posted
Forgive me, I haven't been in touch with the times.. but what is going on with the Ender's Game movie? There don't seem to be updates on the Philotic Web... Will it ever come out? It seems to be falling apart =(
Posts: 1245 | Registered: May 2002
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posted
I hope that was a joke, especially considering that Jake Lloyd must be about 16 or 17 by now. Anyway, there are numerous threads about the movie here and on PWeb. I don't follow all the news since there isn't much, but as far as I know it's still in the pre-production stage. There's a director and studio attached (Wolfgang Peterson and Warner Bros.), the script is still being passed around and revised, no casting as of yet, no scheduled date for shooting, casting, or anything else. Looks like we have a few more years to wait at least.
posted
Ok...do you not realize how old that kid is? The Phantom Menace was made back in 1999, and Jake Lloyd (the actor that played little Anakin) was 10 years old then. So, now that would make him 16 years old. And I do not think that Mr. Card would ever allow anyone over the age of 12 to be be one of the battleschool kids - let alone be the main character.
That is my two cents, take them or leave them. I just hope that this movie is made well, and made correctly. Mr. Card I think would not allow his "baby" to be massacred...so I am optimistic that this film will be great.
Posts: 61 | Registered: Jul 2005
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posted
OSC said this last weekend that WB still has 6 months to move on it and if they don't then the option goes out to other production companies. The script has been rewritten to cover both Game and Shadow to make it more of a buddy movie since it is hard to hear what an actor is thinking and that is what most of Game is!
He said he was positive who ever will play Ender and Bean have been born and that is a good sign!
Posts: 224 | Registered: Jan 2001
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quote:Originally posted by Sid Meier: lol, also what dah ya mean by buddy movie?
Like can't they make what they're thinking into a conversation instead?
You would have to ask Mr. Card that...he is the one that called it a buddy movie and said it was hard to get into the thoughts of Ender's Game with out that!
Posts: 224 | Registered: Jan 2001
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posted
But how the hell could ANY of us come up with 11,090,401.98$?!!! NONE OF US have any kind of contracts or friends in high places that could get this movie made the way we want it to and HELL none of us even agree on HOW it should be made! A minority of us wants it Anime others CGI, rest want/okay with it as a normal live action LotR type film, then there's the disagreement with the actors! As if any of us have a choice, I'ld persoanlly want Patrick Stewart as Graff and Sean Connery as Mazer as for everyone else? Meh, I don't know any child actors who'ld still be young btt the movie is made.
Then there's the arguement on what parts should be in the movie, seesh, or heck some of us even think that there shouldn't be a movie but a TV series instead. How could any of us buy the option and even presume to get the movie made? Warner Bros is our best bet and they made some good Sci Fi movies, I think they helped with Babylon 5 I'm not sure but whatever they made it was good so Warner Bros is at the least okay.
Posts: 1567 | Registered: Oct 2004
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quote:Originally posted by JuniperDreams: I mean, I know it's gonna suck anyways, but I -hic- wanted to see it!!!!
That's the spirit! If that's what the fans of the book are saying I can't imagine why no one is rushing to make the film...
Seriously, seeing as we know virtually nothing about the film, I think it's way premature to be writing it off as crap. After all, what we do know is that OSC himself will be involved as much as possible, and he has said many times that he would rather the film not be made at all than made badly.
Posts: 1569 | Registered: Dec 2004
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posted
The only changes that I know to be confirmed rather than being speculation are the fact that Ender and Bean will be slightly older (9 and 10 respectively, or something like that), and that the story will take place over just one year. Those are necessary changes in order to avoid finding some way to either have a kids age 5 or 6 years over the course of the film, or get multiple actors to play each child. I don't see how it ruins the story. Saying something to the effect of, "of course it will suck, films based on books always suck" sounds like to me like a closed-minded and cliched criticism. There are many movies based on books that do not suck at all.
But why am I going on about it? We both know that you'll see it when (if) it comes out, and hopefully you'll be impressed.
Posts: 1569 | Registered: Dec 2004
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posted
And as Mr. Card himself said, "The movie will not ruin the book, the book will always be there just the way you remember it." I mean if the movie comes out and is even ok and can pull more OSC readers that is awsome. Yes, lovers of the book will carry some issues with it but a good movie is still a good movie.
Posts: 224 | Registered: Jan 2001
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posted
I'm pretty sure that I will enjoy the movie, no matter what changes. Disappointment comes standard with book-movie attempts. As long as it does better than Harry Potter *Bashes Harry Potter movies to bits*, I will be okay with the end result.
quote:"The movie will not ruin the book, the book will always be there just the way you remember it."
True...very true. *Bashes Harry Potter movies again*
Posts: 60 | Registered: Jun 2005
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posted
Honestly does anyone want to see 5 or 6 year olds beating eachother up and doing all these amazing things in BS? When i read the book i knew the ages of the kids were 5 and 6 but they seemed much older, like 10-12.I wouldnt mind in the least if the kids casted were between those ages. (10-12)
Posts: 81 | Registered: Feb 2004
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Lord of the Flies felt like it was missing something... Ah I know women! What would've happened if they had been stuck permenatly?
Posts: 1567 | Registered: Oct 2004
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posted
I would sure hate to see EG the movie turned into a buddy movie...Ender and Bean were both strong leaders, and interesting characters, but seriously, except for a few specific sences, they were not "buddies".
Personally, I think the best way to bring a deeper level to a movie that was originally a book is to have a narator.
A narator lets you get into the head of the characters without interupting the flow of action. I know some movie buffs look down on movies with narators...like if you can't communicate what's going on behind the character's eyes by the acting, camera work and music than the director was weak.
Bah! In my none too humble opinion -every- book to moive should have a narator.
I would rather not see an EG movie than see a bad one. Starship Troopers the movie broke my heart, and if I ever get a chance to get my hands on Paul Verhoven I'll beat him with an ugly stick on behalf of Robert A Hienlien (sure, wait til the guy's dead to totally f**k up his book).
Posts: 6683 | Registered: Jun 2005
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posted
As said earlier, nothing can take away the enjoyment the book has provided, even a horrific movie (trust me, as someone who is as big a fan of the Hitchhikers books as the Ender books, I have a bit of experience in reaching that conclusion).
Of course, I hope people don't have very high expectations for the movie... because I doubt they will be reached. First of all, I think we all realize that much of the strengths of "Ender's Game" is not in the narrative plot (which, when you think about it, is fairly simple). The strong points in the book come with the characterization of the protagonists- something very much internal. I can't see how that could be expressed in film (unless they go with a voiceover... and that's risky as film history has shown... and even then, I doubt they can capture everything since most of the novel isn't Ender speaking to himself, but in an explanatory manner... but I guess that can be converted with some good screenwriting).
So, right off the bat, we have to realize that it is more likely the movie will be focusing on external relationships more than internal ones (yes, the chance exists that they find a good way to draw out the internal issues, but I'm looking at "most likely" here). That's not they surprising, especially since they need to do something to trim the story down, and there's no way they can get rid of the plot developments... which will likely take up 2 hours in and of themself. But even beyond that, we have to look at the history of the screenwriter, Benioff.
We only have a chance to view two of Benioff's works: "25th Hour" and "Troy." The first movie was based on a novel Benioff himself wrote (a good one at that, even if it wasn't my usual taste in reading), so I don't know if it's fair to judge the differences in the screenplay since it was his own changes to make.
But, well, we all know what happened with Troy. Basically, they kept the characters the same and the time period the same, but just some (not all) of the major plot points the same.
So, I really doubt the movie will stay so close to the novel that the fans on this board won't have room for major complaints.
But then again, look at it from another point of view: why bother making a carbon copy of the book in another medium? I mean, yes, sometimes it's nice to have visual representation of the words we read... but I'm sure all of us have already used our vivid imaginations to dream up images to reflect our reading. And it is unlikely a film can match those personal images.
So why not have the movie do something atleast a little bit different? Who knows, it could be a good movie standing on it's lonesome, even if it is not the "Ender's Game" we all know and love.
I just hope they don't do something as bad as... I don't know... have Ender make peace with the Buggers instead of killing them (laugh now, but I'm sure no fan of the Hitchhiker's books would have thought they would have butchered the story so much in the movie to the point where they change the entire theme of the story... the entire relationships between characters... the entire ending... well, everything but the beginning really).
Posts: 13 | Registered: Apr 2005
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posted
Truthfully, I have great difficulty seeing how the buddy movie idea will work, given Ender's character. His isolation is too fundamental to his character, and he can't simultaneously be depicted as constantly isolated and yet also with a buddy to speak all his inner thoughts to.
I think there probably ought to be a narrator of some sort, whether that be Ender giving his thoughts himself, Graff describing Ender's thoughts, or someone else entirely. They need to get creative! That's just my opinion, though, which doesn't matter much to WB.
Posts: 8120 | Registered: Jul 2000
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posted
Is that really what OSC meant by "buddy movie"? I thought that was just a reference to how they're combining EG and Shadow into one film since they take place at the same time. I was envisioning having two perpectives on the overarching throughline - certainly not anything as drastic as turning it into a movie about buddies!
Posts: 952 | Registered: Jun 2005
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posted
well... there were some scenes in the books that twiddled with a little could give easily the tactical emplications usually shown in thoughts. Then again we don't NEED to know every thought and motivation *ducks* that is what the book is for, only enough to explain the motivation and to keep the feeling of it being Enderish(?) and keep the feel of the book(s).
That's my take on it and IMHO should be implemented as to keep a "moderate" middle ground as to not piss off too many fans with possibly major plot changes. Meh I say Aye. Then Nay, then I change my mind to Aye. Or was it Nay? Possibilities....
Posts: 1567 | Registered: Oct 2004
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posted
Look! There are a lot of changes... Sebastian?? Grr.... they're so small, but they make me sooooo angry... Then again... the people in charge are changing... so will the screenplay change too?
Posts: 1245 | Registered: May 2002
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posted
Notice the copyright 2001 at the bottom of the page? I wouldn't put too much stock in stuff from 4 years ago still being accurate now, even if it was true then. The script has no doubt evolved quite a bit since then. Like I said, there's much speculation, but almost nothing is known for certain. So let's not jump to conclusions.
Besides, all of those changes actually make sense. What difference does it make if Bernard is named Sebastian? Would it have detracted from your enjoyment of the book if that had been his name all along, or does it irritate you now just because it's different from the book? If the latter, I don't think that you're giving the film a fair chance to succeed as a good movie in its own right.
Like Mr. Card has said, the book will always be there. I'm sure that I'm going to enjoy the film no matter how it turns out because I love the book, and the film will allow me to see it in a whole new light. It'll be like getting to read it for the first time all over again.
posted
I'm anxious to see this movie. I've been absent from Hatrack for a long time, and in my return I hoped to find new information about the movie. In my two year hiatus, it seems nothing has changed. Am I disappointed? No, but I hope Ender's Game the movie doesn't get put up on the shelf as many movies do. (I really wanted to see Batman/Superman film!!)
--I'm a big fan of the Ender series, but I've had a thought. What would the movie be like with Ender not being the "main" character? Rather... Anderson or Mazer, or even bring in a new character? Have Ender as a main observational character? I'm not sure, it sounded feasible in my head. This would put less stress on finding taleted child actors, give a third party perspective on the whole game and bugger war...
Just random thoughts. Forgive me if this sounds like blasphemy.
posted
That was the original plan when Mr Card didn't think kids could take the emotional pressure of the film. (ironic no?) But after meeting Jake Lyld he decided otherwise. So it may not be a Mazer Anderson oriented film.
Posts: 1567 | Registered: Oct 2004
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posted
I actually wouldn't mind seeing it from someone else's perspective. It would allow less plot changes because the whole story would be somewhat different..... And yeah, I guess you're right, it's not fair, but I'm a spoiled little kid who hates remakes of classics...
Posts: 1245 | Registered: May 2002
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posted
Hmm... I like the peripheral-character-morphing-into-main-POV idea, but somehow I just don't think some of the younger viewing audience would be too thrilled with a movie that might as well be called "Major Anderson's Game"...
Posts: 973 | Registered: Apr 2005
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posted
Ender needs to be the main character, or it won't be Ender's Game. I don't think the plot would even work well if it weren't from his perspective.
However, what if it were told by the Buggers, who could enter his mind and see from his perspective? Perhaps there could be internal dialogue between the Buggers and Ender through the fantasy game, or through Ender's nightmares? Perhaps the narration could be a discussion between Ender and the Bugger Queen, via his nightmares at the end of the book, superimposed with the events of the book progressing - like one big flashback.
As I said before, it would be hard to express Ender's isolation if he had Bean as a buddy to talk to throughout the movie. But what if his "buddy" was the Bugger queen? Not only would this help explain how he could write The Hive Queen and the Hegemon, but it could give a way for Ender to express his suffering onscreen without giving him any normal human outlets.
Posts: 8120 | Registered: Jul 2000
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posted
Great idea Tresopax! First off making it all be one big flashback, and having it narriated by the Queen. You don't even have to know who is narrating it, just let the answer evolve. On the other hand, buggers can't talk. Ouch. My brain hurts now.
Posts: 6683 | Registered: Jun 2005
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Just to expound on that... I think it'd be really cool if they could kinda switch between the Hive Queen's POV in quasi-flashback (her "reading" Ender's memories, so actually his POV too), Bean's own POV, and possibly Graff's to catch the outside observances of the kids and the overall situation in general. It'd be especially cool if there were a way to do this while keeping the Hive Queen's identity a secret till the end, sorta like what Stone_Wolf said.
Posts: 952 | Registered: Jun 2005
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