Harlan Ellison is a TV writer (the original Star Trek series, The Outer Limits), sci-fi author (his 1967 short story I Have No Mouth, and I Must Scream is among the most hauntingly horrific tales ever penned), and counter-culture icon. But, mostly, he’s just angry as hell. At one point in tonight’s documentary Dreams With Sharp Teeth (which is on the Sundance Channel at 9 p.m.), the scribe recalls the kind of advice he gives to fellow author Dan Simmons when the latter is having professional problems with someone. "He doesn’t want to know what he should do, he wants to know what I would do," explains Ellison. "And I say, ‘Well, I’d get a garden hoe and I’d bury it in the motherf—er’s head." Elsewhere, he derides the output of Tom Clancy and Judith Krantz as "crap" and essentially likens them to "things that live in Petri dishes." The septuagenarian also compares death to "a salivating fan boy at a Star Trek convention, it’s just out of eyeshot but you know it’s there."
In short, you probably wouldn’t want to be married to Harlan Ellison, a point that is proven when his long-suffering spouse recounts the occasion he locked her out of their house despite the fact that she was naked at the time. But his righteous indignation makes the author a fascinating and hugely entertaining documentary subject. Dreams With Sharp Teeth has no shortage of talking-head contributions from pals such as Robin Williams, Coraline scripter Neil Gaiman, and Battlestar Galactica overlord Ron Moore. But director Erik Nelson wisely devotes large chunks of his film to Ellison himself as he rages against the machine. And pretty much everything else.
HARLAN ELLISON: DREAMS WITH SHARP TEETH: Movie Trailer – The most popular videos are a click away
You realize that you just called Harlan Ellison a “sci-fi author.” Seriously, Clark, start running now. He’s older but he’s still fit enough to come after you.
Saw this at the Hot Docs film festival last year in Toronto. It is truly wonderful. This is one guy who gives a lot. In the 80s, I attened one of his lectures; he spoke, non-stop for four hours. Ironically, I’ve always been a bigger fan of his columns than his fiction, but only just. See this, by all means, then track down, if you can, his written work (a lot of it goes in and out of print).
Nice spelling on my part: ‘Attended’. And Clark, you’re safe. Harlan doesn’t even own a computer.
Apparently, “going for gold in cranky” is a lifetime pursuit, not just an Olympic event.
Harlan is one of my all-time idols, icons, fave writers, however you want to put it. And I’m SO irritated Time Warner Cable doesn’t carry Sundance Channel. B*stards!
Not as angry as I thought it would be…and it was actually sweet to see him watching the old family films of his parents. Loved Gaiman relating the phone message HE left him – classic HE! And nothing about HE’s Politically Incorrect appearances…apparently that rift is far and deep.
I’ve been a fan since 1968. Even wrote the fellow a nice fan letter 20 or so years ago. He sent me back a very gentlemanly and warm answer, which I was not expecting. Not the answer at all, and the gentlemanliness was welcome, although not completely unanticipated.
From what I’ve heard of Ellison, if one approaches him civilly and restrains one’s natural stupidity,and is careful to take no liberties, one can get along with him ok. He don’t suffer fools gladly, but most of that anger, as in the case of many angry philosophers, is that of rerequited love. High idealism dissapointed to the point of rage.
I get it. Hell, haven’t most of us spent the last 8 years in America in a state of high piss off ourselves?
What’s great is that the sponsored link right underneath the article (at least when I read the article) was for “Ulcerative Colitis Info.”
Which, when you think about the general dememeanor of Ellison, is quite apt.
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