Movie studio Lionsgate Entertainment
has weighed in on a boycott of its upcoming film Ender's Game
over its author's anti-gay marriage views.
In a statement released Friday,
Lionsgate touted its support for gay rights and said that Orson Scott
Card's views were “completely irrelevant” to the project. Card
is a board member of the National Organization for Marriage (NOM),
the nation's most vociferous opponent of gay nuptials.
“As proud longtime supporters of the
LGBT community, champions of films ranging from Gods and Monsters
to The Perks of Being a Wallflower and a company that is proud
to have recognized same-sex unions and domestic partnerships within
its employee benefits policies for many years, we obviously do not
agree with the personal views of Orson Scott Card and those of the
National Organization for Marriage.”
“However, they are completely
irrelevant to a discussion of Ender’s Game. The simple fact
is that neither the underlying book nor the film itself reflect these
views in any way, shape or form. On the contrary, the film not only
transports viewers to an entertaining and action-filled world, but it
does so with positive and inspiring characters who ultimately deliver
an ennobling and life-affirming message.”
Lionsgate added that it was planning an
Ender's Game premiere event to benefit the LGBT community,
though it gave no details.
Last week, Card pleaded for tolerance
after Geeks OUT announced its boycott, saying that last month's
Supreme Court rulings made the issue moot.
“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,” he wrote.
But the group rejected
the plea, saying that nothing is “more democratic and tolerant
than a consumer boycott, rooted in the ideas of free market
accountability.”
“Orson Scott Card, we can tolerate
your anti-gay activism, your right-wing extremism, your campaign of
fear-mongering and insults, but we're not going to pay you for it,”
the group wrote in response.
Ender's Game stars Harrison
Ford, Sir Ben Kingsley and Abigail Breslin. It is set to open in
November.