Orson Scott Card

Born in Washington State and raised in various cities in the American West, Card was brought up in the Mormon faith, and the religion's teachings would later factor heavily into his work. He began his involvement with writing and theater in earnest after returning from an extended missionary trip to Brazil. A graduate of Brigham Young University in Utah, Card penned plays while at the school, and later began writing fiction. Developing a knack for sci-fi tales, he penned numerous short stories, many of which he would later develop into full novels, as he did with his 1977 story "Ender's Game." By the time, the expanded tale Ender's Game was published in 1985, Card had a considerable fan following. During the late 1980s, he wrote the novelization of the James Cameron sci-fi movie "The Abyss" (1989), but had little in the way of his connections to cinema during the following decades. In the new millennium, Card finally worked on his own screenplay of Ender's Game, but when it came time to make the film, director Gavin Hood's own script was used instead. The movie, starring Asa Butterfield and Harrison Ford, debuted in late 2013, but its unveiling was far from smooth, due to media coverage of Card's anti-homosexual comments and writings, particularly his opposition to same-sex marriage. While Card tried to quell the controversy, it remained an issue on the eve of the film's premiere.