'Ender's Game' Director Talks Gay Boycott

The gay group Geeks OUT's boycott of Ender's Game and author Orson Scott Card is already a hot topic at San Diego Comic-Con, where Gavin Hood, director for the movie version of the classic sci-fi story, was asked what he thinks of protests over Card's very public anti-gay activism.

"I've been a member of the [pro-equality] Courage Campaign for many years and I'm a little distressed by his point of view on gay marriage," Hood said. But he also believes that the book, about child soldier's fighting alien bugs in the future, is so far removed from the real world debate about marriage equality that it shouldn't eclipse the narrative at hand. "The book is not about that issue, so I hope people can still appreciate the book."

Hood, who wrote and directed the Oscar-winning movie Tsotsi, went on, "I think [Card] wrote a great book, and the themes and ideas in the book, I think, are universal and timeless and applicable, and I hope the book will still be appreciated as a great work of art, even though I don't agree with the author. I optioned the book, not an author, and I love what the author said in that book."

Asa Butterfield, the 16-year-old actor who plays the titular Ender Wiggin, also weighed in, telling the AP, "I agree with rights for everybody" and "You can't blame a work for its author."