MovieChat Forums > The Illustrated Man (1969) Discussion > Inspired (by) L. Ron Hubbard?

Inspired (by) L. Ron Hubbard?

posted 13 years ago by banzaibill
8 replies | jump to latest

Just saw this for the first time, and it reminded me a lot of what i've heard about L. Ron Hubbard's late Scientology-related writings - absurd situations in space opera settings recounted with total seriousness, people being reborn multiple times, remembering things from the future and often meeting horrid and grotesque fates with no real moral or point to it. This makes me wonder if L. Ron was inspired by this movie and/or book for his whacky stories?

But then, the Illustrated Man also resembles L. Ron himself quite a bit, which makes me wonder if Ray Bradbury could have met L. Ron before writing the original story.... hmmm.

[–] The_Dying_Flutchman 13 years ago

Many LA creative types and big money crackpots have hung out together. It was kind of an open secret that Bradbury and L. Ron more than knew each other. They had the same literary agent for quite a long time -- Forrest J. Akerman, better known as Forry. Look it up if yer in the mood for a few more stories of the madness of Los Angeles.

The sense itself was I.

[–] Satan2016 (26200) 6 years ago

L Ron was also a Sci Fi writer. Scientology is just his stories turned into religion. Better pay.

[–] voiceofstl (254) 2 months ago

L Ron over heard Heinlein say "if you want to rich, start a religion."

[–] Zarkoff (2399) 2 months ago

Right. L Ron was complaining about what writing stories for magazines paid.

[–] FilmBuff (7436) 2 months ago

I wonder if the story about Heinlein saying that is true.

It's certainly a fact that they knew one another. They were both well-known science fiction writers, and they both lived in Los Angeles at the same time. As the previous poster mentioned, they were both represented by the same agent, Forrest J. Ackerman, who was most known as the editor of Famous Monsters of Filmland, and no doubt encountered one another at conventions and such.

[–] 13 years ago

[deleted]

[–] The_Dying_Flutchman 13 years ago

I would say: Take everything with a large grain of laxative.
Thank U for the "rest of the story" which I once knew, but have, until now, forgotten.

The sense itself was I.

[–] krasnegar 12 years ago

Campbell never edited "Amazing".

He edited "Astounding"/"ANALOG" from 1938 till his death in 1971.