Controversial author who sparked protest with his anti-gay views won't earn less money if film is boycotted, claim insiders
• Activists call for Ender's Game boycott over author's anti-gay views
• Harrison Ford defends Ender's Game as 'impressive act of imagination'
In an effort to head off a potentially damaging boycott of the sci-fi epic Ender's Game, sources close to the film's producers have claimed controversial author Orson Scott Card, who wrote the original novel the film is based on, will not profit from the film's box-office take.
According to the Wrap, insiders have suggested that Card's deal with producers does not include "backend", ie, a percentage of the money taken at the box-office. Card, however, has still apparently banked a $1.5m fee, paid to him when the book was optioned in 1996.
The film's backers have been in panic mode ever since a boycott call was launched by an organisation called Geeks Out, protesting at Card's views on gay marriage, as well as his comparison of President Obama to Hitler.
All those connected to the film have been forced on the defensive, with actor Harrison Ford defending Ender's Game by claiming "There is nothing in the film or the book addressing [Card's] current dispositions, or prejudices", and director Gavin Hood saying: "It has been a real dilemma for me: I love the book ... and it's very difficult for me to reconcile that with his clearly contrary views to the ones I hold on the issue of gay rights."
The Wrap's sources are also at pains to point out that, despite his producer credit, Card has had no creative input into the production.
• Ben Child: can Ender's Game be saved by the incredible Orson Scott Card disappearing act?
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