Ender’s Game Movie Reaches Endgame

Posted on Wednesday, January 7th, 2009 by David Chen

When we last heard about the Ender’s Game movie, it wasn’t exactly great news: Wolfgang Peterson was reportedly off the project in April 2008. Now comes word from the LA Times (via Chud and Firstshowing) that the movie won’t be happening at all. In a profile to help card promote the November release of his new book, Ender in Exile, the Times offhandedly revealed that the movie project was terminated in November 2008. According to Card he “was not interested in a ‘tough-hero action film’ and refuses to condescend to green-screen Hollywood. Card imagines a ‘film where the human relationships are absolutely essential — an honest presentation of the story.’”

I’m honestly not too saddened by this news. Orson Scott Card’s Ender’s Game was one of my favorite books in high school, and probably still remains my favorite science fiction story of all time. If I read it today, I might find that time has changed my opinion, but from what I remember, it had touching moments about the struggles of adolescence and precociousness, while simultaneously weaving in a thrilling tale of alien invasion. Capturing all of these elements in a successful film, while retaining the book’s spirit, would have been a daunting challenge to say the least. In fact, according to the LA Times article, Card has struggled with a film adaptation of Ender’s Game for two decades. Maybe some books are just “unfilmable.”

Discuss: Do you still want to see an Ender’s Game film one day?

Comments

C_Sozou

Yes I still want to see an Ender's Game film one day.

That's my answer.

Chris09q5

I wouldn't say that the book is unfilmable necessarily. I think one of the major roadblocks is that the main character is a child. I think that the biggest reason that Card is not compromising with the studio is that the human relationships are very integral to the sequels. To have a sustainable franchise for this series you would have to lay the groundwork correctly.

Aqualeo

i've never heard of this book. Now i'm intrigued.

Captain_Howdy

Likewise, I've never heard of it either. Definitely picking it up.

Tom

I've read it four times. I'd recommend it to anyone. Ender's Shadow is a great companion read; it follows much of the same timeline but from a different character's perspective. From each of those books, Card wrote a line of sequels. The first line, from Ender's Game, is heavier science fiction but definitely worth reading through. The second line, from Ender's Shadow, is lots of fun but not as deep.

SkyyBluu

Serious? Studied it in highschool! Was waiting for the film adaption..now were just stuck with twilight sequels....

eNder Fan

haha Very true. The Sci-Fi Books that are dominating the culture today are cheesy and I would much rather see enders game on the big screen.

Nexus_6

I'm actually friends with Card's niece and she says that every time a producer approaches him about making a movie he insists on writing the script, co-producing, and having almost total control, which is a turn-off for most producers considering Card has zero movie experience. Basically, she says that Ender's Game is her uncle's baby and he doesn't want anyone to ruin it, so he ruins chances of it being made by insisting on doing everything. It'll probably get made eventually, after Card dies.

Nexus_6

I'm actually friends with Card's niece and she says that every time a producer approaches him about making a movie he insists on writing the script, co-producing, and having almost total control, which is a turn-off for most producers considering Card has zero movie experience. Basically, she says that Ender's Game is her uncle's baby and he doesn't want anyone to ruin it, so he inadvertently ruins chances of it being made by insisting on doing everything. It'll probably get made eventually, after Card dies.

Emilio

I'm a student filmmaker right now and I am actually happy to hear this news. I can get myself back on track to make waves large enough to get Card to let me make his movie. It would be my ultimate dream come true.

Eric R.

You know David I know how you feel about this. My favorite book series of all time is the Sword of Truth Series by Terry Goodkind (there are 11 books in the series, the books are not small in size, and each book deals with a humanistic theme while telling a great fantasy story). I remember reading from his website that he had received various offers to make his books in to a movie, he declined of course stating that in movies the book is lost in translation to Hollywood's view of a 'good book adaptation. In any case, I don't know if most of you know, but Sam Raimi adapted in into a tv series currently on air called 'Legend of the Seeker'. I will say this, while I respect Raimi, I totally despise him for what he has done in the tv series. It in no way reflects the story in the book series at all and it focuses on cheap fighting sequences and suffering dialog (similiar to when he produced Hercules and Xena when they were on the air). So, in this case I agree with Card. You must have a solid foundation and not deviate from his writing as they are considered classics among the sci-fi community. Dave C. what do you think about the 'Legend of the Seeker' tv series?

Tom

I totally agree. I was excited for Legend of the Seeker, but absolutely stunned at how Raimi and company butchered the whole story and premise in under an hour of the premiere. So disappointing, but it did lead me to start re-reading the series, and that's going very well thus far (halfway through Temple of Winds).

Eric R.

Temple of the Winds is a great one. I was always partial to Faith of the Fallen though. I just really enjoyed how Richards was able to show the happiness comes from ones actions and how he says that the people must prove to him that they are willing to fight for their freedom rather than him trying to prove himself to them as was related to his failure in Soul of the Fire in Anderith. Great series, great writer. I'm just so surprised, that will all the movies T. Goodkind rejected because he didn't want his book messed with, how he allowed Raimi to ruin it?

ScanCase

I do believe that Enders Game is one of those rare books that can't be successfully transferred in to film. Most of the cast would be under the age of ten and required to act as if their thirty. Unless each role is fulfilled with a child prodigy there is no way to get them to emote the way they need to for the film that is filled with human emotions and existential dilemma's.

I love the book and I love the sequels just as much but this can't and shouldn't be done.

Michael_bay

I am formally offering my services as a director. I could turn this book into an amazing mix of fireballs, emotions, and more fireballs.

RobotMonkey

I love the Ender/Bean books . . . what if, instead of a film, it was an epic HBO series?

ScanCase

that would make a lot more sense then just a movie.

Eric R.

That would work as well, but like I said with my example of my book translating to tv, you have to have good producers and stay true to the source material, otherwise you'll have the same problem with the series as you would with a theatrical release.

Thrillhouse

Ender's Game could be my favorite book ever. I don't care if they never make a movie of it. Just like Watchmen, at best, it would be a nice adaptation, but ultimately it would inevitably miss some things that long-time fans would be unhappy about - or just be a disaster. I can take or leave adaptations of both of those properties.

Chris09q5

I'm sure that the Lord of the Rings trilogy was once considered unfilmable at one point right? Even if the stories lost something in the translation would you really rather not have the movies at all?

Eric R.

Well remember, J.R.R. Tolkien's son was against the movie being made and even with offers declined to have anything to do with it. Also, I've the book after I saw the movie and even though several important scenes were dropped such as the scenes with Tom Bombadil, Glorifindel, Saraman (including how his real death played out after he took over the Shire after the fall of Sauron) and just the dialouge in general, I believe Pete Jackson, with the time allotted to him did a good job making it into a movie even though die hard Tolkien fans were not doubt having heart attacks, lol.

CleverEpithet

If nothing else, this means that I won't have to worry that by attending the film, I'm supporting Card's batshit political/moral/religious opinions. To those looking to explore his oeuvre, I'd suggest buying used.

krackajap

Thank freaking god. There's not enough non-terrible child actors to make this movie actually work. Also, considering Hollywood's track record, they'd end up making all the character white.

cagedWisdom

I agree completely. I don't think its just the lack of child actors though, we might be surprised what could turn up. The book definitely had some dark and violent scenes and I just can't see a movie getting made with pre teens brutally beating each other in a shower, but without scenes like that the movie would not be the same. A rated R movie with a 90% child cast? Don't see it working.

looloo

I would not want to see ender's game as a movie. personally, i hate the idea of books being turned into movies. books are extremely subjective and different readers image scenes in different ways. even the author has different views than the reader. books and movies, although they both have similar storylines, are told in completely different ways that i believe are incompatible.
science fiction novels are all about things that seem quite impossible. when translated into film, alot of the magic is lost. sure, special effects are awesome now and people have the capability to produce amazing scenes, but there is so much that would get lost. i hate seeing great books turned into movies. For example, the golden compass. great book, horrible movie. i would be devastated if the same thing happened to ender's game

n9neteenad4

one of my favorite books, but I can't see it as a movie, unless they make it

Ben

As much as I liked the book as a kid, as an adult, I can't really get excited about it. Now I know that the author is an outspoken antigay dude.... makes it hard to look back on his work with charity.

joe smith

Mormon teen sci-fi means nothing to an adult. Seriously.

Your a jerk

Bigot

krackajap

Upon thinking about it a bit more, the only thing I'm interested in seeing brought to life is the Battle Room. The Battle Room sequences would be awesome to see.

The enemy gate is down.

Tony

The Battle Room sequences of the book is probably the part that is unfilmable

JordanFRAV

I don't think anything is 'unfilmable' in the sense, with the right director, in the right place, at the right time, the possibilities of cinematic creation are endless, anyway I'm going off course here, I wouldn't mind seeing an 'Ender's Game' film, as the novel was ok, but never really gripped me with enjoyment, it wasn't something that I wanted to pick it up straight away once I had already read it and read it again, but if a film was made, I'd surely go and watch it with intrigue in mind.

chris09q5

What about making the movie in motion capture like Beowulf? That way you wouldn't really have to deal with child actors.

Katingale

YES. This is what I've been thinking--with the ground-breaking age manipulation CG technology that we saw in Benjamin Button, you could have powerful actors play younger versions of themselves. I still think the hardest part will be convincing studios not to market the movie for children though.

byron

There is no way this is unfilmable. It has a very specific plot progression with a very distinct three act structure. It's like saying the Harry Potter films wouldn't work as movies. It's ridiculous.

Emilio

I was about to come in and compare it to the Potter films. If the Ender's Game filmmakers and OSC are willing to make the characters a bit older, I see it being similar in tone to the first Potter film. The kids were pretty young for that one.

Bascottball

This book is absolutely filmable, and needs to be made. I agree with Card's comments about human relashionships and that Hollywood cannot make this into a action hero-type movie. I'm sorry that apparently Card has struggled with a film adaptation and that Peterson has completely misinterpreted the genius of the book, but this movie needs to be made. Hopefully one day, Ender's Game's version of Peter Jackson will arrive if you know what I'm saying...

SkyyBluu

MAKE THIS FILM!!! I loved this book in highschool!!

Jon

Absolutely think the story is filmable. Absolutely think Hollywood would botch it horribly. How many times have they taken a fantastic story and put their own "artistic" (and I use the term loosely) and politically correct imprint on it. I would be very hesitant to see it.

who_is

Hello all. Part of me would love to see Enders Game onscreen or in a series and part of me loves the images I came up with on my own when my brother had me read it almost 20 yrs ago, there has been talk for awhile about what it would be like. Although I am still excited to see what they will do with another Dune adaptation, that age group for a main character is much easier. With kids and death, war and deception, it's going to be playing to the adults and the adult themes and I'd hate to see it as some revamped as some green screen disney-like dung. Thanks for reading!

Check your facts

Yeah but this story is not fully true either. The Warner option is over and he is in the works with another company. Here is the email I got from emailing OSC:

Thank you for your letter. What you probably read in the paper was simply a misunderstanding by the interviewer. The Warner deal is over with, but we're working with Odd Lot now and OSC is polishing the screenplay. So it's not dead -- in fact, it's very much alive -- just with different people and a new agreement.

Thanks again for writing.

Sincerely,

Kathleen Bellamy
Assistant to OSC

Its easy to write a story, but I guess its to hard to check facts before you put it up online.

bored

What if they made it into a TV series sort of like Battlestar Galactica? Those guys were able to keep the story, relationships, etc top notch and high quality-- they never let it degrade into cheesy sci fi, even for a moment. I would bet they could make Ender's Game work well on screen-- even with child actors.

Just Wondering

What if they made a parallel story using adults instead of children? That may not seem to be the main problem, but if they used adults and changed a few things, would the movie be so bad?

Just Wondering

As a continuation of my one before: What if they used adolescents instead. The movie doesn't have to be children though. Hollywood will ruin the book in some way no matter what. We all know this. But can't we adapt so that they can only ruin it so much? Again, just thinking digitally and sharing my thoughts.

Mike Hunt

so i think if they are gonna keep crapping out on the enders game movie, do a different one. you dont have to know all of enders background for the other books. xenocide, the only background you need to know is at the very end of the book. or start with ender's shadow and then do ender's game, just to see how it would work. even though ender's game would be badass to see.

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