The Terminator Is Actually A Sci-Fi Ripoff?
James Cameron’s hit 1984 film The Terminator serves as an iconic sci-fi film that set the tone for blockbusters of its era as well as science fiction slasher films for decades to come. Though the film spawned a decades-long franchise, which continues to this day, the original Terminator film received accusations of being a ripoff. Prolific science fiction author Harlan Ellison claims that the Arnold Schwarzenegger-led film stole its concept from a The Outer Limits episode he penned titled “Soldier.”
At the time of The Terminator‘s release, James Cameron was still but a fledgling filmmaker helming cheap exploitation films such as Xenogenesis and Piranha 2: The Spawning. The Terminator served as Cameron’s first major film outing, launching the director to superstardom and earning him the respect and funding to produce such massive hits as Aliens, The Abyss, Titanic, and eventually Avatar.
Prolific science fiction author Harlan Ellison claims that the Arnold Schwarzenegger-led film stole its concept from an episode of The Outer Limits he penned titled “Soldier.”
Obviously, the accusation of The Terminator being a ripoff serves as a major asterisk on the production, as well as Cameron’s whole career, if the accusations are legitimate.
Though Cameron claims that his decision to helm the 1984 film originated from his desire to craft a low-budget, high-earning film such as John Carpenter’s 1978 slasher classic Halloween, Harlan Ellison claims the staggering similarities between his work and The Terminator constitute the film being a ripoff. Both The Terminator and Ellison’s “Soldier” episode involve a pair of enemies who travel through time in order to fight over the fate of their timelines as they know it, as a 20th-century woman orbits the conflict, anchoring the story for the viewer.
While many audiences fail to see how these similarities malign The Terminator as a ripoff, the threat of litigation was enough to prompt Orion Pictures to pay Harlan Ellison a $65,000 settlement out of court.
After hearing rumors circulating in Hollywood regarding The Terminator’s subject matter, Ellison allegedly snuck into an advanced screening of the film before levying an official accusation against James Cameron and Orion Pictures.
While many audiences fail to see how these similarities malign The Terminator as a ripoff, the threat of litigation was enough to prompt Orion Pictures to pay Harlan Ellison a $65,000 settlement out of court.
Whether The Terminator is a ripoff or not, all future installments of the franchise include the carefully worded phrase “Acknowledgment to the works of Harlan Ellison” within their credits.
In the years since this dispute, many sci-fi fans have made note of the fact that Ellison filed hundreds of lawsuits against films for allegedly infringing upon his ideas, causing the author to garner more fame for his legal frivolity than his actual work. Outside of the courtroom, the intensely combative writer is best known for penning Star Trek‘s “The City on the Edge of Forever,” as well as a number of horror stories like A Boy and His Dog and “I Have No Mouth, and I Must Scream.”
Whether The Terminator is a ripoff or not, all future installments of the franchise include the carefully worded phrase “Acknowledgment to the works of Harlan Ellison” within their credits. James Cameron has gone on record many times since the decision was made to pay out and credit Ellison, stating that he believes it was a mistake on the part of the studio not to fight this ripoff accusation and maintain his legal claim to the works presented in the film.
Whether or not Cameron could have seen and subconsciously interpolated Harlan Ellison’s work on The Outer Limits into his own writing is up to the viewing public’s discretion.
