Page 2 of 2

Re: The trailer

Posted: Tue May 07, 2013 6:19 pm
by locke
Interesting, comes off as a little cheesy, I'm guessing Graff carries the film? I love seeing all the stuff they packed into the trailer, but I wish they'd taken more of a Hunger Games approach with the marketing of less is more.

Re: The trailer

Posted: Tue May 07, 2013 7:21 pm
by Sparrow
Immediate reaction: I had no idea they gave so much MONEY to these people. My initial fear for a movie was that it would be under-budget for the scale of the story. I am happy to set those fears to rest.

New fear: that the movie loses the moral/philosophical dimension behind its flashiness. Hearing Ford referred the "human story" as "tucked into" the sci fi epic makes me worry that its no longer front and centre.


Secondary reaction: I imagine that this will aim to be a terrific standalone movie with no reliance on the books (the budget indicates that it HAS to appeal to any movie fan, not just fans of a book) however I expect there will be a lot of content that fans of the book will get extra mileage from, EG more likely to be moved by Ender's visit with Val because we have a deeper appreciation of his emotional state.

Side note: Asa's scream at the end of the trailer makes me afraid that he's stepping out of his talent-zone as he plays an authoritative commander instead of a quiet and gifted child. Makes sense in universe, as Ender himself is super outside his comfort zone at that time, and is much more of a quiet gifted child, but I always imagined him having tremendous dignity throughout. A stoic sufferer.

Re: The trailer

Posted: Tue May 07, 2013 7:34 pm
by elfprince13
Immediate reaction: I had no idea they gave so much MONEY to these people. My initial fear for a movie was that it would be under-budget for the scale of the story. I am happy to set those fears to rest.

New fear: that the movie loses the moral/philosophical dimension behind its flashiness. Hearing Ford referred the "human story" as "tucked into" the sci fi epic makes me worry that its no longer front and centre.
Asa has said some comforting things on that score.

Side note: Asa's scream at the end of the trailer makes me afraid that he's stepping out of his talent-zone as he plays an authoritative commander instead of a quiet and gifted child. Makes sense in universe, as Ender himself is super outside his comfort zone at that time, and is much more of a quiet gifted child, but I always imagined him having tremendous dignity throughout. A stoic sufferer.
Stoic sufferer who almost gnaws his own hand off?

Re: The trailer

Posted: Tue May 07, 2013 7:59 pm
by allenwatson23
I wish I could say that I'm happy with the trailer, but I'm not. I just won't say so in public, fearing people not getting excited over the movie. As someone already said, it would have been great to see more Battle School things and less war, but I understand the need to draw people in. I hope the movie focuses on the psychology the kids, particularly Ender and Bean are put through, more than the trailer shows.

Re: The trailer

Posted: Tue May 07, 2013 8:01 pm
by Sparrow
Immediate reaction: I had no idea they gave so much MONEY to these people. My initial fear for a movie was that it would be under-budget for the scale of the story. I am happy to set those fears to rest.

New fear: that the movie loses the moral/philosophical dimension behind its flashiness. Hearing Ford referred the "human story" as "tucked into" the sci fi epic makes me worry that its no longer front and centre.
Asa has said some comforting things on that score.

Side note: Asa's scream at the end of the trailer makes me afraid that he's stepping out of his talent-zone as he plays an authoritative commander instead of a quiet and gifted child. Makes sense in universe, as Ender himself is super outside his comfort zone at that time, and is much more of a quiet gifted child, but I always imagined him having tremendous dignity throughout. A stoic sufferer.
Stoic sufferer who almost gnaws his own hand off?
That was in private! :P I meant in his role as Commander, his demons are clear enough to the audience, and to Mazer.

Re: The trailer

Posted: Wed May 08, 2013 6:17 am
by kalmondo
Immediate reaction: I had no idea they gave so much MONEY to these people. My initial fear for a movie was that it would be under-budget for the scale of the story. I am happy to set those fears to rest.
Actually, I have a tendency to like under budgeted films. They may come of a little cheesy, but with a good director (Joss Whedon) it forces them to do amazing things with the little they have. Then again, Joss would have to kill off petra at the end after he makes her kiss bean (I know, that doesn't come till later (and any Joss fans here will know what I am talking about))

New fear: that the movie loses the moral/philosophical dimension behind its flashiness. Hearing Ford referred the "human story" as "tucked into" the sci fi epic makes me worry that its no longer front and centre.

Side note: Asa's scream at the end of the trailer makes me afraid that he's stepping out of his talent-zone as he plays an authoritative commander instead of a quiet and gifted child. Makes sense in universe, as Ender himself is super outside his comfort zone at that time, and is much more of a quiet gifted child, but I always imagined him having tremendous dignity throughout. A stoic sufferer.
That is how he is written, but you do have to worry about how to interpret that to the audience. Worked well is Hugo, but in Enders game, with so many main characters and big events, it might be easy for him to get lost.
The castle with the cocoon was at the end of Ender's Game. I have the stories internalized well enough that it is better if I don't read them again before November, so that I can better enjoy the movie on its own terms (as long as it preserves the soul of the story) without nitpicking overly much.
Heh, I have the entire collection on audio book, for a long time, those where the only audio books I had. I literally had them on loop all day and night. I heard it no matter what I was doing. There is no way for me to be able to enjoy the movie on its on terms. :(

I don't think anyone has actually posted the link to the trailer yet:
http://youtu.be/vP0cUBi4hwE" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Re: The trailer

Posted: Wed May 08, 2013 9:12 am
by Taalcon
After well over a decade of anticipation, I have to say...

I'm very, very pleased with the teaser trailer. OSC has been telling us time and again that the movie isn't OSC's Ender's Game, it's Gavin Hood's making the best film possible based on and using the concepts, themes, and characters explored in OSC's novel version of Ender's Game.

The trailer shows that the film is huge, is technically impressive, has an amazing cast, and... focuses on children being stripped of their childhood for participation in war.

We're going to see more trailers focusing on different aspects. I'm sure we'll see more action trailers, and some focusing on the emotional and philosophical aspects of the story. Every single interview and indication has shows that these are very strong and at-the-forefront aspects of the film. Not being singled out in the initial announcement trailer doesn't mean anything.

I've made mock-up posters, imagined and visualized trailers for years and years.

I'm super excited for this film.

Re: The trailer

Posted: Wed May 08, 2013 3:19 pm
by Craig
After well over a decade of anticipation, I have to say...

I'm very, very pleased with the teaser trailer. OSC has been telling us time and again that the movie isn't OSC's Ender's Game, it's Gavin Hood's making the best film possible based on and using the concepts, themes, and characters explored in OSC's novel version of Ender's Game.

The trailer shows that the film is huge, is technically impressive, has an amazing cast, and... focuses on children being stripped of their childhood for participation in war.

We're going to see more trailers focusing on different aspects. I'm sure we'll see more action trailers, and some focusing on the emotional and philosophical aspects of the story. Every single interview and indication has shows that these are very strong and at-the-forefront aspects of the film. Not being singled out in the initial announcement trailer doesn't mean anything.

I've made mock-up posters, imagined and visualized trailers for years and years.

I'm super excited for this film.
I couldn't agree more with you, Taalcon. What some people are forgetting is that this is a TEASER trailer, meaning it's the first piece of promotional material marketed toward people who are not fans. They're marketing it as a large, relatively action packed movie, which it will be--just as the book was. As we get closer to the release date and future trailers are released the audience will get a better understanding of who Ender is, why he's so special, what kind of life he has and is giving up, etc. Basically, everything that makes EG so special will be shown in future trailers. This is supposed to tease people, get them interested, and then as we get closer, use future marketing materials to hook them.

Instead of focusing on what we DON'T see, how about we focus on what we DO?

I'm thrilled that the Ender/Valentine scene at the lake has survived in some form. It's a pivotal scene to who Ender is, the implications the training is having, and his reluctance to become the person the IF wants him to become. The fact that this scene remains suggests that the movie does indeed keep the emotional/psychological undertones.

The battleroom of course looks fantastic. It looks like Hood is using a rotating camera and movement to try and create an element of disorientation for he audience. Genius. I have also been a long proponent of turning the battle room walls transparent, and it looks great.

Bean tying the tether around his waist means that element is still in the movie--something that could have been easily replaced. Again, bodes well for other details.

The simulator isn't simply a 3D display of colored dots, but a full 3D hologram that Ender operates like a futuristic iPhone. We've long debated how they would show the final battle--would it be from Ender's perspective and only show the colored dots? Would they cut to the *real* war? Now we get the answer, Ender is seeing it as it happens, explosion by explosion. He'll FEEL the loss of life, he'll know that each one of those fighters he watched explode had a real person inside. It'll make the emotional impact even stronger. And of course, visually, the final battle will be far more interesting.

The brain on the digital projection has me curious. Ender's Ansible suggests brain trauma, but maybe its Ender's brain reacting to the Mind Game?

I love Mazer's tattoos. Asa also said that he and Kingsley had stunt doubles for their fight, which means that Ender's first meeting with Mazer is still intact. I can't wait to here Mazer's speech about how "nobody but the enemy will ever tell you what they're going to do".

So, is the trailer different than the book? Of course it is. It has to be. Film and novels can't be any more different. As Hood said in the Google+ discussion, in film the audience judges a character on their actions and what they say. A straight adaptation would make Ender a psychopath because we couldn't understand why he did things--something Graff alludes to in the second chapter, he has to know WHY Ender struck Stilson while he was down. Basically, in short, the movie has to take its liberties because its a different medium. It will be better for it.

Am I 100% happy with the teaser? Of course not, however, I think it's a great first step and I can't wait to see more.

-Craig

PS: Look at that cast! How many Academy Award nominees and winners are there?!?

Re: The trailer

Posted: Wed May 08, 2013 4:31 pm
by dannydawg
After well over a decade of anticipation, I have to say...

I'm very, very pleased with the teaser trailer. OSC has been telling us time and again that the movie isn't OSC's Ender's Game, it's Gavin Hood's making the best film possible based on and using the concepts, themes, and characters explored in OSC's novel version of Ender's Game.

The trailer shows that the film is huge, is technically impressive, has an amazing cast, and... focuses on children being stripped of their childhood for participation in war.

We're going to see more trailers focusing on different aspects. I'm sure we'll see more action trailers, and some focusing on the emotional and philosophical aspects of the story. Every single interview and indication has shows that these are very strong and at-the-forefront aspects of the film. Not being singled out in the initial announcement trailer doesn't mean anything.

I've made mock-up posters, imagined and visualized trailers for years and years.

I'm super excited for this film.
I couldn't agree more with you, Taalcon. What some people are forgetting is that this is a TEASER trailer, meaning it's the first piece of promotional material marketed toward people who are not fans. They're marketing it as a large, relatively action packed movie, which it will be--just as the book was. As we get closer to the release date and future trailers are released the audience will get a better understanding of who Ender is, why he's so special, what kind of life he has and is giving up, etc. Basically, everything that makes EG so special will be shown in future trailers. This is supposed to tease people, get them interested, and then as we get closer, use future marketing materials to hook them.

Instead of focusing on what we DON'T see, how about we focus on what we DO?


I completely agree with you! I understand when people who aren't familiar with the story might make comaprisons to Hunger Games, or even Halo... but when fans of the book itself complain that the trailer shows it deviates from the essence of the story, it kills me!

One thing I'm not sure about is whether Ender will know that people are in the fighters for that "final simulation". In Asa's AmA today he seemed to make it clear that the twist should stay in tact, but either way I do feel good about this! And like you mentioned, crazy how high caliber the cast is.

Re: The trailer

Posted: Wed May 08, 2013 5:11 pm
by Sparrow
I dont think anyone argues that that the trailer focusing on certain facets of the story will mean that other facets are going to be left out. There's some reasonable concern about how the many and important core themes of the story will be adapted to a time-limited screen, without loading it down.

Re: The trailer

Posted: Wed May 08, 2013 6:47 pm
by kalmondo
So, here to be contrary again. I don't think having stars in itself is a good thing. I have seen many a train wreck of movies that put in stars to pull in audience. HOWEVER! I am a fan of most of these stars. And after I watched Hugo, I knew he was the only one I could think of for Ender. And by the trailer, the only cast choice I don't like is Anderson. Turning Anderson into a woman tweaks me. Mostly because I have read the books, and he always has been a guy...I will try not to let that bother me when I watch the movie....

As far as keeping to the book, they have done better by far then Percy Jackson did. That was a great movie. I am just not sure why they called it Percy Jackson....

Re: The trailer

Posted: Thu May 16, 2013 7:35 pm
by Boothby
Ok, peoples! I have a decision to make!

Anyone who has seen the IMAX 3D version of "Star Trek: Into Derpness," please answer this question:

Ender's Game trailer, or no?


Because I'll be totally honest: If there's no EG trailer in the IMAX 3D version of "Star Trek: Into Derpness," I'm just going to see the regular 3D version.



Actually...what if the EG trailer isn't even in the Regular 3D version????

Help!

Image
Derp Derp Derp

Re: The trailer

Posted: Fri May 17, 2013 1:18 pm
by elfprince13
Saw it in regular 3d last night, and there was no EG trailer. I was pretty upset.

Re: The trailer

Posted: Fri May 17, 2013 1:47 pm
by Sparrow
Very sad, was looking forwards to Darkness and the trailer. Guess darkness alone will suffice.

Re: The trailer

Posted: Sat May 18, 2013 6:56 am
by Luet
My friends saw it in regular, non-3d and saw the trailer.

Re: The trailer

Posted: Sat May 18, 2013 10:59 am
by Boothby
Its official, IMAX 3d Star Trek has the Ender's Game trailer. And it is absolutely amazing on the IMAX screen

Re: The trailer

Posted: Sat May 18, 2013 11:09 am
by Boothby
By the way, there is an Ender's Game reference in the Star Trek movie. Points if you can tell me what it is

Re: The trailer

Posted: Sat May 18, 2013 11:53 am
by elfprince13
I wonder if our theater just pulled a fast one.

[edit]

Dunno about Star Trek, but a recent DW made an "ansible" reference (though that term is not exclusive to EG).

Re: The trailer

Posted: Mon May 20, 2013 12:26 pm
by allenwatson23
I went to see Star Trek and was really looking forward to the preview. It was regular 2D. Guess what? No Ender's Game preview. Seriously screwed my mood for the entire movie. I was talking it up for the friends that I went with because they have no clue what Ender's Game is. Bummer.

Re: The trailer

Posted: Mon May 20, 2013 2:03 pm
by KennEnder
I went to see Star Trek 2D Sunday, and fortunately the trailer WAS there... and my brother, who hasn't seen or kept up with EG since 1985 said: "holy cow, they showed the planet blowing up." ... so yah. :/

Re: The trailer

Posted: Mon May 20, 2013 4:19 pm
by Sparrow
I went to see Star Trek 2D Sunday, and fortunately the trailer WAS there... and my brother, who hasn't seen or kept up with EG since 1985 said: "holy cow, they showed the planet blowing up." ... so yah. :/
*shrugs* It is what it is. There are tons of reasons why it's not terrible that they showed it, but it definitely wasn't necessary.

Re: The trailer

Posted: Mon May 20, 2013 4:54 pm
by KennEnder
*shrugs* It is what it is. There are tons of reasons why it's not terrible that they showed it, but it definitely wasn't necessary.
I agree, actually... I don't think it gives anything away to people who don't know the story ... after all, there will no doubt be a lot of other explosions. And of course, it doesn't give away anything to those of us who DO know the story. So no biggie.

Re: The trailer

Posted: Tue May 21, 2013 11:23 pm
by Sparrow
Ooh! It was a trailer for my showing of Into Darkness. 2D, but still, the battle room scenes come to life on the big screen in a big way. Tons of adrenaline-inducing vertigo, even from the brief seconds of screen time it got. Will do my best to see it in Imax 3D.

Re: The trailer

Posted: Tue May 21, 2013 11:37 pm
by Sparrow
By the way, there is an Ender's Game reference in the Star Trek movie. Points if you can tell me what it is
Do you mean Kirk and Benedict hurtling "down" to the "gate"?

Re: The trailer

Posted: Wed May 22, 2013 9:55 am
by Boothby
Sparrow,

To the best of my knowledge, Ender's Game is not being made in 3D. They could always, of course, post-convert the live footage to 3D, though compositing (as they did with G-Force and Wrath of the Titans), and re-compile the CG footage from two camera-angles. But for now, all I've heard is that it will be 2D, though it WILL have an IMAX 2D version released.

And, yes, that was the scene. Do you remember Kirk's closing line, though? And the set-up to that line?

Re: The trailer

Posted: Wed May 22, 2013 3:23 pm
by Sparrow
And, yes, that was the scene. Do you remember Kirk's closing line, though? And the set-up to that line?
I'd very much appreciate it if you messaged them to me. (if anyone's concerned about spoilers) All I have left is Spock's voice counting down, Kirk's panic, and Scotty's last minute action :P Details are gone underneath a general impression of the moment.

Re: The trailer

Posted: Wed May 22, 2013 4:54 pm
by KennEnder
And, yes, that was the scene. Do you remember Kirk's closing line, though? And the set-up to that line?
I'd very much appreciate it if you messaged them to me. (if anyone's concerned about spoilers) All I have left is Spock's voice counting down, Kirk's panic, and Scotty's last minute action :P Details are gone underneath a general impression of the moment.
ditto :/

Re: The trailer

Posted: Mon May 27, 2013 3:25 pm
by Craig
*shrugs* It is what it is. There are tons of reasons why it's not terrible that they showed it, but it definitely wasn't necessary.
I agree, actually... I don't think it gives anything away to people who don't know the story ... after all, there will no doubt be a lot of other explosions. And of course, it doesn't give away anything to those of us who DO know the story. So no biggie.
Audiences will be under the assumption that everything Ender does with Mazer is a simulation, so in reality it doesn't really give anything away.

-Craig

Re: The trailer

Posted: Mon May 27, 2013 9:41 pm
by Sparrow
*shrugs* It is what it is. There are tons of reasons why it's not terrible that they showed it, but it definitely wasn't necessary.
I agree, actually... I don't think it gives anything away to people who don't know the story ... after all, there will no doubt be a lot of other explosions. And of course, it doesn't give away anything to those of us who DO know the story. So no biggie.
Audiences will be under the assumption that everything Ender does with Mazer is a simulation, so in reality it doesn't really give anything away.

-Craig
According to Card from a while back, no. The audience will know that Mazer's 'testing' arc will be the real war, but Ender is not aware of this. Trades shock value to the audience for dramatic irony. Makes sense seeing as a plot twist that large, old, and powerful is already known to a ton of people due to the book.

Re: The trailer

Posted: Thu May 30, 2013 5:56 am
by fanette
According to Card from a while back, no. The audience will know that Mazer's 'testing' arc will be the real war, but Ender is not aware of this. Trades shock value to the audience for dramatic irony. Makes sense seeing as a plot twist that large, old, and powerful is already known to a ton of people due to the book.
Source?

In all the interviews I've seen so far - including ones with Asa Butterfield, Gavin Hood and Kurtzman/Orci - they have all repeatedly stated that the twist at the end is intact. If they go for poetic irony, it won't be a twist, right? (I mean, it would be a shock for Ender, but not a "plot twist", because plot is a narrative device, not a real world event.)
So I doubt very much that Card had it right, if he really said that. Besides, Card has stressed numerous times that he is not very involved in the production of the movie, having been on set once. (The producer's credit is pretty much honorary.) He has said a few things about what they told him and about what he has seen on that one day he was actually on set, but more of his comments have been speculations about how he thinks they will do stuff. So unless I see it with my own eyes and unless it is a trustworthy source, I tend to believe that

1.) you misread that, or
2.) it was an unrealiable source, or
3.) it was speculation on Card's part, or
4.) Card was talking about his own, earlier screenplay (which was never made; Hood wrote his own from scratch), or
5.) it was a very old interview given at a point when they were still working out kinks (for instance, when they made the initial casting calls, they were casting for Rose the Nose, but then he didn't make it into the movie after all, because they changed the script.)

Re: The trailer

Posted: Thu May 30, 2013 6:05 pm
by Sparrow
I was referring to Card's thoughts back in the late 90s about how the plot of EG would have to be adapted to fit on the screen. What he said made sense, and seeing the planet blow in the trailer reinforced, to me, Card's plan to let the audience in on the reality of the game's last stage. Obviously it's possible that this decision has changed, but if so it's either not been mentioned, or else I haven't heard it. As for keeping the ending twist intact, Obviously it will be, but it's a twist regardless of whether the audience is in on it or not.

This is all spelled out on the wikipedia page for the EG movie lol, and here's the interview the quotations were pulled from.

http://hatrack.com/research/interviews/ ... lson.shtml" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Re: The trailer

Posted: Thu May 30, 2013 8:19 pm
by elfprince13
they have all repeatedly stated that the twist at the end is intact. If they go for poetic irony, it won't be a twist, right? (I mean, it would be a shock for Ender, but not a "plot twist", because plot is a narrative device, not a real world event.)
You're forgetting the OTHER twist.

Re: The trailer

Posted: Wed Jun 12, 2013 3:12 pm
by Craig
I've watched the trailer well over 50 times now and one thing has always bugged me about it. When Graff says "If you win you'll be remembered as a hero". I finally realized that the first part of that line "if you win" is actually ADR intended to be stitched together with "you'll be remembered with a hero". The actual line, "you'll be remembered as a hero", if you remember is said by Graff after Ender has learned of his xenocide.

The exchange actually goes:

ENDER: I will bare the shame of this Xenocide forever.
GRAFF: You'll be remembered as a hero.
ENDER: I'll be remembered as a killer!

You can consult this audition tape to see the actual exchange: http://vimeo.com/29168273" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

I also hope this ends the debate as to whether they've changed the ending or not. These are actual character sides from the actual script (as it was written at that time). The twist is intact.

-Craig