Lionsgate are bringing their Ender’s Game panel to Hall H of San Diego Comic-Con tonight, and they’ve dropped two videos ahead of time. In the first, Harrison Ford phones in a description of the first alien invasion, while the second video is a recruitment video seeking kids to fight the space bugs.
Meanwhile, some are boycotting the project based on author Orson Scott Card’s bigotry, and Dan made a good case for this being Card’s own damn fault. In response to the potential boycott, Lionsgate has issued a statement trying to disavow Card and announcing they’ll hold a GLBT benefit.
As one of The Gays™, I haven’t commented on this kerfuffle yet, but I suppose I’ll say something now. I’m not boycotting the movie, but I have no plans to see it either, because it looks as soulless and sterile and boring as most Hollywood fare.
I’ve never read Ender’s Game or any other Card book, probably because I heard about his bigotry while I was still very young and was repulsed by his name on book jackets. It could be the greatest book ever, but I’ll never know. Even as a child, I sensed I wasn’t welcome in his clubhouse. That’s why I find it especially amusing that his response to the potential boycott included the sentence, “Now it will be interesting to see whether the victorious proponents of gay marriage will show tolerance toward those who disagreed with them when the issue was still in dispute.”
Hey, speaking of tolerance, here’s another statement from Orson Scott Card.
“Laws against homosexual behavior should remain on the books, not to be indiscriminately enforced against anyone who happens to be caught violating them, but to be used when necessary to send a clear message that those who flagrantly violate society’s regulation of sexual behavior cannot be permitted to remain as acceptable, equal citizens within that society.” — Orson Scott Card in 1990
And exactly when would it be “necessary” to let us gays know we’re unacceptable second-class citizens, Mr. Card? Should your version of America make an example out of every tenth gay person? Should we hold a lottery? Or just imprison the uppity ones?
If you think Card’s views have changed drastically since 1990, keep in mind he joined the board of the National Organization for Marriage in 2009, an organization which routinely boycotts companies for not openly discriminating against their GLBT employees. So I guess it’s practicing tolerance to boycott companies for giving the same job benefits to all workers, but it’s intolerant to boycott a writer who advocated throwing you in prison. Yeah. Okay. Sure. Great logic, dude.
In conclusion, f-ck Orson Scott Card and here are two videos from Ender’s Game.
Ender’s Game opens November 1st.