From the LA Times:

Harrison Ford and Asa Butterfield in the upcoming film version of “Ender’s Game.” (Richard Foreman Jr. / Summit Entertainment)

By Carolyn KelloggJuly 11, 2013, 8:31 a.m.

The books of the bestselling, award-winning “Ender’s Game” science-fiction series, about child soldiers in space, are almost universally beloved. The same cannot be said for their author, Orson Scott Card.

Over the years, Card has spoken and written publicly about his opposition to gay rights and gay marriage — to the extent that one group, Geeks OUT, felt compelled to speak up about it. On the website SkipEndersGame.com, they call for a boycott to the film adaptation coming in November.

They quote Card writing in 1990, “Laws against homosexual behavior should remain on the books, not to be indiscriminately enforced against anyone who happens to be caught violating them, but to be used when necessary to send a clear message that those who flagrantly violate society’s regulation of sexual behavior cannot be permitted to remain as acceptable, equal citizens within that society.”

In the Mormon Times in 2009, he wrote, “Married people attempting to raise children with the hope that they, in turn, will be reproductively successful, have every reason to oppose the normalization of homosexual unions.”

Now with the boycott, he’s asking for tolerance. “Now it will be interesting to see whether the victorious proponents of gay marriage will show tolerance toward those who disagreed with them when the issue was still in dispute,” he wrote in a statement to Entertainment Weekly.

Does it make sense to boycott a film because of the political views of the original work’s author? Geeks OUT urges people to pledge not to see the film in theaters, not to rent or buy the DVD, not to stream it, and to eschew its toys and merchandise. “However much you may have admired his books, keep your money out of Orson Scott Card’s pockets,” the group writes.

In his EW statement, Card wrote, “‘Ender’s Game’ is set more than a century in the future and has nothing to do with political issues that did not exist when the book was written in 1984.”

In fact, the “political issues” he talks about were very much alive in 1984. The fight for the civil rights of lesbian, gay, and transgendered people had gone on for years, and back in 1970, Los Angeles held the first of many celebratory gay pride parades.

The boycott’s greatest effect may be to raise awareness — perhaps even Card’s.

Jul 11 2013

Orson Scott Card Under Fire

What’s happening here proves why I say authors, and celebrities, should keep their private views to themselves. This world no longer allows for dissenting viewpoints and will crucify, and destroy the reputation and life of, anyone who had a viewpoint that is not ‘politically correct.’ It’s a disgusting destruction of freedom of speech that’s been coming in the US for years. I remember back in the 1990’s when PC arrived, and I knew back then it’d lead to ‘though police’ and stifling of speech. And I’ve been correct. Now one doesn’t have to actually do anything anymore. Just speak your mind and things will be used against you. As someone who values freedom of speech, and what writer would not, I find it frightening and discouraging at the same time.

per TGDaily.com

Ender’s Game Author Under Fire

Posted July 10, 2013 – 15:23 by David Konow

While this has been a very turbulent summer for blockbusters, Ender’s Game, which is coming in November, is one of the most anticipated genre films in recent memory. Except there’s a potentially big controversy brewing because of homophobic comments made by the book’s author Orson Scott Card.

Ender’s Game, which was published in 1985, is one of the most popular sci-fi novels of the last thirty years, and it’s taken nearly just as long to bring it to the big screen. This is such an anticipated event in genre movies that even the press shy Harrison Ford, who stars along with Ben Kingsley, has eagerly been promoting the film, or as eagerly as he can muster.

Nevertheless, as E! Online tells us, Card’s open feelings against gay marriage are now a hot button topic in the wake of Paula Deen’s firing, and Alec Baldwin’s homophobic tweets. Card has come forward to say that his views on gay marriage is “moot,” that this story takes place over a century into the future and it “has nothing to do with political issues that did not exist when the book was written in 1984.”

While many geeks will be out in force to support Ender’s Game, a group called Geeks OUT is trying to organize a boycott of the movie, posting the command of “Do NOT see this movie! Do not buy a ticket at the theater, do not purchase the DVD, do not watch it on-demand. Ignore all merchandise and toys. However much you may have admired his books, keep your money out of Orson Scott Card’s pockets.”

These days, there are plenty of gay geeks making their presence known everywhere, and under normal circumstances they’d probably be on line opening day for a big geek event like Ender’s, but now it’s turning into a big line in the sand. Considering Card is clearly not going to back down from his stance, expect more controversy to come before Ender’s Game is released on November 1.

Jul 11 2013

Pacific Rim Needs Our Help

Per TGDaily.com

Posted July 11, 2013 – 09:50 by David Konow

We just reported on the critical response to Pacific Rim, which so far has been mixed. There are critics that liked it, some who thought it was okay, and at least one overall negative review, which to be fair didn’t say the movie was dreadful, but it didn’t say it was anything to get excited about either.

You know from reading TGD that the geeks will be out in force to see Pacific Rim this weekend, yet even though the geeks are a force to be reckoned with, a movie can’t survive on geeks alone. In fact, the box office pundits have been predicting doom for Pacific Rim, even though its buzz is nowhere near as deadly as The Lone Ranger, or last year’s mega stink bomb Battleship.

How do these people know it’s going to bomb before it comes out? By tracking all the data, which isn’t always infallible. Variety headlined their story, “Pacific Rim Looking Grim With $25 Million – $35 million Opening,” noting that “Warner Bros. are bracing for what appears to be a gruesome inevitability” of potential low gross.

As The Wrap points out, this has been a particularly rough summer for movies, and this could potentially be the fourth week in a row of big screen bombs. Yet, on the other hand, as Variety also reports, Pacific Rim has gotten a very strong 85% positive rating on Rotten Tomatoes, with a 98% rating of people who want to see it this weekend.

So definitely get out there and give Pacific Rim your support. It’s Guillermo Del Toro’s big return to the theaters, and it looks like it could be great fun. Hollywood may be panicking that it may not have a huge opening weekend, but perhaps word of mouth can make Pacific Rim a winner if the fan response is enthusiastic enough.

Jul 11 2013

Bombs Away: Hollywood Braces for Historic 4 Straight Weeks of Megaflops

Bombs Away: Hollywood Braces for Historic 4 Straight Weeks of Megaflops.

Jul 10 2013

‘Pacific Rim’ Looking Grim With $25 Million-$35 Million Opening

Per Variety.com

After spending the past two weeks trying to turn the tide for “Pacific Rim,” Warner Bros. and Legendary Pictures now are bracing for what appears to be a gruesome inevitability for the $185 million-plus monster movie: A domestic opening ranging between $25 million and $35 million.

This weekend could be the second in a row in which an expensive non-sequel property bellyflops at the box office after “Lone Ranger” flamed out last weekend.

The impending doom has been pretty clear ever since “Pacific Rim” came on tracking early last month. And while there are certainly some last-minute hopeful signs for Warner and Legendary to cling to (i.e. strong reviews and unreliable tracking lately), there’s little chance that “Pacific Rim” will open well enough in the U.S. to counter its monster-sized budget and marketing costs.

FILM REVIEW: “Pacific Rim”

But before we delve into the negative, there are a few possible bright spots:

Positive reviews. As of Tuesday afternoon, the film has scored an 85% rating on RottenTomatoes, with a 98% rating among audiences who want to see the film. Exhibitor reactions to the film also have been better than expected.
Overseas. Warner launches “Pacific Rim” in 38 day-and-date territories, including the U.K., Mexico, Russia, South Korea, Italy and Australia.
Skewed tracking. “Pacific Rim” straddles the line of being a fanboy and family film, with heavy interest among boys, and tracking for younger auds is notoriously unreliable. Does that mean the film can double current projections? No.
Holiday frenzy. The buzz surrounding the Fourth of July weekend was still humming on Monday, when NRG — the most subscribed-to tracking service — released its most current weekend estimates. The company will revise those estimates Thursday.

All of those factors weigh in “Pacific Rim’s” favor, particularly the first, after Paramount managed to parlay strong early reviews for “World War Z” into a surprising $66 million domestic opening.

SEE MORE: Is ‘Pacific Rim’ Doomed to Be This Year’s ‘Battleship’?

But to be clear, an opening like that is not in the cards for “Pacific Rim” — not with competition from “Despicable Me 2″ and “Grown Ups 2,” both of which also have strong family appeal. Observers predict that “Despicable Me 2″ will win its second frame in the high-$40 millions, while “Grown Ups 2″ is expected to gross in the low-$40 million range. Both “Grown Ups 2″ and “Pacific Rim” are rated PG-13.

For “Pacific Rim,” which is a passion project for helmer Guillermo del Toro, the early July release date was likely modeled after “Transformers,” which opened with $70 million in 2007. That’s the kind of start Legendary expected to see when it greenlit the pricey ensemble project about an apocalyptic battle between aliens and robots created to fight them. But without a major star toplining the film, Warners — which came on board later to help finance 25% of the production cost — had to market the film based solely on the original concept. The studio only recently began highlighting the pic’s humor and lighter elements to help draw interest.

SEE MORE: How Legendary Is Trying to Turn Around Troubling Tracking for ‘Pacific Rim’

Tracking for the film outside the U.S. is strongest in Asia, with the area’s long history of creature features, but the pic is seeing only moderate interest in other parts of the world.

Some celebrities, including Kanye West, have taken to social media with positive reactions to the film. Videogame design icon Hideo Kojima also expressed his admiration in a tweet saying, “This film is not simply a film to be respected, but most importantly, it let us dream the future of entertainment movies.”

The film’s grim financial outlook notwithstanding, Kojima may have a point. If only the film’s budget could have been kept in check.