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It's the writer's status as a second class citizen that Harlan rails against. The writer should not be treated as less than the director, the acting talent, or any other creative person involved in filmmaking. It is, after all, the writer who starts with the blank page; everything that happens from that point on is some manner of interpretation. Yet, it is the writer who gets the least respect. Anyone who has worked in Hollywood as a writer knows this in their bones, and most accept that second-class standing. Not Harlan. And he is vociferous in urging his fellow writers to reject that status as well.
He is far kinder, more courteous and funnier than you'll ever see in a public appearance or portrayed on the media. The obnoxious, loud-mouthed Harlan Ellison is real, no doubt, but so is the "softer" Ellison that helps, encourages and entertains.
BTW, the Terminator business: Harlan wrote a story called "Soldier" for The Outer Limits, about a single-minded soldier in the future, bred as a killing machine, who is transported to the past to battle his future-enemy who has also been transported. James Cameron stated in print that Harlan's story was the inspiration for The Terminator. Hence, the lawsuit, and the payment of $250,000 to Harlan and the very closing end credit "Acknowledgment to the works of Harlan Ellison."
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