'Ender's Game' Movie Profits Won't Go to Orson Scott Card

Orson Scott Card, the outspokenly homophobic author of the book Ender's Game, won't get any of the box office money from the movie that opens tomorrow. So is there still cause for boycott?

Though there has been a call to boycott the film over Card's support of anti-gay causes, Josh Dickey of The Wrap reported yesterday evening that Card will not benefit—at least not directly—from the film's success. Sources "both inside and outside the companies that produced the" movie confirmed to Dickey that Card gets no back-end on the movie, and has already been paid the money he will get from the adaptation through a "decade-old deal." Card's deal for the movie, which lingered in development for many years, was done long ago, and Dickey explained that, by the time the iteration of the project that finally made it to the screen got underway, "Card’s involvement, both creative and financial, had dissolved to virtually nil."

Card has a producing credit, but he wasn't involved in the film creatively, Dickey reports. That goes in contrast to authors like J.K. Rowling and Suzanne Collins, who made deals that gave them a say in the filmmakers' decisions and kept the money flowing. (For what it's worth, director Gavin Hood told us in an interview earlier this month that he did have to meet with Card, "because he had approval rights on the director and they were hiring me as a writer director.") Of course, the success of a film will likely drive book sales, with some of those going to Card.

This issue comes to a head with the gospel.

The Old Testament regime was a training ground. It spoke little of a union of humanity and heaven (though some Psalms address this matter). Its governing law did not present the full salvational power of heaven in a formal way. That does not mean the power was not present, but it was ministered case by case, without being formally offered to mankind.

So, practicing homosexuals (who were convicted by the usual Mosaic law trial process, requiring two or three witnesses — a single witness and they would walk) ended up with a rocky finish on this mortal coil. Repentance of heart before they died would be still possible, and they could thus still be reconciled with God for the sake of eternity, but the system demanded they would die anyhow.

Our modern body of Western and American law is a mixed bag of gospel and Old Testament principles. It was not usually very kind to buggerers.

Anyhow, I believe a radical reordering of priorities according to genuine gospel will be needed in order to address the present situation. The cat is thoroughly out of the “law” bag now and just scratches when we try to get it to go back in. Secular law has done all it could. Now it is time for gospel to step up to the plate. Save sinners by overwhelming Satan. And it is an odd looking fight, because it entails doing good to the sinner. What, do good to a homosexual that disgusts you? Well, yes. If you believe in the gospel. Now you oughtn’t to go rolling out red carpets of glory for them in their unredeemed state, but God can use even that imperfect state of affairs without missing a beat if we gospel believers address ourselves to it. The gospel cure is: teach them (after accepting Christ for salvation of their eternal lives) to glorify God in their body. They will probably find it very hard to believe God would care that much and can exert that kind of power. Great reassurance that He does, and can, is needed. This is where our modern church is almost AWOL, and what ex-gay groups there are have very little courage. May the good Lord remedy this forthwith! We cannot just let Satan dance around and have his way.

This confirms my suspicion that Gavin Hood is indeed the worst director in the history of film.

The other day I saw a CD for a movie score, and as I picked it up, I realized what the subtitle actually said: Music inspired by. The score was completely made up by someone. I took it home anyway, figured that it couldn't be that bad, maybe they came up with some new ideas. What it turned out to be was as if someone had read a review of the film and maybe a couple ten second segments of the music of the film, and then went and created a whole new thread of music, occasionally referencing back to things mentioned in a review, or a couple themes repeated from the ten second burst they heard of the music.

That's what the screenplay comes across to me as.

I can't fault his direction - he followed the flawed screenplay he write to the letter, he brought forth great special effects, good acting, a great cast, and something very rare for a modern space invader movie - a plotline.

It just had little to do with Ender's Game the book by Orson Scott Card. And in the end, he probably brought home enough cash (especially with the excuse of Thor opening the weekend after) to avoid this becoming a bomb and possibly making a bit of profit for the movie company. And utterly ensuring that the franchise won't be touched again for at least 20 years.

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