Orson Scott Card maintains that his classic novel Ender's Game is set more than 100 years into the future and "has nothing to do with political issues that did not exist when the book was written in 1984."
Henceforth, there's no reason not to see the movie adaptation coming out in November!
But speaking of coming out...
PHOTOS: Movies from the future
Card has garnered himself a reputation for being outspokenly against the justice system getting involved with the legalization of same-sex marriage, and his long-time stance came back to bite him (and, possibly, Summit Entertainment and Lionsgate) recently when the gay-rights-meets-pop-culture-appreciation group Geeks OUT called for a boycott of the film.
"Do NOT see this movie! Do not buy a ticket at the theater, do not purchase the DVD, do not watch it on-demand," group officials wrote in their online campaign. "Ignore all merchandise and toys. However much you may have admired his books, keep your money out of Orson Scott Card's pockets."
The author has written voluminously on the subject, including a February 2004 essay in which he opined: "Regardless of their opinion of homosexual 'marriage,' every American who believes in democracy should be outraged that any court should take it upon itself to dictate such a social innovation without recourse to democratic process."
In 2009, he joined the National Organization of Marriage, a strict opponent of legalizing gay marriage, and wrote in the Mormon Times that year: "Marriage has only one definition, and any government that attempts to change it is my mortal enemy. I will act to destroy that government and bring it down."
PHOTOS: 13 best pics of people celebrating the Supreme Court's DOMA and Prop 8 decisions
Card's stance today, meanwhile, is that no one should hold his views against Ender's Game—especially in light of the U.S. Supreme Court's recent decisions striking down the federal Defense of Marriage Act and allowing Prop 8 to fall by the wayside in California.
"With the recent Supreme Court ruling, the gay marriage issue becomes moot," Card said in a statement toEntertainment Weekly. "The Full Faith and Credit clause of the Constitution will, sooner or later, give legal force in every state to any marriage contract recognized by any other state.
Now it will be interesting to see whether the victorious proponents of gay marriage will show tolerance toward those who disagreed with them when the issue was still in dispute."
Ender's Game, about a gifted boy drafted into military school in an apocalyptic future where the first order of business is defending the planet against a coming alien invasion, boasts an all-star cast that includes Harrison Ford, Asa Butterfield (as Ender), Ben Kingsley,Hailee Steinfeld, Viola Davis and Abigail Breslin. Gavin Hood directed and adapted Card's novel for the screen.
