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Ender’s Game, the film adaptation of Orson Scott Card‘s 1985 sci-fi novel, is finally making its way to the big screen.
The story, about a young boy named Ender who is recruited by the military to help fight off an invading alien race, has a Harry Potter-meets-Star Wars story that could be a big draw for the YA audience. Additionally, the older generation who grew up reading the novel may also be ready to see the story brought to life on film. So who is this movie for?
“I’m hoping that parents and teens will go and see it together,” says star Harrison Ford, who plays Colonel Graff, the keeper and trainer of the army of children.
PHOTOS: ‘Ender’s Game’ Premiere Invades Hollywood With Harrison Ford, Asa Butterfield
“I do think that there are many young fans of the book as well because it’s been passed down through generations in the same way that some of the movies I’ve done in the past have been passed down — like Indiana Jones and Star Wars. There’s a generational value,” he adds.
Directed by Gavin Hood, Ender’s Game stars Asa Butterfield as Ender and Hailee Steinfeld as another member of the young army. One interesting aspect of the story is the way that the children are manipulated by the adult characters, who are, at least for part of the story, pulling all the strings.
Ford shared with THR some advice for the Hugo star and the True Grit star, both 16, as they continue to navigate through their careers.
“Focus and concentration on what’s important,” he says. “These young people have responsible adults advising them, their parents, and I wish the best for them. I know that they’re extremely intelligent, they have enormous talents.”
PHOTOS: ‘Ender’s Game’ Premiere Invades Hollywood With Harrison Ford, Asa Butterfield
Butterfield tells THR that after Hugo, he received lots of scripts, and had to sift through them all, but when he found Ender’s Game, he was hooked. “It’s one of the exciting things about acting — how you never know what sort of project you’re going to find,” says Butterfield. “You do just find the gems in the big, mountain pile of scripts.”
As for Ford, whose career has spanned more than 40 years, he still has quite a few projects coming out, including roles in The Expendables 3 and Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues. But has the prolific actor ever considered a turn in the director’s chair?
“I don’t want to be in charge,” he tells THR. “I love the collaboration. I love being on a film for a relatively short period of time. A director is on a movie for a year, year and a half. It’s too hard. I love what I do. I never really wanted to direct.”
Summit’s Ender’s Game opens on Nov. 1.
E-mail: Rebecca.Ford@THR.com
Twitter: @Beccamford
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