Harlan Ellison's "A Boy and His Dog" in line for a Japanese remake?

by Chris MaGee

Wow! I guess it isn't just Hollywood that makes some puzzling remake decisions. According to Collider.com (via Quiet Earth) legendary science fiction author and world class curmudgeon Harlan Ellison revealed that an unnamed Japanese production company has been vying for the rights to Ellison's 1969 short story "A Boy and His Dog". The story set in the year 2024 follows Vic, an 18-year-old boy and his telepathic dog Blood as they scavenge through the wastes of post-World War 4 U.S.A. which is now populated by out of control androids, mutants and very few women. The original story was the basis for L.Q. Jones' 1975 film of the same name starring Don Johnson.

Ellison made the comments at a recent appearance at the New Beverly Cinema in Los Angeles, and while he didn't name any names he did say that this Japanese company was also interested in incorporating the graphic novel that Ellison wrote and artist Richard Corben illustrated about the story's main characters titled simply "Vic and Blood".

I remember being pretty impressed... baffled, but impressed... when I saw "A Boy and His Dog" when I was a teenager, but it's a fairly obscure film today, maybe just obscure enough for this possible remake to work. To acquaint yourself with what I'm talking about check out the original theatrical trailer for the film below.