Tag Archives: Ender’s Game

Jul 15 2013

Lionsgate finally weighs in on the whole ‘Ender’s Game’ boycott

http://tinyurl.com/jw77zfe

 

 

The Public – a thing I cannot help looking upon as an enemy, and which I cannot address without feelings of hostility. – John Keats

Somewhere, deep in the heart of Lionsgate’s public relations department, there is a PR rep clutching a bottle of whiskey and mumbling that over and over again to her- or himself. The studio has been in a bit of a marketing nightmare regarding upcoming film Ender’s Game

, ever since LGBT groups remembered it was Orson Scott Card who penned the original novel, and that, considering he has spent his life actively campaigning against LGBT rights, it was their duty to start a boycott campaign against the film. For those who seem to be confused as to why the boycott is happening, it’s not a matter of hypocrisy or “being intolerant of intolerance” (as I have seen some people fallaciously argue), but a matter of LGBT people or activists not wanting their money in any way to go to a man who will then turn around and use that money to contribute to the National Organization for Marriage or other groups that work to strip gay rights, among other things. It’s a personal choice. 

Regardless of how you feel about the issue, it has become exactly that for Lionsgate: An issue. And so the studio has finally weighed in on the controversy, releasing an official statement over the weekend:

As proud longtime supporters of the LGBT community, champions of films ranging from GODS AND MONSTERS to THE PERKS OF BEING A WALLFLOWER and a Company that is proud to have recognized same-sex unions and domestic partnerships within its employee benefits policies for many years, we obviously do not agree with the personal views of Orson Scott Card and those of the National Organization for Marriage. However, they are completely irrelevant to a discussion of ENDER’S GAME. The simple fact is that neither the underlying book nor the film itself reflect these views in any way, shape or form. On the contrary, the film not only transports viewers to an entertaining and action-filled world, but it does so with positive and inspiring characters who ultimately deliver an ennobling and life-affirming message. Lionsgate will continue its longstanding commitment to the LGBT community by exploring new ways we can support LGBT causes and, as part of this ongoing process, will host a benefit premiere for ENDER’S GAME.

All of that is to be expected. It’s a fairly generic response: Distance yourself from the controversy, offer an olive branch, but remain noncommittal either way. What does surprise me, however, was that Lionsgate seemed to be blindsided by the entire fiasco in the first place, especially considering the current sociopolitical climate.

But removing the moral and political controversy from it entirely, will you see the film? Does the trailer fill you with the warm fuzzies of excitement, or leave you cold? Sound off in the comments.

Ender’s Game, starring Asa Butterfield, Harrison Ford, Ben Kingsley, and Abigail Breslin, hits theaters on November 1st.

Jul 14 2013

Ender’s Game faces backlash over author Orson Scott Card’s anti-gay views

In the essence of transparency, I’m neither for or against homosexuals. Sometimes I think people on both sides are being far too militant over the entire thing. So, the purpose of the post is to point out the controversy swirling and why authors are best keeping their views to themselves sometimes.

 Science-fiction writer Orson Scott Card is leading opponent of same-sex marriage

per the Independent

SUNDAY 14 JULY 2013

Jul 13 2013

Could the Ender’s Game boycott actually sink the movie?

k-bigpic

 

http://io9.com/could-the-enders-game-boycott-actually-tank-the-movie-749408769

 

Usually when people organize a boycott of a big Hollywood movie, you sort of assume they’ll barely make a dent. But with Ender’s Game, it actually seems somewhat possible that the fan boycott of the film could generate enough static to keep the studio from getting the word out.

A bit of backstory: Ender’s Game is a classic 1985 novel by Orson Scott Card, about a war between humans and insectoid aliens, known as the Formics or “Buggers.” The book has won tons of awards, and is considered a major classic of the genre. In the nearly three decades since writing Ender’s Game, Card has established himself as a leading critic of same-sex marriage, and has advocated for laws against homosexuality.

Over the years, Card’s homophobic views have caused an uproar — most notably when he wrote a weird gay-baiting version of Shakespeare’s Hamlet and when the artist on his Superman comic quit to avoid controversy over his views.

But it wasn’t until recently, with a huge budget movie of Ender’s Game coming this fall, that Card’s opinions on homosexuality have become more of an issue. A group called Geeks OUT has started a campaign called Skip Ender’s Game on the grounds that if you buy a ticket to the movie, you’re putting money in Card’s pockets. This boycott was already getting a lot of attention, when Card threw gasoline on the fire by issuing a bizarre statement claiming that homosexuality wasn’t an issue in 1985, and boycotting his work is a sign of intolerance.

All of which makes me wonder: Is this controversy going to make it hard to get mainstream audiences to pay attention to the film? To be successful, an Ender’s Gamefilm has to reach beyond fans of the books, and if the movie is remotely close to the subject matter of the book, then there are going to be some themes and ideas that will freak out a lot of mainstream audiences. Reading from this book has already gotten one middle-school teacher in trouble.

Even by itself, a movie about space seems to be a hard sell these days — and we’ve seen plenty of other similar movies lose out lately, because mainstream movie audiences just couldn’t get interested in them. So it seems entirely possible that the mainstream media will be too busy debating Card’s views, and moviegoers will come away with a vague sense that this is a movie about gay-bashing. (The fact that the aliens are called “Buggers” probably does not help.) In today’s crowded movie marketplace, it seems like you have a brief chance to get people’s attention and sell them on your film — and if there’s any narrative out there that confuses the issue, you’re probably doomed.

If that does happen, of course, it won’t be the boycott organizers’ fault — it’ll be Card’s. He absolutely has the right to express unpopular or extreme views, but he also has to take the consequences. He wouldn’t be the first artist whose work was ignored or marginalized because of extremist political opinions, and in this case it’s hard to feel sorry. On the other hand, this could be another nail in the coffin of us getting interesting, challenging space opera on the big screen.

As to whether you should join the boycott — that’s absolutely a personal decision, and probably depends on how much you’re able to separate the author from his work. There are some pretty good thoughts on the subject in this comment from dlomax, however.

Jul 13 2013

Lionsgate responds to calls for ‘Ender’s Game’ boycott

Per USAToday.com

 

Lindsay Deutsch, USA TODAY5:09 p.m. EDT July 12, 2013

 

Studio does not support author Orson Scott Card’s anti-gay stance but says it has nothing to do with the film.

 

Lionsgate is responding to what could be a potentially potent publicity problem for its upcoming fall sci-fi blockbuster, Ender’s Game.

Calls to boycott the film have popped up online because Orson Scott Card, the author of the 1985 book series Ender’s Game on which the movie is based, is publicly anti-gay and anti-same-sex marriage. The movie, starring Harrison Ford, is due out on Nov. 1.

“As proud longtime supporters of the LGBT community, champions of films ranging from Gods and Monsters to The Perks of Being a Wallflowerand a company that is proud to have recognized same-sex unions and domestic partnerships within its employee benefits policies for many years, we obviously do not agree with the personal views of Orson Scott Card and those of the National Organization for Marriage,” Lionsgate wrote in a statement. The studio pledged to host a benefit premiere for Ender’s Gamesupporting LGBT causes.

Recently, a group called Geeks OUT released its plans to boycott Ender’s Game, distributing a quote Card wrote in 1990 advocating “laws against homosexual behavior should remain on the books,” and exposing his role as a board member of the anti-same-sex marriage organization National Organization for Marriage.

On Monday, Card released a statement to Entertainment Weekly, saying, “With the recent Supreme Court ruling, the gay marriage issue becomes moot… 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.”

Statements from both Lionsgate and Card reiterate that the stance has nothing to do with Ender’s Game, which is about child soldiers in space.

“The simple fact is that neither the underlying book nor the film itself reflect these views in any way, shape or form. On the contrary, the film not only transports viewers to an entertaining and action-filled world, but it does so with positive and inspiring characters who ultimately deliver an ennobling and life-affirming message,” Lionsgate wrote in the statement.

It’s not the first time that Card has come under fire for his anti-gay beliefs. In March,DC Comics caused fan furor for choosing Card to contribute to its Adventures of Superman anthology. A petition garnered more than 18,000 signatures, and the illustrator of the series, Chris Sprouse, left the project because of the controversy.

 

 

Jul 11 2013

Orson Scott Card’s antigay views prompt ‘Ender’s Game’ boycott

From the LA Times:

 

'Ender's Game'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.