comes through all of his work, and is part and parcel of his art. It's pretty damn compelling, and I know you believe me when I say it's the honor of a lifetime to call the man a friend, not to mention to have written with him. PS: The Seaview story IS in the film. PPS: OlsOn, dammit! Only Superman's goony pal and slimy Norwegians spell it with an E.
Too bad he's fucking Fantagraphics over...
by Andy Travis
Apr 18th, 2007
11:35:45 PM
...just for kicks. He's an ass-hat.
He's a complete dick
by tiger_robot
Apr 18th, 2007
11:52:03 PM
i had to deal with him over the phone once for work. I don't give a shit how talented he is, he's subhuman.
Harlan Ellison, that is
by tiger_robot
Apr 18th, 2007
11:52:50 PM
Harlan Ellison, that is
There was a piece or an article on Harlan
by ewokstew
Apr 18th, 2007
11:54:54 PM
In the now defunct Science Fiction Age magazine many years ago, probably around the mid nineties? In the article there was an excerpt from a short story he was working on called "The Pet"? or something along those lines that till this day has me intrigued. I still haven't seen or heard of this story. Then again. I haven't read every last piece of fiction Harlan has wrote in those intervening years. Can't wait to see the movie. Even if Harlan did roll his eyes at me once for asking an honest question at a book signing.
A boy and his dog
by paulrichard
Apr 18th, 2007
11:58:07 PM
Does anyone know if we'll ever see a sequel? In the intro to the recent version that reprints both the prose stories and Corben's comic adaptations he claims to have written a screenplay.
Best Titler in the Business
by Dr. Meirschultz
Apr 19th, 2007
12:13:18 AM
I've only read a bit of Ellison, and I think a major reason for this is because I don't see how his stories could possibly fulfill my expectations when they have titles as great as "Repent, Harlequin! Said the Tick Tock Man", "The Whimper of Whipped Dogs" or "I Have No Mouth, And I Must Scream."
Josh Olson in rec.music.artists.springsteen
by rainbowtrout1265
Apr 19th, 2007
12:58:54 AM
anybody can check out mr olson's unhinged rantings (and anti semitic remarks against hal007, a jewish guy who posts frequently) under the name "badcog".
two things I'd like to hear him talk about...
by adambalm
Apr 19th, 2007
01:03:58 AM
His infamous grabbing of Connie Willis's boob at WorldCon last year and whether L. Ron Hubbard really...well, everyone knows the L. Ron Hubbard story.
Artist? Asshole?
by topaz4206
Apr 19th, 2007
01:17:08 AM
Being in "The Arts" is one of the only jobs in the world where if you're REALLY good, some folks give you a license to be an ass.

My plumber does a fantastic job, and his recent snake-work on my toilet changed and saved my life. But that doesn't mean he can be a shithead.
artist? yes Asshole? yes
by adambalm
Apr 19th, 2007
02:16:20 AM
Okay I know the comparison I'm about to make is a bit unfair, for one thing he wouldn't have said anything racist or bigoted as Imus did, but he does share the commonality with Imus in that they both were always given free passes for saying whatever they wanted to because of them having an asshole 'persona', or 'shtick' as previously mentioned. If you took offense at something they said, then it was you who had a thick skin, you who couldn't take a joke. "That's just our Harlan!" *sitcom laugh* Like the boob groping at World-Con. Supposedly it was a gag, an injoke and anyone who thought it was appalling was not getting the joke. Maybe he's right. I didn't see it. But on the other hand with personas there's that old line from Mother Night 'Be careful who you pretend to be, because in the end you are who you pretend to be.' It's often hard to appreciate a man's work, when he continuously acted as though he held is fellow man in contempt, boasting on many occasions that he was a proud elitist, ranting about the stupidity of the the average reader, or the mindless cattle that watches television...which he wasn't too good to write for. The first book of his I ever read was of course his original City on the Edge of Forever script along with commentary and I still cannot understand to this day why he was so upset. In the end I'm still not sure how I feel about him. I mean I love some of his stories almost like I love old friends. And I hate some of his stories not because they're bad, but because they caused me to have to re-think a lot of things and look at the world in a much more disturbing way. (I.E., I Have No Mouth...) And of course you have to admit that he had certainly earned the right to be an elitist, since he was in the elite of top 20th century American writers, and you could call him the sole American voice in the mostly british New Wave. But he's also fundamentally bitter and unhappy and cruel human being, and a bit of a bully, in my little insignificant opinion. I see humanity in his work, but not in him as a person.
L. Ron Hubbard
by bunkpoy
Apr 19th, 2007
03:44:51 AM
I've got some mp3's of an interview Harlan did with Robin Williams, where he talks about, among other things, L. Ron Hubbard. I could zip those files and put them on yousendit or something for anyone interested. It's great material and I would probably never have read Van Vogt's 'Slan' if Harlan hadn't mentioned it. So thanks for that, Mr. Ellison.
rainbowtrout1265 you fucker...
by raw_bean
Apr 19th, 2007
03:45:04 AM
... Josh Olson isn't BadCog, that's me.
Well,
by raw_bean
Apr 19th, 2007
03:47:29 AM
actually I'm lieing, BadCog looks like a pretty nasty piece of work. But I could have been. You should either stop with the libel, or pony up some evidence that shows Olson is BadCog.
Josh and Harlan
by JADSTERSDAD
Apr 19th, 2007
04:08:33 AM
This is really great news! Been an H fan for thirty years or so, although we struggle a bit more here in the UK (we all know why!). I'd give my eye teeth to get to that show and meet the guy in person. Also meet and thank the person who wrote A History of Violence. Great movie from a top filmmaker. Which leads me to... I'd have thought of all the collaborations that were made in heaven, it was HE and David Cronenberg. Has Josh got a story/theory as to why this hasn't happened? We NEED more Harlan on the screen. Yes.. Shatterday was good on TZ and there were others. I particularly liked 'One Life Furnished in Early Poverty'. And hey.. it's good to thank people you admire in person. Even if they don't thank you for it! ;-)
Awesome Leaked Transformers Movie Stuff
by LittleDudes
Apr 19th, 2007
04:13:32 AM
http://tinyurl.com/378gnj
Harlan Ellison audio interview
by bunkpoy
Apr 19th, 2007
04:17:29 AM
For whoever wants it: http://download.yousendit.com/ D98F45BC23053DD5
Did they quote any of the dwarf's "works" in the docu?
by JackPumpkinhead
Apr 19th, 2007
04:56:10 AM
If they did, he'll sue them.
I worked at Titan Publishing and Harlan Ellison called.
by tomthumbstallywhacker
Apr 19th, 2007
05:20:46 AM
..The girl who picked up the call didn't know who he was, and said "Who?" and he started ranting "Who? Don't you know me? I'm HARLAN ELLISON! Don't you know who I am?? Jesus! HARLAN ELLISON! FUCK!" Dick.
TWILIGHT ZONE/ SHATTERDAY
by RenoNevada2000
Apr 19th, 2007
07:23:00 AM
"Shatterday" was indeed adapted for the mid-80s CBS revival of THE TWILIGHT ZONE. If memory serves it was the first episode. Harlan was serving as script editor/consultant/somethingoro ther at the time, though I don't think he lasted the whole season, having some sort of blowup with the network. (I think it was over the Santa Claus as home intruder episode.) Bruce Willis starred in the episode and I think it ran just around the time Season 2 of MOONLIGHTING was starting up, so it was the first real time we got to see Willis do something meaty, acting-wise. (Sorry, if some of the details may be off. I don't think I've seenthe episode since it aired. Jebus, I was in high school back then...)
So, what is the L. Ron Hubbard story?
by Moonwatcher
Apr 19th, 2007
07:35:54 AM
Some of us have some catching up to do.
google josh olson and bad cog
by rainbowtrout1265
Apr 19th, 2007
08:49:23 AM
"BadCog looks like a pretty nasty piece of work. But I could have been. You should either stop with the libel, or pony up some evidence that shows Olson is BadCog" Just do a google search on the newsgroup. He even talked about some of his work, etc. Type in Josh Olson and Bad Cog and it's all there.
this is gonna be a fun night
by Smilin'Jack Ruby
Apr 19th, 2007
09:25:08 AM
And I've read a lot of Harlan - the short stories, the essays, the film reviews (his words on "Return to Oz" - a rave, if I'm remembering right - are a sight to behold) and even the longer bits are fucking great. But as semi-autobiographical/Nathan Zuckerman-esque as they get, the one that's always fascinated me is "All the Lies That Are My Life," one of the greatest short stories out there. I'd sit for two hours just to hear Ellison talk about the writing of that piece. The guy is incredible. If you've never read him, the story that I always find recommending to people is "The Museum on Cyclops Avenue." It's one that you read and are like, "Who the hell IS this guy?" And then you buy all those great collections and start the long process of reading all the Ellison.
GREAT NEWS!
by mbeemer
Apr 19th, 2007
10:27:22 AM
This is the first I've heard of it, and I'm chomping at the bit to get it on DVD eventually.

Ellison is a master storyteller, and has always been a decent guy when I've seen him in person. I almost set him off myself by insisting I'd seen an ad for an interview he did in a non-existant magazine (I misremembered). We went back and forth a couple of times until I realized I was doing *EXACTLY* what I had just read an essay of his complaining about. I said, "I'm sorry; I must be remembering it wrong," and that was that. He was a perfect gent.

Signing?
by Alan Ampersand
Apr 19th, 2007
11:27:18 AM
Josh or Mori- Is tonight's screening/Q&A also a signing? If it is, that'd be terrific, but if it is not I surely do not want to be the one clod who brought a book. Regarding Ellison's behavior - I can't claim to know the man, but I've met him at a couple of other events, and one time sent him a book manuscript looking for a blurb (knowing full well that he doesn't do that). In every case he was polite. With regard to the book, I didn't get the blurb but he did call me and we chatted for a few minutes, which struck me as generous. My experience is that if you approach the man with good manners, he responds with good manners.
His script for I, ROBOT is great!
by Bob Cryptonight
Apr 19th, 2007
12:41:43 PM
Too bad THAT can't be made into a movie!
Signing, and another shoutout to Moriarty
by Josh Olson
Apr 19th, 2007
12:51:00 PM
Moriarty, Harlan tried to get in touch with Harry, and his numbers are dead. Could you ask him to contact Harlan? Also, he wants to know if you'll be there personally tonight so he can kiss you on the cheek. Alan, Harlan will only be signing new copies of three books, which he'll be selling there as well: The new Spider Kiss, the new Dream Corridor, and the new Dreams with Sharp Teeth (the book, not the movie) Love, Josh Olson Assistant to Mr. Ellison
He's from the "Look, Ma, I'm Writing" school...
by Bob Cryptonight
Apr 19th, 2007
12:51:40 PM
That's what a FRIEND of his (writer Ron Goulart) said of his work! Funny observation...kinda true, though...
You Are Not Alone
by dandosama
Apr 19th, 2007
01:44:05 PM
One of Mr. Ellison's recurring themes -- "You are not alone" -- spoke to me vividly as a lonely teenager. I had never felt so understood, by anyone. Maybe I have not since, now that I come to think of it.

A few years ago, I went back to his writings and (unlike so many things remembered fondly) was pleasantly surprised to find that his work held up well and still spoke to me, though on a different level of course.

"We are all the same, all in this fragile skin, suffering the ugliness of simply being human, all prey to the same mortal dreads."

He Makes Some Damn Cool Motorcycles
by kevinwillis.net
Apr 19th, 2007
02:53:34 PM
Who can't appreciate a ride in the open country on a classic Harlan Ellison Fatboy?
A Boy and His Dog
by kevinwillis.net
Apr 19th, 2007
02:55:22 PM
In the end, he should have eaten the girl AND the dog. That would have been ironic, be-yotch.
Ellison is a fascinating man, great writer
by Proman1984
Apr 19th, 2007
03:23:44 PM
Not sure I like his personality and film critisim though.
I looked up 'curmudgeon' in the dictionary...
by Neil Peart
Apr 19th, 2007
04:19:05 PM
...and there was Harlan's picture! Even more interesting was an inscription that read: "Yeah, I put this picture here. You got a problem with that? -HE"As a longtime fan, I cannot wait for this one. Also, I heard Samuel L. Jackson was interested in bringing 'Mephisto In Onyx' to the big screen. Anyone got the skinny on that?
Maybe Josh Olson....
by Tapewyrm
Apr 19th, 2007
06:19:21 PM
...can discuss with Ellison his theory (posted a couple years ago on a popular Springsteen board) that the Jews were behind the 9-11 attacks? Oh I'd pay serious money to see Harlan's face during that conversation.
The Whimper of Whipped Dogs
by FlyingGuillotine
Apr 19th, 2007
06:27:24 PM
One of my all-time favorite short stories ever. The man's brilliant as brilliant gets.
"HOW'S THE NIGHT LIFE ON CISSALDA?"
by Wyatt Wingfoot
Apr 19th, 2007
06:41:59 PM
"...they found him doing a DISGUSTING thing with a disgusting THING."

One of the funniest alien invasion/sex/apocalypse/ stories ever written.
I Have No Mouth And I Must Scream
by themanwhojaped
Apr 19th, 2007
11:17:46 PM
I Have No Mouth And I Must Scream, the greatest story Harlan Ellison ever wrote!
Harlan is The Man, period.
by Zeke25:17
Apr 20th, 2007
03:45:34 AM
And sometimes, his essays are better than the stories...that's sayin something, for sure. For me, favorite living writers would be Ellison, Thomas Berger, John Irving, Tom Robbins, and Stephen King, in that order. Only got to meet one of em, and it was Harlan; I couldn't think of a better tribute than to put him in a story of mine own...a small but important part, and though he is never named and not too clearly described, he is revealed to those in the know by the line, "I'm just an everyday force for good in my time." Also, he provides a potion called Strange Wine to the protagonist, who drinks it and conjures up his own Cybill Shepherd circa Moonlighting and...ah, never mind. Just find Ellison's books, read em, treasure em; and for God's sake, don't loan them to anyone!!!
OMFG!
by TheRealMoriarty
Apr 20th, 2007
06:13:08 AM
Harlan Ellison kissed me tonight!

And there were witnesses! Hundreds of them!

I hope all the AICN readers who showed up for this event had a great time. The Q&A between OlsOn and Ellison was far more A than Q, and the audience ate it up. A great evening out, and did I mention...

Harlan Ellison kissed me!

The weirdest thing about the movie last night...
by Smilin'Jack Ruby
Apr 20th, 2007
08:50:37 AM
...was hearing/watching Harlan read his own work on screen. Seriously, you grow up and you have the "Harlan voice" in your head - the narrator you've created that you may have pieced together from whatever interviews you've seen or just kind of have taken from the ways he writes. Then, you see and hear this guy reading those words and it can't help but just sound like some random guy doing a good, thoughtful reading of a very familiar story as you - the reader - already know what Harlan's words sound like to you. It was a strange disconnect for me knowing that the man doing the reading was the author. An odd point to make, but every time they showed one of those cool interstitials of him performing his work, it struck me. It also made me think about all the other really forceful narrators in literature - Conrad, Hardy, Dos Passos, etc. - and how interesting it would be to then hear them deliver their own words as they relate to them. As for the rest of the movie, it was quite excellent - a real fun look at the man AND the personality (Gaiman seems to "get" both sides of Harlan the best, but of course he would). From the Q&A, it sounds like Ellison would HATE this, but forget "Hogan Knows Best" and "The Family Jewels," the Sci-Fi Channel could have a very interesting reality show exploring the day-to-day life of Harlan Ellison, certainly. And yes to all doubters, Harlan CHARGED off the stage and rushed to the back of the room to kiss Moriarty (made more dramatic by how much shoe leather there was between the two) to thank him for the kind words above. My own Harlan story? He was coming down the aisle to his seat and passed me and my wife. After he asked "which one of us was the fan?" (I admitted to having an entire shelf of his stuff, though I declined to really "go geek" and say I collected his stuff in the original pulps), he commented on the book I was reading - "Here and On Earth" - that he had known its author, Jim Thompson before heading down to find his seat. I would've loved to hear that story, certainly.
Last Night
by TerryKeefe
Apr 20th, 2007
11:45:43 AM
Ellison did indeed run down a very long aisle, stopping his Q and A, to kiss Moriarty. I believe a local news crew captured it also. The film is truly great. I'm not even a huge Ellison fan, but it's one of the best films about being a writer I've ever seen. Ellison stayed and signed books into the wee hours. Long after the reception had cleared out, he was still there. Now that's cool.
Great Film
by Ronnie Pudding
Apr 20th, 2007
05:15:03 PM
I was at the (packed) WGA theater for the DREAMS WITH SHARP TEETH screening last night, sitting within –- well, not spitting distance -- but possibly rock-hurling distance of Moriarty (not that hurling a rock had ever been considered). I can vouch for the kiss and it was movie-magical in a completely platonic, heterosexual sort of way. As for the film, I share raging anti-Semite and 9/11 conspiracy theorist Josh Olson’s summation: It’s as close as you’ll get to the experience of actually hanging out with Harlan in the flesh. It was hilarious, offensive and razor-sharp. But more importantly it was STIMULATING. Not in the German fetish porn sort of way but in that it got the old synapses firing and knocked the dust off some less-used portions of my brain. Harlan Ellison is a WRITER’S writer. Baby-eating hate-crime advocate Josh Olson compared him a guitar god who plays words instead of Stratocasters, and that’s completely on the mark. But beyond that he’s a champion of the PROFESSION of writing. He doesn’t take shit, he doesn’t back down and he will not under any circumstances compromise his art. If you’re a writer, want to be a writer, or are for whatever reason sexually attracted to writers this film should be required viewing.
Speaking of sexual attraction...
by Duke of Hurl
Apr 20th, 2007
05:57:40 PM
There was this blonde bombshell sitting on the front row. Hourglass. You could bounce a fucking quarter off of it... She had to be with the media. Unfortunately, smart speculative fiction girls aren't that hot.
blonde bombshell...
by Ronnie Pudding
Apr 20th, 2007
06:21:04 PM
Was it Werner Herzog's wife?
Not Werner's wife
by Duke of Hurl
Apr 20th, 2007
08:08:18 PM
Herzog's lady is nice, but this chick was a goddess. Early 30s.
the blonde...
by Ronnie Pudding
Apr 21st, 2007
02:34:26 AM
... was apparently some Russian actress.
Click for previous story Talk Back More on this story Click for next story

User login

Quick Talkback

Please login to post talkback.