Wolfgang Petersen Update

Ender's Game director, Wolfgang Petersen, is set to start filming a remake of The Poseidon Adventure for Warner Bros. Pictures starting in June. The movie is set to wrap in November.

Poseidon co-stars nine year old actor, Jimmy Bennett.

Hopefully there will be progress on Ender's Game after Petersen finishes up filming Poseidon.

OSC At Comic Con

Orson Scott Card will be appearing at the San Diego Comic Con on Sunday, July 17th at 2:00-3:00. He'll be discussing his latest novel, Magic Street, and hopefully giving an update on the Ender's Game movie. For more information, visit Comic-con.org.

OSC Q&A

The Charlotte Observer did a Q&A with Orson Scott Card and asked him about the Ender's Game movie:

Q. Last mention of the Ender's Game movie on hatrack.com talks about new writers being hired -- is this for a new script or a new draft of the existing script? Is there any new information beyond what's on hatrack?


A. Every draft with new writers is a new script. This time, at least, they've actually READ my scripts - a nice change. But we post everything on Hatrack.com and Taleswapper.net. Basically, any time something REALLY HAPPENS, we post the information. But since Hollywood is all about nothing ever happening until it all happens in a sudden panic, we don't often have anything new to report.

Another OSC Interview

Orson Scott Card was asked about the Ender's Game movie during an interview with Del Rey posted on http://www.computercrowsnest.com. No real new news, but some fans need to take to heart what Uncle Orson had to say, since there's going to be a lot of us disappointed about what's left out:

Q: Just to shift gears, what can you tell us about the forthcoming Ender's Game movie?

OSC: We’re still working on developing the right script. My screenplay isn’t terribly faithful to the details of the story, but perfectly faithful to the spirit and meaning of the story. But when you have a film that’s going to cost a hundred million to do it properly, you don’t bet it all on an author-written screenplay! Right now David Benioff (Troy) and his writing partner, D.B. Weiss, are working on it, and I have high hopes, because I think Troy was a brilliant adaptation of an impossible-to-adapt story. I’ve heard from people who are irate at what Benioff left out of Troy, but my feeling is, the movie didn’t erase The Iliad, it merely introduced it to a huge audience and brought the visual power of the story to people who had never seen it. The visualization of Achilles was incredibly well done, and I think it is Brad Pitt’s greatest performance.

Okay, the movie Ender’s Game is going to leave things out. So what? It won’t erase the book. If anything, it will draw people to the novel. What I want is for EG to be a great movie first, and an adaptation of my novel only second.

Script Status: Weiss has turned in a draft

Orson Scott Card posted on Hatrack that "D.C. Weiss has since turned in yet another draft. But Hollywood being as it is, don't count on any of these versions actually being what is filmed."

Card to Meet with Petersen to Decide Fate of Ender's Game Movie

According to a scooper for AICN, Orson Scott Card confirmed the rumored expiration date for the deal with Warner Bros for the rights to Ender's Game and Ender's Shadow and said he'd have another meeting with director Wolfgang Petersen to decide if the movie is going to be made at all:

I sat in on an Orson Scott Card lecture this evening at the University of Missouri in Columbia. While he spent most of the lecture speaking on his theory that the stories passed down through generations has shaped our culture - which was interesting, he did manage to talk a lot about the status of the Ender's Game movie.

Apparently the studio option on the book runs out on December 7th and he has, what I would characterize as, a moderate hope that the movie will become a reality. He plans to sit down with Wolfgang Peterson after he squares away the Posideon Adventure and give his latest script idea, which he described as a combination of Ender's Game and Ender's Shadow, one final try. He said that if the deadline comes and goes then he will most likely end the attempt to bring the book to the big screen. Card was hopeful that the combination of the two books will work out the script problems in that the "buddy" movie approach would open up a practical way to reveal Ender's thoughts without any dreaded internal dialouge.

He sincierly seemed commited to coming up with a script that remained faithful to the original material - even if he doesn't write the script personally. Card said that the special effects would be revolutionary, ruling out wires or the Apollo 13 diving airplane technique, and that effects houses are lining up to get involved should the movie recieve the green light.

Ender has not been cast

Orson Scott Card posted today on Hatrack to stop a specific actor (who will remain nameless) from going around the internet claiming he has been cast as Ender:

I hear that there are rumors that a specific actor is being favored or has even been chosen to play Ender Wiggin.

If these rumors are true, then it means I am disastrously out of the loop, since we don't even have a script, the option is about to expire, and no one that I know of has even discussed casting. Who would have made this decision? I can't imagine.

Perhaps what these rumors represent is someone's wishful thinking. Rather the way Henry Kissinger once floated the rumor that someone wanted to amend the constitution to allow him, a naturalized citizen, to become President. Maybe by setting such a rumor loose, they hope it will become true.

But at this point, it most definitely is not true.

WB Extends Option, Card Working On Brand New Script

Orson Scott Card posted on Hatrack about the latest on the Ender's Game Movie:

The option with Warner Bros. was due to expire on 7 December. There was no filmable script - though in fairness to the writers so far, they may well have been following faithfully all that they were actually asked to do - EG is simply a very hard story to put in script form.

At the last minute, a committed Warner exec met with me and we worked out some key decisions. Warner is still strongly committed to making Ender's Game into a great movie, and we agreed to another year or so of option, starting with a new script written by me (a page-one rewrite not based on any previous script, including mine). Guess how I'll be spending my Christmas vacation.

This is very promising, I think. As far as I know, all other elements of the team remain together. I will be working closely with Chartoff Productions (whom I've been working with on this for ten years now) and with the Warner executive to get this script right - emotional, truthful, the kind of film that even people who think they hate sci-fi and war films will like.

It will be faithful to the story, within the limitations of a two-hour form factor. Stuff has to be left out. But what's THERE will be true to the story in the books, even if it isn't word-for-word or point-for-point the same.

No news lately

Unfortunately, there hasn't been any news on the Ender's Game movie lately. Work is probably continuing on the script, and no word on whether or not Warner Bros likes this latest draft.

Wolfgang Petersen's latest film, Poseidon, will be released on May 12th, so hopefully Wolfgang will be asked about E.G. in an interview some time soon.

Next Up for Petersen?

Wolfgang Petersen told Scifi.com that the Ender's Game movie could be his next project:

We're getting the script in a few weeks, and if everything goes fine and that script goes in the right direction, it could indeed be my next one," Petersen said in an interview while promoting his upcoming upside-down cruise ship movie.

Petersen added that he anticipated having to audition at least 1,000 young actors to find the right person to play Card's boy genius, Andrew "Ender" Wiggin, who is in training to defend Earth against an alien invasion in the late 21st century. But Petersen thinks Ender's Game could be as successful as the Harry Potter franchise. "I think Ender's was a little bit of an inspiration for Harry Potter," he said. "It could also be a great 3-D version of Ender's, with all that fighting in the battle stations."

Hopefully Petersen likes Orson Scott Card's latest version of the script and they can finally get the ball rolling!

Pre-Production to Start in September?

According to the April 27, 2006 print edition of Daily Variety, Wolfgang Petersen is eager to get started on pre-production of his next film. The problem is that he's not sure what film that will be, but Ender's Game is one of his options:

Petersen's name has been linked to sci-fi epic "Ender's Game," but the helmer says he's only sure that whatever he does, he'll do it soon. "I had such a great time on 'Poseidon,' I told the people in my office I'm going to do promotion on 'Poseidon,' move into my new house and start pre-production in September. On what? I don't know. We have to look at scripts. We'll do that over the summer."

R-Rated Ender's Game?

Is it possible that Wolfgang Petersen is planning for an r-rated Ender's Game movie? It looks that way, according to MTV.com:

Now that he's done treading water with "Poseidon," director Wolfgang Petersen is turning his attention to "Ender's Game," a passion project he envisions as an R-rated version of one of Hollywood's most successful franchises. "I think 'Harry Potter' was inspired by 'Ender's Game,' " Petersen insisted, citing the 1985 sci-fi novel he's adapting.

Petersen cites "Potter" and the ultraviolent Japanese cult flick "Battle Royale" to give an idea of the tone he's leaning toward. "It's one of the projects at the top of my list of what I want to do next. I've been involved with it for quite a while," Petersen said, crossing his fingers. "We're getting another script for it in a few weeks, and then we'll see what we can do with that." ...

Will Poseidon Impact Ender's Game?

Wolfgang Petersen's Poseidon opened last weekend to a lower than expected .2 Million dollar opening in the US and less-than-stellar reviews. The film, which costs more than 0 million dollars to make, is currently 29% Rotten at RottenTomatoes, which critics blasting the cardboard characters, cheesy dialogue, and un-inspired directing by Petersen.

Warner Bros is the studio behind both films, along with Petersen's last effort, Troy, which made up for it's disappointing US box office results by doing well overseas. Studios frequently reward directors of their successful films by allowing them to make riskier movies. But will that happen with the Ender's Game movie?

Will the failure of a popcorn flick like Poseidon finally send a message to Hollywood that movie goers want more than mindless action and special effects? Or will Ender's Game seem to risky for Warner Bros after costly flop like Poseidon?

Card Finishes Script and Discusses Release Date

Orson Scott Card posted on Hatrack in response to an article about the Ender's Game movie that mentioned the release date being 2008:

Haven't read the article, but if it sets a definite date, then it didn't come from me. There's a possibility of 2008. Depends on how they feel about the script I just finished.

Will OSC Have A Cameo Appearance?

Orson Scott Card was asked on Hatrack whether he would have a cameo appearance in the Ender's Game movie. Here are some of the responses:

OSC: I want to put on a cool costume and be the Hive Queen.

A Rat Named Dog (Geoff Card): I think he should be an officer sitting on the shuttle that takes Bean to Battle School. He should give Bean a contemptuous look, and then return to reading a book.

OSC: By the way, Rat Named Dog was cheating. He's read the script and he KNEW there was such an officer who glances at Bean contemptuously on the shuttle. But until he suggested it, I never thought of that as an Orson-worthy cameo. Now, you can be sure I will. They'll stick me in the film IF my script is used, and that's as good a spot as any.

OSC: If they use my script, then they probably won't mind my hanging around. If they don't, then I'd be an awkward presence on the set.

OSC: Script is being "Tweaked"

OSC gave a minor update about his work on the Ender's Game movie on Hatrack today:

I finished a draft. Tweaking continues. I haven't been fired yet so I'm still part of the process ... we'll see.

What I REALLY just finished was Empire, to be released Nov. 1. My publisher - the editors, the production staff, everybody - are absolutely wonderful to put up with my late delivery on this book.

I'm never late on purpose. In this case, the Ender screenplay kept me from really starting till late

Wolfgang Petersen has said he plans to start pre-production on his next film in September, and he would be spending the summer deciding what would be his next project. So, it starting to get down to crunch time for Ender's Game...

(FYI, Empire is a non-Enderverse sci-fi novel about a not-so-distant second American Civil War that will be published in November.)

OSC comments on some changes from the novel (Potential Spoilers)

On Hatrack, OSC briefly mentioned that he's considering writing a new version of EG, and a change he's had to make for the sake of it being a movie:

Ender's Game, while at the moment it is still my most popular, is not my best novel. I've learned a few things since writing it . Indeed, after working on the screenplay, I'm soooooo tempted to create a completely new version of Ender's Game that includes some of the really cool stuff that I've come up with for the film script. (While still not be a movie novelization - for instance, I still like having Ender meet the hive queen on another planet, not on the asteroid Eros, but for the film there's just no way.)

The Latest News

It's October, and there was hope that Ender fans would have some news on the movie by now. Director Wolfgang Petersen had said back in May that he had hoped to start work on his next project by September. Petersen hasn't announced that he's starting work on his next project yet, so at least there's hope that it will be the EG movie.

On Philotic there's word that Orson Scott Card is working on a second draft to his latest script. At least the Ender's Game movie is still a high priority at Warner Bros. But if WB doesn't like this draft of the script, they'll call in more scriptdoctors.

Hopefully there will be more substancial news soon.

Movie Update From OSC

Orson Scott Card spoke to IGN Movies and gave them the latest on the Ender's Game movie. Unfortunately, it's not good news since it's doesn't seem like the movie will be coming out any time soon. On the other hand, perhaps it is best that the film not be made until it's going to be done correctly.

Ender's Game is currently in "turnaround" at Warner Bros, meaning WB is not going to be doing the film and the rights may be sold to another studio.

Here are the highlights:

Card advised us that Ender's Game has been put into turnaround at Warner Bros., a move that the author said was "a good thing" for the filmmakers since it allows them to shop the project to other studios. He also suggested that the producers behind Ender's Game -- Chartoff Productions and Fresco Pictures -- may try to raise funding independently.

Card said he is now the sole screenwriter on the project, disclosing that he was pulled away from his Iron Man comic book project to work on the Ender's script.

He emphasized that until financing is in place no director can be hired.

He added that there are several "excellent" special effects houses willing to work on the film because they know the book.

Petersen Still Wants to Direct Ender's Game

Despite all of the problems facing the Ender's Game movie, Wolfgang Petersen is still interesting in directing it and told IGN that he believes that the movie will be made.

Last spring, Warner Bros placed the film into turnaround, essentially giving up on the project. Orson Scott Card said that he and the producers were shopping the script to other studios and that a director could not be hired until the financing had been arranged.

But now it looks like Petersen is still involved in the project.

He told IGN that he is working on developing three films, including Ender's Game, and that he had met with Orson Scott Card recently about it. He called it "a very, very tricky adaptation and an incredibly fascinating concept" and believes that he will some day make the film.