Pay us!!!! I have been waiting over two months for a check for work done last year. ...they claimed the delay was because they were transitioning between editors..okay and I am transitioning from having a home to homelessness cause of your cheap asses! I did a poetry show and the fking venue played that you will get exposure shiiite. I am not a stripper slamming poetry for bills to be slid in my thong...I am a writer, an artist - cut me a check and let me expose it to the bank.
Truth. Pay us!!!!. I waited on a certain magazine three months...they claimed the delay was because they were transitioning between editors..okay and I am transitioning from having a home to homelessness cause of your cheap asses! I did a poetry show and the fking venue played that you will get exposure shiiite. I am not a stripper slamming poetry for bills to be slid in my thong...I am a writer, an artist - cut me a check and let me expose it to the bank.
I'm not a writer, but if i were just starting out as an unknown and a company wanted to use some of my stuff for free, I think i'd say "Sure, just credit me because i could use the publicity to get noticed".
@jaodeballs Thank you for bracketing your comment with "lol"s, providing me with the textual signal that I could ignore everything written between them without missing anything relevant or intelligible.
@jaodeballs those "amateurs" will start raging the moment they realize they can't get make a living on what they do because they destroyed their own market.
The whole freebies for "publicity" thing is a scam, and exploitation of creative labour by people who can more than afford it, be you a professional or amateur.
It's the same goddamn people (MPAA and RIAA) that have a problem with people getting art for free, when they're not willing to pay for it themselves. You can't have it both ways, you greedy bastards.
All the people who are slagging this guy have never created anything. This guy speaks the truth. If you do not understand this, go illegally download your music and movies and tell ushow music should be free etc... losers.
I have been a writer for 17 years and I have always gotten paid for my work which includes hundreds upon hundreds of articles for magazines and newspapers, an ad or two, editing college term papers, writing a proposal for a business and other projects.
Those who argue against this should tell their bosses and firms not pay them anymore-they will do it for "love."
hahahaha if there are amateur writers who are providing a product/service for cheaper than him, then this man is in total old-person denial about the free market and his growing irrelevance to the industry he feels like he should dominate.
YEAH, pay the writer. But for something he actually wrote and not because some kid with a dream saw something he wrote and got inspired. You tell me if you see anything to suggest that The Terminator and Soldier contain more than just "vaguely" similar elements.
@codename617 Why did James Cameron bragged to everyone in earshot that he ripped off both of Harlan Ellison stories when he wrote the script for Terminator? That’s how Harlan found out about it, and, when Hemdale Film Corporation refused to show him the script, then he knew he had a cause of action, which both parties settled out of court for $150,000 and screen acknowledgement.
Lesson learned: don’t publicly give another writer credit for your work unless you’re ready to pay him.
@jackdeath Cameron was stupid for saying that. He was trying to come off as a bigshot but his mistake ended up biting him in the ass. Ellison says now that only "Solider" was ripped off in The Terminator. I don't think that Ellison even believes that it was a rip off. "To the acknowledgement of the works of Harlen Ellison"? WHy not just based on "Solider" by Harlen Ellison? Ellison is a leech and Cameron should've toned down his ego.
@jackdeath One more thing, there was a movie called Soldier with Kurt Russell. It was nothing at all like the Outer Limits episode. A guy was trained be to a soldier his whole life since birth, then he gets taken out by some super soldier and thrown away in a garbage planet where he meets survivors of an accident. He tries fit in with their life and their ways. Then the Military invades the planet to kill everyone and destroy it. Ellison does not deserve credit for this either.
@codename617 Please... don't make me laugh! Is that how desperate you need to be right that you grow a strawman before our eyes about a movie Harlan Ellison never had an issue with. Do you know how many movies have been made with word *Soldier* in the title, yet Harlan has never sued any of them. See Cyborg 2087.
In the last 28 years since Terminator, Harlan sued only one other film. It was settled recently; can you name the film and the work on which Harlan alleged it was based?
The same applies to musicians and researchers, or really any professional content creators, their intellectual property (which often amounts to months/years or even a lifetime of work) and the parasites who think it is "appropriate" to appropriate this work for their own egoic or financial gain simply because they offer to cite/reference it. That is not "support", just intellectual theft dressed up as "publicity". Content creators need to be vigilant of such moochers who cannot DO for themselves
As a photographer, i understand EXACTLY what he is talking about.
The amount of times for weddings i get..."Well can i have the files, and i can print the photos myself?" i always say "NO! What are you paying for my services for then?".
Or the amount of times for commission work for businesses i always get "Well. can't you just use photoshop", and i always say "Can photoshop change the direction of the sun? You want the best photos you can, and you must not cut corners in the process!"
As more and more work goes unpaid, the skill of the workers will have to decrease to enable them to do it. This'll be across the board... the death of all sides of the arts, and eventually the death of everything but the financial sector when we'll all be slaves running a factory under the ground... what dystopia book did I read that in?
@emanon86 i think both the professionals and amateurs have alot of passion for what they do, so, to carry on to do so, they need money, i dont think it's right to judge the professionals implying that they don't do for the love of it, of course they love it, to be able to fully engage in their practice, they couldn't possibly do it for free. Alike everyone, we have bills to pay and mouths to feed.
This guy is the arsehole. He got paid for doing that interveiw 8 years ago. He has no more work to do for it. His fans would love to have seen it as an extra on the dvd. Every single one of his many examples were of people doing real and tangible work at that time, for which they are all paid, just like he was when he gave that interview.
I used to like Harlan Ellison.
I agree with cadwell, though. 2:02 to 2:48 is the gospel truth. He could be less arsehole-ish in his presentation.
@PoisonedAl What are you talking about? You think NHS doctors do their job "for nothing"? The money for that spleen op comes out of the tax payers' pockets. Just because you don't hand over the money directly it doesn't mean you're getting free surgery. Harlan's point makes perfect sense applied to the NHS. You wouldn't expect the system to require doctors to work unpaid, would you? Silly Brit.
@honestjohntellsit The doctor wouldn't take out your spleen for free in the UK. He or she would be paid a fair rate, as s/he should. Just because it comes from taxes doesn't make it free.
No one likes to pay for entertainment, which is essentially what it is. I could be massively wrong, but the rate of media piracy strongly suggests otherwise.
I didn't argue that piracy isn't damaging to the media industry.
While I'm glad you feel you have the authority to personally decide what is and is not morally wrong, forgive me for thinking that whether or not piracy is "moral" is irrelevant.
I fully understand that piracy isn't a sustainable enterprise, but at the very least it is forcing the music/movie industry to adapt to the changes in consumer demand brought on by the proliferation of internet usage.
This is how I feel about being a computer hardware technician. Just because it doesn't take long, doesn't mean its cheap. It means I'm good at what I do. Anyone can install AVG, and think they're a computer technician, but when you need to get into the nit and grit, and really break down the problems, knowing and understanding are two different sides of the coin. I don't get paid to fix someones computer, I get paid because I understand the fundementals and work well with it.
; 'Occupier' is a British legal term, re-proving the person behind the 'Occupiers' is Anjem Choudry, a British Muhammadan who had their legal license removed due to illegal activities, including organizing anti-British demonstrations in Britain. Anjem is on 'welfare', in Britain is known as 'the dole', supporting his wife, and four children. Perhaps Anjem needs to learn how to behave as a human being, and mind his manners.
every morning i get up and watch 20 minutes of harlan losing his shit over something like this; it keeps me focused on slamming mediocrity and wankers
@ThisParticularBrad Yes! He has every right! It's his work, and if they want to use it he should be paid. Its his intellectual property and too many people (like yourself) think the physical writing is where the payment should end. NO. It's your work, if someone wants to use it for their profit, why the hell should you not get paid?
This man is fucking spot ON. Writers are always expected to work for free. WHY? What you write makes someone else money, but you won't get paid. It's bullshit.
So this guy wants to get paid a second time for an interview he did while working on a project for WB for which he almost certainly doesn't have the rights for in the first place? And has the brass to bitch about it being about being treated fairly? Pretty much the definition of a self-important dickwad.
It's hard to say whether or not the interview was actually focused on B5 or on something else - there's no reference. That said, B5 was a cash cow franchise for WB. It doesn't make much sense that they couldn't pay him usage of the interview, and then have the gall to tell him to buy the DVD set himself. That show was always in the green when it came to profits.
@lmvideo93 I know people who send this video to others that ask for free work. lol So I'm guessing those dislikes are the people who asked someone for free work.
This has literally just happened to me. It is amazing to just stumble on this video after coming back from a shoot with a hostile producer and incompetent director. I'm doing them a favour by working on this project for no pay, they asked me to work on this project. Yet when I attempt to help them with basic film making (camera shadow in shot, continuity errors, focusing on filler shots over the storyboarded shots), they become resentful at best and ignore you at worst. Why am I bothering?
As artist its so important to make money from ones work-all the trendy socialist hypocrits on massive money themselves can go fuck themselves-greg hoey [perth, australia]
I'm a published author, and I recently submitted pitches to two major magazines. They responded by saying they liked my writing and wanted to know if I wanted to blog for them -- for FREE. I said yes to the first one for the exposure, then came and watched this video and said no to the second. I can do it for my fellow writers if I can't do it for myself.
writing has no longer become the craft it used to be, with the implementation of the internet ideas can no longer be so easily trade-marked or at the very least, a new wave of plagiarism suits has begun to surface. Ultimately the concept of owning an idea has gone far out the window. The only criticism I have with Ellison is that with all his intelligence and influence he doesn't put his arguments to better use strengthening the creative writing community.
It's okay Harlan. I'm sure that Babylon 5 interview you did a decade ago can be watched on YouTube for free anyway.
Oh by the way, were you paid back then or not? Were the 1993 Babylon 5 production crew often paid for promotional interviews? Is there an existing royalty/residual contract for that interview? Who owns it? I can't believe Warner Brothers would let others own interviews promoting their own programming? We're clearly missing key information on this.
@RWhettstone You're missing the point here. I bet you are looking at this as a Babylon 5 fan, and not a freelancing creative who lives off their ideas and has to put up with stuff like this all the time.
@timothy790110 The only thing missing is the rest of the story that Harlan Ellison so often likes to leave out. He does that a lot. If we had the rest of the story, most of us would be on the same page in agreement, no matter which side it was.
@RWhettstone It most likely has to do with when you do something like this, it is stated in the contract what specifically they can use the interview for. They normally cover pretty much everything, but when Babylon 5 was on, the idea of TV shows on DVD's was non-existant, so being allowed to use the interview on DVD's wasn't thought of or included in the contract. So now they need permission to use on the DVD.
This is SO right, what Harlan is saying. I've seen short films where people have paid for camera hire, paid for technicians, paid for editing time and all this shit and no one could sit and watch the end result because the script was shit and the acting was painful. Actors and writers are expected to work for free, yet, they are worth their weight in gold. If the script and acting are great, you could use a handycam and win film festival awards. Pay the right people!!!
I'm with Harlan on this. With what creative side gigs come my way, being asked for a freebie especially by people I don't know is an insult to put it mildly. My other big pet peeve is seeing people needing creative types for photos, video, editing, writing, etc and offer 0 pay like it is a privelege of some sort.
I can't like this rant enough. I get asked to shoot pictures for free all the time. I have more talent than just some guy with a camera he bought a few days ago, and only uses it in auto mode.
I've run into stuff like this, I'm amazed at how typical this is, and how close I've come to being suckered into this stuff, if it weren't for my aversion to commit to other people I'd be out a lot of time and effort...
So often we're asked to work 12 to 16 hour days for these producers who say we should work for nothing (or $100/day which is less than minimum wage!) because it's a "passion project". Well their movie is not MY "passion", my passion is working at a job I am highly skilled at and getting paid proportionately for the work I do.
Not just anyone off the street can do our jobs, but the producers sure like to act like that's how it is.
Capitalism and art, art and money, are antithetical to each other. I'm sorry, they just are. That doesn't mean you can't publish or profit off your work, or that you should consent to be screwed over financially. It just means you can't do it for money,you can't do it for the market, and you can't be greedy about it - you have to be an artist first and last - let your agent be the businessman. Art is always either aristocratic or anarchistic. Either way it's anti-bourgeois. If it's really art.
@cauchamar -ok there are certainly subtle point differences there, ie., the difference between plain chizzling & crass and 'art for artsake'. But lots of people would condemn you as an artist for trying to profit from your hard work while at the same time have themselves and their fellow peer groups make shitloads in a very hypocritical way!!
@cauchamar -Have direct experience in this myself believe me and its very very frustrating and its been put onto me by many major players in the arts biz. In fact by many in the theatrical industry and I do not like it one bit.
The worst of these sort of hypocrits are making literally millions in the industry of show business and the arts.
Sorry man but this is just that confusing habit of pronouncing everybody doing something halfway creative as an "artist". I work as a freelance illustrator and I'm offended when someone calls me an "artist". Why? Because of this simple difference: An artist creates art driven by an inner motivation (or fill in whatever u want). I create illustrations to make a living. This is my work. Like being a Lawyer. Ever met a lawyer waving his fee cause of an inner longing for justice?
@cauchamar And what of craft? What I see Ellison and many creative people speaking about is not art (in the sense of free expression for the sake of the artist) but craft. And craftsman should be paid, just like anybody else.
whats so wrong with artists making money-those that disagree are more than usually hypocrits in some form. Usually making money themselves out of art just don't like competition and like to steal others hard work for nothing!!!!!
I like Ellison and in a way I like his sticking it to Warner Bros, but - two wrongs don't make a right. Just because they're greedy monsters doesn't mean anyone else has to be. His bit about "professionals vs amateurs" is also telling. Professional has a business connotation. A professional, a businessman, could not be further from an artist. Which is what Ellison once appeared to aspire to be. His notion of "work" is also odd. How is giving an interview work? He's wrong in several ways here.
Sounds like you've been drinking the traditional publishing Kool-Ade. There's nothing wrong with being an artist *and* a professional. Writers who treat their art as something for which they should be paid tend to make more money than those who don't treat it thus. See Dean Wesley Smith and Kristine Kathryn Rusch for details (just google 'em). We don't live in the 19th or earlier centuries and patronage is a dead concept in the arts.
I'm more in the Salinger, Flaubert, Emily Bronte, Franz Kafka mold. I'm almost anti-publishing at all, so you've got me completely wrong. If a writer publishes he ought to have almost no interest in money. It certainly can't be done for money. I consider it a good thing that for so long so many of writers were men of leisure and independent means. Now it's poor people trying to "make a living" at it. And it shows. There's a good reason writing is dead; it can't exist in capitalism.
If being for humanity and having standards, and being against the money and the business and the other bourgeois bullshit, and believing artists have a vocation well above all that, makes me a troll, then yea I'm a troll. A troll is a good thing to be in that case and I'm happy to self-identify as one.
And again, a business man is the exact opposite of an artist. That doesn't mean you can't be smart about affairs or hire someone smart about affairs. But the best artists, from Dinesen to Flaubert, have detested the bourgeois for many reasons, one of the foremost among them their sick obsession with business and their pride in their practical business sense. And their excessive worry over financial matters. You cannot serve both masters.
@Swoftu I would argue that there is a difference between sharing ideas/stories/etc in a creative community for the intellectual stimulation and giving someone else the right to make money off of your ideas. MGM is putting the interview on the DVD because they feel it will entice more people to buy it. If they want the right to sell his work to make money off of it, why should he not be compensated for that? Why should it be treated differently from any other service?
@cpoppe There's a big difference between wanting to make money on your creative works and wanting everyone to pay you for mentioning your name. Just look at how he tried to sue AOL for something that wasn't even in their control (and the rest of his retarded lawsuits to stifle competition). Compare him to Neil Gaiman and Ellison comes off as a greedy asshole.
@MultiSmartass1 dude, Writers have never been paid properly, so what are you talking about? Writers only EVER be paid properly when their work is absolutely amazing or when it completely floods the market.
Writing is like drawing, are you gunna charge everybody to look at your latest doodle? No your not, because that doodle isnt good enough quality to warrant the paycheck each person would be writing out to you. Never has there been a time when writers ever got paid "properly" like other people
Interesting, you know this is what seperates the people who write because they love their work and the people who write because they want money. Anybody who reads this... Go check out what Neil Gaiman says about people seeing, reading, taking his stuff for free. Completely different opinion, and yet look at who has the better work, better quality, better publicity, and overall amazingness. Sorry Mr Ellison, but honestly... Writers Don't Get Paid. We knew that when we started. You should have too
Interesting, you know this is what seperates the people who write because they love their work and the people who write because they want money. Anybody who reads this... Go check out what Neil Gaiman says about people seeing, reading, taking his stuff for free. Completely different opinion, and yet look at who has the better work, better quality, better publicity, and overall amazingness. Sorry Mr Ellison, but honestly... Writers Don't Get Paid. We knew that when we started. You should have too
@Klimseven so then we should burn down libraries because this man does not get paid each time a person looks at his books, while were at it we should also shoot everyone who lends books or reads them at bookstores before deciding to buy them? And once again, go look at what Neil says about people reading his work for free. After you do this don't go responding to comments that are over a month old, you just forced me to rewatch this piece of garbage just to understand what your comparison. Adieu
Yeah, that's life. Everybody has always wanted something for nothing for as long as there have been people. If they don't want to pay you for the work, why get pissed off? Just don't do the work for them. Why is that a problem? If you all want to spend the rst of your time and energy staying pissed off at the world because it refuses to stop changing around you, have at. For every change there is a new opportunity for anyone with a positive enough outlook to see it.
@dominicanstan823 Do not question this man. This is Harlan Fucking Ellison. The reasons he won't take a piss without getting paid are that taking a piss when you are an older man can be a little uncomfortable, plus his urea stands a significant chance of winning an Emmy.
Not that I claim the same skill level, but being a PC tech, I know what he's talking about. If you tell me up front you can't pay me (i.e. you're broke), I'll look at your computer, but one shouldn't assume that I will do it for nothing.
As to nsbca's point, an amateur that is willing to work for free most certainly is competition. Many would sacrifice "finished well" for "finished".
There was even a small rise in shows with improvised content, in part, to save not paying writers.
Why's he pissed off? If his writing is so much better than an amateur's it should be no competition. Everyone wants something for free. If you have to get paid for something and somebody doesn't want to pay you, don't get pissed, just don't take the job.
@nsbca7 What are you high? Writing is work, writing is a job. You dont do work or a job without getting paid. Period. He's pissed off the same reason Iam pissed off-we live in a fucking era of lazy motherfuckers who dont want to pay a damn plug nickel for anything other than drugs.
Ellison and I are both writers that have seen the landscape change from being properly paid to people trying to avoid giving you any compensation whatsoever and it fucking pisses us off.
Ironically, the use of the video is to encourage writers not to do their work pro bono. But again, I'll gladly pay... I'm still guilty about picking up a used copy of a book of his at a swap shop.
Some of the indie writers should take Harlan's words to heart. Their "free giveaway" and $0.99 for a novel ruins the market for people who try to make a living.
This is one video I think he'd like to see passed around for free. As a creative I can tell you it's fucking hard to compete with free. Too many assume that because it's more fun to write/play/compose than, say, work on an assembly line, then the work you do is not 'real' work and you will do it for the joy of it. Try buying your groceries with 'the joy of it' as currency. This is must viewing.
@daveisoverproduced writing is like any other job, the difference is that your trade is in ideas; a very fragile, malleable and easily interchangeable medium. And like any other trade, job, business the proprietor is competing with many others, to sell their product. In the case of Harlan he writes for money, therefore he's made a decision to act like a dick in order to have his works credited and compensated (money).
Brilliant! Ellison is 100% correct. Do you think entertainment companies are charities, or do they make money? If they make money, should they pay the people who work for them? Did the writer work? Yea-ah. Anyone who disagrees has a good chance of knowing nothing about creating real art, which involves getting paid for it.
There's a big difference between working for free, and doing no work to add something that will not sell any additional copies of the DVD, and simply makes it a nicer package. If those producers paid him $1 for his "work" that sounds like archived content anyway, they'd be losing money.
"Everyone ELSE may be an asshole but I'm not!" Wow. Really wow.
So, here's your publicity buddy. Congratulations?
Complaining about how amateurs work for less than you is about as unprofessional as you can get. If they put out better work than you and also charge less, AND are not a complete prick to everyone in the world, that's not undercutting you. They're *replacing* you, and rightfully so.
This wanted to be paid again for an interview that he did awhile ago. Has he not ever heard of fair use. I take delight in seeing the gray hair on his head, because it means he'll be dead soon.
It sounds like the writing profession is getting too crowded. There are too few jobs for everyone who wants to be a writer. The amateurs feel like they have to do things for cheap to get noticed and the "professionals" are seeing their market value drop. Seems unfair to bitch about the younger generation just trying to break into the business. If you feel like you aren't getting paid well enough anymore then it may be time to find another job that is more specialized that fewer people can do.
This is an across the board problem for anyone working in a creative field, writers, musicians, dancers, artists, etc. If your creative output has commercial value only then will it be valued. The younger generation is trying to break the business without even realizing it. There are plenty of people out there who love getting as much work out of people for next to nothing or nothing if at all possible. He is valuing the labor of his work. Writing -art- has a use value.
Pay us!!!! I have been waiting over two months for a check for work done last year. ...they claimed the delay was because they were transitioning between editors..okay and I am transitioning from having a home to homelessness cause of your cheap asses! I did a poetry show and the fking venue played that you will get exposure shiiite. I am not a stripper slamming poetry for bills to be slid in my thong...I am a writer, an artist - cut me a check and let me expose it to the bank.
neogirl691 21 hours ago
Truth. Pay us!!!!. I waited on a certain magazine three months...they claimed the delay was because they were transitioning between editors..okay and I am transitioning from having a home to homelessness cause of your cheap asses! I did a poetry show and the fking venue played that you will get exposure shiiite. I am not a stripper slamming poetry for bills to be slid in my thong...I am a writer, an artist - cut me a check and let me expose it to the bank.
neogirl691 21 hours ago
I'm not a writer, but if i were just starting out as an unknown and a company wanted to use some of my stuff for free, I think i'd say "Sure, just credit me because i could use the publicity to get noticed".
Or am i missing something here?
TungstenKid 1 day ago
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primepaid 3 days ago
Not much different with professional photography and the precedent of 'working for free' set by so many recent amateurs.
KathyNairnPhotog 6 days ago
wonder how much they payed him to do this interview
MrSyMonster 1 week ago
Harlan you speak the truth...I love the " I don't take a piss unless I'm getting paid".
sohogirl08 1 week ago
lol, this guy has some rage issues about "amateurs" undercutting him, lol.
jaodeballs 1 week ago
@jaodeballs Thank you for bracketing your comment with "lol"s, providing me with the textual signal that I could ignore everything written between them without missing anything relevant or intelligible.
moonverine 1 week ago
@jaodeballs those "amateurs" will start raging the moment they realize they can't get make a living on what they do because they destroyed their own market.
The whole freebies for "publicity" thing is a scam, and exploitation of creative labour by people who can more than afford it, be you a professional or amateur.
rexregum 4 days ago
It's the same goddamn people (MPAA and RIAA) that have a problem with people getting art for free, when they're not willing to pay for it themselves. You can't have it both ways, you greedy bastards.
ahryko 1 week ago
@ahryko Not to mention the Hollywood studios.
They want to pay themselves and no one else.
That's why the writers went on strike a couple of years.
As George Carlin put it, "they want more for themselves and less for everyone else."
MultiSmartass1 6 days ago
All the people who are slagging this guy have never created anything. This guy speaks the truth. If you do not understand this, go illegally download your music and movies and tell ushow music should be free etc... losers.
Scrumdilliisious 1 week ago
@Scrumdilliisious You're absolutely correct.
I have been a writer for 17 years and I have always gotten paid for my work which includes hundreds upon hundreds of articles for magazines and newspapers, an ad or two, editing college term papers, writing a proposal for a business and other projects.
Those who argue against this should tell their bosses and firms not pay them anymore-they will do it for "love."
Bullshit-rent costs money, food costs money, bills cost money.
Pay us our bucks.
MultiSmartass1 6 days ago
YEAH BABY!!!!!!!!!
184186 2 weeks ago
What an elitist ass
hb9393 2 weeks ago
hahahaha if there are amateur writers who are providing a product/service for cheaper than him, then this man is in total old-person denial about the free market and his growing irrelevance to the industry he feels like he should dominate.
tbmagis 2 weeks ago
dont work for free!
duffdeluxe 2 weeks ago
YEAH, pay the writer. But for something he actually wrote and not because some kid with a dream saw something he wrote and got inspired. You tell me if you see anything to suggest that The Terminator and Soldier contain more than just "vaguely" similar elements.
codename617 2 weeks ago
@codename617 Why did James Cameron bragged to everyone in earshot that he ripped off both of Harlan Ellison stories when he wrote the script for Terminator? That’s how Harlan found out about it, and, when Hemdale Film Corporation refused to show him the script, then he knew he had a cause of action, which both parties settled out of court for $150,000 and screen acknowledgement.
Lesson learned: don’t publicly give another writer credit for your work unless you’re ready to pay him.
jackdeath 2 weeks ago
@jackdeath Cameron was stupid for saying that. He was trying to come off as a bigshot but his mistake ended up biting him in the ass. Ellison says now that only "Solider" was ripped off in The Terminator. I don't think that Ellison even believes that it was a rip off. "To the acknowledgement of the works of Harlen Ellison"? WHy not just based on "Solider" by Harlen Ellison? Ellison is a leech and Cameron should've toned down his ego.
codename617 2 weeks ago
@jackdeath One more thing, there was a movie called Soldier with Kurt Russell. It was nothing at all like the Outer Limits episode. A guy was trained be to a soldier his whole life since birth, then he gets taken out by some super soldier and thrown away in a garbage planet where he meets survivors of an accident. He tries fit in with their life and their ways. Then the Military invades the planet to kill everyone and destroy it. Ellison does not deserve credit for this either.
codename617 2 weeks ago
@codename617 Please... don't make me laugh! Is that how desperate you need to be right that you grow a strawman before our eyes about a movie Harlan Ellison never had an issue with. Do you know how many movies have been made with word *Soldier* in the title, yet Harlan has never sued any of them. See Cyborg 2087.
In the last 28 years since Terminator, Harlan sued only one other film. It was settled recently; can you name the film and the work on which Harlan alleged it was based?
jackdeath 2 weeks ago
I DONT TAKE A PISS WITH OUT GETTING PAID..... HAH AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA ROFFL HAHAHAHA
xxdork3 2 weeks ago 2
EXCELLENT! Pay people what they are worth and we actually might have a decent economy again.
FraasaFilms 2 weeks ago
The same applies to musicians and researchers, or really any professional content creators, their intellectual property (which often amounts to months/years or even a lifetime of work) and the parasites who think it is "appropriate" to appropriate this work for their own egoic or financial gain simply because they offer to cite/reference it. That is not "support", just intellectual theft dressed up as "publicity". Content creators need to be vigilant of such moochers who cannot DO for themselves
SAfrGtr 2 weeks ago in playlist Liked videos
As a photographer, i understand EXACTLY what he is talking about.
The amount of times for weddings i get..."Well can i have the files, and i can print the photos myself?" i always say "NO! What are you paying for my services for then?".
Or the amount of times for commission work for businesses i always get "Well. can't you just use photoshop", and i always say "Can photoshop change the direction of the sun? You want the best photos you can, and you must not cut corners in the process!"
rorrt 2 weeks ago
As more and more work goes unpaid, the skill of the workers will have to decrease to enable them to do it. This'll be across the board... the death of all sides of the arts, and eventually the death of everything but the financial sector when we'll all be slaves running a factory under the ground... what dystopia book did I read that in?
joeljjison 3 weeks ago
To note...
An amateur practices their interest for the love of it,
Whereas the professional does it for a pay-cheque !
I've more respect for someone that does what they do for the love of it.
If they can make a living from that as well, that's an unexpected bonus, that they did not contemplate when taking up whatever it is they do :)
emanon86 3 weeks ago
@emanon86 i think both the professionals and amateurs have alot of passion for what they do, so, to carry on to do so, they need money, i dont think it's right to judge the professionals implying that they don't do for the love of it, of course they love it, to be able to fully engage in their practice, they couldn't possibly do it for free. Alike everyone, we have bills to pay and mouths to feed.
67750510 3 weeks ago
@emanon86
"Inspiration is for amateurs, professionals go to work" Chuck Close.
In the end, I dislike the term professional. Because i mean as you said "professional" isnt a reflection of quality of work.
rorrt 2 weeks ago
This has been flagged as spam show
MAKE EASY MONEY ONLINE
PRIMEMONEY.US
primepaid 3 weeks ago
This guy is the arsehole. He got paid for doing that interveiw 8 years ago. He has no more work to do for it. His fans would love to have seen it as an extra on the dvd. Every single one of his many examples were of people doing real and tangible work at that time, for which they are all paid, just like he was when he gave that interview.
I used to like Harlan Ellison.
I agree with cadwell, though. 2:02 to 2:48 is the gospel truth. He could be less arsehole-ish in his presentation.
nuffnough 3 weeks ago
I wonder if he was paid for this interview?
LoveBoatJoe 3 weeks ago
thuffering thackertache!
softladmachine 3 weeks ago
"Would you go to the doctor and ask to take out your spleen for nothing..."
Yes, yes I would. Silly Americans. Other then that he's right.
PoisonedAl 3 weeks ago
@PoisonedAl What are you talking about? You think NHS doctors do their job "for nothing"? The money for that spleen op comes out of the tax payers' pockets. Just because you don't hand over the money directly it doesn't mean you're getting free surgery. Harlan's point makes perfect sense applied to the NHS. You wouldn't expect the system to require doctors to work unpaid, would you? Silly Brit.
greyztone 3 weeks ago
2:02 to about 2:48 is the gospel truth. It goes for artists and illustrators too.
thecadwell 3 weeks ago 2
The doctor would take your spline out for free in the UK. Just saying.
honestjohntellsit 3 weeks ago
@honestjohntellsit The doctor wouldn't take out your spleen for free in the UK. He or she would be paid a fair rate, as s/he should. Just because it comes from taxes doesn't make it free.
hopefulprole 3 weeks ago
No one likes to pay for entertainment, which is essentially what it is. I could be massively wrong, but the rate of media piracy strongly suggests otherwise.
KareyHuitt 4 weeks ago
Comment removed
TheWyldVibe 3 weeks ago
@TheWyldVibe
Stealing a physical product and copying a digital product are not the same thing and cannot be compared in this way.
SubstancePrime 3 weeks ago
Comment removed
TheWyldVibe 3 weeks ago
@TheWyldVibe
I didn't argue that piracy isn't damaging to the media industry.
While I'm glad you feel you have the authority to personally decide what is and is not morally wrong, forgive me for thinking that whether or not piracy is "moral" is irrelevant.
I fully understand that piracy isn't a sustainable enterprise, but at the very least it is forcing the music/movie industry to adapt to the changes in consumer demand brought on by the proliferation of internet usage.
SubstancePrime 3 weeks ago
you could easily replace writer with music producer, or anyone in a difficult industry for that matter. smfh
CrazyStarr50 1 month ago
You Tube = Publicity Value
mtncharlie1 1 month ago
This is how I feel about being a computer hardware technician. Just because it doesn't take long, doesn't mean its cheap. It means I'm good at what I do. Anyone can install AVG, and think they're a computer technician, but when you need to get into the nit and grit, and really break down the problems, knowing and understanding are two different sides of the coin. I don't get paid to fix someones computer, I get paid because I understand the fundementals and work well with it.
mbe102 1 month ago 19
This man is my new hero.
keitsukenx 1 month ago 2
; I don't have to wonder what Harlan Ellison thinks about the ( toilet ) 'Occupiers'.
12Zwolf 1 month ago
@12Zwolf Yeah, this guy agitating for fair treatment, he would probably *hate* the Occupiers wouldn't he? You fascist dolt.
fireballxtc 3 weeks ago
; 'Occupier' is a British legal term, re-proving the person behind the 'Occupiers' is Anjem Choudry, a British Muhammadan who had their legal license removed due to illegal activities, including organizing anti-British demonstrations in Britain. Anjem is on 'welfare', in Britain is known as 'the dole', supporting his wife, and four children. Perhaps Anjem needs to learn how to behave as a human being, and mind his manners.
12Zwolf 3 weeks ago
Gonna send this as a reply next time a client asks me for a free photo!!
chriswoodage 1 month ago 2
every morning i get up and watch 20 minutes of harlan losing his shit over something like this; it keeps me focused on slamming mediocrity and wankers
aherhaerherhae 1 month ago 2
Sounds like someone's got a *short* temper...
MrClickity 1 month ago
That's RIGHT! Pay me! If you work you should get PAID.
sohogirl08 1 month ago
@ThisParticularBrad Yes! He has every right! It's his work, and if they want to use it he should be paid. Its his intellectual property and too many people (like yourself) think the physical writing is where the payment should end. NO. It's your work, if someone wants to use it for their profit, why the hell should you not get paid?
ctnelsonuk 2 months ago
This man is fucking spot ON. Writers are always expected to work for free. WHY? What you write makes someone else money, but you won't get paid. It's bullshit.
ctnelsonuk 2 months ago
So this guy wants to get paid a second time for an interview he did while working on a project for WB for which he almost certainly doesn't have the rights for in the first place? And has the brass to bitch about it being about being treated fairly? Pretty much the definition of a self-important dickwad.
ThisParticularBrad 2 months ago
@ThisParticularBrad
It's hard to say whether or not the interview was actually focused on B5 or on something else - there's no reference. That said, B5 was a cash cow franchise for WB. It doesn't make much sense that they couldn't pay him usage of the interview, and then have the gall to tell him to buy the DVD set himself. That show was always in the green when it came to profits.
crazyrabbits 1 month ago
@ThisParticularBrad I wish I could thumbs down this comment hard enough that you got kicked off the internet, you utter goon.
fireballxtc 3 weeks ago
Love it!
officialdede 2 months ago
@lmvideo93 I know people who send this video to others that ask for free work. lol So I'm guessing those dislikes are the people who asked someone for free work.
theefilmbeast 2 months ago
Thank you Harlan
duplez61 2 months ago
This has been flagged as spam show
Pay me, fuck you!!
Shaenells1 2 months ago
That guy is awesome !@
Etherian1977 2 months ago
Cheapskate like her on craigslist.
ti5212 2 months ago
Amen, brother!
cracks21229 2 months ago
This has literally just happened to me. It is amazing to just stumble on this video after coming back from a shoot with a hostile producer and incompetent director. I'm doing them a favour by working on this project for no pay, they asked me to work on this project. Yet when I attempt to help them with basic film making (camera shadow in shot, continuity errors, focusing on filler shots over the storyboarded shots), they become resentful at best and ignore you at worst. Why am I bothering?
OneClassyBloke 2 months ago
@OneClassyBloke Demand payment, and if they don't give you any: tell them to go fuck their mothers, and quit.
neosoc 2 months ago
Priceless! [I'm sure Harlan would disagree with that though! LOL!]
warriormamma 2 months ago
we intent to help 1000 writers earn the money they deserve , please support us by liking this comment. thank you
ctradsense 2 months ago
Too many writers giving away stuff free makes it hard on those who want to get paid. A real shame.
Radrook 2 months ago
writers are one of the few fields where I wholy endorse everything their guild/union does
vtran31 2 months ago
Amen. Artist (painters) go through this exact same thing every day.
janesko 2 months ago
I need to save this guy as a reminder to how often some people try to stiff you on professional work.
propertyvisuals 3 months ago
As artist its so important to make money from ones work-all the trendy socialist hypocrits on massive money themselves can go fuck themselves-greg hoey [perth, australia]
GregorHo 3 months ago
I'm a published author, and I recently submitted pitches to two major magazines. They responded by saying they liked my writing and wanted to know if I wanted to blog for them -- for FREE. I said yes to the first one for the exposure, then came and watched this video and said no to the second. I can do it for my fellow writers if I can't do it for myself.
spershall 3 months ago
@spershall Iam a writer myself and have been for over 15 years.
The way i solve this is I allow myself 2-5 articles a year for Pro-Bono purposes.
I dont blog but if some publication will give me enough exposure but not payment or if it is for a good cause-fine.
If I have the clip or two or three, I can ause to help me get more paying work.
That's only real reason any writer should do anything for free-can I use this clip to get me money in the long run?
If not, its not worth it.
MultiSmartass1 3 months ago
Fuck Yeah!!!
benjaminkanarek 3 months ago
writing has no longer become the craft it used to be, with the implementation of the internet ideas can no longer be so easily trade-marked or at the very least, a new wave of plagiarism suits has begun to surface. Ultimately the concept of owning an idea has gone far out the window. The only criticism I have with Ellison is that with all his intelligence and influence he doesn't put his arguments to better use strengthening the creative writing community.
Gleebroyable 3 months ago
It's okay Harlan. I'm sure that Babylon 5 interview you did a decade ago can be watched on YouTube for free anyway.
Oh by the way, were you paid back then or not? Were the 1993 Babylon 5 production crew often paid for promotional interviews? Is there an existing royalty/residual contract for that interview? Who owns it? I can't believe Warner Brothers would let others own interviews promoting their own programming? We're clearly missing key information on this.
RWhettstone 3 months ago 3
@RWhettstone I applaud your comment.
GodRustang 3 months ago
@RWhettstone You're missing the point here. I bet you are looking at this as a Babylon 5 fan, and not a freelancing creative who lives off their ideas and has to put up with stuff like this all the time.
timothy790110 3 months ago
@timothy790110 The only thing missing is the rest of the story that Harlan Ellison so often likes to leave out. He does that a lot. If we had the rest of the story, most of us would be on the same page in agreement, no matter which side it was.
RWhettstone 3 months ago
@RWhettstone It most likely has to do with when you do something like this, it is stated in the contract what specifically they can use the interview for. They normally cover pretty much everything, but when Babylon 5 was on, the idea of TV shows on DVD's was non-existant, so being allowed to use the interview on DVD's wasn't thought of or included in the contract. So now they need permission to use on the DVD.
earthbound88 2 months ago
This is SO right, what Harlan is saying. I've seen short films where people have paid for camera hire, paid for technicians, paid for editing time and all this shit and no one could sit and watch the end result because the script was shit and the acting was painful. Actors and writers are expected to work for free, yet, they are worth their weight in gold. If the script and acting are great, you could use a handycam and win film festival awards. Pay the right people!!!
straker2 3 months ago 2
I'm with Harlan on this. With what creative side gigs come my way, being asked for a freebie especially by people I don't know is an insult to put it mildly. My other big pet peeve is seeing people needing creative types for photos, video, editing, writing, etc and offer 0 pay like it is a privelege of some sort.
tvengr4047 3 months ago in playlist More videos from factualfactory
I can't like this rant enough. I get asked to shoot pictures for free all the time. I have more talent than just some guy with a camera he bought a few days ago, and only uses it in auto mode.
acrorrusd 3 months ago
I've run into stuff like this, I'm amazed at how typical this is, and how close I've come to being suckered into this stuff, if it weren't for my aversion to commit to other people I'd be out a lot of time and effort...
KazeSkyfox 3 months ago
Harlan is 100% correct and completely on point. Bravo, mate!
renegademax 4 months ago
Substitute "writer" for "cast and crew".
So often we're asked to work 12 to 16 hour days for these producers who say we should work for nothing (or $100/day which is less than minimum wage!) because it's a "passion project". Well their movie is not MY "passion", my passion is working at a job I am highly skilled at and getting paid proportionately for the work I do.
Not just anyone off the street can do our jobs, but the producers sure like to act like that's how it is.
ChucGyver 4 months ago 35
Well said, Harlan.
ridleyfox 4 months ago
First off, he swears just as much as me! Second, I get it...
PIBarrington 4 months ago
Capitalism and art, art and money, are antithetical to each other. I'm sorry, they just are. That doesn't mean you can't publish or profit off your work, or that you should consent to be screwed over financially. It just means you can't do it for money,you can't do it for the market, and you can't be greedy about it - you have to be an artist first and last - let your agent be the businessman. Art is always either aristocratic or anarchistic. Either way it's anti-bourgeois. If it's really art.
cauchamar 4 months ago
@cauchamar -ok there are certainly subtle point differences there, ie., the difference between plain chizzling & crass and 'art for artsake'. But lots of people would condemn you as an artist for trying to profit from your hard work while at the same time have themselves and their fellow peer groups make shitloads in a very hypocritical way!!
GregorHo 4 months ago 3
@cauchamar -Have direct experience in this myself believe me and its very very frustrating and its been put onto me by many major players in the arts biz. In fact by many in the theatrical industry and I do not like it one bit.
The worst of these sort of hypocrits are making literally millions in the industry of show business and the arts.
GregorHo 4 months ago 2
@cauchamar
Sorry man but this is just that confusing habit of pronouncing everybody doing something halfway creative as an "artist". I work as a freelance illustrator and I'm offended when someone calls me an "artist". Why? Because of this simple difference: An artist creates art driven by an inner motivation (or fill in whatever u want). I create illustrations to make a living. This is my work. Like being a Lawyer. Ever met a lawyer waving his fee cause of an inner longing for justice?
dirtybug82 3 months ago
@cauchamar And what of craft? What I see Ellison and many creative people speaking about is not art (in the sense of free expression for the sake of the artist) but craft. And craftsman should be paid, just like anybody else.
Klimseven 3 months ago
whats so wrong with artists making money-those that disagree are more than usually hypocrits in some form. Usually making money themselves out of art just don't like competition and like to steal others hard work for nothing!!!!!
GregorHo 4 months ago
Comment removed
GregorHo 4 months ago
...tell it.. tell it ..
SpotLightPhotography 4 months ago
I like Ellison and in a way I like his sticking it to Warner Bros, but - two wrongs don't make a right. Just because they're greedy monsters doesn't mean anyone else has to be. His bit about "professionals vs amateurs" is also telling. Professional has a business connotation. A professional, a businessman, could not be further from an artist. Which is what Ellison once appeared to aspire to be. His notion of "work" is also odd. How is giving an interview work? He's wrong in several ways here.
cauchamar 4 months ago
@cauchamar:
Sounds like you've been drinking the traditional publishing Kool-Ade. There's nothing wrong with being an artist *and* a professional. Writers who treat their art as something for which they should be paid tend to make more money than those who don't treat it thus. See Dean Wesley Smith and Kristine Kathryn Rusch for details (just google 'em). We don't live in the 19th or earlier centuries and patronage is a dead concept in the arts.
Norther56 4 months ago
@Norther56
I'm more in the Salinger, Flaubert, Emily Bronte, Franz Kafka mold. I'm almost anti-publishing at all, so you've got me completely wrong. If a writer publishes he ought to have almost no interest in money. It certainly can't be done for money. I consider it a good thing that for so long so many of writers were men of leisure and independent means. Now it's poor people trying to "make a living" at it. And it shows. There's a good reason writing is dead; it can't exist in capitalism.
cauchamar 4 months ago
@cauchamar -such self-righteous moralist complete utter rubbish cauchamar.
sorry to say so but its true, yours greg hoey
GregorHo 4 months ago
This has been flagged as spam show
@cauchamar -such self-righteous moralist complete utter rubbish cauchamar.
sorry to say so but its true, yours greg hoey
GregorHo 4 months ago
@cauchamar
Au contraire, I think I have you completely right. If it looks like a troll and walks like a troll and talks like a troll, it sure ain't no duck.
Norther56 3 months ago
@Norther56
If being for humanity and having standards, and being against the money and the business and the other bourgeois bullshit, and believing artists have a vocation well above all that, makes me a troll, then yea I'm a troll. A troll is a good thing to be in that case and I'm happy to self-identify as one.
cauchamar 3 months ago
Respond to this video...
And again, a business man is the exact opposite of an artist. That doesn't mean you can't be smart about affairs or hire someone smart about affairs. But the best artists, from Dinesen to Flaubert, have detested the bourgeois for many reasons, one of the foremost among them their sick obsession with business and their pride in their practical business sense. And their excessive worry over financial matters. You cannot serve both masters.
cauchamar 4 months ago
Absolutely LOVE this!
theleadernewspaper 4 months ago 2
Did he get paid for this interview?
louie000007 4 months ago
absolutely agree with harlan...its frustrating that f-wits want creative content for free!!
whether this be written or visual creative content.
GregorHo 4 months ago
@GregorHo yes how dare anyone share ideas and culture
terrible communist bastards
massive sarcasm
Swoftu 4 months ago
@Swoftu I would argue that there is a difference between sharing ideas/stories/etc in a creative community for the intellectual stimulation and giving someone else the right to make money off of your ideas. MGM is putting the interview on the DVD because they feel it will entice more people to buy it. If they want the right to sell his work to make money off of it, why should he not be compensated for that? Why should it be treated differently from any other service?
cpoppe 4 months ago 2
@cpoppe There's a big difference between wanting to make money on your creative works and wanting everyone to pay you for mentioning your name. Just look at how he tried to sue AOL for something that wasn't even in their control (and the rest of his retarded lawsuits to stifle competition). Compare him to Neil Gaiman and Ellison comes off as a greedy asshole.
watch?v=0Qkyt1wXNlI
Swoftu 4 months ago
But it looks like he hasn't written anything, ie. 'worked' since 1997 so does he deserve to be paid for not producing anything for so long?
krum303 4 months ago
Comment removed
Swoftu 4 months ago
He is a talented writer. But I think he's kinda a greedy, sue happy, copyright whore.
joshuaoha 4 months ago
@joshuaoha Stan Lee is just as bad but is adored for what reason?
tengobotas 4 months ago
@MultiSmartass1 dude, Writers have never been paid properly, so what are you talking about? Writers only EVER be paid properly when their work is absolutely amazing or when it completely floods the market.
Writing is like drawing, are you gunna charge everybody to look at your latest doodle? No your not, because that doodle isnt good enough quality to warrant the paycheck each person would be writing out to you. Never has there been a time when writers ever got paid "properly" like other people
GodRustang 4 months ago
Interesting, you know this is what seperates the people who write because they love their work and the people who write because they want money. Anybody who reads this... Go check out what Neil Gaiman says about people seeing, reading, taking his stuff for free. Completely different opinion, and yet look at who has the better work, better quality, better publicity, and overall amazingness. Sorry Mr Ellison, but honestly... Writers Don't Get Paid. We knew that when we started. You should have too
GodRustang 4 months ago
Interesting, you know this is what seperates the people who write because they love their work and the people who write because they want money. Anybody who reads this... Go check out what Neil Gaiman says about people seeing, reading, taking his stuff for free. Completely different opinion, and yet look at who has the better work, better quality, better publicity, and overall amazingness. Sorry Mr Ellison, but honestly... Writers Don't Get Paid. We knew that when we started. You should have too
GodRustang 4 months ago
@GodRustang I suppose all the Pulitzer prize winners should all get jobs as janitors, so?
Klimseven 3 months ago
@Klimseven so then we should burn down libraries because this man does not get paid each time a person looks at his books, while were at it we should also shoot everyone who lends books or reads them at bookstores before deciding to buy them? And once again, go look at what Neil says about people reading his work for free. After you do this don't go responding to comments that are over a month old, you just forced me to rewatch this piece of garbage just to understand what your comparison. Adieu
GodRustang 3 months ago
As a writer, I agree with every word. Anything I add would be superfluous.
smasica 5 months ago
Holy shit Harlan Ellison is a fucking badass.
NegaArson 5 months ago 19
will someone please remix this please!!!!!
rawlipr 5 months ago
aaahhahah "You could go the store and buy motherfucker" LOL
rawlipr 5 months ago
Yeah, that's life. Everybody has always wanted something for nothing for as long as there have been people. If they don't want to pay you for the work, why get pissed off? Just don't do the work for them. Why is that a problem? If you all want to spend the rst of your time and energy staying pissed off at the world because it refuses to stop changing around you, have at. For every change there is a new opportunity for anyone with a positive enough outlook to see it.
nsbca7 5 months ago
I DO NOT UNDERSTAND.... HE SAY "PAY ME" BUT ON /watch?v=DwyyJ3D3g1E MINUTE 7:45 HE SAY THAT THEY CAN GET HIS WORK FOR FREEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE...
dominicanstan823 5 months ago
@dominicanstan823 Do not question this man. This is Harlan Fucking Ellison. The reasons he won't take a piss without getting paid are that taking a piss when you are an older man can be a little uncomfortable, plus his urea stands a significant chance of winning an Emmy.
RicochetManchester 4 months ago
Not that I claim the same skill level, but being a PC tech, I know what he's talking about. If you tell me up front you can't pay me (i.e. you're broke), I'll look at your computer, but one shouldn't assume that I will do it for nothing.
As to nsbca's point, an amateur that is willing to work for free most certainly is competition. Many would sacrifice "finished well" for "finished".
There was even a small rise in shows with improvised content, in part, to save not paying writers.
gilgamess 5 months ago
Pay close attention. He is so pissed off because he has already done the job and someone is stealing his copyrighted work.
stephenwestcole 5 months ago
Why's he pissed off? If his writing is so much better than an amateur's it should be no competition. Everyone wants something for free. If you have to get paid for something and somebody doesn't want to pay you, don't get pissed, just don't take the job.
nsbca7 5 months ago
@nsbca7 What are you high? Writing is work, writing is a job. You dont do work or a job without getting paid. Period. He's pissed off the same reason Iam pissed off-we live in a fucking era of lazy motherfuckers who dont want to pay a damn plug nickel for anything other than drugs.
Ellison and I are both writers that have seen the landscape change from being properly paid to people trying to avoid giving you any compensation whatsoever and it fucking pisses us off.
MultiSmartass1 5 months ago
Any freelance creative knows exactly what he is talking about. I agree with every word. Every goddamn mother fucking word. Amen.
redsquarephoto 6 months ago 30
@redsquarephoto As do I. People who dont agree with this simply dont want writers to get paid,
Im a writer and- with few exceptions-I always insist on getting paid.
If you dont like it-tough shit!
MultiSmartass1 3 months ago 18
I thought this was pretty good and provides great food for thought: Pay vs. free.
maddog956 6 months ago
@pushingbuttons Exactly right. And I think Harlan Ellison's an asshole. :D
fajaklaus 6 months ago
"Just because everyone else is an asshole, doesn't mean I am!"
so funny.
agfagaevart 6 months ago 2
You go to the store and buy it, motherfucker!
TeepoOBR 6 months ago 2
Ironically, the use of the video is to encourage writers not to do their work pro bono. But again, I'll gladly pay... I'm still guilty about picking up a used copy of a book of his at a swap shop.
engine001fan 6 months ago 2
Can you get me Harlan's PayPal? I'm embedding this video on my site and I'm afraid he's going to come over and kick my ass.
engine001fan 6 months ago
@shwordsmiths3 I'm sure Harlan would love this, but the man's a whore, which is why, to be frank, his writing is shit. No soul, no joy.
fajaklaus 6 months ago
Some of the indie writers should take Harlan's words to heart. Their "free giveaway" and $0.99 for a novel ruins the market for people who try to make a living.
WiredDragoon 6 months ago 2
Good a writer as he is, Ellison's a fucking dick.
fajaklaus 6 months ago
@fajaklaus But is he wrong? His entire point is that people will take advantage of you when you're generous and polite, so...
SHWordsmiths 6 months ago
@fajaklaus your point being? An author's personality does not impact readablity. He's as entitled to an opinion as you are.
pushingbuttons 6 months ago
why the fuck are spricket vids on the sidebar
ScoopsTherobotreal1 6 months ago
I'm really enjoying watching this interview for free.
MrBoBoTom 6 months ago
Ohh that's brilliant. This guys is spot on. Creative work takes hours and hours yet people somehow expect it for free.
CatDMacLeod 7 months ago 5
This comment has received too many negative votes show
This guy needs an ass-kicking.
scraps992 7 months ago
This is one video I think he'd like to see passed around for free. As a creative I can tell you it's fucking hard to compete with free. Too many assume that because it's more fun to write/play/compose than, say, work on an assembly line, then the work you do is not 'real' work and you will do it for the joy of it. Try buying your groceries with 'the joy of it' as currency. This is must viewing.
daveisoverproduced 7 months ago 73
@daveisoverproduced writing is like any other job, the difference is that your trade is in ideas; a very fragile, malleable and easily interchangeable medium. And like any other trade, job, business the proprietor is competing with many others, to sell their product. In the case of Harlan he writes for money, therefore he's made a decision to act like a dick in order to have his works credited and compensated (money).
Gleebroyable 3 months ago
Same with musicians. I don´t know how many venues you have to pay to play allready, but in Germany, there are a LOT. Thanks Harlan for speaking!
musicomplex 7 months ago 3
Like a more intelligent Joe Pecsi.
yoshu2 7 months ago
3158 Agree to be paid and 265 rated bad this video they might be the people that are giving their work for free ? :D
zootvmexico 7 months ago 2
YES!!! 100% truth! Nowadays though EVERYONE expects everything for free...
skrattkantarellen 7 months ago
Yes! This is so true- and after years of free work you would be just as passionate.
MichelleAristocrat 7 months ago
Not bad..;0)
ComedyHannover 7 months ago
Brilliant! Ellison is 100% correct. Do you think entertainment companies are charities, or do they make money? If they make money, should they pay the people who work for them? Did the writer work? Yea-ah. Anyone who disagrees has a good chance of knowing nothing about creating real art, which involves getting paid for it.
KelRiever 7 months ago 2
There's a big difference between working for free, and doing no work to add something that will not sell any additional copies of the DVD, and simply makes it a nicer package. If those producers paid him $1 for his "work" that sounds like archived content anyway, they'd be losing money.
jbxenia 8 months ago 2
"Everyone ELSE may be an asshole but I'm not!" Wow. Really wow.
So, here's your publicity buddy. Congratulations?
Complaining about how amateurs work for less than you is about as unprofessional as you can get. If they put out better work than you and also charge less, AND are not a complete prick to everyone in the world, that's not undercutting you. They're *replacing* you, and rightfully so.
jbxenia 8 months ago
@jbxenia
slave
dahliafully 7 months ago
This wanted to be paid again for an interview that he did awhile ago. Has he not ever heard of fair use. I take delight in seeing the gray hair on his head, because it means he'll be dead soon.
colornine84 8 months ago
Mail 'em another dead woodchuck, Unca Harl!
willerror 8 months ago 2
It sounds like the writing profession is getting too crowded. There are too few jobs for everyone who wants to be a writer. The amateurs feel like they have to do things for cheap to get noticed and the "professionals" are seeing their market value drop. Seems unfair to bitch about the younger generation just trying to break into the business. If you feel like you aren't getting paid well enough anymore then it may be time to find another job that is more specialized that fewer people can do.
cypher2048 8 months ago
@cypher2048 I don't think he was talking about "getting paid well enough" He was talking about getting paid AT ALL.
PrestoAgitatoPSH 8 months ago
@cypher2048
This is an across the board problem for anyone working in a creative field, writers, musicians, dancers, artists, etc. If your creative output has commercial value only then will it be valued. The younger generation is trying to break the business without even realizing it. There are plenty of people out there who love getting as much work out of people for next to nothing or nothing if at all possible. He is valuing the labor of his work. Writing -art- has a use value.
dahliafully 7 months ago 2
263 people want the writer to work for free
bgg222 8 months ago
Pure gold.
ToxicWastoid 8 months ago
1:09 Oddly enough, I did. And they took it out, too.
vodou 8 months ago