Oops, forgot to post this on Saturday! Been having a busy weekend so far!
For this week’s Weekly Ender I talk about the three Enderverse books I’m reading, the fansite setvisitersary, and a giveaway! (you’ll have to watch the video for details!
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EnderCast Episode #15 – Dragon
Episode #15 of EnderCast is now available for download! Topics for the week include:
- New image of Graff and Ender in his Dragon Army flash suit + paper clip
- Discussion of the intelligence of the kids in Ender’s Game, thanks to an email from our listener Steve Peck
- Review of the IF-Sentinel.com stories that we totally forgot to discuss earlier this month
Also, EnderCast now has a new web design, so be sure to check it out!
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Fan-Made Friday: Valentine Wiggin
Here’s a really cute digital painting of Valentine made by HashiMichaelis on Deviantart! In the back you can see a paper signed at the top as ‘Demosthenes’ in Greek along with a portrayal of a Demosthenes bust.
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‘Ender’s Game’ Trailer Now Available on iTunes
The Ender’s Game trailer, which previously debuted on YouTube on May 7, is now available on Apple Trailers and on iTunes.
In addition to being able to watch it there, they’ve posted a nice expanded photo of the gate where Ender is standing. Wallpaper time!
We’re now 160 days away from Ender’s Game, people. 160!
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VIDEO: Book Trailer for ‘Earth Afire’
Check out the book trailer for ‘Earth Afire’, the sequel to ‘Earth Unaware’. These books are part of the First Formic War trilogy. Read my review of the first book here.
I’m currently about halfway through the book and enjoying it so far. ‘Earth Afire’ can be pre-ordered on Amazon or Barnes & Noble and will be released on June 4, 2013.
Thanks to Aaron Johnston for the link!
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DIY Battle School Nails
Even with two kids and more blogs than I know what to do with, I clearly have nothing better to do than to think up ways to show what a ridiculous fangirl I can be. Last week, while trying to figure out a way to save money on those silly little stickers my daughter is always begging me to buy her, I decided to look up whether you can print your own nail decals. Turns out, you definitely can.
I ordered a set and then the Ender’s Game part of my brain started churning and this happened:
I made teeny ones for smaller fingers and bigger ones for thumbs, with the little ones being 1/4 inch and the thumbs being 1/2 inch.
The next step is to coat the printout with clear nail polish, though this became tricky as the ink began to run with strokes. I had to dab and will have to look into just getting an acrylic spray for the whole sheet. I waited for it to dry and painted my nails in various Battle School colors: orange, blue, red, green.
Once they were dry I cut the edges off. Actually, I got lazy on the second hand and left the corners, but you’ll be able to see why this is a bad idea.
Next, submerge it in a bit of warm water. Once the paper backing is soaked, you can remove it from the water to a paper towel and gently peel it off the paper.
Here’s the tiny little decal ready to put on a nail.
Flatten the decal down and then paint over with clear polish.
Here’s my right hand and you can see the corners on the three small army nails. Definitely take the time to cut the corners off! And yes, I know, my nails are kind of sad looking. I only just recently grew them out after like 30 years and my daughter’s constant scolding. I don’t know why but I had the hardest time with the IF decals and they both went on horribly crooked.
My first attempt on my left hand was ridiculous. I made the Rat and Asp upside down, but the Dragon looked okay. All in all, it’s pretty close to what I’d envisioned. Petra Arkanian would scream in horror, no doubt.
I’m hoping to take the thumbnail sizes with me to Comic Con and anyone who can find me while I’m waiting in the Hall H line can get a Battle School thumbnail. If you’re willing to give me a thumbs up pose for the EnderWiggin.net Instagram, that’d be sweet!
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PHOTO: Ender Wiggin in Dragon Army Flash Suit
Today the official Ender’s Game Twitter and Facebook released a new promotional image from the Ender’s Game movie. This one features an image of Colonel Graff that we’ve seen on previous promo images, but also features a new shot of Ender Wiggin.
So far, the only imagery we’ve seen of Ender in his Dragon Army flash suit is from the official poster, but that is a view from the back. This image features a very cool front look at Ender wearing his Dragon Army flash suit.
The tagline posted with it was “Prepare for battle.”
Follow the official Ender’s Game Twitter @EndersGameMovie.
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SDCC Badge Resale Scheduled for June 2013
Those of you that didn’t get a badge for SDCC at the extremely short-lived ticket sale earlier this year will have a chance to buy returned tickets in June 2013 during the badge resale. These tickets were returned by ticket purchasers who got badges during the first sale and CCI is putting them up for sale again. These tickets will be non-refundable.
Anyone who would like to participate in the resale must have a Comic-Con Member ID. A Member ID is required for everyone attending Comic-Con. Please click here to sign-up for a Member ID today. Member ID registration will temporarily close without notice prior to badge resales, so be sure to sign up well in advance.
Since SDCC would be a prime platform for debuting a new trailer and hosting a panel, Ender fans won’t want to miss out. Be sure you read all of their info about the resale here.
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VIDEO: Sir Ben Kingsley Loved Working with Gavin Hood
RedCarpetNewsTV spoke with Sir Ben Kingsley last week and chatted a bit about Ender’s Game and working with Gavin Hood. Here’s a transcript as well:
Ender’s Game is a project that fans are so excited about. What can fans expect from the film adaptation of that? Of course you play a major part.
I’ve only seen some tiny clips of it, but I loved working with the director and I think it’s going to be an absolutely spectacular film. Beautiful.
Working with Asa again, an astonishing young talent. What makes him such a promising young star?
Intelligence and application and a well-brought up boy. He has a lovely mother.
Harrison Ford as well, the cast is littered with greats. What’s it like working with him?
He’s a delight, we got along really well. Yeah. Really well.
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EnderCast Episode #14 – Ender’s Shadow
Ho Launchies! Episode 14 of EnderCast is now available for listening! Topics for the week included:
- Happy Birthday Gavin Hood
- Ender’s Game trailer in theaters
- Asa’s Reddit, new projects, and time for sequels
- Autographed cards from Cryptozoic
- Moises Arias’ Bonzo
- Alex Kurtzman and Bob Orci’s reaction to “The Card Question”
- Ender’s Shadow
Listen to the episode here.
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The Weekly Ender #2
Woohoo! I actually did another Weekly Ender! This time I talk about seeing the trailer with my mom and some brief thoughts on Ender’s Shadow.
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Fan-Made Friday: The Giant’s Drink by megakx
Here’s a cool piece of fan art by megakx on Deviantart of The Giant’s Drink.
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‘Ender’s Game’ Producers Talk Book to Film with Wall Street Journal
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.