CNN Interviews with Harlan Ellison, Bruce Sterling

half_cocked_jack writes "Over at the CNN Podcast area they have a program titled 'Hollywood's SciFi Summer'. It sounded interesting, so I downloaded it. Much to my surprise, the host, Renay San Miguel, seems to really know SF, and he interviewed Harlan Ellison, Connie Willis, Bruce Sterling, and Len Wein on their views on how Hollywood handles SF. Great listening!"

Comments

Bruce Willis?

[sedyn]

he interviewed Harlan Ellison, Connie Willis, Bruce Sterling, and Len Wein

Does anyone else think that this placing is unfortunate? I know that I misread it on first-pass.

The Sterling-Ellison Connection

[Nova Express]

Not many people know that Harlan "discovered" Bruce. He attended a very early Turkey City Writer's Workshop, bought Bruce's first novel (Involution Ocean), and then paid Bruce's way to the Clarion Writer's Workshop. Harlan is a prickly character, but he does have a fine eye for talent (and a gift for making the right enemies).

Bruce has "paid it forward" by helping a number of new writers (myself included) with their careers by subjecting them to the bracing fire of a Sterling critique...

Re:The Sterling-Ellison Connection

[grolaw]

Ellison "prickly"? You must be using some meaning of the word "prickly" that I wasn't previously familiar with.

Harlan was a wicked, wicked young man. His readings at Worldcon in NYC in the late 60's and early 70's were the stuff of massive panel debates. AND, fawning admiration by most of the attendees.

I can remember one piece that Harlan read an overtly raw sex piece from the dais at the Commodore Hotel, around the time that he published "I see a man sitting in a chair and the chair is biting his leg" in a collaboration with Robert Sheckley. I recall that Sheckley, Gunn, and Silverberg were all onthe panel and a room full of college kids had their first exposure to erotic literature.

The man wrote, and read, brilliantly. Yes, he has short-man's syndrome, but in his defense, he has taste and style and a willingness to explore just about anything as a writer.

From his Dangerous Visions anthologies to his scripts for Demon with a Glass Hand and City on the Edge of Forever to The Glass Teat and The Other Glass Teat, Ellison has cranked out a lifetime's work nearly every year for the first 20 years of his professional life. Only Isaac Asimov was more prolific.

Ellison had a legitimate, hard fought, lawsuit for copyright violation. Companies were reprinting his work and selling it without paying any royalty and Ellison had every right to fight for his property rights.

See, http://harlanellison.com/home.htm/ for Ellison's (way out of date) home page and,

See, http://www.authorslawyer.com/c-ellison.shtml/ for the copyright action.

Re:The Sterling-Ellison Connection

[mbrother]

Ellison also discovered a lot of other writers, too, including Dan Simmons. While most people see his growly, larger-than-himself public persona, he can be an incredibly generous man. He called up one friend of mine who'd reviewed a story of his because Ellison wasn't sure he'd appreciated some of the subtlies of the story -- and then they talked for an hour. A guy I knew in college had written a complaining letter to him about why he was years late on a Star Trek project, and Ellison called him up to bitch back and explain, and then they talked like buddies for an hour. Interesting, talented guy.

Re:The Sterling-Ellison Connection

[Nova Express]

>Ellison "prickly"? You must be using some meaning of the word "prickly" that I wasn't previously familiar with.

"Prickly" as in "Every single science fiction writer older than myself I know can tell you a story about how Harlan Ellison was a complete asshat to them at one time or another." Most also have a story about how Harlan went out of his way to do something nice for them as well.

There are legions of Harlan Ellison stories in science fiction. Like the time he flew across the country to punch out Charles Platt. (Like I said, he has great taste in enemies.) Or the job he did on Andy Porter (IIRC) in Short Form. Or check out Christopher Priest's the Last Deadloss Visions (AKA The Book on the Edge of Forever.)

Make no mistake about: At the top of his game, Ellison was probably the best short story writer in the field, and I fully expect "I Have No Mouth and I Must Scream" to be read 100 years from now. But in no way, shape or form is he a saint.

Re:The Sterling-Ellison Connection

[grolaw]

Exactly. Prickly doesn't convey the proper image of Ellison.

An under-medicated, short curmudgeon, with distinct bi-polar and antisocial traits who used his personality as a birth control device is a somewhat more accurate description of the Ellison I know.

Re:The Sterling-Ellison Connection

[billyjoeray]

Another fact some people might forget is that Ellison was the technical advisor for Babylon 5

Re:The Sterling-Ellison Connection

[cei]

I have one of the collections of Ellison erotica written under the pen-name "Paul Merchant." I was able to get Ellison to sign it using his preferred nom de plume (which the publisher wouldn't let him use), D.S. Merchant (for Dirty Smut Merchant). I wasn't really sure how he would handle being handed a copy of Sex Gang at a signing, but he was in good spirits. He doesn't normally sign those, but he hadn't seen a copy in a while.

A new record for Slashdot?

[Qwertie]

A story so boring that it's only got 6 comments 15 minutes after being posted!

Re:Oh, PULEEEZE

[mbrother]

At this time in tech history, I think it's to a writer's advantage to give away their work online, and that it actually helps sales of paperbacks and hardbacks. I put my money where my mouth is and my first novel, Star Dragon (Tor 2003), is available for free download from my site under a Creative Commons license. That's a decision that I made and my editor has supported. I hope it helps me generate sales at the milli-Ellison level or better.

But it's against the law to copy stories without permission. Harlan is old school, and as obnoxious as all hell when he wants to be, and that's his right here. Sure, publishers need to change their business model, but they haven't just yet. Respect the artist. If you think he sucks so much, why do you want to read his work anyway?

I wanted to use a story by Geoffrey Landis in my astronomy class last semester. I emailed him up, asked him if I could make 120 copies for my students, and he said absolutely. Even asked if I wanted the story in electronic form. If he'd said no, I wouldn't have done it.

Re:Who are they

[Sangloth]

Bruce Sterling is a founding father of cyber-punk, next to William Gibson. Despite the role-playing world's that come to mind when cyber-punk is mentioned, Sterling's worlds are believable and his stories aren't very action oriented. One of his latest books was about politicians in the US in about 40 years. Bruce more looks at social trends then technology, that's not to say tech isn't in his books, but in general they are about society.

Connie Willis wrote the Doomsday book, a story about a time traveler stuck in Europe during the plague. There was a very heavy historical emphasis, in practice it was a historical novel. She's written other timetravel stuff. Her books aren't so much fun as interesting.

Harlan Ellison's books are fun. He is a brillant writer who should not be let out in public(The man is very easily offended, and not afraid to attack with a chair or what not when he is offended. If he's not violent, he's shouting furiously, and it really doesn't take anything intentional to set him off). He wrote I have no mouth and I must scream and Repent Harliqin said the Tick Tock Man. Harlan's books, and Harlan have a extreme cynical viewpoint that's very entertaining. Harlan started out attending sci fi conventions, and has many big sci fi writer friends. I don't know that his writings really fall in a sci fi category (To be clear, Harlan's books pay no attention to science at all, it's more experimental modern writing), but they are good reads.

I've read a ton of Sci Fi, and I've never heard of Len Wein. A quick google says he's a comics guy invovled heavily with X-men, fantastic 4, hulk, and the watchmen series. Some one else will have to give a perspective here.

All three authors are big names in Sci Fi, although none of them give more then lip service to the sci part. I can barely think of who else might belong on this list over them. (Well...Philip K. Dick, Asimov, Heinlien, Bester, Clarke, Cambell(Editor, not an author) a couple other golden oldies. Of living people under 70, Bear, Guin, Stephenson, Kress, and Gibson...Still that's a wish list... )

Still, these are the names of real Science Fiction in the last 20 years (Star Trek and such belong in fantasy or action). I'm not trying to be elitist. These are big names... If you don't know these people, you don't know science fiction...

Sangloth
I'd appreciate any comment with a logical basis...it doesn't even have to agree with me.

He offered that insight on Hour 25.

[Stormbringer]

...back in the 80's. Hour 25 is now online-only, but it was a 2-hour Friday-night program on KPFK-FM in Los Angeles, hosted by Mike Hodel and Mel Gilden, at the time, and Harlan was a frequent guest. No doubt, Eric Foss has the entire broadcast archived on tape somewhere.

From what I recall, Ellison said something like, "I attended a party in New York, along with some other writers, including L. Ron Hubbard, and Hubbard was saying something about 'Y'know what I should do? Invent a new religion. That's where all the real money is.' And, next thing you know, he came out with his next book, 'Dianetics'."

Re:Ellison

[graikor]

I've been a huge Ellison fan since the first time I read "Repent, Harlequin!" Said the Ticktock Man in the early 80's.

A few other very good Ellison stories include:
Mefisto in Onyx
Grail
Djinn, No Chaser
Pretty Maggie Moneyeys
Shattered Like a Glass Goblin
Paingod
The Deathbird
Anywhere but Here, With Anybody But You
Chatting With Anubis
Midnight in the Sunken Cathedral
Paladin of the Lost Hour

and many others I'm too lazy to type out.

The thing about Ellison's writing that grabs so many people is that he expertly blends fantastic settings and situations with real human drama. The events descibed might be bizarre or possibly futuristic (although Ellison's work usually has a timeless quality), but the emotions the characters are dealing with are very real and familiar.

/My personal Ellison story - Harlan had a huge line for autographs at Dragoncon '99, and I was too far back to be able to get my book signed before he had to leave. He came back on his own time to sign for all the people who got cut off in that line. A real stand-up guy!