14 DAY TRIAL // Orson Scott Card is notoriously anti-gay and, with his 1985 book “Ender’s Game” finally getting the movie treatment this year, many rushed to ask for a boycott of the movie so that Card wouldn’t profit off it, precisely because of said anti-gay views. As it turns out, a boycott of the movie isn’t necessary.
The idea behind the cries for boycott was that, if you go to see this year’s “Ender’s Game,” which is considered one of the most anticipated releases of the fall, you’re funding Card’s lifestyle and, indirectly, supporting his stance on gay marriage.
The same idea assumed that, when he signed off on the rights for the movie, Card asked for a share of the film’s backend. In other words, the general impression was that Card would be getting a share of box office revenue so, naturally, the better the film did at the BO, the more money the author got.
The Wrap has learned that, while the author gets producer credit (and salary), he will be getting exactly 0 dollars from the film’s box office, which means that, if you too were among those planning to boycott “Ender’s Game,” you can now see it without feeling guilty.
The book was a hit when it came out and it continues to be a best-seller but production of a movie was so prolonged and often delayed that Card simply didn’t want to take the risk to wait until a better offer came along. He signed off on the movie rights 10 years ago and the deal didn’t include a mention that he’d be getting a cut of the backend for the simple reason that no one knew if the movie would be made.
“Though it was whispered early on that Card’s contract had “escalators” – built-in box-office milestones with cash bonuses attached – individuals close to the film say he has no such profit participation,” The Wrap reports.
Neither did Card have a say in the direction of the movie or, for that matter, any type of creative input in the new project. “That stands in support of the idea that he’ll neither gain from its success, nor suffer from its failure,” the e-zine points out.
Card has already asked his readers to not confuse two different things and boycott the movie because he’s so vocally anti-gay but, so far, he’s done little to sway them that way.
The aforementioned trade publication points out that a much more reasonable thing to do if you’re still determined to be a part of the boycott is to simply stop buying Card’s book: that’s where he still gets his money from.
“Ender’s Game” is now in theaters.