Summit has posted a behind the scenes video detailing how Digital Domain and Audi collaborated to create the Fleet Quattro car in the movie. You can see Abigail Breslin in the car, presumably when Graff brings her to the lake.
Category: Cast
-
Huffington Post Talks to Andrea Powell
The Huffington Post spoke with actress Andrea Powell recently and discussed her role as Theresa Wiggin and how she once stood in for Viola Davis with Harrison Ford during a table read!
What was your audition like for Ender’s Game in which you play Ender’s mom? Did you HAVE an audition?
I had an audition! And it was simultaneously wonderful and horrifying. The callback was essentially a rehearsal session with writer/director Gavin Hood, which was wonderful to work on. But by that time I wanted the role so much that I felt like every single thing I did in the audition was just grossly overacted, that I was barely better than I’d been in junior high productions, when I played the mother by spraying my hair grey. But ultimately I think I dove in very deep emotionally, connected with the character and her struggles, took Gavin’s insightful adjustments, and it just worked. That felt good, and made me a little less nervous. The callback was in New Orleans, and I remember taking my husband along and making sure that we did at least nine more interesting things in New Orleans that day, so that the callback would be the tenth most interesting thing. It was a busy day, but we accomplished it. For the audition, I just had the sides [part of the script] — the full script was locked up tight as a drum. The first time I saw it was at the table read, where I read in Viola Davis’ part opposite Harrison Ford because she couldn’t be there that day. Good thing I didn’t fully understand what was happening (truly, I was that into the script, it’s amazing) until it was over, when I looked at the scar on his chin, thought to myself, “Wow, that’s Harrison Ford,” and my stomach turned over 50 times. And Sir Ben Kingsley was sitting two chairs to my left. So yeah, just a typical Thursday.
Read the Part 1 of the interview here.
-
VIDEO: Harrison Ford Responds to Viola’s Davis’ Dirty Jokes Claim
Harrison Ford was a guest on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno last night and after talking 42, failed pitches, and dodging the good ole Star Wars question, talked a bit about Ender’s Game.
Jay Leno then brought up the fact that Viola Davis revealed Harrison Ford has a dirty mind and tells lots of dirty jokes, which he tried to deny by saying she mixed him up with Ben Kingsley. After some prodding and insisting that he never told any dirty jokes around the kids, he starts to tell a really long and involved dirty joke.
Skip to the second marker for the start of his appearance and skip to the third for his Ender’s Game talk.
The clip shown was “Nothing Left At All”.
-
VIDEO: Hailee Steinfeld Presents New ‘Ender’s Game’ Clip on Jimmy Fallon
Last night, Hailee Steinfeld (Petra) was a guest on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon and after talking to Jimmy about learning how to drive in LA and her Halloween costume, presented a new clip of Petra offering to teach Ender some moves in the Battle Room.
Thanks to Hannah for the tip. Watch it on Hulu HERE.
Source: NBC
-
Nerd Reactor Talks Dink Meeker with Khylin Rhambo
Nerd Reactor interviewed Khylin Rhambo (Dink Meeker) and talked Ender’s Game, his reaction to learning he’d be acting with Harrison Ford and Ben Kingsley, and his work on First Family.
Nerd Reactor: You’re in a big budget science fiction action movie, Ender’s Game. What’s your excitement level right now?
Khylin Rhambo: I mean my excitement level is probably at 9 billion right now to be honest. I’ve been waiting two years, or about a year and change, basically I’ve been waiting for this whole thing to finally unfold. Soon I get to see the finished product, so that is almost so exciting that I don’t even feel anything; it’s like a surreal moment. That’s what I’m feeling right now.
Nerd Reactor: Can you tell us about your character?
I play this character whose name is Dink Meeker, and he’s like the junior of the Battle School. He’s been there for a while and he comes in contact with Ender. The rules are simple, nobody interacts with the new kids because they ‘are’ the new kids and nobody likes them. But Dink, I liked playing him because he was an honorable character to play and when I say that, I mean he was willing to talk to Ender because he knew that there was something special about him. He’s willing to take one for the team if it means that they win. He’s willing to team up with people that he might not necessarily like, he’s willing to respect his boss’ orders even though his boss may be unorthodox. There’s just so many things about him that I would like to incorporate into my own life, so being able to play a noble character like that was actually an experience that I’ll never forget.
Nerd Reactor: You get to act with some big talent including Ben Kingsley and Harrison Ford. So how was that?
Khylin Rhambo: Man, I’m not even going to lie to you. I was really scared. When I first found out who was going to be in the cast, I was like, “Are you serious? Did they make a mistake? Am I supposed to be in the movie?” It was amazing when I first saw them because these guys, I’ve seen so many of their movies and when I shook their hand I just couldn’t help but feel honored to be part of it. Every actor says that, you know, that it’s an honor to work with this person or it’s an honor to work with that person. But it truly, truly was an honor because these guys are elite. They’re at the top and you can’t help but learn from them. The energy on set, the way they carry themselves, it was great to see them like that, to be so professional and extremely talented. So you can’t help but be better when you’re surrounded by people like that.
Read the full interview at Nerd Reactor.
-
VIDEOS: Ender’s Game Press Junket London
As you remember, some of the cast and crew of Ender’s Game did a press tour through Europe earlier this month. While in London, they gave a number of interviews, some of which have now surfaced online. Since they all have the same sort of setup, it can be quite confusing and hard to tell which interview is which just by looking at it, so here is a comprehensive list of all London press junket interview vids I could find. Enjoy!
1. Joe Michalczuk for Sky News EntertainmentJoe basically asks all interviewees very similar questions, so the real treat here is how much they sometimes differ in their answers. Asa, Hailee, Harrison and Bob, Sir Ben and Gavin talk about
- Ender’s Game being an independent movie
- the book, the script, and the movie
- the potential of SciFi and the themes of the movie
- working with the greats/being greats working with kids
- sequels
Watch the other interviewees here:
Hailee Steinfeld…………Harrison Ford and Bob Orci…………Sir Ben Kingsley
2. Rory Cashin for Entertainment.ieNow, these are probably the best ones of the lot. The Interviewer asks interesting and insightful questions and you can actually tell that the interviewees enjoy not having to talk about the same things over and over again for once. Unfortunately, these are not on Youtube, and there is no embed code available on the site. So you’ll just have to do with links!
- Asa and Hailee on their chemistry, reading the source material when doing adaptations, physical challenges and Harrison Ford: HERE
- Harrison and Bob on the book, SciFi, Harrison returning to space, models for Graff, the younger actors and upcoming projects: HERE
- Sir Ben on what attracted him to the role, parallels between the story and the shooting experience, Asa, and telling stories: HERE
- Gavin on his history with the novel, Graff vs. Anderson, challenges of adaptation, and how he works with different actors: HERE
3. James Kleinmann for HeyUGuysUK and NerdyUKThese are run-of-the-mill interviews with some interesting tidbits. Gavin Hood, for instance, talks about why he decided to play the Giant in the Ender’s Game video game sequences.
Here is the rest:
- Asa and Hailee on their characters and their relationship, the pressure of playing an iconic lead character, and what’s special about the movie: HERE
- Bob and Harrison on the book, what attracted Harrison, casting Ender, Asa, and their hopes for the movie: HERE
- Sir Ben on what he likes about the book, lead vs. supporting roles, and wearing the tattoo: HERE
4. The Showbiz 411So far, they have only published their interview with Hailee and Asa. It’s refreshingly light-hearted and probably geared towards younger viewers. The two young stars talk about hitting it off right away, space camp, boot camp, fun on set, tight flash suits and their ideal planet.
5. Cel Spellman, CBBC Friday DownloadAnd last but not least, the most fun video of them all. Kiddy program “Friday Download” (CBBC) presenter Cel not only interviewed Asa, Hailee, Sir Ben, Bob and Harrison, he also challenged them to a match of Rock-Paper-Scissors. The whole thing is hilarious!
Note: It’s out of sync, so if that bothers you, just download it and play it with an audio delay of 2,1 seconds in VLC or Windows Media Player. Thanks to Tumblr users ceolwaerc and toothle55 for making it available.
Sources: Youtube, Youku, Entertainment.ie -
VIDEO: Viola Davis on The Ellen Show
Viola Davis (Major Anderson) was on The Ellen Show yesterday and showed a clip from Ender’s Game (Nothing Left at All). She also talked about her failed plan to plant a surprise smooch on Harrison Ford during filming.
-
Sir Ben Kingsley Talks Shower Fight
News.de editor Susett Queisert met Sir Ben during his press tour in Berlin. She talked to him about his tattoo, preparing for his role, and the movie’s rating. I translated the most noteworthy bits for you.
On how he ended up wearing the tatoo:
When I met Gavin Hood three months before we started shooting, he showed me the most beautiful graphic designs of landscapes and Earth on his laptop. He also showed me the costumes … but he never mentioned the tattoo. I met him in New Orleans the day before shooting and he was nervous, wondering if I would even wear the tattoo. But he is a nice and generous person who knows his trade. And he knows how to equip his actors. He asked me if I wanted to spend time with a Maori expert to talk about the tatoo, and I said: “Gavin, wait! If it helps to tell the story, then let a make-up artist put it on my face.”
On the younger actors’ reaction to him:
When I came on set for my first scene I was standing on higher ground and the younger actors were talking to each other in a relaxed manner. When I said my first line they started to behave oddly. They turned around, took a step, sat down in front of the machines and started to operate them without looking around. … When Mazer says something we do it. When he gives an order we jump. It was astounding.
Asked if the movie’s rating/appropriateness for children didn’t weaken its impact, he answered:
I think the film is very unsentimental. It doesn’t contain any cruelty or violence. Gavin told me about the stunt coordinator. In the movie, there was a fight scene between Ender and Bonzo in the showers and the stunt coordinator was talking about all the things he was planning to do in that scene. But Gavin said: “Wait, I want to finish this shot in two takes.” He wanted to make the scene as short as possible in order to put Ender’s shock [about what he’d done] also on the faces of the audience. If the fight had been 15 minutes the audience wouldn’t have felt this moment of “What did I just do?” that Ender felt.
Source: News.de
-
Viola Davis: Harrison Ford Tells a Lot of Dirty Jokes
Entertainment Tonight spoke with Harrison Ford, Asa Butterfield, Viola Davis, and Hailee Steinfeld at the Ender’s Game press junket on Saturday. Although they talk a lot about the underlying themes of the film, the gem is definitely when Viola Davis continues her Harrison Ford fangirling and reveals that he’s got a really dirty mind and tells a lot of dirty jokes.
-
VIDEO: Aramis Knight at Hub Network’s Halloween Bash
Ender’s Game star Aramis Knight was on the purple carpet at Hub Network’s 1st Annual Halloween Bash and Red Carpet Report talked to him about his plans for seeing the movie and his plans for Halloween.
-
Wireless Magazine Talks to the Cast of ‘Ender’s Game’
Wireless Magazine recently spoke to the cast and crew of Ender’s Game while they were in the UK and there are some interesting tidbits in the various conversations they had.
Gavin Hood: [T]his is really about a young boy trying to find his own moral centre in a world that is encouraging his more aggressive nature. From a technical point of view there’s all the great fun stuff we have with the battle room and with the simulations. In the book they are slightly different, I’d like to hope fans will feel we’ve made them more visual for the purpose of cinema.
Asa Butterfield: I think that relationship is quite important in the film. When Ender’s first taken away from his home, from everyone he loves, everyone he trusts and put into this completely alien world where almost immediately he’s alienated from his peers there’s no one that he can talk to about what’s going on so he doesn’t really know what he’s supposed to be doing. When he meets Petra as their relationship develops they start to realise they can trust each other. She almost fills the gap that his sister has left so it’s definitely not a love relationship in any sense I don’t think, I just think they’re really close friends. They don’t know anything about boyfriends or girlfriends, they’re just someone they can lean on, to help.
Ben Kingsley: Well, the ending is that one wonders whether or not, without giving too much away, the audience will be curious, intrigued and troubled to know, is this child’s soul going to be distorted forever? Or will he get back to his original self? That in spite of or because of that very taxing journey, adolescence to young adulthood, have they distorted him? I think the answer is in the film and I find it very uplifting.
Hailee Steinfeld: I think there are many, there’s everything from leadership, compassion, all these different things that are so relevant to today. I don’t know that there is a main message I think there are plenty and it will be interesting to see what the audience takes away from it because there is so much in there.
Check out full interviews here.
-
EnderCast Episode #34 with Guest Asa Butterfield
It’s obvious we’ve wanted to have Asa Butterfield as a guest on our show for forever and yesterday we finally got our wish with EnderCast Episode 34, Ender Wiggin Ender Wiggin.
Listen as we try to get him to do his American accent, which he says Hailee’s said needs work, and as we ask him what it’s like to see his face plastered all over London and LA. We also got a chance to talk to producers Bob Orci and Gigi Pritzker about their journey bringing Ender’s Game to the big screen and why they’re glad it took this long.
-
Asa Butterfield and Ben Kingsley Talk Ender’s Game on ITV Daybreak
This morning, Asa Butterfield and Ben Kingsley were on ITV’s breakfast show Daybreak promoting Ender’s Game. Our readers in the UK can watch the video HERE on ITVplayer!
I wasn’t able to download it, but I hope it will turn up on Youtube soon. In the meantime, here are some quick summaries as well as the best bits, or at least the ones containing information that you may not have heard yet anywhere else.
Asa Butterfield:
First, they showed some scenes from the trailer and from the clip where Ender is given Dragon Army. They then talk about the scene and the dynamics between Graff and Ender:
Host: Asa Butterfield … taking a break from his A-levels to take on Harrison Ford. … And you stare the man down in this, too.
Asa: I do, yeah. It’s … It was quite interesting how at the start of the film he is quite dominant over me in terms of military power, but by the end of it, as you said, we sort of stand eye to eye, and that’s really exciting.Two of the hosts had seen the movie and were impressed with Asa’s performance. They go on talking about
- what it was like working with Harrison Ford
- training for the zero G scenes
- how Asa managed schooling on set (he had a tutor who kept in touch with his school, and he had to take his GCSEs at the British Academy in Houston while filming)
- how he is really a normal kid who plays video games and hangs out with his mates
Nothing new there, really. The Hostess then tells a story about how her little boy plays with Asa’s little sister in the park, and how his mother had told her “he’s doing quite well” and then she found out he was actually a major star. It’s really a cute little interview, but as far as actual news or new insights go, you won’t miss all that much.
Sir Ben Kingsley:
Sir Ben was on a bit later. The clip they showed was the one where Mazer yells at Ender for losing a battle. Sir Ben then talks about how he is always a bit “gobsmacked” when he sees himself on screen because he tends to forget about scenes as soon as they are done. He then goes on to explain the tattoos, how he went through make-up, and how the other cast members looked at him sort of curiously when he came out. He talks about Asa, the major themes of the movie, and how he keeps his awards in his little library at home, interspersed with the books. Here are the best (and most revealing) bits:
On Asa and his performance:
Host: I must confess, again, that young lad, Asa Butterfield – I must confess I never heard of him until yesterday – what an actor!
Sir Ben: He’s in Hugo with me. And in The Boy in the Striped Pajamas. He’s extraordinary. He’s very focused. He humbles himself to the job. And he has all his priorities perfectly placed.
[…]
Host: Speaking of young people, you surprised some young people in London the other day. You and your costars. …
Sir Ben: That was a shot in the arm. I love being with those kids. They were so enthusiastic. They’d seen a lot of clips from the film. And I think they empathized with the character; I think that Asa will provide a bridge for a lot of people, in his performance, who are struggling with those very difficult years from adolescence to young adulthood.On the themes of the movie:
Host: There’s a lot of themes in it. One of them is bullying, for example, and the other is really, at the end of it, the morality of war, isn’t it.
Ben: The morality of war, or the immorality of war, however you look at it, and when you align that with, what I find very touching in our film, the young want to please. However obfuscated and blurred that might become, the fact is that they want to get it right, they want to join, they want to be part of the bigger picture, the bigger tribe or whatever. And you do find in Asa’s performance, in the young actors’ performances, that when they hit those targets, when they “get it right”, they are delighted. They just simply want to please. It’s the older generation who take advantage of that willingness in them to please.Sounds about right to me. What do you think? Let us know in the comments!
Source: ITV Daybreak