Ellison Registers T.K.O.

About six weeks ago Harlan Ellison sued to stop release of the movie In Time on grounds that it plagiarized his classic short story “’Repent, Harlequin!’ Said the Ticktockman.”

A November 2 article on Yahoo now has declared Ellison the winner – he reportedly forced the moviemakers to settle:

It looks like Harlan Ellison has won another lawsuit. The famous sci-fi author recently sued New Regency, director Andrew Niccol, and several unnamed John Does over plagiarism claims for the movie “In Time.” Ellison settled for having his name added to the credits of the film. Whether they want to admit it or not, this may as well have been an admission of guilt for the movie’s producing parties.

A Tangential Comment: While following up the story I discovered a post by Harlan on his forum touting a 6-page interview published in September by a magazine named SciFiNow.

Really? Harlan submitted to an interview by a zine with the loathed (by Harlan) phrase “sci-fi” on its cover? Well then, so be it. As Ellison’s good friend Isaac Asimov has written, a foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of petty minds…

[Thanks to Andrew Porter for the story.]

Update 11/09/2011: The attorney for Andrew Niccol denies this story is true. See follow-up story above.