Harlan Ellison Reviews Saving Mr. Banks: "Fucking Manipulative ... Bullshit from One End to the Other" - The Stranger | Comments

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1

Don't forget to ignore the movie review by Anthony Lane in the New Yorker.

That guy is never right.

Will in Seattle on December 18, 2013 at 1:21 PM

4

I'm just glad the old curmudgeon is still around to be irascible. Of course it's manipulative! It's Disney, FFS!

I'm still gonna see the movie, however...

merry on December 18, 2013 at 1:46 PM

5

Brevity is the soul of wit.

An old man dithering endlessly over his love-affair with his own voice... what is that called?

Some Old Nobodaddy Logged In on December 18, 2013 at 2:14 PM

6

@5, +1.
I could have done without the snot snorts, as well.

on December 18, 2013 at 2:20 PM

7

@2- Interestingly, someone made an animated short of Snow White getting boned by the Seven Dwarfs. It was screened at this year's HUMP.

Great Blue Heron on December 18, 2013 at 2:45 PM

8

"Dwarves"

Great Blue Heron on December 18, 2013 at 2:46 PM

10

This rant reminds me of the feud between Harlan Ellison and Gene Rodenberry over the Star Trek script "The City on the Edge of Forever". There were two huge egos arguing over the original script of that episode but at least Ellison is consistent with his contempt of changes to his work.

Outoftouch on December 18, 2013 at 3:16 PM

11

Huh. Hadn't thought about him in decades. The lavender rinse and general rantiness made me think of Mrs. Slocombe ("...and I am unanimous in that!").

Anybody recognize the sweatshirt he's wearing? Couldn't tell if it's Mandela with a spear or Samuel Delany with a rocket.

rob! on December 18, 2013 at 3:20 PM

12

I've met Ellison. He is an awful, awful person.

tkc on December 18, 2013 at 3:43 PM

13

@12:

Yeah, he kicked me out of an elevator once. And I saw him throw one of his own books at a teenage girl and scream profanities at her, because she had the temerity to ask him to autograph it (we were standing in a line for that very purpose, mind you).

@3:

He's always been bitter; I think he must have come out of the womb bitter. Read some of his TV reviews in "The Glass Teat" and "The Other Glass Teat"; this is nothing new.

COMTE on December 18, 2013 at 3:54 PM

14

I'm not sure which is more annoying, Ellison's rant or the cloying trailer for Saving Mr. Banks.

I love Tom Hanks, but the trailer for the movie made my teeth hurt. Disney has never been so self-aggrandizing.

Reverse Polarity on December 18, 2013 at 4:04 PM

15

@5 + 2. This is selfie masturbation, wtf anointed Goldy to post? Pretty simple review:
- the author was infinitely more interesting than portrayed in the movie
- Disney made the movie, and used America's father to skew audience favor
- the victor gets to write the history.

biffp on December 18, 2013 at 4:23 PM

16

@5: Read '"Repent Harlequin!" Said the Ticktockman'. Title may not be brief, but the story is that and powerful.

Hanoumatoi on December 18, 2013 at 4:34 PM

17

I want that Pinocchio clock.

Paul Pearson on December 18, 2013 at 4:56 PM

18

I can't say I'm shocked. "Playing well with others" has never been Mr. Ellison's strong suit. "Occasionally saying something outrageous/patently offensive to get attention"? Aha, now you're in his wheelhouse.

He's a very talented writer and I love a lot of his stuff. He's still an annoying, egocentric prick and always will be.

Pope Buck I on December 18, 2013 at 8:10 PM

19

@8: Actually, in this case you were right the first time.

Fred Casely on December 18, 2013 at 8:26 PM

20

Thanks for posting the rant; very funny. Ellison might be a grumpy old prick (and his stories were great!) but his take on Disney (man and corporation) is spot on. How to Read Donald Duck, trashing of folk tales (not just Mary Poppins), treat employees like shit, etc.

TobyinFremont on December 18, 2013 at 9:23 PM

21

OMG. YOU GUYS. A movie review show with Harlan Ellison and a revolving cast of other famously cranky writers. It. Would. Be. Awesome!! Maybe next week him and Margaret Atwood could review August: Osange County or some other horrible piece of Ocar-bait.

teamcanada'sforgottenpassword on December 18, 2013 at 9:37 PM

22

@8 - To expand: Tolkien is usually credited with applying (and popularizing) the leaf-leaves rule to dwarf-dwarves. Before that, it was pretty well "dwarfs." In fact, my spell check still insists "dwarves" isn't a correct construct. The first Tolkien book, The Hobbit was published in 1937, the same year that Disney's Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs was released, so in the case of little men fucking the ever-loving shit out of Disney's Snow White, it is "dwarfs" not "dwarves."

MacCrocodile on December 18, 2013 at 10:49 PM

23

This is completely irrelevant to the video, but my older son once ate some of Harlan Ellison's onion rings at Legal Seafoods when Ellison wasn't looking.
The way I heard that Disney-porn anecdote, it was Minnie Mouse who Harlan put in the starring role.

Ledasmom on December 19, 2013 at 8:03 AM

24

I thought "Fucking Manipulative ... Bullshit from One End to the Other" has been pretty much Harlan Ellison's review of everything for the last 40 years.

bobbyjoe on December 19, 2013 at 8:54 AM

25

Disney making a movie about Disney is so...Scientology! Imagine if Golden Era Productions ever tried making a movie about how L Ron Hubbard was a roaring drug addict. Miscavige RPF's the whole studio for small tech errors. Or even muck out the septic field, or "walk the plank."

I would not be shocked in the least if Disney had culty punishments, too. Maybe not a 2,000 dollar Sec Check, but hey...

HellboundAlleee on December 19, 2013 at 11:06 AM

26

I had the 'pleasure' of meeting him once at a book signing/lecture, where seats started at $100 a pop... What an a**hole.

randoma on December 19, 2013 at 11:42 AM

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