Nonso Anozie on his role as Sergeant Dap: "I'm just angry all the time."

Online magazine The Root recently spoke with actor Nonso Anozie about working as a black actor, his role in Game of Thrones, and his upcoming appearance as "Sergeant Dap" in Ender's Game:  

TR: Tell me about Ender's Game, the movie you're filming in New Orleans with Viola Davis.

NA: It's starring Hugo's Asa Butterfield -- we worked together on Nanny McPhee Returns -- Harrison Ford, Viola Davis and Ben Kingsley. Ender's Game is set 60 years from now; Earth has been attacked by aliens, and we are preparing a pre-emptive attack on the [next set of] intruders. It's really dark, actually. I'm a hard-ass in this one. In The Grey I was a bit soft and friendly; in Game of Thrones, Xaro is smooth; and in Ender's Game, I'm just angry all the time. I like the variances of characters I get to play.

In the book, Dap functions as a sort of maternal-figure to the new students (Launchies) as they acclimate to Battle School, the only person there who is "paid to be nice to [them]." He explains how to navigate the ship, advises them generally regarding behavior, and essentially tucks them in at night. Later in the novel, he reports to General Pace (Chief of the I.F. military police) and warns him about Bonzo's plot against Ender.

Doesn't really sound like the job of a "hard-ass," does it?

However, look at this quote from Ender's Game author Orson Scott Card from 2010:

We have to cut out a lot. I mean I can tell you that the plan right now is Ender agrees to go to battle school there at home and the next thing we see is he’s walking in the door to Bonzo’s army and everything in between is there to read in the book. But we will cut straight to the chase because we have to get him out of Battle School halfway through this movie or we don’t have time to make the ending work. That’s what we found out draft after draft. (YouTube)

Again, this is a rather old quote, but if the majority of the "Launchie" phase is skipped (which seems likely to be the case), it would make perfect sense that the Sergeant Dap of the movie is going to be different than the Dap of the book.

What do you think he's so angry about? Possibly about the way Ender is being treated by those with authority in Battle School? Or do you think Dap is on Graff's side? Let us know in the comments!

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Production Blog #6 -- Gavin Hood, a Storyboard, and a Dare

The latest production blog has given us a picture of director Gavin Hood on the set of Ender's Game, along with a storyboard and a dare from Roberto Orci:

(Twitter)

 

"Let's just hang the kids from bungee chords, roll camera for ten hours and see what we get!"  That was plan A.  Which is why we are not directing the movie and instead Gavin Hood is.  We never thought we would find a bigger fan of the novel than all of us until Gavin walked in the room.  Going back to his roots, Gavin decided to take on the challenge of adapting the novel himself, which gives him a huge advantage when it comes to directing it because he knows his script better than any of us.  And given the time limitations inherent in working with young actors, this movie would be impossible to complete without Gavin's preparation and passion.  Here you see him crossing off a completed shot of his detailed story boards in the zero g battle room where our young actors, in their zero g training suits, are showing off the high flying skills they've learned from our veteran stunt coordinator Garrett Warren.

How much, indeed? Who wants to give it a go?

My friend Aidan sent in a couple zoomed in/stretched images that might help us out a bit:

 

Click here and here to enlarge!

The bottom left seems to be a picture of Ender (or one of the kids) using some sort of hand-held controller -- the game room, maybe? Or possibly the Command School's simulator?

Elizabeth from the Ansible made some great points: I see what you're saying, how it looks like it might be Ender at the controls of something, particularly that third sketch down. However, I have another idea: I think those first two images might be Ender (or other soldiers) jumping/falling into the battleroom. The third image down might be a shot from behind as they "fall." And I think the bottom left image is Ender holding his gun with both hands. He's wearing a space-suit type helmet, implying to me that he's in the battleroom and not in the game room. What do you think?

Comment and let us know what you can make out from the storyboard!

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Don't forget: the official production blog is updated every Wednesday by Roberto Orci and the team behind Ender's Game, so follow them on Tumblr so you don't miss out!

Ender News is also on Tumblr - it's a great place to stay up-to-date with not only the latest in movie news, but also fan art, Ender's Game book reviews, and what the cast is up to on Twitter.

Don't have an account? Create one here.

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MTV Speaks with Bobby Cohen

MTV recently spoke with producer Bobby Cohen (KO Paper Products) in New Orleans on the set of his upcoming movie Now You See Me, where he had the following to say about the Ender's Game film:

"First of all, I have the great pleasure to work with [producers] Alex Kurtzman and Bob Orci... [It's] based on the incredible book that people have been trying to make forever. A lot of directors have tried to do it. We have an amazing script. Gavin Hood is directing, we've got Harrison Ford, Sir Ben Kingsley, Viola Davis, Hailee Steinfeld from True Grit, Asa Butterfield from Hugo."

 He also speaks a bit about the facility in which Ender's Game is currently shooting:

"There is a N.A.S.A. stage where they literally used to build the rockets for the space shuttle that is now actually a sound stage," he said. "They will be spending 65 some odd days about 45 minutes from here on a big giant set. So that's going well."

As we reported back in February, Ender's Game seems to be doing the majority of its filming at the Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans, a facility left vacant after the discontinuation of NASA's space shuttle program and which is now being occupied in part by Big Easy Studios. We can only assume this is the location of the set to which Cohen is referring, or that it is at least nearby.

You can watch the full interview with Bobby Cohen here.

Filming is scheduled to continue in New Orleans through June 8th.

Edit: Just a heads-up that Bobby Cohen is not a producer of Ender's Game but rather the president of the film division at K/O Paper Products, Alex Kurtzman and Roberto Orci's production company.

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"Ender's World: Fresh Perspectives on the SF Classic Ender's Game" Available February 2013

Hey, Orson Scott Card fans! As our friends over at the Ansible posted a couple weeks ago, an Enderverse anthology is to be released early next year. Now we have a release date and a bit more info. From the site:

Cover by Nick Greenwood

Ender's World conscripts almost two dozen writers of science fiction, fantasy, and young adult books to offer new perspectives on the 1985 novel, along with insights gleaned from other Ender stories that fit within the Ender's Game chronology, including Ender in Exile and Ender's Shadow. In addition, military strategists Colonel Tom Ruby and Captain John Schmitt offer insight into the human-Formic war. A contribution from Aaron Johnson, the coauthor of the Formic Wars prequel novels, is also included.

The collection's insightful analyses and moving personal essays are rounded out with short pieces answering more technically oriented questions about the Ender universe, including: Why is the Battle Room a cube? and Why did the military recruit their soldiers as children?

Edited by Orson Scott Card himself, who also provides an introduction to the anthology as well as to the individual essays, Ender's World is aimed both at readers who have kept up with the many books that came after and at those who have not, but who loved and want to re-visit the original novel.

The cover of the book was created by illustrator and graphic design artist Nick Greenwood, under the supervision of Orson Scott Card -- we therefore seem to be getting a fairly accurate idea of what the Battle School looks like in Card's head. Is it how you've always pictured it?

Ender's World is set to be released in February of 2013, nine months before the movie hits theaters in November. If Card is editing the book and providing extra information about the state of Earth and Battle School during Ender's formative years, it seems natural to suppose this is some of the same information Card has given director Gavin Hood and the production team behind Ender's Game. Looks like we have something to look forward to early next year after all!

Visit Smart Pop Books to sign up to receive news and updates regarding Ender's World and keep checking Ender News for all the latest info regarding the upcoming Ender's Game movie!

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Moises Arias - Happy 18th Birthday!

(Twitter)

Moises Arias turned 18 years old today and tweeted this photo of what seems to be a gathering of his friends and family for his birthday earlier this week.

Pictured: Asa Butterfield, Brandon Soo Hoo, Aramis Knight, Suraj Partha (and his sister!), Khylin Rhambo, Cameron Gaskins (Unsure), Brandon Soo Hoo, Hailee Steinfeld, Conor Carroll, and Moises Arias

Happy Birthday, Moises! We hope it's a good one.

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Production Blog #5 -- Ender's Monitor

Hoooooly.

The Ender's Game production blog updated today with a picture of Ender's monitor. Check this out:

 Though Ender’s world is one worth saving, it sometimes comes with a price.  The novel was amazingly prescient about a great many things: remote controlled drone wars, the internet, the influence of blogging, hand held computing tablets like the I-Pad, and of course, electronic surveillance implants.  Implanted tracking and monitoring chips are no longer a science fiction concept.  They exist now.  And one day, they may be as advanced as the monitor implanted into Ender, which allows Colonel Graff to “see through his eyes” and know:  HE’S THE ONE.

I literally don't know what to say about this. It looks incredible and exactly how I imagined the monitor to look. What do you guys think? Comment and let us know!

And don't forget: the official production blog is updated every Wednesday by Roberto Orci and the team behind Ender's Game, so follow them on Tumblr so you don't miss out!

Ender News is also on Tumblr - it's a great place to stay up-to-date with not only the latest in movie news, but also fan art, Ender's Game book reviews, and what the cast is up to on Twitter.

Don't have an account? Create one here.

Happy Wednesday! :)

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Production Blog #4 - Ender's World - A Look at Ender's Bedroom

Roberto Orci and the people behind the Ender's Game production blog have given us a really fun sneak peak at Ender Wiggin's bedroom this week:

The more futuristic the world, the more invisible its technology. So why shouldn’t Ender’s room look just like any normal kid’s room?  And not every future is a dark dystopia.  The world that Ender lives in is a world worth saving.  That’s why he is willing to leave his family to go into an orbiting Battle School and risk not seeing his sister, Valentine, again until they are both adults.  That doesn’t mean this world doesn’t have rules.  Ender’s parents had to get permission from the state to have a third child, and if Ender ever had any doubt if he was unwanted, his mother and father’s shock at having their son recruited to be a future leader and transferred to space makes it clear to him that they’ve always loved him.  They know that when Ender leaves the safety of his home, they will not be able to protect him any longer.  We will keep your room for you just as you left it, Ender…

I really like this one because I never imagined what Ender Wiggin's bedroom (whether he shared with Peter or not) would look like. In my head, I always pictured him in the sterile environment of Battle School or afterward when he had no real possessions of his own. 

In the world after the Second Invasion, it's great that the production team understands that a kid Ender's age would be absolutely obsessed with space and all that goes along with it: solar systems, space crafts, and Bugger masks would most likely be spilling out of their closets. Fun!

Don't forget: the production blog updates every Wednesday. :)

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