Wolfgang Petersen to direct movie based on popular novel Ender's Game

http://www.frescopictures.com/movies/ender/endersgame_update.html

Ender's Game Director and Studio
Since Ain't It Cool News is carrying the story, we're certainly not going to deny it here. The director of Ender's Game is Wolfgang Petersen. The studio that is developing it is Warner Brothers. OSC is really happy about both.

The upshot is that all are agreed on a fairly detailed outline of a film that combines Ender's Game and Ender's Shadow in a way that will combine the most important elements of both. Together, the stories make one terrific film.

To fans of the book, OSC offers this reminder: "The movie can't show everything from either book, let alone both. So there will almost certainly be scenes and even plot threads that you cared about which are not present in the film. Fortunately, the books still exist, and so readers will be able to experience those scenes for many years in the future.

"The most important thing for the film, though, is that it be a marvelous movie in its own right, whether you've read the books or not. And I can promise you: If the film we settled on in the past few days' meetings is the film that actually gets made, fans of the books will be very, very happy with it - and so will those who go see the movie without ever having read or even heard of the books."

We will not release details of the film story, however. Not ever. Not nohow. All we'll say is this: Ender is the main character. Bean is also very important and will be a point of view character, too. Both Col. Graff and Mazer Rackham will be major adult roles, and major children's roles will definitely include Petra, Alai, and Bonzo. There will, of course, be many other lesser roles for adults and children.

However, nothing whatsoever will be done about casting or hiring until after the script is finished. The film's release will not be scheduled until the script is fully agreed upon AND the director has finished his next film. So it will certainly be at least two years and more likely three, maybe even four years before the film is released.

Be patient. The longer it takes, the better it's going to be. And in the meantime, we'll try to get some firstrate Ender's Game computer games out on the market so that some of you, at least, can get inside the battle room before the movie is released.


Personally, I am ectstatic about this. Orson Scott Card is one of my favorite authors, and Ender's Game was an excellent book. The movie will actually be based on the novel Ender's Game and Ender's Shadow, which was published much later than the former, but deals with the same basic story, but from a different character's viewpoint. I don't know a great deal about Petersen save for some of the movies he has directed (Perfect Storm, Air Force One, Outbreak, In the Line of Fire), but the fact that OSC is very happy with him makes me happy. I really think this movie could turn out to be an excellent rendition of the novel, partly because it is an excellent story, and partly because before he began writing short stories and novels, Orson Scott Card was a playwright and a director of his own plays, so he knows a little about the visual portion of his own work.

The movie is still 3-4 years away, so I am sure many of you think this is a bit early to be getting excited...but SCREW YOU! I am going to get excited anyway! Ha!

Seriously, it is an excellent book and story.

 

Wow. What a difference an almost-decade makes. I would no longer be excited about any Ender's Game movie (especially one directed by the guy that made freaking WOLVERINE). There is really no good way to make the movie since such a large part of the story is based around very young children acting much older than their age (because they are all full blown or border line geniuses). How many decent to good child actors are you going to find to pull that off?

 

I'm not the type to get all worked up over minor changes from book to film, but what do you want to bet that

Spoiler

they change it up so that the bully back on Earth (Stilson?) and Bonso both LIVE instead of dying upon Ender finally confronting them physically? It will piss me off because their death (well, really only Bonso because he didn't know the bully died) is a huge part of what haunts Ender. I haven't heard anything in this regard I'm just speculating.

Again, I'm not holding out any hope that this movie will be great. Because Wolverine. But if they are going to adapt it into a movie they should do it right.