Ender's Game

[Lencho01]

Nice letter.

 

[C. Lee]

I've always thought this would be a terribly hard book to film properly. As Card says in that letter....the main kids have to be so young, that's a major obstacle to overcome. And I too think it would need to be fairly long with lots of internal dialogue.

I love the books about Ender and have read them several times each....but I worry about a theatrical adaptation being made.

 

[danoyse]

Isn't Bean only about 6 in the book? That's going to be impossible to cast.

 

[C. Lee]

Isn't Bean only about 6 in the book? That's going to be impossible to cast.

Ender himself starts out at around 6 years old in the book...it follows him up through the late teens. The book has hundreds of kids (both genders) from ages 6-18 running around fighting and at times appearing naked together. The fight in the shower that forever changes Ender [BLACKOUT]not to mention the kid he kills[/BLACKOUT] is portrayed in the book with all involved naked.

The rules any studio has to follow when there is just one child on the set part time are massive...imagine where you have hundreds who are there in most every scene.

 

[Project862006]

just give him a journal like Rorschach for his inner thoughts LOL

 

[danoyse]

Ender himself starts out at around 6 years old in the book...it follows him up through the late teens. The book has hundreds of kids (both genders) from ages 6-18 running around fighting and at times appearing naked together. The fight in the shower that forever changes Ender [BLACKOUT]not to mention the kid he kills[/BLACKOUT] is portrayed in the book with all involved naked.

The rules any studio has to follow when there is just one child on the set part time are massive...imagine where you have hundreds who are there in most every scene.

And if I remember the book correctly, Ender also [BLACKOUT]kills a bully in the playground[/BLACKOUT] at the beginning of the book, when he's still only 6.

The whole nudity issue will be gone, that's for sure. I'm not sure how they're going they're going to get away with the rest with kids that young.

I'm surprised how often those books show up on suggested reading for young kids, considering most of the content. They're great books - but with adults flipping out over nearly everything in kids books these days, they seem to be OK with these for some reason.

 

[Crockett]

It's going to be tough knowing what they can or cannot include in the adaptation but I believe it's possible they could pull this off, I'm not saying that will but it's possible, that's for sure. Since Orson Scott Card is writing the script and he has much control on the project I'm not worried as much as I would if he's not involved.

Like he wrote on the letter, the producers know the essence of the story and that's one of the main points they should focus on with the other being getting really good child actors, most importantly for Ender but also for Bean, Valentine, Peter and Bonzo etc.

 

[Project862006]

did'nt the script up the ages a bit i read that ender is 10 in script

 

[Crockett]

An offer has been out for Asa Butterfield, the lead actor in Scorsese's Hugo for the role of Ender.

He was among several young actors who met for that Ender role, and signs look good that he’ll be the film’s star.

http://www.deadline.com/2011/11/hugo-star-asa-butterfield-the-choice-for-enders-game/


I can't really judge his acting from the trailer of Hugo but he seems to be a capable actor, Ender is one tough role to portray but hopefully he'll be able to pull it off.

 

[Project862006]

^he was also great in The Boy with the Striped Pajamas

 

[Marvin]

lol Gavin Hood...

 

[Lencho01]

I hope this turns out at least to be ok.

 

[danoyse]

^he was also great in The Boy with the Striped Pajamas

God, that movie was brutal...

 

[obin_gam]

i like the casting news. i hope it will turn out good

 

[echostation]

They might look to make it more teenager and go the teen angst route. It wouldn't be ideal at all but casting someone who's meant to be 6 or 7 in this huge sci fi philosophical adventure would be really challenging.

They should just do it animated I think. It would solve many of the issues. And make it look absolutely gorgeous like the recent Pixar films.

 

[bunk]

I've always thought this would be a terribly hard book to film properly. As Card says in that letter....the main kids have to be so young, that's a major obstacle to overcome. And I too think it would need to be fairly long with lots of internal dialogue.

I love the books about Ender and have read them several times each....but I worry about a theatrical adaptation being made.

Card talked about how he combined Ender's Game and Ender's Shadow to a certain extent for the screenplay. The Ender/Bean relationship was how he got around not having to use internal dialogue.

 

[Armored Avenger]

I really try to separate an author from their work, but I cannot help but feel uncomfortable when reading anything by Orson Scott Card, due to his homophobia and disgustingly outdated views on homosexuality. I don't want to spend my money and time on anything by someone who once said that laws which ban homosexual behaviour should "remain on the books".

 

[Crockett]

I really try to separate an author from their work, but I cannot help but feel uncomfortable when reading anything by Orson Scott Card, due to his homophobia and disgustingly outdated views on homosexuality. I don't want to spend my money and time on anything by someone who once said that laws which ban homosexual behaviour should "remain on the books".

I've agree with you on that, he even go as far as saying that pedophilia and homosexuality are sometimes linked. Now there's always going to people who are homophobic but he's really making his opinion very clear and I don't really like that, I'd prefer if he had kept it to himself. I still like his works though.

 

[kickass]

I've never read this book, but the title does sound familiar. I'm googling it now. Should I read the 1985 version or the updated 1991 version?

 

[DrCosmic]

I appreciate when people make their views clear. It makes it seem like we still have freedom of speech, and lets me know where people stand. If nothing else, I know who my enemies are, and it is comforting to believe that, if I end up having a view which no one likes, I too will be permitted to express it as well. I strongly dislike it when people try to coerce others into agreeing with them or being quiet.

The movie is filmable, give the kids in the showers swim trunks and up the ages by 2-5 years. Pre-puberty is not vitally necessary, it makes the story's themes deeper and more apparent, but it's just not vital. Another interesting thing is that, in 1985, kids with this much exposure to mature issues were rare. Now, its relatively common, and the idea of a ten year old killing another ten year old, or even, six year old homocides, just doesn't shock like it used to.

 

[Project862006]

Asa Butterfield(Hugo) has confirmed via his twitter page that he has locked the role of Ender

 

[kickass]

Wow!

 

[danoyse]

Great casting. He was terrific in Hugo.

 

[Project862006]

Variety:

Now that the producers have found their young lead, their focus turns to the adult lead of Colonel Hyrum Graff, the Commander of Training for the International Fleet, an elite boys’ military academy. Viggo Mortensen had been targeted for the role, but those talks didn’t work out and producers are now discussing another group of veteran thesps, including Harrison Ford

 

[Project862006]

TRUE GRIT star Hailee Steinfeld is in negotiations to star as the female lead in OddLot Entertainment’s sci-fi ENDER'S GAME, Variety's Jeff Sneider reports.

HUGO star Asa Butterfield is set to play the title character, a gifted young gamer skilled in strategy and logistics who’s recruited by the government to help battle an insect-like alien race. Steinfeld is in talks to play Petra Arkanian, the only girl in Salamander Army who quickly becomes Ender’s ally and trusted right hand. OddLot is in the process of casting the pic’s adult lead of Colonel Hyrum Graff, who trains the young male recruits at an elite military academy. Several thesps are in the mix, including sci-fi veteran Harrison Ford.

http://www.showblitz.com/2011/12/steinfeld-plays-game-with-oddlot-ent.html