Ender's Game writer compares Obama to hitler

Writer Orson Scott Card appears to be doing his best to blackball himself in Hollywood, after comparing President Barack Obama to Hitler in an online essay.

61-year-old Card, a practising Mormon, penned the 1985 novel 'Ender's Game' – which went on to sell millions around the world and is soon to be released as a big-budget sci-fi blockbuster starring Harrison Ford, Ben Kingsley and 'Hugo' star Asa Butterfield in the leading role.

It is being lined up in that most lucrative 'young adult' vein, as per movies like 'The Hunger Games', but if he's not careful, Card's time in Hollywood could be limited and he could even scupper the success of the movie.

The Hollywood system – and in particular the PR departments who manage such matters of image and perception – generally objects to the mouthing off of personal beliefs, and in his case, Card, who is also a producer on the film, has mouthed off more than most already.

[Lionsgate dismiss Ender's Game author's views as 'completely irrelevent']

First came his outbursts about same-sex marriage and same-sex relationships in general.

He has said that if the US government take further steps to make same-sex marriage legal, then the government will become his 'mortal enemy' and he will 'act to destroy that government and bring it down'. He's also said he wants to keep laws against homosexuality 'on the books'.

Now he's gone on another rant, this time about the Obama administration, calling the President 'a dictator' and comparing him to Adolf Hitler.

First he seems to think that Obama will never relinquish his presidency in the US, and will appoint his wife Michelle in his place.

“Michelle Obama is going to be Barack's Lurleen Wallace,” he wrote in The Ornery American.

“Remember how George Wallace got around Alabama's ban on governors serving two terms in a row? He ran his wife for the office. Everyone knew Wallace would actually be pulling the strings, even though they denied it.

“Michelle Obama will be Obama's designated 'successor', and any Democrat who seriously opposes her will be destroyed in the media the way everyone who contested Obama's run for the Democratic nomination in 2008 was destroyed.”

He also criticised Obama's plan for a 'national police force' in the piece, writing: "Barack Obama needs to have a source of military power that is under his direct control. Like Hitler, he needs a powerful domestic army to terrify any opposition that might arise."

“Where will he get his 'national police'? The NaPo will be recruited from 'young out-of-work urban men' and it will be hailed as a cure for the economic malaise of the inner cities.

“In other words, Obama will put a thin veneer of training and military structure on urban gangs, and send them out to channel their violence against Obama's enemies.

“Instead of doing drive-by shootings in their own neighborhoods, these young thugs will do beatings and murders of people 'trying to escape' - people who all seem to be leaders and members of groups that oppose Obama.”

He wraps up thus: "When the historians write about it after the fact, they will point out how obvious all the signs were from the start - the way they write about Hitler now. Why did so many people go along with him?"

Such invective will likely have studio bosses at Lionsgate – also the producers of 'The Hunger Games' and the 'Twilight' movies – shifting uncomfortably in their seats.

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The studio has already said that while is does not 'agree with the personal views of Orson Scott Card', his opinions 'are completely irrelevant to a discussion of ‘Ender’s Game'.

But as New York Times journalist Ari Karpel pointed out to Hollywood.com on his remarks about homosexuality: “While the gay audience itself is not necessarily the core audience for an 'Ender's Game' series of movies, the younger demographic is increasingly sensitive to gay civil rights issues. Moviegoers are savvy. It's going to be hard to avoid making this an issue.”

There have also been calls to boycott the film by the activist group Geeks Out, who launched an online petition Skip Ender's Game.

Judging by the first clips from the film, it looks extremely promising both as a stand-alone, or as the first in a series.

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With both Ben Kingsley and Harrison Ford in solid roles, a great lead in Asa Butterfield and further great support from Hailee Steinfield, coupled with some breathtaking special effects, it looks like it has a lot of boxes ticked.

But while Card appears to have no intention of keeping his more radical views to himself, could they damage the fledgling movie franchise before it's had a chance to shine? We'll have to wait and see.

'Enders Game' is due out in the UK on October 25.