Harlan Ellison Wants to Return to Star Trek

?Most nerds know the saga of Harlan Ellison and Star Trek, and how the prickly author began his long-standing hate of the sci-fi show. But in case you don’t, here’s it summed up neatly by Wikipedia:

Ellison has been vocal for many years in his criticism of how Star Trek creator and producer Gene Roddenberry (and others) rewrote much of his original script for the episode “The City on the Edge of Forever“. Ellison’s original work included a subplot involving drug dealing aboard the Enterprise
and other elements that Roddenberry rejected for various reasons.
Despite the award-winning, classic status of the episode (on which
Ellison retained credit rather than using his “Cordwainer Bird”
nom-de-plume), Ellison continued to be critical of how his work was
treated by Roddenberry decades after the fact.

Ellison also sued CBS earlier this year for compensation based on his work on the episode, which was apparently settled. So now that you know the background, you should find this post from Ellison on his message board fucking hysterical:

I would jump at the chance to work with the inordinately-talented J.J.
Abrams on a new STAR TREK film. Yes, I would likely try to steer him
toward the original film idea I was asked to pitch, by the late Gene
Roddenberry and a production exec whose name I have blissfully flensed
from memory (but he had been, if I recall, a hairdresser or clothing
designer or ex-boyfriend of someone or other, and he kept trying to
press me to include the Mayan Calendar).

If the very smart Abrams didn’t want to go that way, I would be wide-open to rethinking such a film from the git-go.

Paramount would, of course, have to pay me from the first meet git-go;
but I have absolutely NO attitude that would prevent me from jumping in
to work with such a clever fellah. One is NEVER too old to come up with
fresh ideas, particularly if one has lived long enough, and cleverly
enough, to know WHAT HAS ALREADY BEEN DONE to death, sixteen times over.

If anyone out there thinks this melding has legs, let Abrams or anyone
else with the chops to get in touch with me DIRECTLY. I am without
full-time film-agent representation, by choice, at the moment; so if
the job presents itself, I will work for pay.

Yes. Harlan Ellison would like to work on Star Trek again. Because it went so well for everyone involved last time. If I was J.J. Abrams, I would hire Ellison to write a script, then change everything but the title. Tell me that wouldn’t be the awesomest, most hilariously dick move ever. (Via /Film)