Genre: Science Fiction.
Studio:
Unknown.
Production Company:
Fresco Pictures.
Project Phase: Script Stage.
Who's In It:
Unknown.
Who's Making It:
Robert Chartoff (Producer); Orson Scott Card (Screenwriter).
Based upon the Hugo award winning novel Ender's Game by Orson
Scott Card.
Premise: A young man is raised playing a 'game'. If he loses, Mankind may be eradicated. If he wins, Mankind may be the eradicators.
Release Date: Unknown.
Comments: Card's work on the Ender's series is well-known amongst science fiction readers. In addition to his novels, Card also wrote the novelization of James Cameron's The Abyss. Cameron felt that the majority of novelizations for science fiction films simply existed for the die-hard fans of the film. This time, the director wanted the novelization of his film to actually be able to stand alone on its own merits. For this reason he chose Card to write the book, and gave the writer room enough to flesh-out the backstories of the main characters, as well as add new material and expand upon the NTIs reasons for being at the bottom of the ocean. If you wanted to understand more about the film, the book's worth a hunting trip down to your local library.
Rumors: Unknown.
Scoop Feedback:
November 18, 1996... A scooper tells CA that back in 1995 a U.S. Midwestern comic book store owner tried to purchase the film rights to Card's novel. The store owner, presumably a fan of the book, was not successful in his attempt: apparently, someone had secured the rights a week or two earlier. [Scoop sent in by the enigmatic 'Onionhead'.]
November 19, 1996... A fan of the book, 'Sleeper' heard that producer Robert Chartoff (producer of The Right Stuff and Rocky, to name two of his credits) is developing the property. "If this movie & its sequels are done right (& it seems Card's been holding out on film rights 'til he could do a good job himself) it'll make the Star Wars saga look comic-book in comparison," the scooper claims. [Scoop info generously supplied by 'Sleeper'.]
January 1, 1997... Orson Scott Card, the author of the popular science fiction novel Ender's Game, told viewers on a Sci Fi Network television program that he had approved the screenplay for the upcoming movie version. Card didn't give any other details besides mentioning that only recently has special effects technology reached the point to be able to handle the requirements for his story. [Scoop sent in by 'Tarkus'.]
January 18, 1997... At a University of Delaware talk last week, Card told fans that as of now, he was rewriting the screenplay for the future Ender's Game film. Card was very excited about getting this project started, but he wants the script to be "just right before they move ahead." [Scoop filed by 'illusion'.]
January 21, 1997... A fellow who has a friend who met Card at a writer's workshop and "stayed in touch" with him has heard some of the trials and tribulations Card has undergone to get the project developed. "He's been claiming for at least two years that Card is excited about developing the Ender saga for film, and that the author has been quietly passing a treament around to 'reputable' filmmakers, unwilling to let it fall into the hands of some hack who'd just botch it up," the scooper says. [Scoop sent in by 'bubblehead'.]
July 21, 1997... We've asked Fresco Pictures for permission to post a link to the portion of the Ender's Game screenplay that appears on their site, as well as a request for additional information about the status of the project. Sean Kennelly, the Chairman of Development for Fresco Pictures, replied to our email; he's working to see if we can present that information on here A.S.A.P.
August 5, 1997... Sean Kennelly, the Chairman of Development at Fresco Pictures has graciously allowed us permission to link and post material from the Fresco site for our readers to see (there is now a direct link to Fresco's site at the bottom of this page.) We've also added a direct link to the screenplay excerpt featured on Fresco's site after receiving permission from Orson Scott Card to do so (hey, there's this funny thing called 'copyright' out there.) Check out their site; it's refreshing to see such a level of information provided by the film development company posted solely for interested readers and fans of the series. Other studios and production companies, please take note.
[The contact to Fresco Pictures could not have been possible had it been not for these individuals who provided scoops about the existence of the site: 'magic', 'datre', Anthony N. Evans, 'G 33', Mike Barklage, 'rportas', Rajeeva, and an anonymous individual - but especially to the patient David Reynolds.]
One scooper who spoke to Card at a convention learned that a new Ender book should appear around the time of the hoped-for movie. Working title: Mazer Rackam. [Submitted by 'kat'.]
Another scooper recalls a Daily Variety from June 1996 article that mentioned Card was being paid $1.5 million to write the screenplay for Ender's Game. Incidentally, it was mentioned Chartoff subsequently hold the rights to all of Card's 30+ novels/story collections. [Filed by 'Old News Dep't'.]
Collected thoughts taken from those who've read Card's opening pages of the screenplay:
"The movie actually begins during the first human/bugger war; shedding some light on why children, such as Ender, are being trained for space battle. I think Card's revelations of the events leading up to Ender's participation in battle school are an excellent idea for setting up the movie." [Sent in by 'G 33'.]
"...in case you were wondering how they were going to handle the age span of Ender (during the course of the book he goes from age 6-10), they say that they will either condense the story to take place in a year, which I personally think would be a travesty; or they may use a 'young Ender' and then an eleven-ish actor. Card is appearantly very excited about finally having the special effects to make the film work." [Sent in by 'Lenoir16'.]
August 9, 1997... 'Lenoir16's' scoop mentioned that Ender's age in Card's book was between 6 to 10 years of age. As this scooper would like to clairfy, Ender is actually three years old at the beginning of the book and twelve when it ends. "I know this is not crucial, but details are details," the scooper adds...and they're right. [Sent in by 'tcns'.]
November 22, 1997... Last Thursday one of CA's readers bumped into Orson Scott Card and had the chance to ask him how the movie was proceeding. Card told the scooper he had been been devoting a lot of time towards the project: the screenplay is complete, and now it's time to work up the film's budget and scout for a director.
For the budget, Card mentioned a figure of $60 million, but that's more of a estimate rather than a bottom line decision. For the director, the scooper said Card wanted "...someone like a Penny Marshall, who knows how to deal with children."
There's definately only one Ender seen in the present script. At one point there was a plan to utilize two actors, but that would've forced the casting and shooting of young Ender scenes with too many other child actors to be cost effective for the rest of the film's special effects budget. As a result, the story's been compressed into a year of Ender's life, and the audience would be made aware that Ender's "not just playing games" right from the start.
Finally, the film's CGI sequences. Card talked about the ideas he's had for the Battle Room. "It sounds like the plan is for the Battle Room, and its inhabitants, to be *entirely* CGI. The actors' faces would be 'pasted on' to CGI models that could perform all the complicated 3D combat that takes place in the book," the scooper said. "All in all, seems like a promising film, and Card is taking a very hands-on approach...I know we've heard this before, but it appears he really does wants it done *right*." [Thanks to 'Grond' for playing our own game.]
August 4, 1998... Card has now removed the script excerpt from his Ender's Game screenplay from the 'net, citing too much "constructive criticism" from fans. Our scooper also had this to share with us:
"Someone who claims to have read the script told me that a large part of the 'Giant's Drink' episode in the book had been scrapped, and Ender's hallucinations instead being set in the playground where he fought Stilson. A large part of the Valentine/Peter interludes have also been scrapped. The conclusion, in which Ender meets the Alien Queen, has been extended and is more detailed."
[Thanks to 'Locke' for the update.]
Related Sites:
Fresco Pictures - The independent film company that is developing the forthcoming Ender's Game film. On here you'll be able to find the latest news about the picture.
Orson Scottr Card's Webpage - Maintained by the author. Provides a wealth of information about Card's works, his involvement with Fresco Pictures, writer's groups and allows the opportunity for readers to contact the author.
Acknowledgements:
[Special thanks goes out to Sean Kennelly at Fresco Pictures for all his help, and to Orson Scott Card for being cool enough to post part of his work on-line for his fans to enjoy...for at least a little while.]
|
Copyrights and trademarks for the film and related entertainment properties mentioned
herein are held by their respective owners and are used with
permission or solely for the promotional purposes of said properties.
All other text and images copyright © 1995-98 Corona Productions. Last updated: Wednesday, 05-Aug-1998 00:35:29 PDT. webmaster@corona.bc.ca |