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Ron Howard, perfect for ENDER'S GAME' I think so
Hey folks, Harry here… and what a weekend here in Burbank at LOSCON!!! Add to that the incredible box office weekend that has executives all delighted… and I’d say… Good times are there to be had.
When I signed on and saw the amazing success of HOW THE GRINCH STOLE CHRISTMAS… and as I sat on a panel on science fiction films with Orson Scott Card…. I realized something very simple. RON HOWARD needs to meet ORSON SCOTT CARD…. And together, they need to make ENDER’S GAME.
Ron has a smaller film coming up as his next directorial project… However, Ron has just experienced with THE GRINCH and this foray into extremely expensive fantasy filmmaking… his greatest monetary success.
However, the critics that are inevitably making him feel like the film was less than the box office would indicate… There are some reasons…
First off, THE GRINCH was at its heart a 30 minute story stretched into over an hour and a half. Two, with Seuss departed… there was the feeling as though the property was being abused against his will… even though his wife seems to love the resulting film. And lastly, while I had fun with the film and like it… there wasn’t all that much there besides visuals and Carrey…
With ENDER’S GAME not only does he have the chance to make his first epic science fiction film.. and it is literally the perfect Ron Howard project to move forward on.
The source material is generally considered one of the top ten best science fiction novels out there. It involves a very youthful Ender… a boy genius, raised to be the very best at what it is he does.
I’ve read ENDER’S GAME, the novel, and it is captivating and thrilling… and very much the type of science fiction capable of blowing people away at a theater…while also giving them something to chew on… to think about. Now, I haven’t read Orson Scott Card’s script for ENDER’S GAME… But I know that the last thing I would want to do is read… COVERAGE of it. Ron… You are literally on top of the world right now and looking for the next BIG ONE… I’d take a look. Orson is in town. There is a reason why he’s worked with James Cameron, Spielberg and Lucas’ folks in the past…
ENDER’S GAME is a great story and book first, and great science-fiction at the same time. It hinges on a director being able to work PERFECTLY with children, complex effects and emotionally powerful material.
Besides the material, having met both of these guys, they’re suited for one another. Extremely family conscious, very American and both consummate storytellers.
Now, Spielberg is doing a science fiction telling of Pinocchio which could very well turn out to be very cool. But at its essence we have seen the basic story. Amazingly, with ENDER’S GAME this isn’t another story being told to us yet again. Well… eventually it’ll be made… folks like Chris Columbus, Spielberg or M Night… they’ll take a look at this, but right now Ron could do wonders with this… At least I think so…
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if it's anywhere as awe inspiring as the colaberation between Card and Camron during the Abyss's Novel then it ought to be a epic beyond compare.
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Nov 27, 2000 3:12:21 AM CST
Harry's Two Line The Grinch Negative Review & Orson Scott Card i
by pitchmaster
Agreed, Enders Game is some great material for a director like Howard. Love to see such a movie.
Ron Howard was profiled on the UK's South Bank Show last night, looking over his career, his life etc, great hearing his thoughts, even though it sounds like he's lived a bit of a cloistered Hollywood life, he says he didn't go to Woodstock and do drugs and dress like a dag-ridden hippie because in those days not doing all that was a way of being different and individual!
Watch this retro of his career, it really is amazing just how many great and good films Howard has done, shit from Splash to Parenthood to Apollo 13, from Cocoon to Backdraft to Ransom, he might be a tad hokey here and there, capturing the same American life-fantasy 'realism' that infected his Opie and Cunningham worlds, but it can't all be doom and gloom, right? Oh yeah, nice Grinch review Harry. Two lines? Is that what you do now when you don't like a movie but you've been invited to the set? No review, just a casual passing-of-the-buck, you know that's why the studios introduce you to these directors, right? So when it comes time to tell the truth about a film that doesn't measure up, you will remember the nice director and the nice crew and all the nice studio people and think 'hmmm, you know, I don't need to slag this, I'll just ignore it instead'. By the way, Harry, why have you cut back the lengthy intros of your film reviews, I use to hate them, but now they're not there, I miss them! Weird... -
Ron Howard movies suck...Occassionally, he tells a story that's interesting enough to overcome the fact that he has no soul (such as "Apollo 13"), but the guy just has no vision. "Grinch" was a very pretty but extremely boring 2 hours of nonsense...
"Ender's Game" is a great story, which could be a great movie. Why not let a GOOD director have a crack at this?
And, like that, I'm gone... -
I was just thinking about "Ender's Game" this afternoon, for about the first time in months. I was watching my newest acquisition, the two dvd set of "Gladiator," and was reminded of "Ender's Game" almost immediately. The steadily increasing challenges that Ender faces in the game room are almost exactly the same as what Maximus goes through...and they both win time after time because of their incredible ability and the ability to lead others. Anyway, while I'm fairly ambivalent about Ron Howard (Liked "Ransom" and "Apollo 13" and didn't like "The Grinch" or "Backdraft", for instance), I'd kill to see this book get the royal treatment. This book is not an epic like "Dune" or "The Forever War," but a fairly tight character piece that could be adapted into a movie fairly easily. The only real problem would be finding strong child actors to fill the parts. Just as long as they keep that donkey raping shit eating hack Chris Columbus away from the film, I'll be happy (you guys curse other directors all you want, but Columbus gets my vote for most dangerously untalented director out there right now...because they keep giving him good properties to rape and gut). -Loki
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Nov 27, 2000 3:17:56 AM CST
Orson Scott Card and Ron Howard would make a good team but.....
by darth ranik
Ender's Game could become one of the great movies of all time. It is already one of the great sci-fi novels of all time. The material to start with is so awsome that it's almost scary. This film could even make a non-sci-fi loving individual sit up and take notice. Cards stories reach right out and grab you. Their based on human emotions and feelings and how people interact with each other. This could be a film that transcends boundaries. I think, however it is probably doomed to be fucked up by the Hollywood establishment. Enders Game would be rated R if the tone of the book was translated correctly, which I don't think a studio would dig too much. It is a pretty gritty book really. A fairly stark and violent look at life amoung the young, ruthless and genious kids of the program. I'm not sure how Ron would handle this. Another thing that scares me a bit is that Card seems to think that Jake Loyd is the next best thing since sliced bread and wants him to be Ender in a big way. Frankly I just don't see this project ending up doing justice to the novel. Fincher....now he might be able to pull it off....ahhhh....hhmmmm......we can dream.....
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The Grinch look's like a rip off of Tim Burton's trademark visual style; it stroungly compares to 'A Nightmare Before Christmas' but without the darkness that make's Burton's style so intresting.It's look's a bit crap in other word's.
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Ender's Game will never be made due to simple fact that Kurt Russell/Paul Anderson's "Soldier" tanked...straight to video in the UK if I am not mistaken? Besides...you do know that Scott-Card wants Jake Lloyd for the role don't you??
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That's nuts. Ender's Game is a one trick pony. No one wants to see a smug story like that blown up on the big screen. While it makes a decent book, the basic storyline is just the first half of Starship Troopers (the book) without the political content. Ron Howard messed up the Grinch and will remove any kind of heart from any project he touches. If you like this book, pray for a more sensitive director. (May Lou Who...Grrrr)
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Nov 27, 2000 6:39:17 AM CST
Happy Days: The Movie, now there's something I'd pay to see
by kyle.reese
The Fonze's jacket goes missing and there's a hunt to find it. At the end there could be a motorcycle stunt outside Al's diner. How cool is that.
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I saw "Grinch" and was appalled at how awful it was. Third-hand Tim Burton with a whole host of utterly non-Seussical embellishments (like the wife-swapping bit?!) and some of the most porcine acting imaginable. Not one of the kids in that audience enjoyed it. I'm losing faith in his talent.
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1) Ender's Game is a great book for children and adolescents because it doesn't trivialize or (more importantly for a film director) over-dramatize their struggles. It should be made.
2) With all due respect to Ron Howard, he's not the guy. I can't put my finger on why at the moment, it just doesn't resonate.
3) Possibilities: Could John Hughes pull off a drama like this? What's Peter Hyams doing these days? Schedules aside, this isn't one for the Fanboy Top 10 (Fincher, Scott, etc.). This is the type of movie that would be perfect for Cameron if he hadn't made a movie in 15 years. What's that mean? Somebody who isn't carrying so much baggage from recent projects that it flavors the new film. As usual, the point is just don't slap it together.
Dwarf out. -
After seeing 'Contact' which I thought was the best true science fiction movie since 2001 I was convinced Zemeckis could do it.
Enders Game is my all time favourite book and I strongly recommend that everyone reads it! I have got people who hate science fiction to read it and they invariably loved it! -
He has the first couple pages of the script online, it isn't that bad aside from removing the Stilson incedent Card made some smart decisions. The kids are about twice the age as in the book. The only problem is that Card wanted Jake Lloyd to be Ender (this was is before Episode one) but hopefuly Card saw that he wouldn't be a good choice.
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Or reduce it, whichever. To let Opie- purveyor of technically proficient, hollow, soulless Hollywood crap- loose on Ender's Game would be a travesty beyond all comprehension. Why don't you just shoot me in the head instead? Trust me, I'd enjoy it a lot more. Why not give him a David Eddings book or something instead? That's far more in Opie's league. Just not Ender's Game. Please no. Now let's never speak of this abomination of an idea again.
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As a novelist himself, he will be less anxious to deviate from the source materials, the brilliant novel and and even better short story. He has extensive experience with the sci-fi genre, which is the kind of director you need here. He will cast an Ender with the man-boy qualities needed. He has just as much imagination as the other directors mentioned, if not more. Plus, he'd be cheaper. I just read his autobiographical book Travels, and I think that based on that insight to the man, and what I know of the "Ender" story, Crichton would be the perfect director for the job.
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I love Ron Howard's films. But he is not the man for Ender's Game. The book is great. But it is not a happy family film. Its Lord of the Flies in space, for the most part. It is a psychological story with a sci-fi background. Hmmm. Who has been doing that recently and has worked with the best child actor in hollywood? M. Night Shymalan. Haley Joel Osmet. Put those two together, and you give the studio the comfy feeling it needs to greenlight the project. They know it will make money. And then let the two of them work their magic. The character of Ender is intense. I don't think there is another actor who can portray him correctly. And if another director tries to make this film, it will be mainly a sci-fi movie. If we can't get this combination, then let it not be made. Please.
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Ron Howard doesn't have enough of an edge to tackle the few scenes of brutal violence that are in Ender's Game. I know some Howard purists would say that the finale of 'Ransom' was pretty gruesome for a Opie flick but it's still not enough. The thing that makes Ender's Game the masterpiece it is, is it's bold depiction of violence and it's tragic aftermath (which 'Speaker of the Dead' examines more intimately). You need a director that's going to mercilessly slap the shit out of the audience. I don't know, I got a feeling that Ron Howard would curb the violent scenes because they involve children and that would rip out the heart of the story.
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Nov 27, 2000 8:42:53 AM CST
I can think of at least a dozen directors I'd choose before Ron
by smilin'jack ruby
"Ender's Game" is a great book that started a great series. I, frankly, don't believe that Ron Howard has the scope to make a decent movie out of it because he just doesn't have the vision. After seeing "The Grinch" and wishing that a really great director had made that movie into a truly great flick rather than Howard's hackneyed version that mutilated the Dr. Seuss tale (it seems that the filmmakers didn't understand the message Geisel was going for and if they can't even understand Dr. Seuss, then how the hell are they going to understand Orson Scott Card?). I'm sorry, but Ron Howard just is a couple of steps below the truly imaginative directors of the day. But, because "Grinch" made a ton at the box office, I'm sure whoever has the "Ender's Game" property will hand it right over to the golden boy if he is nosing closer to it.
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Nov 27, 2000 9:07:46 AM CST
Brian Singer would make a better director for this than Howard
by cooler-than-thou
After watching The Usual Suspects, Apt Pupil & X-Men I think that Brian Singer would be perfect. He wouldn't do a bullshit, go-for-broke sci-fi film that disposes the story for special effects. He would translate the tale of 'The Third' to the big screen and he would do it with unblinking eyes. 'Ender's Game' isn't some PG rated film.
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Yeah. What have I been thinking? YOU guys know.
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[tiny spoilers]
The sci-fi element is merely backdrop; the book could easily be re-written for any time period. The elements that make it arresting are those pertaining to the interplay of Ender with his family, and with the vast machine set in place to mill him into the form they desire. Adequately fronting these personal considerations over the flash-bang gee-whiz sci-fi elements is the exact sort of task Howard has shown over and over that he cannot accomplish. 'Hollow' has been used over and over to describe his films, and it is fitting. If you hollow out the core of Ender's Game, you have nothing at all. -
I'm sorry, but Apollo 13 was one of the most overrated movies I have ever seen. I'm sure everybody had a blast making it, but I thought it was poorly acted and boring as hell. Ransom was a complete waste of everyone's time, and 'Backdraft' had neat explosions and that's it. The Grinch looks about as ugly as Batman Forever and I can't imagine spending money on a story that simply can't be improved on. It seems like a crass cash- in to repent to the studios for EDTV. Ron Howard, while I admire his passion and earnestness, simply hasn't made an entertaining or interesting movie since 'Parenthood', 'Cocoon', and 'Splash', and those were only good in an Ed Wood kind of way.
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.. and I was thinking about the possibility of a movie. It's a tricky adaption -- how much do you tell the audience, and when, about what's really going on in the bugger war? If you leave them in the dark for too long, it diminishes the impact of what the children are doing, and it would be too sudden a turn for a movie unless properly built up. How much of Peter and Valentine do you include? How much of Graff and the other adults? How do you build a movie entirely around children, and not be categorized as a children's movie (which it is decidedly not). Tricky stuff. Then, I came here and read this, and I'm on my knees: PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE DON'T LET OPIE NEAR THIS ONE!!!!! PLEASE!!!!! We need this directed with seriousness, and intelligence. It should be a tense movie, not a heart-warming one. Even (I see geek-gasms from this one) M Night Shamalyan would be better for this one. Yes, I've been bashing him, but he's great with kids and has incredible style. Or someone else who can handle the action sequences along with the emotional weight. Just please, please, NOT Ron Howard. Please.
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I don't think that 'Ender's Game' could ever be adequately translated to the screen by anyone, at least not at this point in time. Sure, Orson Scott Card seems smart enough seek heavy involvement in the project, but we all know that any self-respecting Hollywood director would water down the story and soften the 'hard edges', leaving something that doesn't ring as truly or affect us as strongly as the book. Sure, Howard can work with children, but 'Ender's Game' is a very adult story at heart. Any mainstream movie adaptation of the novel will almost certainly fail for these reasons, and only a truly daring and ambitious director could even think of pulling it off.
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Not one of you has mentioned the last really good pure SF film to be a critical success. That was Gattaca. Andrew Niccol and a superb production crew pulled off a true science fiction film that had very few effects and was essentially a long build up, which is what Enders Game is (except with a twist). Instead of bandying about big budget directors who would be hard pressed to make Enders Game into a happy kids movie (let the tears flow), why not make it for adults as it was intended?
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Ingredients:
One (1) book with complex, adult themes and frank depictions of violence and cruelty. One (1) feel-good, family-friendly director (let's call him Ron). Add a healthy dose of MPAA and Wichita Test Screeners, and 'voila'!, you have a bland, timid, pg-13 piece of crap. -
Ender's Game was a great read. The best part of it was the ending! A real great twist ending. But, see...that's the problem with making a movie out of a book, expecially a very popular one. Everyone knows what's going to happen, so where's the tension? Still, I suppose us dorks are more informed than John Q. Public. Anyway, I disagree with the naysayers. Howard could do it...(or perhaps produce it and get someone like Hanks to direct) and he even has some experience filming in zero gravity. That does bring up another point, by the way... There's got to be laws against filming kids on the Vomit Comet, so...what? Extensive CGI and wirework? What a nightmare production for a movie not really focusing on its inherently high-concept surroundings. It'd be just like Bicentennial Man...basic human drama, but with $100 million worth of backdrops and costumes. Damn, but I wish Harry could program breaks to be allowed in this text field...these big-ass paragraphs get skimmed over every time. Is anyone actually reading all this? And should I have sworn more?
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I just want SOMEONE to make the damn film. I'd imagine that any of the names you've all been kicking around would do a competent job...
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Um, Harry - you're Delusional.
Howard sucks. He's just the type who'd allow a crappy child actor like Jake Lloyd into the role, and I've got this nagging feeling that young Mr. Lloyd has been shielded from TPM criticism.
As for 'the kid was fine' comments - No, the kid was not fine in TPM.
He sucked.
See 6th sense or Unbreakable and THEN tell me how good Lloyd was.
He was allowed to be as annoying as Jar-Jar. -
I've been reading AICN for months now but only the utter travesty of what Opie has done to the Grinch has made me angry enough to spout off. Harry what exactly does Ron's ass taste like? You've been kissing it so passionately for the last six months I figured you must know.And when are you going to end this charade that you're an autonomous critic when it's blindingly clear you've become a studio mouthpiece. Howard's probably a really nice guy, loves his wife and kids, goes to church,doesn't keep reminding Clint about all the money he has and honestly doesn't have a clue that his films are mechanical and souless. And because the Grinch is so ass backards Seuss must be spinning so fast that if you wired his coffin he could power all of North America for the next century. Has any one seen the Visa commercial!!! Tell me Opie has a soul after that one.
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Jake Lloyd is one hardcore mutha fucka. You all saw Episode I. Who else could deliver those smooth lines of dialogue? ..."Are you an angel?" and "Yippeee!", fuck Mr. "I see dead people". Jake "Sandstorms are very, very dangerous." Lloyd ownz Haley Joel "I'm a tool" Osment.
Oh yeah and Splash was Ronald Howard at his best. -
You know, I saw Card at a book signing when "Ender's Shadow" came out and he said the following things:
They were hoping to have a director by Christmas (1999).
He saw Jake Lloyd act, and then said to us, "you didn't see him act in Episode I."
He asked people not to tell him that Haley Joel Osment was the perfect choice for Ender because "The Sixth Sense" meant that he'd never be able to get his book "Lost Boys" into a movie.
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Nov 27, 2000 1:41:06 PM CST
One word why Ron Howard shouldn't direct ANYTHING ever again...
by wesreviews
RANSOM. A completely pathetic excuse for a "thriller."
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Anyone notice how Harry just "likes" the Grinch now? Why was it so amazing before and no just a collection of sets and Jim Carrey bits?
If you are going to make an epic fantasy moive, make a movie from "The Golden Compass", by Philip Pullman. The HIS DARK MATERIALS trilogy is one of the better reads I've ever gone through...and accessible to the whole family (although the anti religion elements pretty much insure it won't get made..) -
I doubt that any American director would be able to do the movie justice within the Hollywood machine. I think in some ways M. Knight would be a good choice, because it has a) a great child role (which he has proven at least twice that he is gifted at wringing out honest and powerful child performances) and b) a great twist ending. But I think he likes Philly too much to move into space just yet. Singer would also be a good choice, as I feel he would remain true to the source material as he translates it for the screen (as he did with Apt Pupil and X-Men, which captured the essence, if not the actual look and feel, of the source material). But I don't think Hollywood, with McCain and his McCarthy-esque cronies would stand for a movie that showed children committing violence towards children in a school setting. And if you think that Washington is done with harrassing the movie biz, well, don't hold your breath. It ain't over yet. I think the best way to do this novel justice would be to let it be done outside the US. Foreign films have often done a much better job of capturing childhood experience honestly and the brutality need not be sacrificed. Give it to the brits or french or some Ang Lee or someone with taste to do this film the way it should be US directors need not apply.
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His Dark Materials was excellent! Have you read The Amber Spyglass yet? Those books are far too complex to be made into a movie. Not to mention the whole "Paradise Lost" angle would be too tricky and easily mucked up. Some things should stay books.. "Ender's Game" is more cinematic in its execution and would make a good movie. MAYBE an animated film of just The Golden Compass, if done by someone as talented as Miyazaki, would be good enough. While we're naming books, "The Demolished Man" could also be a good choice, although you couldn't play around with telepathy and rhyme the way Bester could in the novel.
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Not Ron Howard. No. Get a *good* director.
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Nov 27, 2000 3:28:38 PM CST
I DON'T THINK SO - RON HOWARD IS TOO MUCH OF A "FAMILY" DIRECTOR
by timmer33
... the future. Children raised to fuel the "killer" instinct. There are some scenes in the book - critical scenes, that couldn't be dumbed down - that I don't feel Howard would do. The scene with Bonzo, for instance. Or Stilson. Harry's right - this is a top ten sci fi novel, in fact, it's probably TOP 2, next to GATEWAY. But I think Howard is too "soft" for this. Card should be pursuing someone with an EDGE, like Alex Proyas, Shyamalan, or Rob Bowman. I think I understand why Harry is recommending Ron Howard for this. With his clout, Howard could finally get this project moving. I don't think Card is having much luck getting it going (suprisingly enough). This is one hell of a novel though, and I'd love to see the movie. Maybe sometime ...
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I just read the talkbacks below. There are some interesting directors listed. Michael Crichton is the most interesting choice. He did Runaway and Westworld (?). I think he'd be a good choice, being a novelist himself. Here is my list of the top choices: 5. Michael Crichton. 4. Bryan Singer. 3. David Fincher. 2. Alex Proyas. 1. Rob Bowman.
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Ever since I first read Ender's Game, I've felt near to Ender. It's like he is the little brother that I never had. A misunderstood child who's temper breaks sometimes.
Ender's Game has been one of the most important books that I have ever read in my life. You can't let Ron Howard, a washed up actor, ruin this for me!
The Grinch is already being said to be another "big budget bomb" like numerous other films in the past couple of years. And now, someone wants Ron Howard to direct Ender's Game???? NOOOO! This can't happen!!!!
There are only a few people worthy of this job. I like the idea that someone had of Zumeckis directing this film. He's a talented director, and I think his input would be great.
What about Peter Jackson? Think about Heavenly Creatures!!!! Jackson would be great for this job! There was always an underlying black humor in Ender's Game, and who better to bring that out, along with the demoralization of Ender!
Last, what about the greatest SF director of all time? Ridley Scott! This man would be perfect for this job!!!! I think that his dark shots would be perfect. Ender's Game is somewhat of a film noir. I think that Scott could really do a good job.
Too bad Stanley Kubrick is dead.......... -
"ender's game" is a ****ing ridiculous title for anything. I can just hear 'the voice' now, "ooh, ender's game".
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Loved Enders and have been waiting patiently for the movie. While I like Opie, I think the M Night suggestion is a great one. Meanwhile, went to LosCon this weekend esp. to see OSC, and I hoped he'd talk about Ender. He didn't much, but talked about a different movie he's working on - did a whole panel on it with the director and I think the producer too. He said it's based on a story he wrote called Dogwalker, and it's being done as an indie. Haven't read (or heard of) the story - now I want to read it!
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Card didn't exactly set out to make a profound statement about politics or childhood when he wrote the book. Don't get me wrong i think Ender's Game is a great book (don't know whether it's in the top 10 greats though) but when Card set out to write it his original idea was just battle school and the battle room. He taked on the rest to flesh it out but the battle room is at the heart of the book. Card has said so himself. I also have difficulty with some of the thinngs in it (lets face it 9 year old children do not act like they do in this book and the whole plotline about his brother and sister becomming great political voices using a bullitin board, please). I also think that Howard would not be right for this. As has been stated many times above this is a very dark book with some brutal acts of violence (a kid killing another kid with his bare hands) and adult themes. It should not be directed by a family oriented director (and Ransom doesn't count as it was terrible). Well thats my rant over with except to say that the sci-fi book that really needs to be adapted is The Forever War (and no it's not just a ripoff of Starship Troopers). Actually my dream adaption would be Hyperion and The Fall of Hyperion by Dan Simmons. Utter genius.
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Can't believe you've read them. You're right...too complex, too wonderful to think about letting hollywood get its hands on them. I quake in fear at the idea of Columbus' Harry Potter movie.
Who wrote the demolished man? I'll check it out. Incidentally, with all the talk about comics in these talkbalks lately, you should all check out Michael Chabon's "The Amazing Adventures of Cavelier and Clay", out in hardback now. The writer of Wonder Boys has written an epic about Creation in a time of oppression and the value of dreams and heroes by using comic books and their industry as his backdrop. It's a gorgeous work and well worth your time. -
Willow, directed by Ron Howard, is a kick-ass sci-fi fantasy! It really is a lot different than any of his work and it is his best I think. The Grinch was entertaining but it was all because of Carrey. The direction by Howard sucked ass. He has no business doing a movie like that or Ender's Game. I applaud the person who mentioned Andrew Niccol's name because I think he is perfect for this, maybe not mainstream enough, but he would make the best film.
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There's Harry Knowles. We're on the panel together. What luck! I'll cozy up to Knowles, be cool at first then bring up ENDER'S GAME as a movie. People listen to Harry (okay, not anybody that can actually get a film made, but you never know). What I need is a hot director interested. Read in VARIETY that THE GRINCH is numero uno so it's gotta be Opie Cunningham. He can get my movie made. I'll bring it up to Harry. It'd be sooo cool if Howard directed it because he was sort of George Lucas' protege and you know that bearded fuck read my book and stole the whole Anakin character from ENDER. Shit! That little wooden actor should have been playing my character. With my luck, they'll get that little porker from THE KID. Lipnicki could do it, if the rest of him would hurry up and grow enough to catch up with his head ... I'm hungry...If I could have sex with any woman I wanted, I wonder who I'd pick... Oh, better pay attention. Harry just said something funny. I gotta laugh my ass off like I was listening and say something. Now's my chance...
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if they are ever going to make this movie - which is by the way the one movie ive been waiting practically my whole life to get made - they really should think about doing the whole series, or at the very least Speaker for the Dead as well. that way, if ender's game ends up being too hollywood - which it inevitably will and maybe should be, there will be a much more honest and introspective movie to follow it. the main problem as i see it is that i dont care what amazing kid you pick - he just will not be ender. he wont be able to carry it off all the way. so youve got to make the movie ender's game into something just kickass and very much hollywood, but hollywood at its best. personally, i think ridley scott should do ender's game and then have michael mann or anthony minghella do speaker for the dead.
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Ender's Game was a very good book. As far as a movie goes, no, just no. No one out there is competent enough to completely do the job right. Howard wouldnt do a good job, and these other people you mention, i doubt they could too, ( and to clarify something earlier written, Willow was a FANTASY, it didnt have jack shit to do with sci-fi) no offense to the directors but i dont think there is a good way adapt this to a movie without changing the story around a bit. Look at Starship Troopers, where the hell were the armored suits in that, there werent, that one thing that made the book really good. The movie would also be really really long like Braveheart or so because it has so much in it. If the do make it though, what would be the rating and the who would be the actors? It is pretty violent, Jake Lloyd i would think would not be a good choice, i mean, we saw TPM, decent actor but not the kind of face you'd expect to find on Ender. And unless he pulled a Macully Caulkin from the Good Son, I dont think he would portray the dark image that he carries.
I think they should just stay away from the whole thing. -
I actually haven't read the last book yet, but I'm definitely getting it for Xmas, so I'll read it then. Anyways, that series shouldn't be made into a movie (unless, maybe, if it's animated, though it still could possibly suck all the life out of it). Oh yeah, now that I've read all of this, I'm going to have to get Ender's Game from the library.
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Perhaps Harry has been smoking the pot lately or maybe I've just been hallucinating this entire post, but I think he just suggested Ron Howard [director of the largest steaming pile of cinematic elephant dung known to the kids as "Jim Carrey's Two-Hour Impression of The Grinch- Don't Forget Your Pillow"] direct a rather violent science-fiction film involving children who learn battle strategy in zero g environments because if that's what Harry's saying I no longer trust his opinion AT ALL in fact in a discussion of potential directors for this film I wouldn't expect his name to COME UP AT ALL because he is completely wrong for Ender's Game which should, I agree with the above [below?] poster(s), be a European production, simply because they won't have to tone down the violence as much because in a film like this it's NECESSARY and a European director would be good as well, but Fincher or Singer could definitely do it justice as long as they're given the budget that is all for now stay tuned for more exciting and annoying posts fron the Cap'n as interesting topics arise. Poop!
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How 'bout Enders Shadow? Written recently (in relation to Enders Game) it follows Bean through his trials in Battle School, but parallels Wigins rise as well. You could tell two perspcetives of the same story.
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I am a 17 year old girl who just read Ender's game 6 months ago.I would love to see Steven zaillian direct Ender's Game. I have to say that I am obsessed Searching for Bobby Fischer because it reminds me so much of Ender's game, especially in the last scene, in which Max Pomeranc (josh) and Michael Nirenberg (Johnathan Poe) face each other in a game of chess for the first time. Zaillian was able to catch power and greatness in the child actors, making them shine more so then the adults in this film. I am saddened that the child actors in SFBF are now in their teens. In my eyes Max Pomeranc will always be the best person to play Ender and Michael Nirenberg will always be the best person to play bonzo.
Ender's Game is one of the greatest books I have ever read next to Catcher in the rye and Sleepers. Please don't make this movie for the money, make this movie for the feeling you get after you read the book. we *many* who have read the novel wouldn't have it any other way
~ Gravity4ce -
Oh my "Bob"!!! I never thought of that! Searching for Bobby Fischer is one of my all time favorite movies as well and is, as Gravity pointed out, one of the great all time performances of a child actor ever! Wowzers... Good one. True, the little dudes in there were wonderful, but it is all a matter of good casting. There are a million little dudes (or should I say, parents of little dudes) just aching to get on screen. With time, another could be found (look at M. Night's two choices...the latter for Unbreakable cleaning up this year in the above film and Gladiator...not bad!). Besides, unknown is better than known-with-baggage. What helped Haley's performance last year is he had no baggage to contend with. This Treat kid from Gladiator and Unbreakable is also new. As kids get older, unless their growth is stunted by chemical abuse like Lipnicki and Gary Coleman, they sometimes lose something because they fail to reinvent themselves and instead try to retread old material...Caulkin, 'nuff said. Maybe it is a gender thing, but girls seem to get away with this better...or maybe it was just good choices. We have literally seen Joanna Paquin, Jodie Foster, and Clare Daines (and many others) grow up in front of our eyes and they still remain fresh to me each passing year. No one looks at a Jodie Foster performance and says "That is too much like Freaky Friday for my taste." It is gone, forgotten. Reinvented. But whither Caulkin? Has anyone EVER seen Mickey Rooney as anything more than a fat, bloated, old kid? No, he can't shake the child star problem boys face. Except Kurt Russel, he did okay with that. I guess, in short, go with unknowns! (Though I agree that the two main boys from Searching would be a great Ender and Bonzo respectively). Here's looking at you kids get off my lawn!!!
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I recently chatted with Card at a book signing and I have this information to share: 1) Card said that Jake Lloyd is too old to be Ender. He likes Lloyd's acting, but by the time a movie got made it wouldn't work. Thank the lord.
2) Card said he will never work with James Cameron again because he is too hard to get along with. So scratch that idea. 3) Haley Joel Osment would have been great for the part, but he's too old too. So scratch that one. 4) Right now he's focusing on three films. The first is an adaption of his story "Dogwalker," the second is a film for the Mormon church based on his writings, the third is a movie of his novel "Homebody." So even if Ender gets greenlighted, don't expect it for a while. 5) He wants Ender's Game and Ender's Shadow to be filmed at the same time using the same stars. That way it would be pretty cheap and they could be released in the same year. 6) None of the other "Ender" books will be made into movies. He said they would just be "talking head" movies with no action, so he won't do it. Bravo.
I hope this info is useful. -
I have read Ender's Game and some other Orson Scott Card books. The Ender books and his Alvin books do not have that light touch that Ron Howard brings to a film. They are rather dark, gritty and generally lack humor. This is not a bad thing. I don't want a Goodfellas, etc, to have gags scattered about like an Arnold Schwartnegger film. Ender's game is a serious movie and the only serious movies that Ron has done is Apollo 13 and Ransom. Far and Away, his greatest work in my book, is too humor filled. And Willow is not at all what we are looking for. For those who haven't read the book, or are unfamiliar with Card's work, Ron is wrong for it. Card will let you know that if the above mentioned meeting does happen. However, let me say that I think Ron can do some excellent work. It's just not right for Ender's Game.
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And it's sad to see that so many people here have lost their sense of the magic of cinema. Thank God the regular moviegoers didn't, because that's what really matters in the long run.
And specially dedicated to the idiot who said that Audrey Geisel hated the movie - I've seen her comment the movie on a number of occasions and in none of them did she say she hated it. She has said she asked to remove a few jokes that she felt were not appropriate, nothing else. So, since you advised us to read these famous comments I hope you can provide us with the names and dates of your sources. -
ANYBODY could make Enders Game into a good movie. Yes, thats right, even Ridley Scott could pull it off. With source material that good, how could it go wrong? Jake Lloyd is the only way this thing could fail. That and a non OSC screenplay. And of course any changes made to story to make it more "P.C." (child violence, estrangment). Crap, this movie is screwed.
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..proves that the material is interesting enough even without the "twist" ending, because Bean figures out the truth long before Ender does. It gives a different kind of weight to the proceedings, and they should consider that when adapting Ender. But, was Card serious about making two side-by-side films? Bean would make a good alternate vantage point in an Ender's Game movie, but there's no need to make two of them. The comments about Jake Lloyd were made YEARS ago and obviously they are no longer relevent. I think OSC was stuck on the idea of a Jr. Darth Vader playing Ender, not enchanted with the particular performance of little Anakin. They would need not ONE fabulous child actor but an entire cast of them, in a serious movie with a good deal of action. How on earth would they do the battle room scenes? I think it's possible but it would be a huge undertaking. Shit, if Harry Potter is worth all the trouble they're taking, Ender's Game is worth twice as much. LeeScorsby: "The Demolished Man" is a mostly science-fiction novel by Alfred Bester, the first book to be awarded the Hugo award, justly deserved. He was ahead of his time, and one of the few science fiction authors that is also a good WRITER. It's the same kind of idea that's behind "Minority Report" if that ever gets done, only that movie is based on a PK Dick story. Don't know which came first. They'd have done better to use the Bester in this case. That's enough rambling I think..
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Mate, I'd love to discuss with you the extensive reasons why this book won't translate to film. While I'm sure we'd be treated to a visual effects bonanza by any special effects house, the reason Ender's Game exists is not to provide movie moguls' source material. It is to let us see ourselves, and to take away from one sentence of that message with a laser bolt or explosion would detract from the book's power. In fact, it sounds like Card himself doesn't fully grasp the importance of his works. Oh, well. What genius really ever does? Ron Howard is a capable, if sterile director. What we need is leave this story alone, lest it become another funeral pyre for our hopes that a real film be made is burn upon.
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Nov 28, 2000 3:33:17 PM CST
A.I. knockoff? and a couple off the wall suggestions for directo
by thereisnospoon
Will the world be ready for another sci fi movie with a pre adolescent lead character so soon after AI? or perhaps if AI is successful, suits in Hollywood will finally get off their butts and develop this project. Will Haley do a sci fi epic again? Will he be too old by then? That kid from Gladiator and Unbreakable is pretty damn impressive as well, but he seems too old already. I'm going to toss out some dark horses for director suggestions - anyone know who Ronny Yu is? In his medieval fantasy adventure "The Bride with White Hair" there actually was a battle school for children for about the first quarter of the film. Hey, how about Kathryn Bigelow? Michael Crichton was a brilliant suggestion. And we all know James Cameron said he'd never make a movie based on a pre existing source, but he talked Card into novelizing the Abyss, so maybe turnabout could be fair play. . . just a thought.
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(Personally, this might get confusing as shite, but oh well) just to reinterate MY Opie stance: he was on the Simpsons, you gotta give it up for that. "Its about a time travelling washing machine that has to decide who lives. . .and who DIES!" "Ron, you've done it again!" *happy days are here again!* Hmmmmmm, maybe thats what would happen if he signed for Ender's Game. BTW, if you want good coverage of the history of Ender's Game, go and check out CORONA's Ender's Game page, gives a nice history and links to a script excerpt, even though Orson Scott Card was thinking of Jake Lloyd(!) as Ender. (Oh yeah, and I dug Ransom, personally. BILLY CORGAN did the funky Terrorist boom box music, that gives it a passing grade in my book...)
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Ron howard???????!!??!
God man, do we really want a happy boy scout take on ender?
If ransom is the darkest Howard can get, dont let him anywhere near this property. There is so much self doubt, pain, frustration, treachery, and self discovery in this book. None of these qualities have i seen Howard convey effectively. I think someone like Norrington or Fincher would do a great job with it. Enders Game is NOT a childrens book. Its extremely adult issue oriented and brutally honest. I thought that was pretty clear from the book. Just because someone is "hot" at the moment doesnt mean its appropriate for them to pick up material on the opposite side of the spectrum they do. -
Ron howard???????!!??!
God man, do we really want a happy boy scout take on ender?
If ransom is the darkest Howard can get, dont let him anywhere near this property. There is so much self doubt, pain, frustration, treachery, and self discovery in this book. None of these qualities have i seen Howard convey effectively. I think someone like Norrington or Fincher would do a great job with it. Enders Game is NOT a childrens book. Its extremely adult issue oriented and brutally honest. I thought that was pretty clear from the book. Just because someone is "hot" at the moment doesnt mean its appropriate for them to pick up material on the opposite side of the spectrum they do. -
the picture i conjure of orson scott card has changed in my mind from that of a wise post golden age sci fi writer to a plump oily post post golden age sci fi producer......more interested in the big $$$$$$$ than the story.
The reason any of the directors mentioned in this talk back could do an equally decent job on Enders game is because the story will be diminished and whittled down to a 93 minute death star battle crossed with the first half of the last starfighter......sure the story has a deeper side....i wouldnt put it in my top 10 sci fi list but no one can denie that when the choice comes to make either a thought provoking tale of the loss of childhood in a society driven by the commercial need for war, and that of a young kid who gets to blow some big buggs up in remote controlled starships.......which do you think will get made. The question of the director is becoming increasingly unimportant as the money in this industry moves from the hands of the story tellers to the collour by numbers big explosions=cash producers. What we need is a story that cant be fucked up, a science fiction tale where the characters decisions provide the pattern of the narative so that no matter how many big explosions or aliens on stilts there are the end result is something that makes us think a little........ -
Ron Howard would ruin this shit. I know he ruined the Grinch, and I don't even have to see it -- there were three words in an ad trailer that did it in for me: "Chill out, dude". And WTF is up with the sleigh having goddamn ROCKETS!? NO NO NO NO NO, Ender's Game is one of my all-time favorite books, and I have been looking forward to the movie version probably just as much as all you fantasy fans have been awaiting The Lord of the Rings. This is a classic example of the genre, and if I see it popcorn-ified by Opie, I will be shattered. Jesus god no, in the name of everything PLEASE LET THIS NOT HAPPEN. Oh my god, I think I'm going to vomit. I am truly convinced now that it would be impossible to truly translate a great piece of science fiction to film in modern hollywood... I'm seriously feeling ill right about now. Ugh....
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Ron Howard is a smarmy hack.
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this time is one of the very few times taht it completely makes sense for him to have the kids save the world. about the book, it was alright. i actually have to read it for school which is pretty cool! i dunno if it would make a very good movie though. baff
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I really think Ender's Game would be best handled with an animated feature, prefrebly with someone like Hideaki Anno as director. With Wings of Honnamise and Neon Genesis, he proves he can but character into his characters (not to mention having the balls to show those things not allowed in most American movies), and being animated it solves issues with child actors, as they can get adult voice actors to play the parts. Of course, seeing as Hollywood hates to let a potentially great movie to ever get made, it'll probably get a no-name music video director to ruin it. (By the way, I think Mazer Rackham should be played by Morgan Freeman.)
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OK, as much as all of us have been bitchin and whining, we must think about Card's view. If he ok's it then it cant be that bad, i mean, after all, he dis write the bloody story so if and ever it comes out, i think it will be at least half decent.
Prime -
I think Ridley Scott needs to direct another Sci-Fi movie. I agree with Skaguy17 but Harry must be on drugs to think Ron Howard would do well with Ender's Game. Ha! I would rather see a good movie adaptation of George Alec Effinger's series 'When Gravity Fails', 'A Fire in the Sun' and 'The Exile Kiss'.
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...one hopes that Ron (or whoever)
will not be setup by Card to drag the whole thing out ...the novel Enders Game had a veryt touching and satisfying ending...please leave it at that -
Ron Howard may very well be a director, and has filmed movies covering similar topics with and attitude COMPLETELY unlike that of Ender's Game. And even if EG is the perfect movie for him to regain his career, is pity really a movie to hand THE BEST MOVIE of any kind of the entire generation over to an incompetent butcher? As for turning extremely CHALLENGING litteraty works into movie format, has anyone ever heard of Phil Kaufman? He has taken on TONS of books and successfully turned them into GOOD movies, but of course this is only if you respect Ender's Game for the movie is should be, instead of wanting to see the same action/marketing drivel that has been spewed out by so many film makers every month.
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Mr. Howard,
(Loved "The Grinch", BTW)
Make sure that you visit
http://www.philoticweb.net
as you do your "Ender's Game" research. Not only is there a lot of thought going on there, but it provides you with quick & easy links to the two other Orson Scott Card websites (Hatrack and Frescopictures).
--Steve Sywak
Boothby@philoticweb.net
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