At TGD, we’ve been anxiously following the production and upcoming release of Ender’s Game, which sci-fi fans have been eagerly anticipating for decades. The trailer looks good, and it’s got a real shot at being the genre event of the year. However, there is a controversy with Ender’s Game that won’t go away, and it could cause the film a lot of trouble: Author Orson Scott Card’s anti-gay marriage stance.
In response to this, Lionsgate, the company releasing Ender’s Game in November, has put out a statement which effectively distances themselves from Card. “Neither the underlying book nor the film itself reflect these views in any way, shape or form,” the statement says in part. “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.”
On the other end of the spectrum, screenwriter Dustin Lance Black (Milk), who is openly gay, has written on his Facebook page that despite Card’s beliefs, the movie shouldn’t be shunted. “There’s so much good to be done right now,” Black said. “Boycotting a movie made by 99% lgbt [lesbian, gay, bi-sexual, transgender] folks in an lgbt equality industry is a waste of our collective energy. The homophobic novelist who wrote the book hasn’t been involved in decades. Misguided boycott.”
No matter what, there will definitely be many fans who will be out in force when Ender’s Game opens in November, but how many fans will be able to see the film on its own merits, and not have the prejudice of the author on their minds? It remains to be seen when Enders Game comes out on November 1.
