Does anyone know?
Posted by DMLPro (Member # 8653) on :
I thought you heard already. I am the new director. I am also going to be playing Ender. I will be playing every other part as well. The movie budget is $500 million. It should be decent.
Posted by Lucky_Sean (Member # 6223) on :
quote:Originally posted by clod: I heard it was "impossibly" to film.
YES IM THE FIRST TO BE A JERK! *Ahem* "Impossibly" isn't a word
I mean, I know what you mean. However don't think anything is impossible, they have been saying that about novels and plots forever and some creative genious out there can somehow find away. It might take time but it would be worth it.
Posted by TomDavidson (Member # 124) on :
quote:"Impossibly" isn't a word.
Yes, it is.
Posted by rivka (Member # 4859) on :
Impossibly, he is correct.
Posted by TomDavidson (Member # 124) on :
Hey! I'm right more than a statistically insignificant percentage of the time! Posted by BandoCommando (Member # 7746) on :
Are you sure? Posted by Pinky (Member # 9161) on :
quote:I mean, I know what you mean. However don't think anything is impossible, they have been saying that about novels and plots forever and some creative genious out there can somehow find away. It might take time but it would be worth it.
Yup. Just think of "Lord of The Rings".
Posted by Jeesh (Member # 9163) on :
I just hope that they make it as close to the book as posible. Too many movies have been ruined because the director/script writers changed it too much.
"Impossibly" is a word
DMLPro: I'd like to see you play Ender and Bean and still play Petra and Valentine Posted by Orson Scott Card (Member # 209) on :
It's now official and signed. The option with Warner has been renewed. I'm working right now on a completely new screenplay, based on no previous version; we are combining the key storylines of Ender's Game and Ender's Shadow into a single film. Warner Brothers has assigned a very supportive executive to the project who I believe will do a superb job of shepherding this project to an excellent film.
In writing the screenplay, I am relying on that executive, plus the team at Chartoff Productions and my partners in my own film company, to help me create a draft that will be filmable. Still, it's quite possible that I won't get all the way there; I'll have no problem if another writer is brought in after me. But I think we have solved the problems that made EG so difficult to film; I think we'll have a version that is clear and entertaining to those who haven't read the books, satisfying to those who have, and emotionally powerful to all.
Wish me luck.
Posted by Dagonee (Member # 5818) on :
Good luck!
*fanboy squee*
Posted by SteveRogers (Member # 7130) on :
Woo Hoo!
*happy dance*
Posted by Jeesh (Member # 9163) on :
Posted by rivka (Member # 4859) on :
Is it too early to start lining up outside the theatres?
Posted by TheTick (Member # 2883) on :
Considering it was 10 degrees here today (-5 wind chill)...yeah. You SoCal people knock yourselves out, though.
Posted by forensicgeek (Member # 8430) on :
Buenas Suerte!
Posted by Boothby171 (Member # 807) on :
[Picks jaw up off the floor]
Well, I think I may just like 2006, after all!
Posted by rivka (Member # 4859) on :
Pfft. And you call yourself a superhero!
Posted by Jeesh (Member # 9163) on :
I can't wait. I hope the Battle Room is good.
Posted by Nell Gwyn (Member # 8291) on :
Yay! Good luck, OSC!
Posted by Shan (Member # 4550) on :
Ohhhhh . . . I'm so glad I popped into this thread ostensibly to answer seriously some silly question *grin* and heard the latest and greatest . . .
Posted by clod (Member # 9084) on :
quote:Still, it's quite possible that I won't get all the way there
oh, c'mon now. We all know you MAKE your own luck.
Break a leg, sir.
Posted by Jeesh (Member # 9163) on :
There is no way EG won't be a movie without about millions of letters/e-mails. If it isn't a movie, I'll probably e-mail or write about a thousand letters asking why.
Posted by Xaposert (Member # 1612) on :
quote:But I think we have solved the problems that made EG so difficult to film; I think we'll have a version that is clear and entertaining to those who haven't read the books, satisfying to those who have, and emotionally powerful to all.
...as long as it's still about Ender.
Good luck! Posted by lisha_rose (Member # 9166) on :
WOO HOO now that will be a movie i would stand out in 0 degree weather to be the first in line to see!!!! Posted by Brian J. Hill (Member # 5346) on :
Bon chance! (Je suis à l'ouest de France a ce moment, donc j'ecris en français)
Posted by mr_porteiro_head (Member # 4644) on :
Thanks for letting us know, Senhor Scott.
Posted by 0range7Penguin (Member # 7337) on :
INCONCIEVABLE!!!
-I dont think that word means what you think it means...
Happy Dance! Posted by clod (Member # 9084) on :
*casually clubs an orange penguin*
"Sorry, the script called for it!"
*drags seal carcass off to the orange factory*
Posted by Judas (Member # 7355) on :
Shur iz taykin uh lawng tym
everything's always being pushed back and taking forever to get around to.. Just put The Island and Harry Potter together and ya got your movie right there.. tell ya what..
-Judas
Posted by Jeesh (Member # 9163) on :
Harry Potter? I've seen all the movies and read the books, how is it like EG?
Posted by BlackBlade (Member # 8376) on :
WOOHOO! BEST OF LUCK!
Posted by DarkKnight (Member # 7536) on :
GOOD LUCK and best wishes!!!
Posted by 0range7Penguin (Member # 7337) on :
"*casually clubs an orange penguin*
"Sorry, the script called for it!"
*drags seal carcass off to the orange factory*" -originally posted by Clod.
Apparently no one informed you that an OrangePenguin is seven feet tall and has super powers. Clubbing one would just make it mad. I dont recomend clubbing me or anyother OrangePenguin for that matter. On a second note how did you supposedly get a seal carcass from clubbing a penguin? Posted by brojack17 (Member # 9189) on :
How do you think they will handle the issue of a story spanning six years of a child's life. The issue with Bean would not be that big of a deal since he was genetically altered. Ender, on the other hand, would change a lot between six and twelve. Since the story does have some gaps in it from time to time, you could have a couple of actors play Ender. This has been done in other movies and it makes it believable (Butterfly Effect), but you will not have quite the marketable character like Harry Potter.
I have read Ender's Game about 20 times now in the past 20 years. I have bought the book about 20 times also, since I "lend" the book to a friend to read and never get it back. It's ok though, I figure, if the Gideon’s can do it with Bibles in hotels, I can do it with such a wonderful book. I always wondered what a movie would be like, but back then the argument was "there are some things you just can't do in a movie". Obviously that is not the case now.
I can't wait for the movie. I'll be in line prior to opening to get the first screening.
Good luck OSC!
Jack
Posted by neo-dragon (Member # 7168) on :
Last I heard the story's timeline will be compressed to 1 year, and Ender will start out older (ten-ish?)
Of course, since OSC has started the writing process again from scratch that may no longer be true, but I'd bet it probably still is.
Posted by V'era (Member # 9079) on :
quote:Originally posted by Orson Scott Card: Wish me luck.
Good luck!
*is late* *but still excited*
Posted by Crocobar (Member # 9102) on :
"In my experience there's no such thing as luck." Obi-Wan.
Posted by sydneybristow (Member # 9198) on :
I am soooo excited!!!
Posted by Kat@nip (Member # 9210) on :
OMG, Ender's Game and Ender's Shadow are two of my all time favourite books. When I need a break from the university text, they are the ones I read. I can remember when I first read Ender's Game I longed to see a movie made of it. OSC; The best of luck and Thank you
Posted by tms (Member # 9017) on :
Best of luck old bean.
Posted by Peter_The_Great (Member # 9212) on :
0 degrees, I'll be waitin in line even if it gives me frostbite, can't wait, good luck OSC
Posted by Advent 115 (Member # 8914) on :
So, any idea when the movie might be finished?
*quietly poisons 0range7Penguin fish*
*insures that poison can bypass all of 0range7Penguin powers*
Haha! Die Penguin!
*0range7Penguin keels over, twitches* Hey clod! Its Penguin soup tonight! Posted by lisha_rose (Member # 9166) on :
ehh if i can go camping in october november in ohio i can withstand waiting in rather very cold weather to see a good film. plus i will be the first one in line so i might get a little warmth comming out from underneath the theater door
*administers antidote to the poor penguin seeing as how poisoned penguin prolly wouldnt taste very pleasently anyhows
Posted by Jeesh (Member # 9163) on :
I will be the first in line. My friend is the manager at the theater I go to, I can be sure I'll have a good seat!
*Helps Orange7Penguin to club Advent115*
Posted by 0range7Penguin (Member # 7337) on :
Yay
And hey i hadn't been to your bar yet...now i dont know if i want to. Escpecially if they serve penguin soup. Could be interesting though...never exactly tried cannabalism before... Posted by Jeesh (Member # 9163) on :
Trust me, I tried it once- my army didn't like me eating them. Posted by PUNJABEE (Member # 7359) on :
quote:Originally posted by Orson Scott Card: It's now official and signed. The option with Warner has been renewed. I'm working right now on a completely new screenplay, based on no previous version; we are combining the key storylines of Ender's Game and Ender's Shadow into a single film. Warner Brothers has assigned a very supportive executive to the project who I believe will do a superb job of shepherding this project to an excellent film.
In writing the screenplay, I am relying on that executive, plus the team at Chartoff Productions and my partners in my own film company, to help me create a draft that will be filmable. Still, it's quite possible that I won't get all the way there; I'll have no problem if another writer is brought in after me. But I think we have solved the problems that made EG so difficult to film; I think we'll have a version that is clear and entertaining to those who haven't read the books, satisfying to those who have, and emotionally powerful to all.
Wish me luck.
Good luck Mr. Card! As for what you mentioned about bringing in another writer after you for the screenplay - I just can't see that.
You did a fantastic job on the story for Advent Rising and it wasn't your story! (Seriously - I loved the storyline in that game!)
Anyway considering what you said about the Serenity movie, I think, if *anything* they could bring in Joss Whedon for a screenplay? He's a great writer, and while I didn't like his Buffy or Angel shows, I am a huge Firefly nut. The guy can definitely do Sci-Fi, unlike some *other* writers we know named.. uh... George.
Anyway I don't ever see a need to replace or even 'help' the great OSC for an Ender's game screenplay but if it happens, I think Joss Whedon wouldn't do too shabby.
Posted by Tresopax (Member # 1063) on :
quote:How do you think they will handle the issue of a story spanning six years of a child's life.
They should just not mention the time frame at all, thus completely circumventing the problem. That way viewers can choose to assume it took place over however much time they find believable. There's no reason, as far as the story goes, that they need to know whether it was one year, three years, or six years.
Posted by neo-dragon (Member # 7168) on :
Well, there's the fact that unlike fully grown adults children age visibly from year to year. But as I said above, I hear that the timeline of the film, from Ender being recruited, to the third invasion, will be reduced to just 1 year rather than 6. Maybe, like you said, it won't be explicitly stated, but the characters won't age more than a year.
Posted by scoooot (Member # 9249) on :
YAY! What great news for sci-fi buffs, movie-buffs, OSC buffs, great-storytelling buffs, and any other buffs that might appreciate the great family film that this is sure to be. First Narnia, now this. I'm a very happy kid.
But unfortunately there will be those (just like there were with Narnia) who say that this is only getting made because of the success of Harry Potter and LOTR (and now Narnia), and although they're probably correct (nothing against WB, but studios aren't known for taking REAL risks), that shouldn't be held against EG. Just like Narnia shouldn't be compared to HP & LOTR, EG shouldn't be compared to them either.
Every story deserves a teller.
Posted by neo-dragon (Member # 7168) on :
I don't really see what Ender's Game has to do with those other films, seeing as how it has nothing to do with fantasy or magic.
Posted by BlueBambue (Member # 8656) on :
They're all 'out of this world' and popular books
Posted by Brian J. Hill (Member # 5346) on :
I don't see the connection either. Though successful, EG doesn't have anywhere near the readership of HP or LOTR. And dozens of movies are made each year based on "out of this world" storylines, or popular books. Plus, EG has been under contract with Warner Brothers for a couple of years now.
Posted by scoooot (Member # 9249) on :
I agree EG is extremely different, but what WB sees is a fantastical film starring children in a school for the gifted. Let's hope they don't try to market the film as a HP clone, though... because for those of us who love it, it's obviously a completely different genre and is intended for a slightly different (though overlapping) audience.
Posted by neo-dragon (Member # 7168) on :
I don't think that they're that stupid. After all, Harry Potter never beat anyone to death. Ender's Game isn't a light-hearted child-friendly adventure, and as long as OSC is involved in writing the script or any other aspect of the production, I'm sure that the studio will demonstrate the proper respect for the source material.
Posted by Tresopax (Member # 1063) on :
I doubt it will come off as similar to Harry Potter. My worry, given that they chosen Wolfgang Peterson as the director, is that they will try to make it too much of an action movie - with the emphasis on battle school battles, spaceship wars, etc. I can easily see how someone who knows the general plot but doesn't really understand the story would interpret it as that sort of a action sci-fi plot - it appears to be what the artist who drew the cover was thinking.
I think EG will only work well if it is focused on being a psyhcological drama first and foremost, exploring Ender's character and his relationships at battle school.
Posted by CRash (Member # 7754) on :
All science fiction/fantasy stories get grouped into the "unreal" category. I agree that EG does need to be clearly apart from the Harry Potter franchise.
The problem with making EG a psychological drama is that you lose some of a main base for the film, the younger viewers. Please don't jump on me for this, but in my opinion if you focus too much on characterization in any movie you will bore at least half of the teenage/kid faction. Seems to be that character stories are best suited to a literary medium and action stories the visual/audio. Movies that want to reach more of the younger audience need the fast-paced action found in most sci-fi/fan blockbusters.
I just don't think that all of the introspectiveness (is that a word?) of the written EG would be suitable for an adaption. You'd have to do a shift from the character story to the plot story; there's no way an audience will be able to connect with a movie Ender or Bean like the depth seen in the books in anything like two hours.
Posted by ckat (Member # 9257) on :
When I heard they were going to make a movie for Ender's Game. I was afraid of it being a disapointment like the bad attempt at Robert Heinlein's Starship Troopers. I don't that is going to happen here. You can see it in his books that Mr Card really listens to his fans. I don't think he would allow the movie people to change things around too much.
Posted by ReddwarfVII (Member # 8879) on :
Wait. Where did you see that Wolfgang Peterson was chosen as the director. I troll the movie sites pretty and I have not heard one word like that. If that is true....great. I am not a Wolfgang Peterson fan.
Posted by Elise (Member # 7898) on :
Wolfgang Peterson is named as director on imdb.com
Posted by Scullibundo (Member # 8521) on :
I really hope that it isn't catered for a younger audience. I don't want the story to be compromised for sales sake. If it is a script that highlights the plot from the Ender and Bean book, then I want to see the slums of Rotterdam as harsh as it had been described, I want to see that sickly death look in Bonzo and Stilson's eyes while Ender has their blood running down his forehead. I really just want them to stay true to Ender as a character as well.
Posted by SoaPiNuReYe (Member # 9144) on :
No matter whos writing the script to the movie, they're gonna have to make the scenes where Ender kills Bonzo and Stilson especially powerful because those scenes should bring out the worst of the EG world. They need to show how previously innocent children grow up so fast. I go to movies a lot and i personally don't think that this movie will be as good if it's just 2 hours long. There's a lot of information and emotion and the book and my opinion is that the movie needs to be at least 2 1/2 hrs long. If you look at other deep movies, like The Thin Red Line, you will see that the movie's length plays to its advantage. I know a lot of people may vote against me on this, either because they think that the book isn't deep or because they just want a lot of special effects in the movie. However, the critics won't be fooled by just special effects, they need to be surprised when this movie hits theaters.
Posted by neo-dragon (Member # 7168) on :
I don't think that the Stilson killing is going to be included. It's not actually necessary, and it might make it hard for the audience to sympathize with Ender when they see him beat a kid to death right at the start of the film. Remember, the movie won't be able to convey what was going on in his head as well as the book does, so it'll just look like he killed him for the heck of it.
Posted by Jimbo the Clown (Member # 9251) on :
It could be included as a flashback sequence, but other than that, I'm inclined to agree with you, neo-dragon.
Posted by lisha_rose (Member # 9166) on :
I think the stilson killing should be in there...... it is a part in the story that if left out could confuse some people who havent read the book... and the audience isnt soposed to sympathize with ender we are soposed to be curious and wonder about why he does what he does and most importantly we are soposed to see that ender isnt perfect but he is as perfect as they come.
Posted by TomDavidson (Member # 124) on :
Me, I think leaving out Stilson's murder is like leaving out The Scouring of the Shire. Posted by Lyrhawn (Member # 7039) on :
If only it could be split into two movies.
The amount of material there almost demands the kind of screen time that would take two movies. Lord of the Rings was originally one movie, but P. Jackson fought for two, before taking it to New Line and getting them to suggest it be made into three.
Especially if the Ender's Shadow plot is going to be integrated into the film, there's just so much to it that can't possibly be done. Will the Peter/Val storyline survive? Graff/Anderson behind the scenes stuff? How much of Bean's life is going to be explored? The fantasy land game that Ender plays at his desk? His interpersonal relationships with all the other kids?
It boggles the mind to see how it'll all fit into even a 3 hour movie. Stilson's murder would have to be put in a flashback, but to me it'd seem so out of place it'd be jarring, and not in the good sense. Besides, leaving it out, like leaving out the Scouring of the Shire would leave Ender's Game functional as a movie, just as LOTR was left functional. SotS was important (heck it tied together a lot of the book's themes and totally changed my feelings at its end), but for a film, I understand why it was left out, doesn't mean I agree with it, as it happens I don't, but I understand it.
Still I wish this would be split up a bit. You could almost make a trilogy out of just Ender's Game by breaking it up into home life/first year at battle school. Then battle school in all it's glory. Then the end of battle school/command school and the last bugger war.
I wish you luck OSC. It must be painful having to cut stuff from the movie. On one hand you know you have to, to make it functional and fit the time constraints, but on the other hand as a writer who loves his work, you must be sad to see a lot of it go. If anyone can make it work, you can.
Posted by neo-dragon (Member # 7168) on :
quote:Originally posted by lisha_rose: I think the stilson killing should be in there...... it is a part in the story that if left out could confuse some people who havent read the book... and the audience isnt soposed to sympathize with ender we are soposed to be curious and wonder about why he does what he does and most importantly we are soposed to see that ender isnt perfect but he is as perfect as they come.
Of coures the audience is supposed to sympathize with Ender. The story will not incite the appropriate emotional responses if he looks like a crazy little maniac. Put yourself in the shoes of someone who's totally unfamiliar with the story. Seeing a small child beat another small child to death is going to make Ender seem like Peter. And let's face it, there's probably not a single part of the book that some fans won't argue is crucial to the story, but they obviously can't include everything, and the Stilson incident really doesn't offer much that the audience won't get from the Bonzo incident. In fact, given that there's two books worth of material to put in a 2 hour (Maybe 2.5 hours... who knows?) movie, having both beatings seems redundant.
And let me clarify: when I say that I don't think it will be included, I don't mean that it will simply be gone, and Graff will still come to the Wiggin house talking about it, thus confusing the audience. I mean that they'll probably rework the story so that Stilson isn't involved at all.
Posted by SoaPiNuReYe (Member # 9144) on :
Ok, I have to disagree with you on the sympathizing with ender part. That's the mistake so many movies are making these days. They patronize the main character to the point where the movie just plain sucks. The movie needs to be more like a camera over Ender's shoulder. It has to be like Ray, where it shows both the good and the bad. It doesn't patronize and it doesn't antagonize. Just the hard facts and at the end of the movie it lets the audience decide what to think. I'm not comparing Ender's Game to Ray, I'm just saying that if Bonzo and Stilson scenes aren't in the movie, fans aren't gonna like it and newcomers aren't going to be as moved. Without those scenes, Ender's emotional problems aren't going to be understood as well and people aren't going to be able to understand the desperate situation Earth is in. You have to look at it this way: Ender's Game is such an important book because of ALL of it's material. It's characters are believeable and the political and ethical questions it raises could just as well be taking place now. The movie needs to take what the books created and use the various techniques that filmmakers like Terrrence Malick and Steven Speilberg have used to constrict it into a reasonable time-frame. However, if you ask me taking out the Bonzo and Stilson scenes is like taking a liver out of a human being. It just doesn't work.
Posted by TomDavidson (Member # 124) on :
quote:The story will not incite the appropriate emotional responses if he looks like a crazy little maniac.
You'd be surprised how easily you can make a film audience sympathize with crazy little maniacs as long as you give them the narrative POV.
Posted by lisha_rose (Member # 9166) on :
why sympathize with ender the reason the battle school took him is because of what happened with stilson partially. they new from the beginning that if needed ender could be a killer. He knew how to survive even in circumstances when all seemed hopeless that no matter what he wasnt going to survive but the great thing about ender is he always found a way to get himself out of the trouble for good
Posted by neo-dragon (Member # 7168) on :
In any case having both killings is redundant given the time limitations, and the Bonzo incident it obviously the more important one of the two. As I understand it, none of the earlier scripts had the Stilson incident, so I'll be surprised if it makes its way into the version that Card is working on now. It's one of those things that fans of the book will miss, and although it does serve a purpose in the story, the movie doesn't really need it. Kind of like the Scouring of the Shire in LotR.
Posted by lisha_rose (Member # 9166) on :
I think it might be kewl to see bonzo's face change to stilsons while Ender is killing him and then a very short flash back i mean like 30 secs or so just an idea
Posted by I Am The War Chief (Member # 9266) on :
They should pit all the actors vying for the role of ender into a giant room where they would all do battle for the role - we could call it the "battle room" and their would be lasers last one still able to wiggle his toes wins - and OSC needs no help with writing he once defeated Chuck Norris by starring at him icily for three days untill chuck ran away crying - OSC then round house kicked himself in the face for a clean shave
Posted by PUNJABEE (Member # 7359) on :
quote:Originally posted by ckat: When I heard they were going to make a movie for Ender's Game. I was afraid of it being a disapointment like the bad attempt at Robert Heinlein's Starship Troopers. I don't that is going to happen here. You can see it in his books that Mr Card really listens to his fans. I don't think he would allow the movie people to change things around too much.
I might get a bit of flak for this, but (here goes ) I think Starship Troopers, as horrible as it was - is 200x better than the book. The book, I just had to stop reading it a little more than half-way through. It was so boring and complacent I just couldn't bring myself to finish reading it.
I haven't read any of Heinlein's other material - but is he as random and boring in his other books? He inserted flashbacks (in Troopers) that were merely memories of a discussion with the protagonists math teacher? I mean come on. The guy, did not know how to write.
I'm no professional, by any means but good LAWD this guy's book was boring.
Posted by I Am The War Chief (Member # 9266) on :
i hope this movie is like the fanz "HES COOL!! EEEHHHH
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