One of the highlights of the evening! Sir Ben Kingsley stopped to chat with us about the film, his tattoos, and possible sequels. ;)
Sorry about the wobbly vid -- the camera became understandably a little overwhelmed.
Thursday, 31 October 2013
We have said over and over that Ender's Game is a project which was borne out of a love of Ender's story and yesterday Grantland's Matt Patches published a riveting piece on how very true that is. In his article, he follows the adaptations long journey to Hollywood, a journey he calls a "rare Hollywood miracle."
And he's right: Ender's Game has been considered a completely unfilmable film since the book's publication in 1985, even by Orson Scott Card himself. But that doesn't mean many studios and producers haven't tried: the article gives a detailed explanation of the various attempts to to get Ender on the big screen and it is an exhausting list. It's no wonder Card was frustrated!
Thankfully, long-time fans of the book like Lynn Hendee were determined:
And soon you will all have seen it too as Ender's Game hits US theaters today. It is also Halloween, so I shall don my Dragon Army flight suit this evening and pass out candy to all the future Launchies. I could even throw in some Comic-Con army badges to mix things up - maybe even catch a midnight showing! I'm not sure many people could have imagined such a scenario a few years ago, but I am immensely grateful that there were some who did.
"You have to be insanely optimistic all the time when you're passionate about something," Hendee said of her lengthy journey through the darkest depths of Hollywood's creative development process. "You have to believe it's going to happen. The character's story of Ender's Game moved me so much. I believe that such a wonderful story about character … there had to be a way to get that onscreen."
And she was right: Ender's Game hits US theaters tonight!
And he's right: Ender's Game has been considered a completely unfilmable film since the book's publication in 1985, even by Orson Scott Card himself. But that doesn't mean many studios and producers haven't tried: the article gives a detailed explanation of the various attempts to to get Ender on the big screen and it is an exhausting list. It's no wonder Card was frustrated!
Thankfully, long-time fans of the book like Lynn Hendee were determined:
"I've always thought it was going to take years to get this movie made because it's going to take the fans of the book who read it in their wonder years to grow old enough and be in positions of decision-making," said Lynn Hendee, a producer of Ender's Game who came onboard the project in the mid-'90s. Hendee was right.And so was Gigi Pritzker!
To the rescue came Gigi Pritzker, founder of OddLot Entertainment and a die-hard fan of the novel. Like Hendee, Pritzker's gut told her Ender's Game was a perfect movie waiting to happen. [...] Pritzker and OddLot set out to find a team that understood the treasured tome. The key was finding a writer-director who could build the movie from the ground up and carry it to the end, their very own Ender. Pritzker found him in Hood, a South African filmmaker who brought his memories of apartheid and life in the military to the project. After a turbulent experience on the ill-fated X-Men Origins: Wolverine, where multiple writers tinkered with the script on a daily basis in the middle of shooting, Hood craved the immersion required for Ender's Game. He had a vision: a script that would allow a preteen actor to engage with challenging, emotionally raw material. That was all Pritzker needed to hear.Hendee then found writer-turned-producer Bob Orci, another long-term fan of the book, who played an important role in the adaptation process:
Orci became the movie's Card proxy — a devout fan without a preservationist instinct. When the team felt it couldn't make changes to aspects of the book, Orci would say, "Sure we can — I'm the guy who blew up Vulcan! I know what we can do and can't do."The rest of the article details the early-stages of development -- where did the money come from? -- as well as casting and the production choices. It really is quite a read; afterward I had a whole new appreciation for the incredible film I saw Monday night in LA.
And soon you will all have seen it too as Ender's Game hits US theaters today. It is also Halloween, so I shall don my Dragon Army flight suit this evening and pass out candy to all the future Launchies. I could even throw in some Comic-Con army badges to mix things up - maybe even catch a midnight showing! I'm not sure many people could have imagined such a scenario a few years ago, but I am immensely grateful that there were some who did.
"You have to be insanely optimistic all the time when you're passionate about something," Hendee said of her lengthy journey through the darkest depths of Hollywood's creative development process. "You have to believe it's going to happen. The character's story of Ender's Game moved me so much. I believe that such a wonderful story about character … there had to be a way to get that onscreen."
And she was right: Ender's Game hits US theaters tonight!
A Guest Contribution by Kelson Record
The music was pounding and the lights were flashing like crazy. My date and I had been wandering around the room aimlessly after eating, soaking up the atmosphere. We finally found our friends getting drinks at the bar when someone brushed my shoulder. I turned and made eye contact with Mr. Ford as he nodded to say excuse me. It was then that I finally thought to myself: "Holy Crap!"
Having grown up in a small town in Alabama, I never once thought that I would ever attend a premiere and the subsequent after-party to celebrate the opening of a big movie, especially one that I've been waiting for since I was a teenager. It was like a dream come true!
To start off the day, I had the opportunity to pick up Kelly and Aidan (Ender News) from the airport, get to know them a little, and talk with them about the book and movie. If you ever get the opportunity to meet these wonderful ladies, do it. They are two of the sweetest and most generous people you'll ever meet.
Entering the premiere was a little nerve racking but those nerves settled as we stood in line for will call with many others. We were able to enter the courtyard at the TCL Chinese theater and watch all the stars arrive one by one, (something I had only ever done watching the Oscars on TV) until they started ushering us inside. We took our seats in the lower section around others we thought were just like us, just lucky to get tickets.
It wasn't until the curtains opened and credits started that we realized that most of those around us were in some way associated with the film. A group to our right was cheering for Oddlot Entertainment; a group to our left was cheering for Summit Entertainment. And of course we all cheered and applauded when Gavin Hood's name appeared.
And then it hit...the movie I have been waiting for for years was about to play on the giant silver screen in front of me. The book I have loved for almost 20 years was about to be shown to me through the eyes and mind of Mr. Hood and the hundreds of others who helped to shape the movie.
Except for being a lifelong fan, I don't think I'm too qualified to critique what he did, but all things considered, I think he did an amazing job. The story itself is not an easy one to fit into 2 hours. It was fast...maybe a little too fast at times. But everything I wanted to see as a fan of the book was there and I was amazed at how they tied certain things together. I don't think it detracts from the book; in fact, I feel it has given me a better appreciation for it and new insights into depths of its many messages.
If I had thought being at the famous Chinese theater was an experience, being at the after party was at least an experience and a half. As we left the theater, we passed Mr Butterfield who seemed pretty excited as he bounded up the steps 4 at a time to make it to the annex on the 5th foor of the heritage center. My date and I looked at each other in amusement and she commented that "he's definitely still a teenager."
The annex was filled with set pieces from the film, all the staff dressed as IF personnel, and posters and banners were all around the room. There was music and dancing and (best of all) food. My favorite dish: the packets of freeze dried astronaut ice cream on the desert table (my dad used to buy that for us when I was a kid and it was a great nostalgic treat). We, of course, didn't know anyone there personally so after eating and a little wandering to see the sights, we finally met up with Kelly and Aidan from Ender News and Crystal and Liz from Enderwiggin.net (the latter also being two amazing people) They were all so gracious in showing us around and, best of all, introducing us to the cast and crew.
Everyone we met was so courteous and most were willing to talk to us and the kids (as well as Bob Orci) loved just goofing around. Of course we congratulated them on a job well done and they accepted our thanks and praise so humbly. Ms. Steinfeld was especially sweet as I was able to tell her that that I thought her portrayal one of my favorite characters in the book was amazing.
We had the unique opportunity to talk extensively with Frank Rimili and Bjorn Wehrli, the head dudes for Audi exterior design (we actually sat fairly close to them in the theater). Mr. Rimili seemed like an excited kid at Christmas as he talked to us about their work on the film. You could definitely tell that they love and are so passionate about the work they do. Being a car lover, it was definitely one of the high points of the night.
What I loved most about the evening, though, was hearing Mr. Hood personally tell us why he had decided to make this movie and where his vision came from. A friend gave him a copy of his favorite book and said "Gavin, don't screw this up!" He explained why he did certain scenes the way he did and how he had decided to make the connection between battle school's battle room and command school's simulator. In the end, he gave all the ladies a kiss on the cheek and me a heartfelt handshake to accept our praise and thanks. He truly is, as many have said before, an amazing person.
Of course it couldn't last forever. The evening came to a close and we said our goodbyes to our new friends Kelly, Aidan, Crystal, and Liz. Thank you so much ladies! It wouldn't have been the same without ya and it's an experience I'll never forget!
Wednesday, 30 October 2013
3D-Printing software company Sandboxr is cooperating with Summit Entertainment for its brand-new Ender's Game-themed 3D print creation app, where "fans will be able to create and bring home exclusive replica battleships from the film."
This is the first 3D experience of this type to coincide with a major cinematic movie release, and Summit is excited to work with Sandboxr to offer this amazing experience and great new technology to our Ender's Game fans.According to Sandboxr's press release "fans will be able to enjoy an interactive product experience that extends their engagement with the film and that they can access from their computer. Fans can choose from a selection of CG images from the movie studio file archives and bring home their own Ender's Game 3D printed spacecraft and accessories.
"3D experiences are typically exclusive to tech savvy makers and designers. However, we've worked hard to make a 3D printing experience that is accessible in a meaningful way to everyone." (Sandboxr CEO Berkley Frei)
Check it out at Sandboxr.com and let us know what you think.
UPDATED: Here are some pictures of spacecrafts you can 3D-Print with Sandboxr:
Tuesday, 29 October 2013
Monday, 28 October 2013
An "Ender's Game" Review by Ender News community member Len Maessen
First things first: Gavin Hood wasn't lying when he said he wanted to be faithful to the book. There is a lot of dialogue in this movie that's taken directly from the book and the storyline is left mostly intact, albeit with some cuts for time. I spent an awful lot of time going 'oooh!' whenever something familiar turned up, which is always fun.
That being said, while I liked it okay, I didn't love it. Most importantly, I walked out understanding exactly where the more negative reviews got their complaints from. The movie does have trouble making you sympathize with the characters, and there's a simple reason for that.
Book adaptations are tricky. You have to make a lot of choices about what to include and what to exclude. The problem with the Ender's Game movie is that it doesn't always seem to make these choices with a real vision in mind. Characters get introduced, then immediately forgotten, which makes those parts feel incohesive and pointless. Sometimes there are scenes from the book in there that honestly don't really add anything to the movie besides being scenes from the book - that's time they lost they could have spent putting in scenes that would humanize Ender.
Don't get me wrong. Asa Butterfield is amazing as Ender. He acts his ass off and manages it with great subtlety. The problem is largely with the material he's given. Outside of the ending (which is awesome), when Ender is really upset or worn down about something, we don't see it. Graff tells us it happens, or Petra steps in for an 'Are you okay?!', but we don't actually see Ender hurt, breaking down, having a moment to himself. At best, he gets angry, which isn't the same thing. Petra also shadows him for most of the movie, which turns 'we're isolating him!' into something else we never actually see. (As my friend said, "Wow, Ender is weirdly social butterfly-y in this movie.")
It's not a bad adaptation. It faithfully follows Ender's storyline. The battle room sequences look fantastic, though again, it doesn't feel like Hood always uses them to the best effect with respect to letting us learn something about the characters. The set design is also gorgeous and the space battles near the end sucked me right in-- they sometimes take a slightly different turn than in the book, but I don't feel it detracts from the movie in any way. I might have also cheered a little bit when we got the ending that we did, rather than some Hollywood version of it. The essential morality of the story is still intact, if a little less nuanced by necessity.
But by and large I'm kind of disappointed. The movie succeeds on a big sweeping level in telling Ender's story, but completely fails to capture the emotional and psychological subtleties of the book. And I just don't get the feeling that's because of a clever directorial decision to adhere to some idea of what the story should be; rather, the problem is that Hood doesn't seem to know exactly what B-plots outside of the overarching, action-fueled storyline he wants to tell too, so he just tosses pieces of all of them at us, ensuring we don't wind up engaged by any of them. Picking and choosing these plots better - and giving Ender a chance to actually be alone every now and again so we can slow down, reflect, and actually buy the isolation angle - might have gone a long way towards pushing this movie from 'okay' to 'great'.
On the bright side? It could have been a lot worse.
You can contact Len by email or leave a comment below.
Sunday, 27 October 2013
Thanks to the lovely people at Summit Entertainment, I am off tomorrow to attend the premiere of Ender's Game in LA. I will be covering red carpet shenanigans, attending the screening, and shall afterwards spend the rest of the night reminding myself that it would probably be considered inappropriate to take off my shoes.
When I started Ender News in February of 2012, I never dreamt this journey would one day lead here, watching the film together with those who made it possible for Ender's Game to hit the big screen -- along with Aidan Vitti, one of my closest friends for more than 10 years, and Crystal, my EnderCast co-host and fellow Ender-nerd. I am thrilled, excited, and just a little bit nervous. Something sweet is ending, and I'm not sure I'm ready to let that go.
But this is it! We are down to the last week of our countdown; many have already seen the film and tomorrow Ender's Game is premiering to the world. This adaptation is years in the making, borne out of a love for Ender's journey, the fans, and good storytelling. Whatever reviews come, this is our film.
Tomorrow, the enemy's gate is down.
When I started Ender News in February of 2012, I never dreamt this journey would one day lead here, watching the film together with those who made it possible for Ender's Game to hit the big screen -- along with Aidan Vitti, one of my closest friends for more than 10 years, and Crystal, my EnderCast co-host and fellow Ender-nerd. I am thrilled, excited, and just a little bit nervous. Something sweet is ending, and I'm not sure I'm ready to let that go.
But this is it! We are down to the last week of our countdown; many have already seen the film and tomorrow Ender's Game is premiering to the world. This adaptation is years in the making, borne out of a love for Ender's journey, the fans, and good storytelling. Whatever reviews come, this is our film.
Tomorrow, the enemy's gate is down.
Friday, 25 October 2013
"Fans of the book? I think, I mean the story has stayed almost entirely true to the book apart from obviously they had to age the characters up for obvious reasons. I think it all depends on what they got out of the book. If they loved the Battle Room scenes then obviously that's going to appeal to them. But if they read the book for the stories and the... not the stories, the morals behind it and the themes, then... that's all still intact in the screenplay I think. It's a really deep story."
Source: Showbiz Junkies
At the time of writing, Ender's Game is sitting at 74% Fresh at the well-known movies site Rotten Tomatoes, based on 19 reviews the site has added so far. At Ender News we decided to start our own scoring page where we use the same system as Rotten Tomatoes to determine what we consider a "positive" or "negative" review.
Ender News REVIEW-O-METER
We have added 43 reviews at this point, and we will continue to add all English-language reviews that we learn about for the next several weeks. Why only English reviews? Because dubbed versions of the movie are not entirely comparable, and I don't speak Thai or Russian so it would be unfair anyway to just include markets where our editors can actually read and understand the text.
We use the standard 5-stars system; all the scores that are based on a different system will be translated into x-out-of-5-stars for the purpose of including them to the Review-O-Meter. Reviews that do not use a scoring system at all will be judged by our editors and only be added if they are clearly positive or negative. Same thing as on Rotten Tomatoes, just we do add a score based on our judgement. For the Review-O-Meter it only matters if a review is "positive" or "negative."
We hope to achieve a verifiable reviews-score for Ender's Game with our system, as we will end up adding absolutely all the reviews we can find with a quote and links to the full online review. Currently our Review-O-Meter Score sits at 72%, based on 43 reviews. So it is very similar to RT's 74%. If you find a review within an established newspaper, entertainment site, or entertainment blog (as in reviews by people who have done that before / do it regularly for a variety of films), just leave a comment here, on Facebook, or drop us an email.
Thursday, 24 October 2013
"The Shower Scene... everyone that has read the book knows that there's a fight in there. And I can tell you that it is a GREAT FIGHT! I'm very impressed with it. It's not some Hollywood gratuitous action sequence, so don't get me wrong: we're not gonna have people smashed into walls.
But oh my goodness, it is one of the most disturbing moments that you guys will see. Out of the grand scheme of what "Ender's Game" is, this is SUCH a bite of reality." - Stunt Coordinator Garrett Warren
Source: EnderCast
Wednesday, 23 October 2013
A recent quote from composer Steve Jablonsky:
"Ender's Game is big but also very personal, which is an interesting combination for any composer. For some scenes, I'm using an 80 piece orchestra and 32 member choir, while in other scenes I am using a simple solo instrument. Ender is a very isolated character for much of the film so I felt that a solo cello would play that isolation nicely and it became an important element in the score."
It's only going to be up for 24 hours so listen fast -- and let us know what you think!
"Dink, I liked playing him because he was an honorable character to play and when I say that, I mean he was willing to talk to Ender because he knew that there was something special about him. He’s willing to take one for the team if it means that they win. He’s willing to team up with people that he might not necessarily like." - Khylin Rhambo (Dink Meeker)
Source: Nerd Reactor
From the article:
"The Flaming Lips have always had a fondness for science fiction and fantasy, with a vast catalog of songs about robots, spontaneous human combustion, telepathy, wizards, and UFOs. The band's latest source of inspiration is the sci-fi novel (and new movie) Ender's Game, which tells the story of Earth's futuristic battle with insect-like aliens called "Buggers." A new EP from The Flaming Lips, The Peace Sword includes six songs inspired by the story, including this dark, strange, synth-heavy jam 'If They Move, Shoot 'Em.'"NPR is reporting that the song written for Ender's Game "appears on the soundtrack" and none of the other songs made it into the film. Perhaps the closing credits?
Peace Sword will be released digitally on October 29th with a CD / Vinyl version available November 29th.
Edit: You can also check out Peace Sword (Open Your Heart) via The Daily Beast!
Tuesday, 22 October 2013
There are 2,000 individual LEDs inside those stars. Because the battle room scenes were often in low light, the filmmakers used the glow emanating from the stars to illuminate the actors.
Source: New York Times
All you have to do to download passes is go to www.gofobo.com/RSVP and enter the code ENDNEWFZF2.You'll be taken to a page where you can print off your ticket and bring it with you to the event.
Reminder: this is a first-come, first-served screening so you need to get there early and in my limited screening experience that means at least an hour in advance. Show up as early as possible, get an Ender's Game ICEE and make yourself comfortable.
I also have a set of 2 reserved seating tickets to give away (you and a plus one!) to this same screening. That means if you win the giveaway you will be guaranteed a seat -- probably somewhere near me, but I'm very good at sharing popcorn.
If you are in the Boston area and interested in the reserved seat giveaway, leave a comment below and I will choose a winner at random on Friday, October 25th at 12:00 pm EST. But make sure you print out a free screening ticket anyway in case you don't win! :)
Here's the tl;dr version:
What: Ender's Game IMAX Screening
Where: AMC Loews Boston Common
When: Wednesday, October 30th at 7 p.m.
How: Go to www.gofobo.com/RSVP and enter the code ENDNEWFZF2 or leave a comment below to win 2 reserved seats!
Good luck, Launchies
Leading entertainment news publication Variety is out with a story on Ender's Game's box office prospects today. The magazine predicts that the film "is currently tracking for a so-so $27 million debut in the U.S. and likely won't hit $100 million in ticket sales."
This number is in line with BoxOffice.com's $25 - $30 million range for the opening weekend, a number that would probably seen as a disappointment by the studio. Variety quotes 'one distribution executive' saying that he "doubts its franchise capability."
However, there are also positive signs that these estimates might be too low. Variety attested Lionsgate/Summit a "respectable marketing campaign thus far in the U.S." and points out the following:
Word of mouth on the Gavin Hood-directed film has been decent ("It's surprisingly solid," one source says), while an overseas boost for the sci-fi movie could keep the Ender's Game franchise alive for further installments. There are 12 novels in the Ender's Game series as well as short stories and comics.In just two weeks we will know the real numbers!
Monday, 21 October 2013
Ender's Game author Orson Scott Card gave an extensive interview (of epic length) to The New Zealand Listener, where he talks about various aspects of his work, his screenwriting attempts and of course the upcoming feature film.
If you want to read the entire interview -- he is also talking politics, his controversial essays, the Mormon church, Xenocide and Children Of The Mind -- head over to the New Zealand Listener, as I will focus here on the movie part. Just one interesting tidbit. Card says: "I have an arrangement with Tor [U.S. publisher] that they will accept Aaron Johnston [Card's co-writer on the Ender's Game prequel trilogy] as the writer of any of my books. [...] I trust Aaron to know how to flesh them out."
I'll leave the following passages uncommented, which means what you want to read between the lines is entirely up to you (if anything):
Card on Mazer Rackham and the casting of Sir Ben Kingsley
If you want to read the entire interview -- he is also talking politics, his controversial essays, the Mormon church, Xenocide and Children Of The Mind -- head over to the New Zealand Listener, as I will focus here on the movie part. Just one interesting tidbit. Card says: "I have an arrangement with Tor [U.S. publisher] that they will accept Aaron Johnston [Card's co-writer on the Ender's Game prequel trilogy] as the writer of any of my books. [...] I trust Aaron to know how to flesh them out."
I'll leave the following passages uncommented, which means what you want to read between the lines is entirely up to you (if anything):
Card on Mazer Rackham and the casting of Sir Ben Kingsley
It was 30 years ago. I do know I was making a conscious effort to get rid of the old "Americans in space" attitude in sci-fi, and to make the IF and Battle School look like the world population as a whole. Since I was already locked in with the name Mazer Rackham from the short story, I sought a way to make the character non-white. New Zealand was a place where intermarriage could put an English name on a mixed-race character. Add to that a lifelong sympathy with Polynesians (although not Maoris in particular) because we had Samoan friends when I was young, and it seems a natural progression.Card on Book Elements That Have Been Cut for the Movie
Ben Kingsley is a superb actor, but in looks and build he is obviously not remotely Maori in appearance. Clearly that was not a consideration in casting, but since I was not involved in that process I can't speak for the thinking that went into that decision. I can say he gives a very good performance, and I hope Maori will forgive the ignorance or unconcern that led to this slight to the very good Maori actors who were available.
Readers who are disappointed at elements of the book that are not in the movie should keep in mind: my own scripts also cut sharply, because filming the entire novel would have taken about six hours. Huge swaths of material had to be omitted, and the movie actually includes elements from the book that I removed!Card on Ender's Game, the Film
Certainly, there is no trace of any of my scripts in the Gavin Hood script that was filmed. Hood gave the executives what they were looking for: a script that used elements of the original story within a format that followed the film-school rules that, although they don't actually work, give executives in Hollywood a warm sense of recognition.Leave your thoughts in the comments if you like.
Within those paradigms, the film Ender's Game has been shaped into a tight, fast, hard-hitting film that rockets along at a breakneck pace — the adventure version of Ender's Game. It is an excellent film of that type; it is, in fact, about as good a job of filming Ender's Game as anyone could have expected Hollywood to achieve.
Moviefone debuted a series of 10 beautiful concept art illustrations from Ender's World today. Enjoy!
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| Space between the Formic drone ships and the International Fleet |
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| Battle School is an advanced military installation that orbits Earth |
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| The near future landscape of Ender's world on Earth |
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| International Fleet shuttle and port |
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| The simulator room at Command School |
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| A view of battle formations from Ender's perspective in the Command School simulator |
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| The home of the Wiggin family on Earth |
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| Ender Wiggin's quarters at Battle School |
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| Battle Room Action |
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| A ship in the International Fleet |
Finally we get our first good look at Bonzo Madrid, played by Moises Arias. Enjoy the new high-resolution stills below, courtesy of Cosmic Book News. 
Sunday, 20 October 2013
Yesterday Crystal from EnderWiggin.net and I had the pleasure of chatting with Ender Wiggin himself Asa Butterfield as well as Ender's Game producers Bob Orci and Gigi Pritzker for an episode of EnderCast!
We didn't get to chat too long because they were all super busy at the press junket yesterday in LA, but we did get to chat with Asa about what it's like seeing his own face all over the place and the fact that he was at the movies with some "friends" of his Friday night and they didn't even get the guy an Ender's Game ICEE. ;)
Also joining us were producers Bob Orci and Gigi Pritzker and they had great things to say about their Ender's Game journey and left us with a message for fans as we countdown to the film's release.
In case you've missed some of our past episodes with Ender's Game cast and crew, you can catch up over the two weeks as we wait for NovEnder 1st!
Episode 32: Brandon Soo Hoo (Fly Molo)
Episode 31: Stunt Coordinator Garrett Warren
Episode 30: Jimmy Jax Pinchak (Peter Wiggin)
Episode 28: Suraj Partha (Alai)
Episode 26: Aramis Knight (Bean) and Khylin Rhambo (Dink Meeker)
Episode 24: Aramis Knight (Bean), Jimmy Jax Pinchak (Peter Wiggin), Suraj Partha (Alai), Cameron Gaskins (Pol Slattery), Khylin Rhambo (Dink Meeker), Brandon Soo Hoo (Fly Molo), Conor Carroll (Bernard), Caleb Thaggard (Stilson)
Episode 23: Caleb Thaggard (Stilson) and Conor Carroll (Bernard)
Don't forget to subscribe to us on iTunes so you can listen to EnderCast whenever and wherever you like.
Thanks for tuning in -- and a huge thanks to Asa Butterfield, Bob Orci, and Gigi Pritzker for coming on the show!
We didn't get to chat too long because they were all super busy at the press junket yesterday in LA, but we did get to chat with Asa about what it's like seeing his own face all over the place and the fact that he was at the movies with some "friends" of his Friday night and they didn't even get the guy an Ender's Game ICEE. ;)
Also joining us were producers Bob Orci and Gigi Pritzker and they had great things to say about their Ender's Game journey and left us with a message for fans as we countdown to the film's release.
In case you've missed some of our past episodes with Ender's Game cast and crew, you can catch up over the two weeks as we wait for NovEnder 1st!
Episode 32: Brandon Soo Hoo (Fly Molo)
Episode 31: Stunt Coordinator Garrett Warren
Episode 30: Jimmy Jax Pinchak (Peter Wiggin)
Episode 28: Suraj Partha (Alai)
Episode 26: Aramis Knight (Bean) and Khylin Rhambo (Dink Meeker)
Episode 24: Aramis Knight (Bean), Jimmy Jax Pinchak (Peter Wiggin), Suraj Partha (Alai), Cameron Gaskins (Pol Slattery), Khylin Rhambo (Dink Meeker), Brandon Soo Hoo (Fly Molo), Conor Carroll (Bernard), Caleb Thaggard (Stilson)
Episode 23: Caleb Thaggard (Stilson) and Conor Carroll (Bernard)
Don't forget to subscribe to us on iTunes so you can listen to EnderCast whenever and wherever you like.
Thanks for tuning in -- and a huge thanks to Asa Butterfield, Bob Orci, and Gigi Pritzker for coming on the show!
Saturday, 19 October 2013
Ender's Game opens in Europe this upcoming week, and in North America the week after. Time to look at the film's prospects at the box office and the success of Lionsgate/Summit's marketing strategy so close ahead of the film's release.
We have seen plenty of footage, trailers, clips and featurettes in the last couple of weeks. The film's stars, director and producers toured the U.S. and Europe extensively, promoted the film in various countries from Spain to Russia, the U.K. to Comic-Con, so we have a pretty clear picture of some key elements of the movie:
We know the story of Ender is one worth telling, its themes are universal and despite the book being almost 30 years old those themes are very relevant in today's world. Asa Butterfield seems to excel in playing the protagonist; he just looks perfect to me, as does Harrison Ford as the grouchy Colonel Graff. We have also seen enough evidence by now to conclude that the visual effects will be fantastic, the space battles mindblowing, and the set design is nothing less than brilliant. So the movie is guaranteed to be a visual treat.
At Ender News we also have a very good idea of how the footage is being received by long-time fans of Orson Scott Card's book. I would say it is 99% positive at this point and the omission of certain plot points, like Locke and Demosthenes, is widely accepted with the fans. This is supported by Flixster where Ender's Game currently has a strong 98 percent anticipation score from over 38,000 voters. But for the movie to become a box office hit it will have to reach far, far beyond the fans of the original story.
Predictions and Comparisons
The movie has an estimated production budget of $110 million before marketing, which means the movie should break the $100 million mark for U.S. domestic returns to be considered a success and possibly keep the franchise alive. This target looks very challenging two weeks before the domestic release date. At the time of writing BoxOffice.com predicts an opening weekend in the $25-30 million range; the odds at MediaPredict are currently at $39 million, but that number is down from above $60 million in August.
BoxOffice.com is comparing the current status of Ender's Game with recent Sci-Fi/Fantasy releases Pacific Rim, Oblivion, John Carter, and Tron: Legacy, which I believe is a very good approach to determine the success of the studio's marketing campaign at this point. The site notes the following comparisons:
Online, the film's early indicators are a mixed bag. Twitter activity is 51 percent behind that of Pacific Rim at the same point before release, but 45 percent ahead of John Carter. Ender's chatter also trails Tron: Legacy and The Last Airbender by significant amounts.These four films all have made similar numbers on their opening weekend to what is predicted for Ender's Game: between $30.2 million (John Carter) and $44 million (Tron: Legacy). Their total domestic gross, however, ranges much wider with John Carter ($73 million) and Oblivion ($89 million) missing the $100 million mark clearly, but with Pacific Rim returning $102 million and Tron: Legacy making $172 million.
On Facebook, the November 1 release just nabbed its 100,000th fan on Tuesday--a respectable benchmark, but still noticeably lagging behind Pacific Rim (253,783 fans) and Tron: Legacy (248,485) at the same point. Ender's Game does have the Facebook advantage over Oblivion (85,340) and John Carter (86,030), though.
This is what Ender's Game will have to do as well, generating enough buzz from moviegoers on its opening weekend to keep the numbers strong for a few weeks. Of course, that's unless all these box office predictions are completely off and the film exceeds all expectations for its first weekend just like Gravity did.
Competition
Gravity is also the biggest hope for Lionsgate/Summit as the film's setting bears certain similarities with Ender's Game and its success bucked the negative trend in the Sci-Fi genre with box office disappointments such as Oblivion, Pacific Rim, and Elysium lining up earlier this year. Maybe the audience has appetite for more spectacular zero gravity now?
The biggest obstacle the film will have to face is keeping its buzz for more than just the opening week as there will be an onslaught of Sci-Fi releases targeting a similar audience in the remaining weeks of November. Marvel's Thor: The Dark World opens just a week after Ender's Game and is predicted to make three times the money on its opening weekend. And Lionsgate's The Hunger Games: Catching Fire opens in Ender's fourth week with box office odds currently putting it in the all-time Top Five for opening weekend returns. As BoxOffice.com put it, "genre fans may end up turning Ender into a one-weekend movie unless word of mouth miraculously trumps that of its competition."
Concerns
We will get the first reviews from Germany or the U.K. in the next few days and box office returns from these markets will give us a good idea for what to expect from the U.S. launch on the November 1 weekend. But for now we have to raise the question why the current predictions are somewhat lagging the expectations for such a prestigious film with a stellar cast, crew and visual effects team.
I don't believe the Orson Scott Card debate has much to do with it. While I personally support a strong public stance against intolerance and pro-marriage equality and embracing all human beings the same way, regardless of their sexual orientation, race, gender, religion or nationality, I believe the call for boycotting this movie is very misguided. And it looks to me this is the general public opinion.
The filmmakers and all of the cast have strongly distanced themselves from Card's personal views - often in a pretty harsh way - and there is no doubt in my mind that none of the people involved in making this film support any of his positions. Neither do the book or movie's plot or themes reflect these positions in any way. So I do not believe that this controversy will have a major effect on the film's returns.
However, now I get to my real concerns: I believe that the studio's marketing campaign could have been more effective in terms of addressing the film's target audience and this is the main reason we are not looking at a solid $50 million opening weekend for Ender's Game at this time.
The studio's approach to promote the film is focused on veteran Hollywood stars Harrison Ford and Sir Ben Kingsley and on showing off the amazing visual effects action. But the film is first and foremost about the coming-of-age journey of a young boy, Ender, and quite frankly, we haven't seen enough of Ender in the trailers and clips that have been released so far, whereas Harrison Ford and his voice are all over the place. Entertainment Weekly points out that in all the trailers combined "we have heard four beats of dialogue," from "So I'm not the first?" to "In 3, 2, 1, NOW!"
The story is about Ender and his journey, his struggles, and most of the 114 minutes (total running time) will take place in Battle School where Ender will mostly interact with his fellow students. It's a movie about kids in Battle School with a stellar cast of young Hollywood talent, and unfortunately this important fact will remain widely unknown to a target audience that is not familiar with the book. Besides a few scenes with Hailee Steinfeld (Petra) and her participation in the junket, all the other key young characters haven't been promoted at all. And I think that's a mistake.
Just as a reminder: the film has Abigail Breslin co-starring as Ender's sister Valentine. She's one of the busiest top-league young actresses in Hollywood, starring in Oscar contenders like the upcoming August: Osage County, and we haven't seen anything of her in this campaign despite her huge fan base. We've also seen nothing of Moises Arias who plays Ender's antagonist Bonzo in the film. Moises has a similarly huge following as Breslin, both ranking higher than Asa Butterfield on Google Trends, and most of his fans might not even know about his participation in Ender's Game.
As for the rest of the young supporting cast -- some of them playing a major role in the original story and who will likely have plenty of screen time in the film -- actors like Aramis Knight (Bean) or Khylin Rhambo (Dink), we have seen only faint glimpses of footage, if anything at all. And while we know the character's role was cut drastically for the film, Ender's brother Peter (played by Jimmy Jax Pinchak), hasn't even been granted an official still yet, as if he wouldn't exist.
My main concern is that the most avid group of moviegoers in the U.S., teenagers and young adults age 12 to 24, could have been addressed much better by promoting the young cast beyond what has been done so far. This movie is about Ender and his fellow kids in Battle School.
Let me conclude with another quote from Entertainment Weekly: "Here's a challenge to Lionsgate: Make a wide-release Ender's Game trailer with no adults. It's a story about kids, after all."
Friday, 18 October 2013
Ender's Game opens in Europe (Germany, UK) next week already, so we are treated with plenty of new footage today. Here are selected screencaps from the Building Ender's World featurette, which was released a few hours ago.
You can browse all 30 screencaps in our Facebook album.
You can browse all 30 screencaps in our Facebook album.
You can buy Ender's Game tickets now (or a Fandango Gift Card for your friends or family)
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