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Tag: Interviews

  • VIDEOS: Ender’s Game Press Junket London

    VIDEOS: Ender’s Game Press Junket London

    As you remember, some of the cast and crew of Ender’s Game did a press tour through Europe earlier this month. While in London, they gave a number of interviews, some of which have now surfaced online. Since they all have the same sort of setup, it can be quite confusing and hard to tell which interview is which just by looking at it, so here is a comprehensive list of all London press junket interview vids I could find. Enjoy!

     
    1. Joe Michalczuk for Sky News Entertainment

    Joe basically asks all interviewees very similar questions, so the real treat here is how much they sometimes differ in their answers. Asa, Hailee, Harrison and Bob, Sir Ben and Gavin talk about

    • Ender’s Game being an independent movie
    • the book, the script, and the movie
    • the potential of SciFi and the themes of the movie
    • working with the greats/being greats working with kids
    • sequels

    Watch the other interviewees here:

    Hailee Steinfeld…………Harrison Ford and Bob Orci…………Sir Ben Kingsley

     
    2. Rory Cashin for Entertainment.ie

    Now, these are probably the best ones of the lot. The Interviewer asks interesting and insightful questions and you can actually tell that the interviewees enjoy not having to talk about the same things over and over again for once. Unfortunately, these are not on Youtube, and there is no embed code available on the site. So you’ll just have to do with links!

    • Asa and Hailee on their chemistry, reading the source material when doing adaptations, physical challenges and Harrison Ford: HERE
    • Harrison and Bob on the book, SciFi, Harrison returning to space, models for Graff, the younger actors and upcoming projects: HERE
    • Sir Ben on what attracted him to the role, parallels between the story and the shooting experience, Asa, and telling stories: HERE
    • Gavin on his history with the novel, Graff vs. Anderson, challenges of adaptation, and how he works with different actors: HERE

     
    3. James Kleinmann for HeyUGuysUK and NerdyUK

    These are run-of-the-mill interviews with some interesting tidbits. Gavin Hood, for instance, talks about why he decided to play the Giant in the Ender’s Game video game sequences.

    Here is the rest:

    • Asa and Hailee on their characters and their relationship, the pressure of playing an iconic lead character, and what’s special about the movie: HERE
    • Bob and Harrison on the book, what attracted Harrison, casting Ender, Asa, and their hopes for the movie: HERE
    • Sir Ben on what he likes about the book, lead vs. supporting roles, and wearing the tattoo: HERE

     
    4. The Showbiz 411

    So far, they have only published their interview with Hailee and Asa. It’s refreshingly light-hearted and probably geared towards younger viewers. The two young stars talk about hitting it off right away, space camp, boot camp, fun on set, tight flash suits and their ideal planet.

     
    5. Cel Spellman, CBBC Friday Download

    And last but not least, the most fun video of them all. Kiddy program “Friday Download” (CBBC) presenter Cel not only interviewed Asa, Hailee, Sir Ben, Bob and Harrison, he also challenged them to a match of Rock-Paper-Scissors. The whole thing is hilarious!

    Note: It’s out of sync, so if that bothers you, just download it and play it with an audio delay of 2,1 seconds in VLC or Windows Media Player. Thanks to Tumblr users ceolwaerc and toothle55 for making it available.

     
    Sources: Youtube, Youku, Entertainment.ie

  • Wireless Magazine Talks to the Cast of ‘Ender’s Game’

    Wireless Magazine Talks to the Cast of ‘Ender’s Game’

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    Wireless Magazine recently spoke to the cast and crew of Ender’s Game while they were in the UK and there are some interesting tidbits in the various conversations they had.

    Gavin Hood: [T]his is really about a young boy trying to find his own moral centre in a world that is encouraging his more aggressive nature. From a technical point of view there’s all the great fun stuff we have with the battle room and with the simulations. In the book they are slightly different, I’d like to hope fans will feel we’ve made them more visual for the purpose of cinema.

    Asa Butterfield: I think that relationship is quite important in the film. When Ender’s first taken away from his home, from everyone he loves, everyone he trusts and put into this completely alien world where almost immediately he’s alienated from his peers there’s no one that he can talk to about what’s going on so he doesn’t really know what he’s supposed to be doing. When he meets Petra as their relationship develops they start to realise they can trust each other. She almost fills the gap that his sister has left so it’s definitely not a love relationship in any sense I don’t think, I just think they’re really close friends. They don’t know anything about boyfriends or girlfriends, they’re just someone they can lean on, to help.

    Ben Kingsley: Well, the ending is that one wonders whether or not, without giving too much away, the audience will be curious, intrigued and troubled to know, is this child’s soul going to be distorted forever? Or will he get back to his original self? That in spite of or because of that very taxing journey, adolescence to young adulthood, have they distorted him? I think the answer is in the film and I find it very uplifting.

    Hailee Steinfeld: I think there are many, there’s everything from leadership, compassion, all these different things that are so relevant to today. I don’t know that there is a main message I think there are plenty and it will be interesting to see what the audience takes away from it because there is so much in there.

    Check out full interviews here.

  • Asa Butterfield and Ben Kingsley Talk Ender’s Game on ITV Daybreak

    Asa Butterfield and Ben Kingsley Talk Ender’s Game on ITV Daybreak

    This morning, Asa Butterfield and Ben Kingsley were on ITV’s breakfast show Daybreak promoting Ender’s Game. Our readers in the UK can watch the video HERE on ITVplayer!

    I wasn’t able to download it, but I hope it will turn up on Youtube soon. In the meantime, here are some quick summaries as well as the best bits, or at least the ones containing information that you may not have heard yet anywhere else.

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    Asa Butterfield:

    First, they showed some scenes from the trailer and from the clip where Ender is given Dragon Army. They then talk about the scene and the dynamics between Graff and Ender:

    Host: Asa Butterfield … taking a break from his A-levels to take on Harrison Ford. … And you stare the man down in this, too.
    Asa: I do, yeah. It’s … It was quite interesting how at the start of the film he is quite dominant over me in terms of military power, but by the end of it, as you said, we sort of stand eye to eye, and that’s really exciting.

    Two of the hosts had seen the movie and were impressed with Asa’s performance. They go on talking about

    • what it was like working with Harrison Ford
    • training for the zero G scenes
    • how Asa managed schooling on set (he had a tutor who kept in touch with his school, and he had to take his GCSEs at the British Academy in Houston while filming)
    • how he is really a normal kid who plays video games and hangs out with his mates

      • Nothing new there, really. The Hostess then tells a story about how her little boy plays with Asa’s little sister in the park, and how his mother had told her “he’s doing quite well” and then she found out he was actually a major star. It’s really a cute little interview, but as far as actual news or new insights go, you won’t miss all that much.

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      Sir Ben Kingsley:

      Sir Ben was on a bit later. The clip they showed was the one where Mazer yells at Ender for losing a battle. Sir Ben then talks about how he is always a bit “gobsmacked” when he sees himself on screen because he tends to forget about scenes as soon as they are done. He then goes on to explain the tattoos, how he went through make-up, and how the other cast members looked at him sort of curiously when he came out. He talks about Asa, the major themes of the movie, and how he keeps his awards in his little library at home, interspersed with the books. Here are the best (and most revealing) bits:

      On Asa and his performance:

      Host: I must confess, again, that young lad, Asa Butterfield – I must confess I never heard of him until yesterday – what an actor!
      Sir Ben: He’s in Hugo with me. And in The Boy in the Striped Pajamas. He’s extraordinary. He’s very focused. He humbles himself to the job. And he has all his priorities perfectly placed.
      […]
      Host: Speaking of young people, you surprised some young people in London the other day. You and your costars. …
      Sir Ben: That was a shot in the arm. I love being with those kids. They were so enthusiastic. They’d seen a lot of clips from the film. And I think they empathized with the character; I think that Asa will provide a bridge for a lot of people, in his performance, who are struggling with those very difficult years from adolescence to young adulthood.

      On the themes of the movie:

      Host: There’s a lot of themes in it. One of them is bullying, for example, and the other is really, at the end of it, the morality of war, isn’t it.
      Ben: The morality of war, or the immorality of war, however you look at it, and when you align that with, what I find very touching in our film, the young want to please. However obfuscated and blurred that might become, the fact is that they want to get it right, they want to join, they want to be part of the bigger picture, the bigger tribe or whatever. And you do find in Asa’s performance, in the young actors’ performances, that when they hit those targets, when they “get it right”, they are delighted. They just simply want to please. It’s the older generation who take advantage of that willingness in them to please.

      Sounds about right to me. What do you think? Let us know in the comments!

      Source: ITV Daybreak

  • VIDEO: Asa Butterfield on the Importance of Peter and Valentine

    VIDEO: Asa Butterfield on the Importance of Peter and Valentine

    Watch video below as Asa Butterfield talks about the importance of Peter and Valentine and how much he loved the script.

  • VIDEO: Hailee Steinfeld on Life in Battle School

    VIDEO: Hailee Steinfeld on Life in Battle School

    Watch the video below to see Hailee Steinfeld talking about life in Battle School and what it was like working with Asa Butterfield, Gavin Hood, and stunt coordinator Garrett Warren. She talks about walking into “Flash Suit City” for the first time, someplace I’m sure we all wish we could go!

  • Starry Mag Talks to Aramis Knight

    Starry Mag Talks to Aramis Knight

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    Starry Mag did an interview with Aramis Knight and talked to him about his experience on set, how much he’s grown since filming, and why he appreciates his fans so much.

    Q) Was that your most memorable moment from filming?

    A) That was probably my best life experience ever and there probably won’t be a better one than that. There are so many different moments though that I can think of off the top of my head. The most memorable that I’ll remember in thirty years is being at space camp. Also, my mother makes jokes about this all the time that I went into New Orleans as a boy and came out a man, physically and mentally. I came out with more life experiences because of the situations I was put in. It was kind of crazy! All my family that saw me right when I came back just looked at me and said, “Wow! You grew a lot!” I think when we went to New Orleans I was 4’7 and when I came back I was 5’0. Now, I’m 5’6! So, I’ve grown quite a bit over that time. Probably the best life experience I had though was space camp because there were so many emotions and things that I had to control. There were so many things I realized about myself there, as well.

    Q) What do you think it is about Ender’s Game that will really want to make people go see it?

    A) Other than the great cast…It’s probably the special effects. I’ve seen bits and pieces of the movie so I’ve seen a lot of the graphics and effects are really visually stunning. Your jaw just kind of drops. It almost makes you want to cry because it is so overwhelming! The visuals are just crazy and beautiful. I think in the movie the chemistry that us boys have is going to shine through – the love that we have for each other that the characters had and that we also had for each other in real life. I think the friendships that they are going to see through our characters are going to make people love it and make them want to see us more. Let’s hope for sequels because I’d really love to hang out with the boys again!

    Q) You’re a part of the social networking site Twitter. Why is that such an important way for you to connect with your fans?

    A) I know the fans are everything to my career. I want to go many places and I can’t do that without my fans. They are the most important thing when it comes to getting to the places that I want to get to. I love to show my appreciation to them, talk to them and get to know them. I try to respond to everyone that I can. It’s definitely a big part of my career.

    Q) What would you like to say to everyone who is a fan and supporter of you and your work?

    A) I would just like to say thank you because they are what gives me the motivation to do I do. I realize that I can bring so much joy and see the excitement to their faces. When I was at Comic-Con a lot of people knew who I was and just the excitement on their faces seeing me become Bean was so touching to me. The joy I could bring them was really awesome. So, I’d love to keep doing more of it!

    To read the whole interview, go to Starry Mag.

  • VIDEOS: Ender’s Game Cast and Crew at MCM London Comic Con

    VIDEOS: Ender’s Game Cast and Crew at MCM London Comic Con

    Before their presentation of Ender’s Game at the Odeon Leicester Square during MCM London Comic Con, Hailee Steinfeld, Sir Ben Kingsley, Harrison Ford, Asa Butterfield, and Gavin Hood talked to Entertainmentwise about Ender’s Game.

    Not much new here, but I get some perverse enjoyment out of the reactions of Ben Kingsley, Asa Butterfield and, yes, Harrison Ford to being asked whether or not they would like to star/are starring in the next Star Wars movie. The Ben Kingsley one is cut off a bit in the beginning. If you’re interested in the whole Star Wars conversation, check it out HERE! Would someone please phone someone to get Ben Kingsley and Asa Butterfield into that movie. Look how excited they are at the prospect!

    The fabulous five also talked to a couple of other news outlets prior to their London presentation. We already posted HeyUGuysUK’s interviews with Gavin Hood and Sir Ben Kingsley earlier this week. Their interviews with Asa Butterfield, Hailee Steinfeld, and Harrison Ford don’t reveal anything new, but we didn’t want to keep them from you either way, so here they are:

    Finally, The MCM Buzz interviewed the cast and crew on the Comic Con red carpet. Here is a video that collects some tidbits of what Gavin Hood and the four cast members had to say:

    You can check out the full interviews with Asa Butterfield, Hailee Steinfeld, Sir Ben Kingsley, and Gavin Hood on the TheMCMBuzz Youtube channel. I love the Hailee Steinfeld and Ben Kingsley ones especially.

    They even posted a somewhat rarer interview with Gigi Pritzker and Bob Orci. Check it out below.


    Sources: Entertainmentwise, HeyUGuysUK, TheMCMBuzz

  • Gavin Hood on the Grey Areas of ‘Ender’s Game’

    Gavin Hood on the Grey Areas of ‘Ender’s Game’

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    Gavin Hood appeared as a guest at Fan Expo Canada this past weekend and spoke to press about the upcoming Ender’s Game adaptation. In an interview with Metro News, he talks about the difficulties of adapting the book and his interest in the grey areas of the novel.

    “Some films masquerade as dealing with moral complexity, but in fact, for me, cop out a little by never putting the protagonist in a truly morally complex situation,” Hood said in a recent interview at the pop culture fest known as Fan Expo Canada. “There are films we can think of where, yes, the protagonist kills people, but actually all the people they kill are bad or awful in some way, (without) that moment of really having to face up to the grey zone, that place where you ask, ‘Am I capable of doing something morally repugnant because I believe it’s for a greater good?’

    He also talks a bit about how he sees reactions to his decision to cut Locke and Demosthenes and his wife’s advice on the matter!

    “My wife actually says to me, ‘Gavin, you have to stop going on the Internet. It makes you crazy.’ There’s so much chatter,” says Hood. “I found it hard to cut. But it really means you need to make a 15-part miniseries, and I was given the opportunity to make a two-hour film, so my focus was, ‘What can I do in a film that the novel might not be able to do as well?’”

    You can read the entire interview at Metro News.

  • VIDEOS: First Comic-Con Interviews Rolling In

    VIDEOS: First Comic-Con Interviews Rolling In

    Last night, the Ender’s Game Exclusive Fan Experience opened, and a few people got to interview Asa Butterfield, Hailee Steinfeld, Gavin Hood and Bob Orci outside the Experience. Watch below what they had to say:

     


    And just a couple of minutes ago, MoviesDotComOfficial released this brand new interview with Asa and Hailee!

     

    Let us know what you think!

     

    Source: Youtube (Beyond The Trailer, Perry Nemiroff, MoviesDotComOfficial)

     

  • VIDEO: Moises Arias on Ender’s Game

    VIDEO: Moises Arias on Ender’s Game

    In their interview with Moises Arias at the Despicable Me 2 premiere, DesdeHollywood asked Moises about his experience filming Ender’s Game. Here is what he had to say:

    Reporter: How was it to work on Ender’s Game with Harrison Ford, a movie that will catapult you into stardom in the entire world?

    Moises: Ahm, I hope that people will really see the variety of roles that I’m doing, and that they’ll start to see the different kinds of acting that I can do. I liked it a lot, and Ender’s Game gave me a big opportunity – to be an antagonist. Kings of Summer is a comedy and Ender’s Game is solely drama. There is a very big chance that if people like it it will be one of the biggest things in my career.

    Many thanks to Fernanda (@franiahs on Twitter) for the translation!

  • Viola Davis to appear on Oprah’s Next Chapter

    Viola Davis to appear on Oprah’s Next Chapter

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    According to Vibe, Viola Davis, who will play Major Anderson in the upcoming Ender’s Game movie, is set to appear on next week’s Oprah’s Next Chapter.  The show, which was launched in 2011 on the Oprah Winfrey Network, features Oprah travelling around the country meeting with and interviewing celebrities and other people of public interest. For next week’s installment, Oprah sits down to chat with not only Viola Davis, but also Alfre Woodard, Philicia Rashad, and Gabrielle Union about African American women in the entertainment industry.

    The show will air on Sunday, June 23 at 9/8c. American viewers can check out a sneak peek on oprah.com and youtube.

    Source: VIBE Vixen

  • Gavin Hood Talks Battle Room with Yahoo! Movies

    Gavin Hood Talks Battle Room with Yahoo! Movies

    Battle-Room

    In a phone interview with Yahoo! Movies, director Gavin Hood talked about the size of the Battle Room.

    “This is the high school football field, only it’s in three dimensions. It’s the size of a football field in all directions: up, down, left, right. And the idea is teams jump out from opposite ends of this amazing space and play this amazing game of 3D paintball, almost.”

    Ever since we saw on set how they planned to show the Battle Room, I’ve been dying for other fans to see their vision, which makes my own imagination’s gray room and cubic stars seem so lame in comparison. So how did they arrive at the design?

    One deviation from the book is that in the original text the Battle Room is described as being a giant hollow cube. But Hood felt that to really convey the size and dimensionality of the space, it should be spherical. Hood said he then proposed, “What if we could see through? What if we could see out of the space, and we’re moving around the Earth and turning at the same time?” He said he felt that would create “a really strange, disorienting experience,” that would better capture the notion in the book that in space there really is no up or down.

    Strange and disorienting is right! I’d probably be downright terrified the first time I saw the Battle Room. With Earth visible right outside I can imagine the feeling that you’re floating in space takes some getting used to. Or do you think that young children would have an easier time adjusting to such an intense arena?

    Read the full article at Yahoo! Movies.