“Without a doubt the most fascinating part of the entire book is “Getting Ender Right” [an essay] about the never-ending saga to bring Ender’s Game to the big screen. Written by Aaron Johnston” -Ain’t It Cool News
I wrote an essay for this encyclopedia about my experience as an associate producer for the film Ender’s Game. This recounts the time that the property was optioned by Warner Brothers with Wolfgang Peterson set to direct. The book was published long before the book was optioned yet again and produced by Lionsgate. That was a much more pleasant experience.
The challenge of adapting Ender’s Game has always been capturing the character of Ender. He is a master commander and tactician. He is selfless and kind and yet fierce when the occasion requires. He’s an extremely complex character, and everyone who tried to write a draft of the script had no concept of military command or the personal attributes that make Ender who he is. Some of the drafts were laughably bad. The Ender of the screenplay was not the Ender of the book, and draft after draft fell on its face. I talk about the drafts in greater detail and the challenge it was to replicate a reader’s experience in a screenplay.
Here’s the book synopsis:
The Authorized Ender Companion is a complete and in-depth encyclopedia of all the persons, places, things, and events in Orson Scott Card’s Ender Universe. Written by Jake Black under the editorial supervision of Card himself, The Authorized Ender Companion will be an invaluable resource for readers of the series.
If you ever wondered where Ender went after he left Earth, before he arrived at Lusitania, you’ll find the answer here. If you ever wanted to know how the battle room worked, you’ll find the answer here. If you forgot the names of the people who discovered the descolada, the answer is here. The history of Gloriously Bright’s world? Here.
The Authorized Ender Companion contains all this and more. There are character biographies, time lines, colony histories, family trees, and numerous black and white illustrations.
