 A couple of evenings ago we had the privilege to attend an exclusive Ender’s Game MCM London Comic Con panel. The event included several exclusive clips as well as a Q+A with the main cast and crew of the film. In attendance were Harrison Ford, Sir Ben Kingsley, Asa Butterfield, Haille Steinfield, director Gavin Hood and producers Bob Orci and Gigi Pritzker. What an evening it was! Below is our full report with images and Q+A extracts.
The event took place on the 7th October in Odeon Leicester Square cinema at 7:00pm BST, however queuing began around three hours before that as keen fans set up to get the best seats. The main entrance to the cinema, on the front exterior was decorated with amazing Ender’s Game space decals – whilst inside held movie props, costumes and special Ender’s Game dressed security Guards. After a short wait, host Craig Stevens (that presenter on Sky + C4) come to ready the audience of what to expect and to build the hype. Although it does not take a lot to make us hyper, simply mention that Harrison Ford would be in the room!
Craig Stevens then presented us with three very exclusive clips; which I was kind enough to record for you all… But here is a better quality version. Finally came the time to invite the special guests to the stage, which was followed by the Q+A. Below extracts of a couple of questions asked.
The Q+A offered an in depth insight into the movies production, filming as well as how the actors and actresses prepared. Sir Ben Kingsley in fact explained his process of his character preparation with such passion and detail that we can hardly wait to see him on the screen.
Gavin, talking about the advancement of CG, was it something that couldn’t have been made years ago? Is now the right time to make this movie?
Gavin Hood: I’m hesitant to say in the presence of Harrison Ford that something couldn’t be made. [laughter] We’ve reached a point now where special effects are so good that they can be used or abused. You can slap visual effects all over a movie and an audience will go, ‘that’s cool but is there a story in there?’ So what I love about Ender’s Game is that it does have fantastic visual effects, Bob’s absolutely right, we can now render the Battle Room in this fantastic way. But at its heart it’s a story about great characters and great character interaction. So I hope you get fantastic visuals and also the themes and ideas of the book.
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Harrison, turning to you, a man whose worked in this genre for many years. You’ve seen CGI grow and change. What are the fundamental differences that you saw working on Ender’s Game that you didn’t see back in the late seventies and early eighties?
Harrison Ford: Well in the ‘olden’ days, we had sort of horse-drawn effects. You put bits together and made a physical prop and you photographed it. Now you can create it in a computer. And that’s basically the difference. And both methods work. The computer graphic perhaps allows you a bit more latitude. But it also allows you, as Gavin mentioned, to exceed human scale. To get beyond and overpopulate the screen in a way that confuses the eye and the emotions.
And I’m convinced by what I’ve seen that we haven’t done that here. One of the great things about science fiction is the bandwidth of imagination that you can use. A realistic film on Earth only has a certain potential but when you get into the future, it broadens. And this book did imagine things like the internet, touch-screen technology, drone warfare, all of which is now a part of our lives, for better or worse. So there’s a lot of wisdom and understanding in the book. Potentially we’ve captured quite a bit of it.
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They say a director has one sci-fi movie in them because they’re such hard work. What are the unique challenges of sci-fi?
Gavin Hood: In terms of sci-fi, I think you’ve all mentioned this, the time in which it takes place is a backdrop to a universal and timeless story. So yes, Ender’s Game is set in the future and I hope we’ve created that beautifully. But at its heart it’s a timeless story. Sir Ben was saying this could take place in Ancient Greece or 100 years in the future.
Humanity is very interesting. We’re constantly evolving yet something about us is very pure. It's why we can both look back and look forward because we haven’t evolved emotionally. We have the same needs, we need love, we get jealous, we get manipulated, all of those human elements happen to you, me and the characters in the movie. So for me, it’s about finding a great story and the environment is hopefully something that’s really cinematic yet a backdrop.
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Here is a little bit of information on what the film is about in case you are still unsure:
Ender’s Game: Twice now the Earth has been ravaged by Buggers, an alien race seemingly determined to destroy humanity. Seventy years later, the people of Earth remain banded together to prevent their own annihilation from this technologically superior Alien species. Ender Wiggin (Asa Butterfield), a quiet but brilliant teenage boy may become the saviour of the human race. He is separated from his beloved sister and terrifying brother and brought to battle school in orbit around Earth. He will be tested and honed into an emphatic killer who begins to despise himself as he learns to fight in hopes of saving Earth and his family. |
The Ender’s Game Q+A was a spectacular aid in building up what to expect from the movie. A big thanks to MCM London Comic Con. Ender’s Game is released on 25th October 2013 across the UK.
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