The Sword and Laser discussion

I was listening to podcast #100 and it has a flashback to #1 where they talk about the possible Ender's Game movie for a brief minute. This prompted me to check IMDB and it looks like there is some actual traction on the casting at least. Didn't see a release date yet, though.

Any thoughts or reactions to this?

after a bit more perusing I found the release date of November 2013. I also noticed that it being filmed as of now, and that the director was responsible for X-Men Origins: Wolverine... not sure how I feel about that.

Wow, they pushed the release date back. I thought it was May 2013 as it stated when it first went into production.

Alex wrote: "after a bit more perusing I found the release date of November 2013. I also noticed that it being filmed as of now, and that the director was responsible for X-Men Origins: Wolverine...not sure how I feel about that"

badly. you should feel very badly about this. I know I do. But hey maybe we will all be surprised?

it does have harrison ford in it, though... and ben kingsley.

Ugh, I didn't know that about the director either. IMDBing, I see he also directed Rendition, which by most accounts was an interesting idea poorly realized. Out of his track record, it looks like Tsotsi was the best received (haven't seen it either) .

Harrison Ford and Ben Kingsley are good signs, granted, but I was hoping someone with a more solid record would helm this - Hood is writing the screenplay as well as directing. *Fingers crossed for a surprise (of the good variety)?*

Kevin wrote: "Wow, they pushed the release date back. I thought it was May 2013 as it stated when it first went into production."

Yeah, and wait till you hear the actual reason:

They wanted to release it a few weeks after the Hunger Games sequel to attract the similar audiences!

I think S&L should review the movie on their 200th episode.

Cattfish wrote: "Yeah, and wait till you hear the actual reason:

They wanted to release it a few weeks after the Hunger Games sequel to attract the similar audiences! "

it makes a lot of sense: ender's game has been around for a long time, but i'm sure that even with its enduring popularity The Hunger Games is a bit higher in the cultural consciousness right now. the prospective audiences are even very similar.

It has a great cast, which makes me feel confident that the performances will at least make it tolerable. But, I also ended up finding out that the director might've also been completely misinterpreting the book in his screenplay as well. One of the interviews that I stumbled across with him talking about it was referring to the plot as being about how entertainment is looking more and more like war when that ends up negatively affecting the children by making violent people, including kids, violent. It just seems to ignore the important question to ask, which unless I'm misinterpreting the book was what Card was trying to address, is "why is war looking more and more like entertainment?"

It wouldn't be the 1st time hollywood's written out any & all social relevance or commentary from a work they are adapting.

It's been years since I've read it, but as I remember it the most interesting thing was the seamlessness with which a child could be transitioned from playing an advanced video game to controlling advanced R/C weaponry. If children perform better in terms of concentration & reflexes than adults in this environment, is it wrong to turn them into child soldiers when your entire civilization is at risk? I also have only a vague impression that Ender himself was a prodigy with political aspirations, but I don't know how much of that was woven into the plot of the 1st book & how much came later.

I might have to pull this out & reread it after the film comes out if I decide to see it.

Yeah, I heard that they were done shooting the movie, but they did not shot any scene from the book.

The filmmaker's reason for delaying the movie from May to Novemeber is that Novemeber and the holiday are a more memorable and better time for movies to come out. I think they are right, the end of the year is when the academy adwards look for movies to nominate. So more serious movies come out during the end of the year.

This had the potential to turn into little more than a remake of The Last Starfighter, but with Card involved in the production & that cast, I may be excited to see this after all.

Kevin wrote: "The filmmaker's reason for delaying the movie from May to Novemeber is that Novemeber and the holiday are a more memorable and better time for movies to come out. I think they are right, the end of..."

I will be looking out for my Ender Wiggins Christmas tree ornament :)