Part of Ender's Game Script Posted

SilentJason writes "Orson Scott Card posted a few of the pages from the Ender's Game script onto the web. He changed some material, as to be expected, like the buggers becoming Formics, as well as cutting the fight between Ender and Stilson. I first saw this on Ain't It Cool News, reported by Cassius the Evil. You can read the script at Fresco Pictures. "

Comments

Re:What really annoys me about Card

[Hrunting]

Many good authors have done that. It's not just a symptom of Card. It isn't completely about making money, either. Most of the time, short stories become longer stories as the original idea becomes fleshed out and takes on several subplots that make it a true story, and not just a tale.

Essentially, you are criticizing Card for being a good author, one who recognizes how works can change, improve, and develop. I would rather have Card take a short story and rework it three times in different ways to show the different interpretations of a common idea than to have someone like John Grisham or Danielle Steele give me a book they just 'whipped out' solely to sell paperback.

And as per this movie, I see Card taking on a formidable challenge, adapting the story to show another view of the idea. This time, we get a real third-person view, rather than an interior shot. I'm kind of disappointed that we won't get to see the adult viewpoint, because with Ender's Game and Ender's Shadow, that's what we're really kind of missing, but I'm certainly not unhappy with the snippet of the script that I've read.

Quit complaining. Development, especially in writing, is a sorely needed (pardon the pun) development.

True to form

[Signal 11]

I loved Ender's Game, if not because in some way it reminded me of myself and alot of my friends. The movie will never be as good as the book, simply because the movie lacks the imagery you create in your mind, it lacks the subtleties in the book.

But, I am looking forward to it nevertheless. I hope it remains true to form. They *must* do the war room properly. Most of the game plot hinges on it. I don't know how they're going to make it look Zero G'ish realistically, but I'd like to see! Either way, I suggest reading the book... it took me 8 hours to wax it off - 6 hours more is very little to pay for books instead of movies. Just my advice...

Hollywood doesn't have the balls

[Wag]

Ender's Game is about the cruelty of humanity, (specifically children on children). Make no mistake, this is no children's movie, Ender is a murderer. Taking that out of the movie will be changing the whole nature of the story, making it less than what it is. What Hollywood studio would have the balls to show one 7yr old murdering another? Unfortunately none of them, and thus the whole story is ruined. I generally am not a big fan of violence in movies (can't stand the bang-bang shoot 'em ups anymore), but in this case the violence is necessary; intregal to the story. Mr. Card puts up an excellent case against violence by showing just how brutal real violence can be. What a shame the full extent of it won't be preserved for the big screen.

Re:Hollywood doesn't have the balls

[UncleOrson]

While I'm not sure that extreme violence is quite as essential to the story as the post at the beginning of this thread seems to feel. Nor would I call Ender a "murderer," since his violence is only invoked in life-threatening situations. However, I share the concern that the film not "wimp out." I shudder at the thought of the Spielberg version, in which Ender finds out the truth Just In Time - the way Schindler repents at the end of Spielberg's magnum opus, while the REAL Schindler got away with a box full of diamonds.

The reason the Stilson scene was cut is because movies both magnify and compress. To begin with such an act of violence, when we can't get inside Ender's head to understand his reasoning, would overpower the rest of the story and make it impossible for many viewers to get into the film at all. Film magnifies violence because you can see it and remember it; what I could do to good effect in the book doesn't work at all in the movie. Instead, I replaced it with much milder violence directed at Peter.

However, the crucial scene with Bonzo is intact (though it will be filmed very carefully to avoid nudity), and the double-surprise ending will be preserved, so that the moral implications of Ender's actions remain as in the book. Since these are precisely the issues that matter most to me, you will know that if they are NOT intact, it meant that I lost control of the film after all. Up to now, however, I have managed to hold onto the integrity of the story, at least as I understand it, and am working with producers who are committed to doing the same.

- Orson Scott Card

OSC Book Signing Notes

[dschuetz]

Since this is such OLD news, I figured I'd post something that was at least new to most people (even if it is old in itself).

Back in September, my wife and I attended a book signing for Orson Scott Card in Virginia, and I took copious notes on my Pilot, but never posted them. He spent about an hour talking about the movie, his books, etc.

Rather than trying to re-write my notes, I'm just going to paste them in here and do some quick abbrev expansions, etc.. Hopefully, they'll still make sense. :-)

Ender's Game Movie

• "jake lloyd 'is' ender, in every way that matters to me" -- Said that Lloyd really enjoyed the book, and could do a great job with the part, and that we shouldn't judge his acting skills based on SW:TPM
  
• Movie should have some cool stuff, surprises
  
• OSC wanted to do new version of Enders Game with new stuff (like a movie novellization) - tom doherty (publisher? editor?) said no
  
• Hasn't watched 6th Sense, and won't, because he feels that his story Lost Boys will never filmed because it's too similar to 6th sense (which I disagreed with, later, and he said that the "catch" ("he's dead!") was too similar to Lost Boys' catch. I still think Hollywood wouldn't care.)
  
• He also said that the 6th sense boy (don't remember the actor's name) is to old to play Ender convincingly
  
• Keep in mind that there are too many variables, jake lloyd still completely uncertain - he could be 15 by the time the movie gets off the ground
  
• His ultimate dream - film both Ender's Game and Ender's Shadow at once, same cast, etc.
  
• Working on integrating the flash suit gun into glove (he described this, and I remember it sounding cool)
  

Some other stuff

• Working on a tv pilot called bordertown, filmed in mexico
  
• Another book after Ender's Shadow, Shadow of the Hegemon, about Bean as the right-hand-man, general, shadow, of Peter the Hegemon (was going to do a book about Peter, but publisher didn't like it, and later, neither did OSC -- too dark a character, not enough room for development, etc.)
  
• Following that, would like to do a book about Petra
  
• Expect two more books in the Alvin Maker series: Crystal City and Master Alvin
  
• "And if you don't know that Alvin is really Joseph Smith and Arthur Steward is really Brigham Young and that they're going to...(forget the whole quote), then You Haven't Been Paying Attention!" (I never noticed the parallels between the two, personally... :-) )
  
• Will be doing Pastwatch books on Adam & Eve, and the Flood (don't remember if that was Noah's flood, or Atlantis. There's a Pastwatch Atlantis short story on OSC's web site, http://www.hatrack.com/osc/storie s/atlantis.shtml.
  
• Expect three books about biblical women: sarah, rebecca, and rachel, presumably in same vein as Stone Tables or Saints
  
• Working on a 6-part ANIMATED TV series based on Treason (!)
  
• Let on that the Homecoming series is detailed retelling of Book of Mormon (never noticed this, either, and there's a great essay about the shit he took from other Mormons about his "plagiarizing" of this on his web site: http://www.hatrack.com/osc/art icles/openletter.shtml.
  

That's about all I have...if you ever get a chance to see him, I recommend it highly -- he was a funny, intelligent, engaging speaker and answered all questions fully (and sometimes got on a soapbox, but he put pretty clear disclaimers around those self-described diatribes...)

-david.