Very interesting article on Suvudu that discusses the power of Hollywood over book sales: Read it here.
As most of us would have expected, Ender’s Game rocketed up to the #1 position in the American box office taking over $30million in its opening weekend (we should probably point out that Thor:2 is expected to reach $90million or perhaps even break the $1000million benchmark)!
The article explains that Card will make NO money from this movie after having received a lump sum for the rights about a decade ago. But, being a fan of the books (Card not so much), the bit of the article that really interested me was how the release of a movie can effect book sales. Ender’s Game is already one of the best selling Science-Fiction novels of all time, but you would presume the fact that it was written in 1985, before many of the current generation of SFF fans were born (me included!), that book sales weren’t up to too much a few months back.
Well, adverts, posters, radio, online discussions, actors appearing on talk shows and the book being given a shiny new cover AND being placed as number 1 on bookstore, supermarket and even DVD/Gameshop shelves has meant that interest in the Ender’s Game novels has never been so high. But, just how high is demand for the book? Checking Amazon, book sales shot up to the extent that Ender’s Game hit number 11 in overall book sales on Amazon, even overtaking A Dance of Dragons (at number 16). In addition, Orson Scott Card novels placed 1, 2 and 3 on Amazon’s Science Fiction & Fantasy list (another 3 were in the top 20 too). And, that’s just Amazon, any bookstore, supermarket, HMV, etc you walk into the book is there, in prime position, staring at you, telling you to buy it.
The result? Orson Scott Card has had a heck of a lot of book sales, and made enough money that he could retire. BUT, just this week, Card has posted up a video confirming further sequels to the Ender books. This is a worrying premise for readers who know about Card’s views on homosexuality and, therefore, can see the problem with having such a man being allowed to write books for anticipating teenagers, but still, here’s what Card had to say:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=311O4s_cFbs
“It’s about what happens to Battle School after the International Fleet loses its purpose of war. A ‘fleet school’ will form and prepare kids to be “commanders [and] explorers in the colonies that are going to be forming.”
Thanks to Suvudu for the original article this News piece is based upon
