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Category: Movie News

Unconfirmed: Brandon Soo Hoo Cast as Fly Molo

According to a cast list on IMDB, 16 year old Brandon Soo Hoo will be taking on the role of Fly Molo, one of Ender’s toon leaders in Dragon Army.

IMDB can be edited by the general public with a paid membership, so casting on the site isn’t always reliable when it hasn’t been confirmed elsewhere, so this is still unconfirmed. In the books, Fly Molo was supposed to be of Filipino descent, so it’s possible that the casting information simply has him named as the wrong character and he’s to play Han Tzu (Hot Soup) instead, another toon leader.

A skilled martial artist of Chinese descent, Soo Hoo has done work on G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra and Tropic Thunder. He holds a black belt in Tae Kwon Do.

What do you think? Has he been mislabeled as Fly Molo or have the writers merged Fly Molo and Han Tzu into one character?

Update: Brandon Soo Hoo will in fact be playing Fly Molo in Ender’s Game.

Source: IMDB

January 21, 2012
Ender’s Game Open Casting Call in Chalmette, LA

Reports of last week’s open casting call in New Orleans for Ender’s Game sounded a little less crowded than you’d expect, which is probably why the producers are holding another open call today in Chalmette. The age range has been expanded to include young adults from ages 12-21.

While what I read about the open call was rather disappointing, I’m honestly not surprised.

Sure, I’d love to have my own kids be in a background role in a movie, but with 8 weeks of filming and the need for lots of background kids for the Battle School, I would flat out not allow it, even if I’m a huge fan of the book and want to see my kids in it.

It’s just too long to be out of school, which explains why they’re looking for homeschooled children and even that’s got to be hard to cast because how many budding child actors are homeschooled and living in NOLA?

The Battle School hosts a massive amount of child soldiers, but the producers could probably get away with re-using kids for the different armies by simply putting them in different uniforms. Still, this puts a strain on the kids.

Details for the casting call are below:

Date: Thursday, January 19
Time: 3:30 to 6:30 p.m.
Place: Chalmette Council Chambers
8201 West Judge Perez Drive
What to bring: A recent snapshot

Source: NOLA.com

January 18, 2012
Open Casting Call in New Orleans for ‘Ender’s Game’

A casting call has gone out for what are presumably background roles for the Battle School and launch scenes.

Children and teenagers between the ages of 10 and 17 are encouraged to head down to the casting call with a recent photo.

Homeschooled children are preferable due to filming taking place during school hours. Filming will take place in New Orleans.

Full details from the casting call are below. It’s really happening!!

Ender’s Game open casting call being held at the Hilton Garden Inn located in the Warehouse District of New Orleans on Saturday, January 14th from 11am to 3pm.

Alexis Allen, in association with Batherson Casting, are seeking bright and talented kids and teens ages 10-17 of varying ethnic background for the feature film production of Orson Scott Card’s “Ender’s Game”; based on one of the most famous science fiction novels of the last 40 years. We will be filming on location in New Orleans from February 2nd through the end of June 2012, providing those selected with up to 8 weeks of work.

To be considered, please come to the open call this weekend, located at the address below between 11am and 3pm.

Hilton Garden Inn
1001 South Peters St
New Orleans 70130

Please also bring a recent 4×6 picture of yourself. Homeschooled students are especially encouraged, because of the work duration during school hours.

We are very excited to be filming here in New Orleans and know that the talented youth of this great city will make this production a shining success! Those who are selected will have the adventure of a lifetime and become part of science fiction cinema history!! We look forward to hearing from you and working together!

Source: On Location Vocations

January 11, 2012
Meet Aramis Knight AKA Bean

While Ender’s Game features a wide cast of known child actors including Asa Butterfield (Ender), Abigail Breslin (Valentine), and Hailee Steinfeld (Petra), one of the most important of those characters is Bean, who will be played by 12 year-old Aramis Knight.

Knight first began acting when he was six years old, when he had a small part in the pilot episode of ABC’s alien drama series Invasion in 2005. Since then, he’s done a lot of acting in television, appearing in shows such as NCIS, Ghost Whisperer, Dexter, and even an episode of LOST as Sam, Sayid’s nephew. (video below)

Interestingly enough, Knight has already worked with mega star Harrison Ford, who is set to play Colonel Graff, the leader of the Battle School, in the movie Crossing Over.

With such a lengthy resume behind him, he seems to be big enough to fill the shoes of little genius Bean. He’s described as being 4’10”, which doesn’t really lend much to the fact that he’s supposed to be extremely small (thus the name “Bean”), but a lot could be done to make him look smaller on screen. Does he look like the Bean you’ve imagined?

View his demo reel on IMDB or watch this video of him in LOST, season 6:

January 3, 2012
Harrison Ford and Abigail Breslin Officially Join Cast of ‘Ender’s Game’

A slew of actors were reported to be officially joining the cast of Ender’s Game today, with Harrison Ford being cast as Colonel Hyram Graff and Abigail Breslin as Ender’s sister Valentine Wiggin.

Other casting announcements:

Aramis Knight has been cast as Bean, Ender’s smallest and most brilliant recruit in Dragon Army.

Moises Arias has been cast as Bonzo Madrid, the leader of Salamander and Ender’s first commander.

Jimmy “Jax” Pinchak has been cast as Peter Wiggin, Ender’s sociopath older brother.

Conor Carroll has been cast as Bernard, the first enemy that Ender makes on the shuttle launch to Battle School.

Khylin Rhambo has been cast as Dink Meeker, Ender’s friend and ally in the Battle School.

Suraj Parthasarathy has been cast as Alai, one of Ender’s toon leaders in Dragon Army.

Source: Variety

December 21, 2011
Brendan Meyer Joins ‘Ender’s Game’ as Stilson

According to an insider’s source of the Hollywood Reporter, 17 year old Brendan Meyer from the Disney XD series Mr. Young has been cast as the bully Stilson who torments Ender Wiggin at school.

Although the role is very small, the character Stilson has a lasting impact on Ender as he makes his way through Battle School, coming back to haunt Ender when he begins to play the fantasy game Giant’s Drink.

Meyer joins Asa Butterfield (Ender Wiggin) in the production, which begins filming in New Orleans next February, while Hailee Steinfeld and Ben Kingsley are still in negotiations to join the cast.

View Meyer’s IMDB profile.

December 17, 2011
Ben Kingsley to Play Mazer Rackham

According to the Hollywood Reporter, Ben Kingsley is in talks to play war hero Mazer Rackham in the movie adaptation of Ender’s Game, which is tentatively scheduled to begin principal photography next February, though the headline and the article give different versions of the story.

Kingsley has worked with star Asa Butterfield before in last month’s Hollywood delight Hugo. Although there has yet to be studio confirmation on either Kingsley’s casting or more recently, Hailee Steinfeld in talks to play Petra Arkanian, Kingsley seems to be a great fit for the character, who is presumed dead by the world long after he single-handedly puts an end to the last Formic invasion. Rackham then becomes a mentor to Ender as he completes his training.

Kingsley has played a wide variety of roles, with some of his most memorable being from Shindler’s List, A.I. Artificial Intelligence, and House of Sand and Fog.

Source: The Hollywood Reporter

December 9, 2011
Hailee Steinfeld in Negotiations for ‘Ender’s Game’ Movie for Petra Arkanian

According to The Hollywood Reporter, the young star of last year’s True Grit is in talks to join the cast of Ender’s Game.

Although she was nominated for an Academy Award, Steinfeld has yet to follow up her stunning performance with additional work, but this role would put things back in motion for her in February of next year.

Steinfeld is negotiating for the role of Petra Arkanian, Ender’s lone female soldier in Dragon Army. Ender first meets Petra when he arrives in the Battle School and the two children become friends, training together for years.

What do you think of her being Petra? There’s absolutely no doubt she can act and she’s only slightly older than Asa Butterfield, who looks younger than his 14 years, so their youthfulness matches up nicely with the books.

December 2, 2011
Harrison Ford Being Discussed for Colonel Graff

With Asa Butterfield officially cast as Ender Wiggin in the Ender’s Game movie, rumors have now begun regarding one of the few adult roles in the primarily youthful cast, Colonel Graff. When reporting about Butterfield’s casting, Variety let slip that after talks with Viggo Mortensen fell through, discussion over who would play the Battle School Commander began to center around alternatives, including Harrison Ford.

Now, while the desire for a huge name as a leading man for a movie that will undoubtedly have to be carried by children is understandable, the Colonel Graff I remember was much younger and most of all, fat. I’m a huge Harrison Ford fan, having loved him since the day he told Princess Leia “I know.”, but I just can’t see Ford as Graff. And on that note, I can’t picture Viggo as Graff either. In fact, that casting choice seems even worse.

My own choices for the role of Graff include Mark Addy (who has definitely shown his acting chops as King Robert in A Game of Thrones), Timothy Spall (Wormtongue from the Harry Potter movies), and Oliver Platt. While they may not carry the big celebrity profiles of Mortensen and Ford, they seem to fit the role a lot better.

November 30, 2011
Asa Butterfield Confirms Casting for ‘Ender’s Game’ Movie

Just over a week ago, it was reported that Asa Butterfield, the young star of Martin Scorscese’s Hugo had been offered the part of Andrew “Ender” Wiggin for the film adaptation of Ender’s Game.

Today, Butterfield confirmed that he has accepted the role via Twitter.

The film, which is set to begin filming early next year, will be released in March 2013. Fans of the novel have been waiting decades for this film to be made and this casting is definitely a sure sign of it finally happening.

November 30, 2011
‘Ender’s Game’ to Begin Filming in New Orleans

Production for Ender’s Game is now reported to begin in late February of next year, running into early summer to conclude in June. The production will be filming in New Orleans, Louisiana, which has been a popular filming location for the studio, Summit Entertainment, in the past.

With filming set to start in just three short months, we should be hearing a lot more about casting for the numerous parts in the long-awaited sci-fi thriller about genius children being trained to save the world from an alien race that nearly wiped them out in the past.

So far, only 14 year-old Asa Butterfield has been tied to the project, though there hasn’t been news so far on whether he would be accepting the part he was offered. At least nine other young actors are needed for roles in the film and there are a few adult roles to fill as well, including Graff, Anderson, Mazer Rackham, and possibly an adult Valentine.

Source: NOLA Movies

November 19, 2011
Asa Butterfield Offered Role of Ender Wiggin

There’s big news to report today in regards to the film adaptation of Ender’s Game, with Deadline reporting that 14 year old Asa Butterfield, who stars in Martin Scorcese’s Hugo opening next week for the Thanksgiving holidays, has been offered the science fiction role of a lifetime: Ender Wiggin.

It’s already been reported that the book’s main characters have all been aged up significantly, but the young actor doesn’t necessarily look like he’s 14, which is a good thing because the younger Ender can look, the better it will fit with the overall theme of the book.

A professional actor since the age of 8, Butterfield has a decently sized film resume to back him up. It’ll be interesting to see who will be cast next. Will it be precious Valentine Wiggin or sociopath Peter Wiggin? Are they going to be able to find a kid smaller, younger, and spunkier than the commanding Ender for the role of Bean?

Ender’s Game is set to be released on March 15, 2013.

Source: Deadline

November 18, 2011
Summit Announces March 15, 2013 Release Date for ‘Ender’s Game’

Fans have literally waited decades for an Ender’s Game movie to make it to the big screen and previous attempts at the adaptation always seemed to fizzle out and leave fans of the young super genius disappointed yet again. Yet when casting calls went out last month for a slew of young roles, including Ender himself, the movie started to become a reality.

Still, things had fallen through so many times before, it was still hard to believe until today. Summit Entertainment, the studio that built itself on the Twilight franchise, announced a release date of March 15, 2013 for Ender’s Game.

Casting rumors have surfaced that Ender has been aged up to 10 and Orson Scott Card has come forth to say that he endorses such changes to the story and admitted that we may see the Locke and Demosthenes storyline omitted for the sake of the film.

October 25, 2011