Hi folks,
looks like we are going to keep finding these little gems from Comic Con for a while. Here is an awesome interview Screen Rant did with Gavin Hood. He speaks about how he personally relates to the story of Ender, what Space Camp did for the kids and the filming process, how they deal with Ender realizing that “the enemy’s gate is down,” and Hood’s opinion on Orson Scott Card and his views on gay marriage.
Source: Screen Rant
While Comic Con can be described as amazing and fun, it’s also crazy and hectic. On Saturday, after meeting some of the cast of The Hunger Games: Catching Fire I headed over to Poppin’ Some Tags where the Costume Designers Guild was holding a panel with designers from various movies, including Ender’s Game.
After the panel, Ender’s Game costume designer Christine Bieselin-Clark was able to squeeze in a few minutes with me, which we ended up doing as we walked to her autograph session in Sails Pavilion. It was different and fun and a real pleasure to talk with her.
What did you look to for inspiration for Ender’s Game?
It’s a military world. It’s a very structured society that we’re living in […] but it’s an international military force, so I looked at tons and tons of military uniforms from all countries, all time periods, just looking for things that kind of spoke to us, that gave the audience the feeling that this was an international association of authority.
That’s got to be intimidating, it’s planet-wide.
Oh yeah! And so you don’t it to be American military. You want it to feel like it has some sensibilities of an international feeling so we did a ton of research on uniforms just across the board. And then that’s the world, but then we go to the whole flash suit thing and that was… we looked at so much stuff for reference. We looked at the usual suspects of motorcross, but you have to look at references of what you don’t want to do and a lot of motorcross stuff, a lot of athletic things, tons and tons of other suits from other films cause you also don’t want to be repetitive, you need it to be unique. But I think the whole thing with the flash suit was to try to make something that seemed purposeful to what the storyline was and take pieces from the book that informed what that should look like and then just do a lot of research on existing kind of protective gear across the board.
You mentioned in the panel that doing TRON was helpful for you, but was it also a hindrance because you didn’t want to copy it?
Well, I think it’s always kind of good to have done a movie you don’t want to copy cause then you won’t copy yourself, so I feel like I learned a lot on TRON about processes of costume making and special effects costuming. That really helped us make very successful suits on Ender’s Game that I think perhaps another designer who might not have had as much practical experience would have had a more difficult time because it’s not only to make something that looks beautiful when he’s standing still, these are suits that go into zero g and everyone’s wearing them, background kids, and so I feel like the experience on TRON really helped me as far as function goes and how to make things really work while they’re looking good.
They talk a lot about how hard it was to work in the wires and stuff so how do you wash those flash suits?
We have all kinds of special creepy techniques. Basically everybody wears something underneath that we can launder. So we used a lot of under armour and sports gear underneath that’s like skin-tight.
Oh, so they were double layered then!
Oh yeah! Oh, yeah! And so then that can be washed every day and sometimes we’d even change that out at lunch time. Sometimes you would wear one in the morning and one in the afternoon and then the suits themselves we just disinfected every day. And I can’t tell you all the secrets behind that, but sometimes we used vodka. For real. It’s an old costuming trick, you mix vodka with water and you put it in spray bottles, it kills all the germs.
You said Gavin was very open to your ideas, could you briefly describe your creative process for Ender’s Game with him?
I have worked with him previously. I was the assistant designer on Rendition and the assistant designer on Wolverine for a short time, so had a relationship with him already where I think we trusted each other even from the get-go. And I think that he knew that I could help guide this process and I think he had a lot of trust for me which I couldn’t have been more appreciative for.
It helps that he’s super nice.
He is so nice. Gavin’s one of those people who has these very distinct ideas and a lot of thoughts about what he wants to do, but he’s extremely encouraging of you to contribute your ideas so we talked a lot in adjectives and adverbs and descriptive words about how we wanted things to feel or come across, but how we got there was open for discussion, negotiation. So that was kind of the process with him as we would say, “Oh, we want this to feel this way.” and then I go away and I cook some stuff up and be like, “Hey, does that feel like that to you?” and then that would help drive the process.
So are you a fan of science fiction outside your work?
It’s funny, I never was. I used to say it’s funny I keep designing these films that I would never really go see. But in designing them and then becoming a part of this world and this fanbase, I have a lot of reverence for it. I have a lot of respect for the fans that come to this and have such a love for it and it’s been a real adventure and now I have to say I’m a sci-fi girl. I never thought I would say that, but I am.
—
In an upcoming episode of EnderCast, Aramis Knight, who plays Bean, tells us a bit more about those layers they had to wear, so be sure to keep an eye out for that! Our sincerest thanks to Christine for taking time out of her schedule to talk to us!
Here’s our video interview with producer Bob Orci and Gavin Hood outside the Ender’s Game Experience.
Gavin did talk to us a lot more about Ender and Bonzo after we’d turned off the camera, so Liz will have to help provide us some of those bits with the notes she took afterwards.
To provide some context on why this is so short, we weren’t even aware we’d be able to do this, so we had nothing to ask. We stood at the very end of the press line and they seemed anxious to leave, with their press people saying we could only talk to Gavin. So when our time came we had really only came up with two things to ask them since we didn’t want to be rude. However, they seemed more than happy to talk to us further, so Liz and I would like to thank them for that.
In the future I’ll definitely make sure to have lots of things to ask at the ready for emergencies such as these. 😉
by Elizabeth Spencer
Ho, Launchies! Crystal and I have just returned home after an absolutely fantastic (if exhausting) five days at San Diego Comic-Con! We had a marvelous time exploring the sights and sounds of one of the coolest places around… We posed with Jedi, sat in the Iron Throne, explored a replica of Bag End made entirely of Legos, and one night were ushered into a bunker to stock up on supplies for the upcoming zombie apocalypse. Oh, wait. That was just me. Crystal spent her whole trip camped out for Hall H.
And oh yeah, we also did a bunch of stuff for “Ender’s Game.” It’s been a busy few days, so our apologies for the late reporting!
On Thursday, July 18, I had the privilege of sitting down to a roundtable discussion with “Ender’s Game” Writer/Director Gavin Hood, Producer Roberto Orci, Ender Wiggin-actor Asa Butterfield, and Petra Arkanian-actress Hailee Steinfeld. Also in attendance were Kelly and Aidan (from Ender News) and Cassandra (from Ender’s Ansible).
The four of us had an awesome opportunity to get right down to it and ask the questions that real fans want answered. So here I present to you our biggest takeaways:
1) The New Trailer! Yes, there’s a new trailer, and for those of us who didn’t get to see it during the Hall H panel, it will be released to the public with the premiere of “Elysium,” due to hit theaters on August 9th. There’s a chance that it may also hit the internet a few days prior, so we’ll keep our eyes peeled!
2) Sequels! Everyone’s being pretty tight-lipped about possible sequels right now, and for good reason. As Gavin reminds us, “There’s a large amount of money at stake and we would need the approval of the studio.” Gavin and Bob are all for it, but couldn’t speak to possible plots or timeframes. The fact that this first adaptation even made it off the ground was miracle enough. As Gavin said, “This property is something that people wanted to make for a long time and didn’t, couldn’t, wouldn’t, and so I think everybody is a little bit in shock that we actually made it.” So no news for now, but we’ll keep our ears to the ground.
3) Locke and Demosthenes – Gone for Good. Gavin spoke about cutting the Locke and Demosthenes sub-plot, a matter of contention among some fans: “The main decision that we made is that we would stick with Ender Wiggin, never do a scene without him. Any scene that happened without him, the only ones we chose to do were a couple of scenes with Graff and Anderson where they talk about him, so that the audience is truly on Ender’s journey in order to bond you visually and cinematically with this lead character and identify with him.”
This makes perfect sense for a two-hour movie, and while some fans may be upset that this story line doesn’t make it to the screen, we think it was the right move on the writer’s part. While Peter and Valentine are obviously central figures to the plot, it is because they form a foundation for Ender’s own journey, and their activities outside of Ender’s world don’t serve to advance the story that Gavin wants to tell. Now if we ever do get those sequels, they might have to fit in a bit of, “Meanwhile, back on Earth…”
4) On Violence: Gavin and Bob answered a few questions regarding the level of violence that they adapted from book to screen. Those who have read the book know that there are several severely violent actions that are vital to the development of Ender’s character and the progression of his journey.
To avoid spoilers, we won’t go into specific details here. But from what we heard, it sounds like the team found a good balance between showing the seriousness of the act without dragging it out for the sake of spectacle. As Gavin Hood explained: “We’re walking a very fine line in a PG-13 world…you can’t have an “R” movie where half the people who love the book can’t see the movie, and yet you also don’t want to soften it up… We never wanted to indulge the violence for the sake of violence. We wanted the violence to happen, for you to feel the shock of it in a real way, but more importantly for you to deal with the aftermath of the violence…”
The most important thing, he said, was to show what effect the violence had on the characters (specifically Ender) and how the impact of that violence carried across in their reactions. Gavin spoke several times throughout the interview about the abilities of all the actors to portray subtle, emotional, and nuanced performances, helping to convey the depth of what is largely an internal struggle that takes place in Ender’s own mind. We can’t wait to see how these scenes play out on film.
5) Why Not Reading The Book Might Be A Good Thing: For fans of any book-to-screen adaptation, it can be hard to imagine that someone would take on a movie role without having read the source material. We know that Asa Butterfield and Hailee Steinfeld both read the novel, but other actors (such as Harrison Ford and Viola Davis) did not. When asked about how this affected their understanding of the characters, Gavin stood firmly behind the script’s ability to provide all that was necessary for the actors to comprehend their roles and motivations.
In fact, he said, not reading the book can sometimes be a good thing: “Their feeling was that to engage in conversations about scenes that are not in the movie isn’t helpful. They need to know that what’s on that page in the script, which is going to be on screen, is going to have sufficient weight and substance and merit to give them fully-rounded characters in the movie […] There’s a lot of actors who don’t want to read books, some do – these guys (indicating Asa and Hailee) used the book as a form of research, and fantastically so. Other actors say, ‘Wait a minute – we’re not making the book. You’re asking me to play the role based on the script. This script better have enough substance and weight and nuance for me to feel that my character is going to be nuanced.’
And that was their approach, which I think is absolutely fine.”
6) Ender and Petra…In Love? Our group went ahead and asked the big question that’s had many fans worried over the last few weeks. Ever since photos were released showing Ender and Petra holding hands, as well as Petra grasping Ender’s arm, we have wondered about the possibility that they built a teen romance into the script. Say it isn’t so!
While the answers we received from Gavin, Bob, Asa, and Hailee all point to a platonic relationship, there’s still a little doubt in my mind about how much teen angst will actually show up on the screen. Asa told us that “I wouldn’t say it was anything at all like a love relationship, cause they’re both dependent on each other for support. They’re both in the same situation, they’re both not entirely accepted by the community they’re in.” Hailee also spoke about the similarities between Ender and Petra, and how there is a connection formed between them based on that outcast role and the need for acceptance.
“I think that it’s sort of expected in a way, and what’s great about the relationship between them is – not only did I not really see it as sort of a romance thing, but I don’t think the characters do either. I think they’re looking for a friend, and somebody to trust and feel comfortable with, and that doesn’t necessarily mean boyfriend/girlfriend or whatever.”
Gavin summed it up by assuring us that “there is genuine tenderness between these two characters at certain moments, and there are genuinely sweet moments – when she teaches him how to shoot, it’s both exciting and really tender, but it’s not, ‘let’s be cute.’ None of that, no.”
7) And “Ender’s Shadow?” Also Out. Gavin Hood confirmed that there will be none of “Ender’s Shadow” in this movie – Bean’s storyline will be restricted to what is present in “Ender’s Game” and nothing more. It was hard enough, Gavin said, trying to fit as much as they could of the original novel in to a two-hour movie, and they chose early on to stick to Ender’s story alone.
And that’s just about it, folks! A few more questions were tossed around about the score and Asa’s American accent (he practiced in the shower), and we learned that they are 90-95% done with the final cut of the movie.
All in all, I’d say it was a pretty successful day. A huge thanks to Gavin, Bob, Asa, and Hailee for making time to sit down with the four of us – every time I hear them talk, I am more and more confident that this adaptation is in the right hands, and will meet our expectations and then some!
Stay tuned for some additional post- Comic-Con write-ups, and feel free to ask any questions about our time in San Diego! More pics will also be coming soon!
Producer Bob Orci sat down with What’s Trending at Nerd HQ during Comic Con to talk about the process of making Ender’s Game. He speaks about getting the movie produced, casting Harrison Ford (or rather being cast by him), aging up the kids, and shooting the movie in sequence so that Ender’s physical growth would match Asa’s. I also think he and the interviewer are having a speed talking contest.
Source: Youtube
Asa Butterfield and Hailee Steinfeld sat down with Moviefone (as did Harrison Ford) to chat a bit about what it was like to film Ender’s Game. They talk about funny moments, the professional atmosphere on set, and the pranks they all (including, it seems, the adults) played on each other while filming. And guess what: the Ender’s Game slang from the books made it into the movie!
My favorite part of the interview is Hailee’s recollection of a prank Gavin Hood played on her:
At the end of the film, one of the cast members, Moises Arias, who plays Bonzo Madrid, had to shave his hair for the ending scene. You know, it’s one of those things where you’re OK with it because you have to do it, but it’s also like, you know… it’s a big thing, right? So Moises handled it very well, but you could see he was a little, you know, taken aback by looking at himself in the mirror and this drastic change. And Asa and I walked on set and Gavin turns around and has a black eye. My heart dropped. I was like, “What just happened?” And he goes, “I told him. I told him that he could take it out on me because I made him shave his head. And I was literally, like, crying. I was like, “Moises would never do that. What’s happening?” And then they were like, “Just kidding! It’s makeup!”
Read the entire interview HERE!
Source: Moviefone
In a recent interview with Moviefone (Asa and Hailee did one, too), Harrison Ford talks about Colonel Graff, how he compares to other character’s he’s played over the years, and the Hollywood studio system. The interview is pretty standard fare, but Harrison Ford is HILARIOUS!
My favorite part has to be this:
I wanted to switch gears a bit …
[Smiles] I thought you might.[Laughs] It’s not exactly what you expect — at least I am hoping it’s not. It may start out like that but …
[Laughs] It won’t end up like that!OK, but give me a chance!
Take your best shot.Your earlier movies still make news today — “Star Wars,” “Indiana Jones,” etc. My question to you is…
[Harrison begins drumming on the coffee table in front of him][Laughs]… is there one movie of yours that you wish got more attention than those movies?
That I wish got more attention? No. Well, there were movies that I think were good movies that did not receive as much attention at the time. I don’t think I remember any… oh, the one that comes to mind is “Mosquito Coast,” which I think was a really good movie and perhaps didn’t receive as much attention as it might have.
Read the rest of the interview HERE!
Source: Moviefone
In this brief interview with Clevver TV, Hailee is talking about the training the young actors did prior to filming as well as the costumes and sets of Ender’s Game, while Asa comments on Ender being aged up and the scene he is most excited about fans seeing.
Also, check out Clevver TV’s Comic Con red carpet gallery featuring stars from Ender’s Game (and Divergent) HERE!
Source: Clevver TV
Entertainment site The Verge just uploaded their coverage of Ender’s Game at San Diego Comic Con. They spoke briefly with Asa and Hailee outside the Ender’s Game Experience before they sat down with director Gavin Hood and producer Bob Orci to discuss the making of the movie. Watch them talk about getting involved in the project, financing the movie, their devotion to stay true to both the “cool stuff” and the “cerebral” side of the book, and why the teaser trailer is so heavy on CGI.
Source: The Verge’s Youtube Channel
More videos from Comic-Con are being uploaded every day on youtube and various entertainment sites. Among them are a bunch of flash interviews with Asa Butterfield and Hailee Steinfeld, which apparently were all held in the same room in the same time slot. Watch interviews by Hitflix and MoviesDotComOfficial HERE and HERE!
Personaly, I love this one with CraveOnline because it asks some nerdy questions about the coolest sets and moments during the filming of Ender’s Game and how hard it was not to geek out around SciFi movie icon Harrison Ford. Watch Asa and Hailee having loads of fun answering those questions below.
Source: Youtube
THE MOUSE WILL BE THERE!
Finally some information on whether or not and in what way the Mind Game will be featured in the Ender’s Game Movie. Good News: the mouse is most likely going to be there! In an interview with Cinemablend‘s Kelly West (the same interview she quoted from when writing about the question of violence in the movie; see our earlier post HERE), writer/director Gavin Hood said:
We did motion capture, put on suits, ran around the room. They filmed it in a virtual world. Once you’ve captured that motion you can film what you captured digitally and then we handed that off to an amazing animation company in Barcelona, who’ve done the most beautiful work. Obviously, we did a lot of drawings and how’s it going to be? And drawings of the mouse and all those things, but it is a shorter version than in the book, because the whole story of the book is compressed into about a one year period.
The rest of the interview evolves around the adaptation of the book, including questions about how much of the book’s violence will be shown in the film, how Ender’s narrative voice is translated into the medium of film, and what a possible sequel will depend on. Read the entire article HERE!
Source: Cinemablend
Photo Credit: Alex Washburn/Wired
Finally a decently meaty interview with Harrison Ford about the Ender’s Game movie! Ford talks to Quint from Aint It Cool News about filming, Gavin Hood as a director, working with kids in general and Asa Butterfield in particular, and his acting choices (with only a little bit of Han Solo and Indiana Jones thrown in at the end). Some favorite parts are:
Harrison Ford: I’m also trying to provide the director with options in the cutting room. […] If a certain scene had to be left out for time purposes or something, he would have options, which would allow elements of character to be expressed in that scene.
Quint: [Asa Butterfield] came across as someone who wears his heart on his sleeve. He didn’t seem like he was putting up any barriers, if you know what I mean.
Harrison Ford: He’s there. That’s a wonderful thing to find when you’re acting with somebody… that they actually fucking show up.
Check out the entire interview HERE!
Source: Ain’t It Cool News
Back in December, Crystal posted an editorial about whether or not the upcoming Ender’s Game movie needed to go as far as the book in terms of violence. In Pondering the Fate of Stilson, she argued that having Ender kill Stilson before he even gets to Battle School may not only be not necessary and severely stretch credibility (look a the size difference between Caleb Thaggard and Asa Butterfield), it may also be harmful in that it may lead audiences to despise Ender or even encourage people to commit violence themselves.
Now, Ender’s Game director Gavin Hood has finally addressed the matter in an interview with Cinemablend’s Kelly West. Here is what he had to say:
I think that all those elements of bullying, which is a great theme in the world right now, and how kids deal with being bullied, which we know is so powerful in the book, thatʼs in the movie. But what I try to do as a filmmaker in terms of handling questions of violence, is I donʼt believe in showing violence for violenceʼs sake and repetitive violence. For me, what I have found is an act of violence can be so sudden, whatʼs more interesting is the aftermath. And so, our movie is not, I hope, in any way, really violent. I donʼt want it to be a violent film, but the effect of the moment of violence on the psyche of the protagonist and the people around him is profound as it is in the book. It has to be, and so those key scenes in the book –Bonzo in the shower– are absolutely in the movie, and they shock in their suddenness, but they are not in any way indulgent. Iʼm not interested in showing blood flying around the room or any of, none of that. Whatʼs more important is to see how these young character handle it and thatʼs why I think itʼs an important film. As a parent, I want my kids to go to a movie and not be spoken down to, deal with difficult themes, but be able to talk about it, not celebrate that, just talk about it.
Looks like Gavin Hood has put a lot of thought into the question of how much violence is really necessary in the movie to have the desired effect on the characters and the audience, and how much would really just be violence for violence’s sake. He seems to have a pretty decent grasp on where the thin line runs between dramaturgy and pornography. Sounds like we are going to be sufficiently shocked, without being traumatised by watching graphic displays of kids dying in puddles of their own blood. (my emphasis)
Source: Cinemablend