Ender's Game

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bouncingbrick's Avatar
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11-18-11
Ender has been cast in this adaptation of the much beloved Science Fiction novel by author Orson Scott Card. Gavin Hood is set to direct.

Ender's Game is one of my favorite novels of all time. The charcter of Ender is one of those hero's that you can't help but love. That said, for those who have read the book(s), what do you think of this casting? I've not seen Asa Butterfield in anything so I don't know how he is as an actor. I will say that they should have made this as an animated film since Ender starts the film being very young, and he's still under the age of 14 at the end of the novel. Butterfield is a bit older than I'd have liked the character to be, but I guess it was bound to happen.

Plus, Gavin Hood's one attempt at a straight action film is pretty awful. I have to admit that I don't have high hopes for this film.

I suppose that a bad adaptation of one of my favorite books is better than no adaptation...at least there's Game of Thrones to keep me happy about my favorite novel adaptations!
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Sit Ubu Sit.... Good Dog
11-18-11
I have not read that book in about 15 years, so honestly I don't remember to much about it. All I really remember was that I loved it, so I am going to the library today and pick up a copy. I do remember a few other people on this site talking about what a good film Ender's Game would make, but I'll have to withhold my opinion till I have read it again.
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11-24-11
How exciting! Ender's Game is one of the greatest science fiction novels. It is up there with Dune and the Empire series by Asimov.

Hope this is done good.
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i'm SUPER GOOD at Jewel karaoke
11-24-11
i haven't read this since i was about 18, and i gave away my copy when i was doing a yard sale. i didn't love it to pieces, but i recognized that it was well written and captivating and all that junk.

i tried to read the rest of the series but got bored, though. the movie is just covering the first one, right?
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11-24-11
Originally Posted by ash_is_the_gal
i tried to read the rest of the series but got bored, though. the movie is just covering the first one, right?
I'd expect so. If there's a series of them, then the franchise will be in the offing. If the first one does well, they'll film the next. If it does really well, they'll probably film the next two back to back.



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11-24-11
I can't imagine them making the sequels into films. Mayber Beans story and the story of Earth afterward, but the direct sequels following Ender aren't exactly compelling film subjects. Personally I think the series only gets better after the first book, but they aren't really easily adapted, IMO.



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i'm SUPER GOOD at Jewel karaoke
11-24-11
i think you're right. i just remembered something; doesn't, like, 50% of Ender's Game take place with all the characters playing on a computer?



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11-25-11
Originally Posted by ash_is_the_gal
i think you're right. i just remembered something; doesn't, like, 50% of Ender's Game take place with all the characters playing on a computer?
Yes, the second half of the story is about his training to fight the buggers via computer simulations. However, I figured they could simply make these scenes look like actual space fight which would make it a bit more exciting. After all, this is a sci-fi story so there's no reason their simulation games couldn't look and feel like the real thing.

That said, this film can never live up to the novel, IMO.



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11-25-11
Sounds like C21st Tron in the offing. Maybe that's why this got the go ahead? $400m is right on the cusp of the kind of takings the studios are looking for.



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Sit Ubu Sit.... Good Dog
12-05-12

First Look At Harrison Ford Yelling At Kids On The Set Of Enders Game






See that right there? That’s Harrison Ford all decked out as Colonel Graff, preparing to dress down Asa Butterfield’s Ender Wiggin, who’s concerned that his emails to home are being blocked. Click below for the full sweep of the picture from Entertainment Weekly, plus some very interesting notes on the changes made from the book to the film, and more!




It looks as though the main change from the narrative is the compression of the timeline; director and writer Gavin Hood discussed this at length with Orson Scott Card. “The decision was made very early on to compress the time period into about a year, so that we could have the same actor from beginning to end… We were trying to hit that sweet spot right around 12, which Asa fits in very nicely,” Hood said. He pointed out that he didn’t want the audience to have to try and bond with a different actor once Ender got older, which seems like a logical choice to make for a film.

Hood also talked of a relationship between Ford and Butterfield on set. It seems as though our favorite smuggler/archaeologist was close with young Ender, but made sure not to be too friendly. Hood claimed, “He helped Asa by allowing that slight sense of intimidation to be there.” Which sounds awesome to us. Harrison Ford is free to intimidate us any time.
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A system of cells interlinked
02-19-14
One of the worst science fiction films I have ever seen. Rarely do I even consider turning a film off, but this one had me fighting that urge for the entire second half of the film. I can't say anything nice about the characters, the lame concept, or the completely obvious, tired, terrible twist. Fans of the book may like it, but I tried reading Scott Card in the late 80s, and even to my high-school aged mind, he seemed goofy and I couldn't get past his ham-fisted style. I should have known a film created from a Scott-Card book didn't have a chance in hell. One of the few books I have started that I didn't finish, and one of the few films that made me want to turn it off halfway through.

Avoid at all costs!
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Chappie doesn't like the real world
02-19-14
I fell asleep during it and I rarely do that. I don't care to see the end; what I saw was horrible enough to keep me away.



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A system of cells interlinked
02-20-14
Trying to think of another film so bereft of atmosphere...but I can't come up with one. It just seemed like a clinical exercise in film making or something.