[ExI] enders game

[spike]

>. On Behalf Of Anders Sandberg
Subject: Re: [ExI] enders game

 

On 2013-11-02 14:41, spike wrote:

 They downplay that in the movie, which I think is probably a slight
improvement, and make the second case a legitimate accident, where Ender's
intention was unclear in the book.  (Ender readers, did he intend to slay
the bastard in the second case?)


>.As far as I remember, yes. Maybe not consciously, but he always did what
it took to win *permanently*.

>.I seem to recall that these scenes were also a reason the movie was
delayed for so long - several writers struggled with how to handle the
touchy subject. It couldn't be excised, yet could easily wreck the viewer
relation to the protagonist. 




-- 
Dr Anders Sandberg
 
Ender was a complicated character: he had to be really smart, have killer
instinct, and be empathetic.  Valentine had the smarts and the empathy, but
not the killer instinct.  Peter lacked empathy.  Ender had all three traits.
 
That shower scene had a special impact on me because of a tragic memory from
high school, a freak accident.  Four guys wanted to make a cross-town dash
for Burger King at lunch time, which was only 35 minutes.  They piled into a
car, but one of the four was standing with the back door open, yelling to
someone.  His buddy in the back seat grabbed him by the belt and pulled him
into the car, but on his way in, the guy hit his head right at the base of
the skull against the car roof, and within a day he was dead.
 
Note in Ender's shower fight, how Bonzo lands.  That scene reminded me of
the tragedy from over 30 yrs ago, oy vey.
 
I get the feeling that Gavin Hood must have collected a bunch of Ender geeks
into a Reddit group or something, and gave them a question: If you were to
make a movie of Ender's Game, what would you change from the book?  
 
Surely a chorus would arise: fix that mess Card made in describing the arena
maneuvers, and conserver angular momentum this time.  That seems important
to me, considering what they were doing in there.  The movie fixes that
delightfully.  Make Ender about 15 instead of 7, and allow at least some
sexual tension between Ender and Petra.  The movie fixed that without
ruining it by avoiding making the attraction into a distraction.  But please
don't touch anything in the last 20 pages of that book.  Try to make it as
close to the book as you can for that last part.  Hood's movie did that
ending exactly right; he didn't try to improve on Card where Card didn't
need any help, but did so where Card did need help, and did it successfully.
Bravo!
 
spike   
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