EnderWiggin.net – Ender's Game Movie Fansite

Category: Press

  • Moises Arias Calls ‘Ender’s Game’ a Memorable Experience

    Moises Arias Calls ‘Ender’s Game’ a Memorable Experience

    Moises Arias talked with The Hollywood Reporter about The Kings of Summer and Ender’s Game, which is out on a wider release today and briefly talked about how to portray a character from a book. “You read the book, you read the script, they’re two different art forms.”

    He also had great things to say about his time on set. “That was probably one of the most memorable experiences for me. I do believe that I’m going to be very different from what people were predicting, but I think it’s going to be a different flavor to what Bonzo is. I’m just happy that I got the opportunity.”

    Source: The Hollywood Reporter

  • ‘Ender’s Game’ Producers Talk Book to Film with Wall Street Journal

    ‘Ender’s Game’ Producers Talk Book to Film with Wall Street Journal

    Kurtzman-Orci

    Ender’s Game producers Alex Kurtzman and Roberto Orci spoke with Barbara Chai of the Wall Street Journal recently and mentioned their personal history with the popular sci fi novel.

    What were some of the challenges you and director Gavin Hood faced in adapting Orson Scott Card’s “Ender’s Game” into a film?

    Orci: “Ender’s Game” was a book that we both loved from teenagehood. It was published in 1985 and I think we read it in high school, maybe even earlier. The challenge with the book is it’s very internal in that a lot of the narrative that occurs is within the character’s head and the trick is, how do you dramatize that? The answer is both through having some of those internal struggles be dramatically shown as scenes, and second, we have an advantage that the book does not have, and that is actors. We have great actors who can not only say things, but play things and play reactions on their faces and actually convey a lot of the emotion of the book. Thankfully now we have the technology to make it the grand adventure that it deserves to be. We have the technology to render a Zero-G environment in a totally believable and incredible way.

    Chai brought up the elephant in the room and asked them if they thought Card’s views would affect the film.

    Orci: I was never aware of in the book – and we’ve read it three or four times during our lifetime before we got into this movie – I never saw any sign in “Ender’s Game” of anything that offended Alex or me. The book is beautiful. It’s about tolerance, it’s about responsibility, it’s about growing up. We just tend to judge a book on its own merits. Nothing that anyone could say is going to remove our original reaction of how we perceive this beautiful book. For us, it’s just about the book.

    Kurtzman: Look, obviously it’s a First Amendment issue and Mr. Card is free to express whatever point-of-view he chooses to express, and we are free to disagree with him. At this point, that’s all I really want to say about it.

    I have to admit, Orci’s answer touches on why I continue to do this site despite disagreeing with Card’s views. In all my readings of the book, I’d never picked up on his personal views either.

    You can read the full interview at the WSJ.

  • Moises Arias Always Stayed in Character on ‘Ender’s Game’ Set

    Moises Arias Always Stayed in Character on ‘Ender’s Game’ Set

    Moises

    Moises Arias, who plays Bonzo Madrid in Ender’s Game, talked with Backstage and revealed how he stayed in character all the time while doing Ender’s Game.

    “I actually stayed in character the whole time I was on set. I heard the extras were scared of me. I wasn’t doing it on purpose, I was just trying to stay in the mindset. At the end they finally started talking to me and admitted to me that I had scared them.”

    Fans of the book have noted the big height difference between Asa and Moises, asking why someone who is supposed to intimidate Ender is so much shorter. Moises addresses this as well.

    “[W]ith ‘Ender’s Game,’ the character was described as dark-hair, light eyes, six foot tall, bigger than everyone. I’m 5’1”. I’m basically the opposite of that. But I guess it just depends on the vision of the director and how much heart you put into it.”

    While I think a lot of us had assumed that his portrayal/audition had convinced director Gavin Hood about his Bonzo, it’s nice to hear it straight from him.

    Source: Backstage

  • Ben Kingsley Found Tā Moko “Very Empowering”

    Ben Kingsley Found Tā Moko “Very Empowering”

    Mazer-Rackham

    When Sir Ben Kingsley spoke recently to the Wall Street Journal’s Barbara Chai about his character the Mandarin in Iron Man 3, he also spoke briefly about his Ender’s Game role as Mazer Rackham and the facial tattoos, known in Maori tradition as “tā moko”.

    He also mentions a bit of Mazer’s background story.

    “I had the privilege of being advised and guided by a Maori who knows all about Ta Moko [Maori tattoo] and what each line and design means – its ancestry,” Kingsley said in an interview. “When it’s accurately and beautifully presented, it’s very empowering for the actor. To be able to put that on and allow it to tell its own story, and then you breathe life into it yourself.”

    Kingsley said his key into Mazer was that the character loved his Maori father, a warrior whom he had lost in the Great Battle for the planet.

    What do you guys think? Is it possible the pilot we’re seeing in the trailer isn’t Mazer, but Mazer’s father?

    Source: WSJ

  • Asa Butterfield on Training, Peter, and Leadership

    Asa Butterfield on Training, Peter, and Leadership

    EG-Trailer152

    Asa Butterfield spoke with Hollywood.com recently and reiterated how tough his training was for Ender’s Game.

    “It was painful,” he says. “There was all sorts of marching, running. ‘Left face, right face’ where you turn in different directions.” Butterfield admits that the rigorous boot camp helped him form a close bond with his fellow teenage costars — mostly because if they didn’t keep up with one another, they all suffered. “If one person in the group of about 100 extras, and 10 or so cast [members], made a mistake, everyone had to do 10 push-ups. And we’d be jogging and if one person fell behind, we’d have to do 10 push-ups. Then [the trainers would] extend it… because they’re a bit mean [laughs].”

    I’d like to use that quote as another chance to say that this is why Ender isn’t 6 in the movie. You can’t really scoff at the ethics of the International Fleet’s practices and then demand that real little kids get put through this kind of an ordeal just for entertainment.

    Anyone worried about Butterfield’s understanding of the complicated character Ender Wiggin may feel better about what he has to say about Ender’s moral complexity.

    “One of the main ones Gavin and I talked about was leadership,” Butterfield says. “Ender’s way of leading and communicating with other people — not just children, but adults — is completely different. It’s one of the things that makes him shine in the school.” The actor sees Ender’s two older siblings, Peter and Valentine, as ends of a scale that the character drifts between over the course of the film. “One’s completely selfless and open, Peter is the epitome of the worst human being. Ender knows he doesn’t want to be Peter, but at times he can’t help having his dark side shine through.”

    Asa also mentioned Ender’s dark side during the “Meet the Fleet” Google+ Hangout from earlier this week:

    The interview is a great read, so be sure to head over to Hollywood.com to read the entire thing.

  • VIDEO: Replay of “Meet the Fleet” Google+ Hangout

    VIDEO: Replay of “Meet the Fleet” Google+ Hangout

    Ho, launchies! If you weren’t able to make it to the live Hangout, here’s a replay of it below!

  • Mazer Rackham Still in Entertainment Weekly on Stands Today

    Mazer Rackham Still in Entertainment Weekly on Stands Today

    Mazer-Rackham

    Those of you wanting to see Sir Ben Kingsley as Mazer Rackham in print can pick up the May 10th edition of Entertainment Weekly on newsstands today. Will post a scan once I pick my copy up from the post office tomorrow! Who knows, maybe they’ve included some print exclusive quotes!

    Here’s the cover to look for, since I know some stores take a couple of days to replace last week’s issue:

    EW-Iron-Man

  • Join Gavin Hood, Bob Orci, and Asa Butterfield for ‘Meet the Fleet’ Google+ Hangout

    Join Gavin Hood, Bob Orci, and Asa Butterfield for ‘Meet the Fleet’ Google+ Hangout

    Trailer-Premiere

     

    Those of you that follow the official Ender’s Game Google+ page can now RSVP for the event that will host  the world premiere of the trailer for Ender’s Game. The trailer will launch via a live Google+ Hangout on May 7 at 1 PM PT/4 PM ET.

    Director Gavin Hood, producer Bob Orci, and Ender himself, Asa Butterfield will be broadcasting live to bring you the trailer. This is definitely one you can’t miss!

     

  • Ben Kingsley Calls ‘Ender’s Game’ a “Very Exciting Franchise”

    Ben Kingsley Calls ‘Ender’s Game’ a “Very Exciting Franchise”

    Steve Weintraub of Collider got to talk to Sir Ben Kingsley about his role as the Mandarin in Iron Man 3 and his role as Mazer Rackham in Ender’s Game. And while it’s certainly not confirmation, it’s interesting that he refers to Ender’s Game as “a very exciting franchise“!

    What do you think? Is he hinting about more Enderverse movies to come? Which direction do you want the storyline to go? Kelly and I talk about this on Episode 11 of EnderCast so be sure to give that a listen!

    Source: Collider

  • VIDEO: PopSugar Interviews Asa Butterfield at CinemaCon

    VIDEO: PopSugar Interviews Asa Butterfield at CinemaCon

    Here’s another interview Asa Butterfield did while in Vegas for CinemaCon done by PopSugarTV.

    Asa mentioned again what an honor it was to be cast as Ender, mentioning the dedicated fanbase the story has built up over the years. “The story’s become such a cult almost, it’s got such a big following. It’s like a family and for me and the cast to become a part of that, it’s special.”

    Since Asa’s last film before Ender’s Game was the CGI-heavy film Hugo, he was asked if that made it any easier doing a movie that involved so much green screen.

    “Working against green screens, it’s still different than working against a live person. You just have to have a really strong imagination and Gavin and all the effects people showed us what you call “pre-vis”. So we had and idea of what it was going to look like so that let us play against where everything was in the space.”

    The fans’ number one concern is of course how true to the book the movie will be and while we’re all anticipating a lot of changes in the film adaptation, Asa insists that the message will remain intact, “After watching the film you’ll still get the same message as you would from reading the book.”

    So… in other words, I’ll be all teary eyed and have an aching heart at the end? 😉

    Source: Pop Sugar TV

  • Geek Legacy Interviews Brandon Soo Hoo

    Geek Legacy Interviews Brandon Soo Hoo

    Soo-Hoo

     

    Geek Legacy, who put out a request for questions for actor Brandon Soo Hoo back in February, got to interview him and recently published the transcript. The entire interview focused on his involvement with Ender’s Game and fans eager to hear any news about the film get to hear a few interesting tidbits.

    A fan of the book for the last five years since an old friend lent him her copy, Soo Hoo says that one of favorite parts of the book include the mind game. He insisted that director Gavin Hood took a lot of care to keep accurate to the book, “Though, due to the PG-13 rating, some of the more graphic content was toned down.”

    He also mentions Ender’s dreams during their rigorous schedule on Eros.

    GL: What scene(s) from the movie are you most excited for us all to see?
    B: The dream sequence scenes and battle room scenes are both highly anticipated. Both are going to be filled with dazzling special effects, so I’m looking forward to see how those came out.

    When asked what he’s looking forward to the most in the coming months, he admits that while he really wants to go to Comic Con, he’s really just excited to finally see the film.

    As fellow book fans, I’m sure we can all relate to that!

    To read the full interview, head over to Geek Legacy.

  • Ben Kingsley Says ‘Ender’s Game’ Will Be “A Wonderful Film”

    Ben Kingsley Says ‘Ender’s Game’ Will Be “A Wonderful Film”

    Marvel's Iron Man 3 Premiere

    Actor Ben Kingsley is doing a lot of press for the release of Iron Man 3 and spoke briefly to the Coventry Telegraph about his role as Mazer Rackham. Possible spoilers here for those who haven’t read the book!

    Ender’s Game is coming out later this year. How did that work out?

    Lovely, but quite different from the challenge of the Mandarin. With Mandarin I was very rarely involved in green screen. In Gandhi we had none. We actually had 4,000 people on screen for the funeral.

    In Ender’s Game we had a lot of green screen. The kids in the film were obviously challenged by being told ‘It is all going to be CGI-d later but you have to react’ . Gavin (Hood) looked after them so well and they did form a wonderful relationship with him. So that he would, where possible, talk them through what they were seeing while they were reacting to it.

    He really knocked himself out pumping energy into those kids who couldn’t see anything. I think it is going to be a wonderful film.

    Tell us about your role.

    Mazar Rackham. He is a combination of historically ancient warrior in that he is descended from Maori and has Maori tattooed on his face. And at the same time he is teaching children how to operate drones. So he is very advanced and also rooted in an ancient warrior tradition.

    Source: Coventry Telegraph

  • Asa Butterfield Talks Battle Room Filming with io9

    Asa Butterfield Talks Battle Room Filming with io9

    Asa-CinemaCon-2013-5

    Asa Butterfield did several press interviews while at CinemaCon 2013 and the latest to come out is one from io9. They focused their talk mainly on the Battle Room, but also touched a bit upon Ender and Valentine. As an added bonus, Asa casually drops a mention about the mind game!

    The cast was trained by an astronaut, who came to teach them about how one really moves in zero gravity.

    “You have to move really slowly… fluidly and smoothly. When you’re in the harnesses to stop yourself from falling at the waist, which is where they’re connected, you have to be tensed up. So keeping actions smooth whilst having your whole body completely tensed is surprisingly difficult.”

    Asa also talks about Ender’s age, which had previously been speculated to be anywhere from 10 to 15. In the interview he mentions that the cast had to be aged up to 13 to 14.

    “You can’t find — at least as not that I’m aware — a six-year-old actor that can play that sort of a character, it’s complex and it’s physically demanding. That was the first issue, so they changed it from being six to 13 or 14.”

    When asked what he thought was Ender’s hardest form of psychological torture, he mentioned Ender’s separation from Valentine.

    “Probably one of the hardest scenes for Ender was leaving his sister, back on Earth. I think that’s one of the things that really damaged him. As you can see in the mind game, as well.”

    I’ve read that there were lake scenes in the trailer, so that’s possibly the goodbye people mentioned rather than their initial goodbye. There’s a lot more to the interview, so be sure to check it out at io9.