Terminator "Plagiarism" Story

The studio that produced 'The Terminator' was sued for plagiarism by renowned sci-fi author Harlan Ellison, and the case was ultimately settled out of court. The settlement resulted in the 'Acknowledgment to the Works of Harlan Ellison' credit at the end of 'The Terminator'. This video, by JamesCameron.Blogspot.com, details the entire story behind the lawsuit.

Category:

Film & Animation

Tags:

• James Cameron
• Harlan Ellison
• The Terminator
• Plagiarism
• plagiarize

[brabon1]

this is pathetic

ellison got far less than 400k and the studio settled out of court because they knew they would lose in court

and ellison has never said he isnt a litigious person...he loves suing people

i hope he sues the maker of this vid for being a dumbass

[CameronFanSite]

@brabon1

(1) Ellison said was described as not litigious in a book by Marc Shapiro, plus his quote implies this. However, I've done more research since I made this and I'm nos aware that he definitely does sue a lot. So that was a mistake.

(2) The $400k came from that same book (the author interviewed Ellison, who's quoted extensively). I now think it's likely inaccurate, but that's there.

(3) You don't know why Hemdale settled.

(4) Posts with cursing and insults will be deleted.

[EddieAngstrom]

COPYCAT

[CameronFanSite]

So you upload somebody ELSE'S video to your YouTube account....and then call OTHER people "copycats"? That would be like if I claimed that I invented the internal combustion engine because I bought a car. You created NOTHING.

Make your own crap, dude.

Anyway, I wasn't aware of that old Canadian program that you stole from when I made this video, but I've addressed it at my blog.

But think whatever you want about James Cameron or me or whoever else. Knock yourself out.

[CousinZoid]

What I'm really wondering is how did you ever find the strength to pull your lips away from Cameron's butt long enough to narrate this video?

[googlyarsetube]

You can say that Terminator isn't like any of these Ellison stories individually but frankly when you combine three major plot points from Soldier, Demon with a Glass Hand and I Have No Mouth, and I Must Scream (which wasn't even part of the suit as far as I know) you know excactly where Cameron is picking his ideas up from. A super computer put in charge of a defence network that attempts to wipe out humanity after it becomes self-aware? I think the credit at the end and the 70K was just.

[boltguy]

Point me to where I said it was a bad film? It's a wonderful film. But then the source material came from one of the most honoured and award-laden writers of our age. Which is why Ellison has a screen credit at the end of the movie. Not the only time Cameron has done this either. Do a Google search for James Cameron Poul Anderson (that is Poul with an "o") and have a look at the results.

[Mitchx42]

@boltguy Hmm but that dosent mean Terminator is a bad film

[boltguy]

@Mitchx42

You're leaving out 'Demon With a Glass Hand', Ellison's second Outer Limits script. Soldiers from a future Earth war travel through time to the present day. They aim to kill "humanity's last hope" in order to affect the outcome of the future war. One of the characters is also a robot disguised as a human being. Sound familiar? Mix this with the Skynet elements of 'IHNMAIMS' and the visual similarities in the opening scenes of 'Soldier' and there you have 'Terminator'.

[Mitchx42]

@boltguy So The Terminator basis is The Soldier and I Have No Mouth And I Must Scream which is fair enough and the opening scenes are familiar but I guess thats it

[boltguy]

"I Have No Mouth And I Must Scream" by Harlan Ellison

From Wikipedia... "...109 years after the complete destruction of human civilization. The Cold War had escalated into a world war... As the war progressed, the three warring nations each created a super-computer capable of running the war... One day, one of the three computers becomes self aware... taking control of the entire war. It carries out campaigns of mass genocide, killing off all but four men and one woman."

Sound familiar?

[secretsquirrel726]

So I wonder if it is him.

Recently, Harrison Ford had a line of dialogue in Cowboys and Aliens that is from my story Sailors on the Sea of Teeth. I scratch my head at this. I don't care that much, but they could have gotten the ok by calling me up and saying, "We want Harrison Ford to say one of your lines in Cowboys and Aliens."

And I would have said, "Great. Send me a cowboy hat."

It would have been that easy. Please help me in my drive to get Universal Studios to send me a hat.

[secretsquirrel726]

Then the victorious aliens find him and then just have to shoot him, triggering the end of the world. This was used as a major plot device in the anime Blue Submarine no 6. I would have to go back and look at the manga, but I'm pretty sure it got added in.

So what did I do? I quit writing for about 4 years in frustration, and hoping it would shake my tail. There was a guy on a site I was active on that is now a film script writer with one popular movie under his belt and a tv show on the way.

[secretsquirrel726]

I've had a few things borrowed from over the years. From Dust to Dust, a story about a nanotech planet, an invading space group reengineers the nano tech to attack an enemy on the planet and eat their ships, base, and equipment like in the beefed up Keneu Reeves version of The Day the Earth stood still.

Then in a story, The Last Wild Human, the protagonist is placed on a desert island and has his heart replaced with the trigger of a doomsday device.

[secretsquirrel726]

I've had a few things borrowed from over the years, and I can relate to Harlan. I remember reading his I have no mouth but I must schream story, and it really stuck with me.

So yeah, this stuff does happen. What tripped up Cameron is that he acknowledged it, and Harlan seems very protective of his stuff. It was the perfect storm for a intellectual rights lawsuit.