We did it, geeks! This summer you saw us take on notorious anti-gay activist Orson Scott Card and Lions Gate Entertainment for trying to shill Card's would-be blockbuster to the same geek audience that made Marvel's The Avengers and The Hunger Games huuuuge moneymakers, hoping against hope that we'd forget the twenty-plus years of homophobia, insults, and lies that Card and his cronies at the National Organization for Marriage have heaped on us.
The queer geek community stood up, almost to a one, and said "Hell, NO, we're not giving ONE DIME to that man!" The story went viral immediately and became the stuff of PR nightmares. Orson Scott Card gave a bizarro statement at once both defeatist and offensive; Lions Gate tripped over itself to make as-yet-unsubstantiated promises for some kind of LGBT benefit from the film; Harrison Ford got grouchy; and the world media went nuts over the story, apparently SHOCKED that part of the film's intended audience actually cares more about real-life LGBT Americans than fictional characters from a thirty-year-old novel.
Now, Geeks OUT is extraordinarily proud to announce the next stage of our nationwide campaign, SEVEN (official) Skip Ender's Game events in cities across North America, all on Ender's Game's opening night—Friday, November 1st—to give our members, queer geeks of conscience, and allies something else to do that doesn't financially support someone who compared Obama to Hitler and considers gay rights a laughable con job.
Each event listed below also has a Facebook event page you can join. Details will be updated as the date nears, so stay tuned!
Please visit SkipEndersGame.com to see the latest on the campaign and join the more than 10,000 geeks who've signed the Skip Ender's Game pledge on MoveOn.org!
Skip Ender's Game – Seattle: A geektastic screening of The Gamers: Hands of Fate at Gay City-Calamus Auditorium, 517 E. Pike Street, Seattle, 7–10 PM; Suggested $10 donation, all proceeds going to Gay City Health Project, a nonprofit offering free HIV testing along with numerous other programs for Seattle's GLBTQ community.
Skip Ender's Game – San Francisco: Join resident DJ BADGER and JIMMY SWEAR for a night of 23rd-century tunes and a video salute to Hikaru Sulu at The Lone Star Saloon, 1354 Harrison Street, San Francisco, 8–11:30 PM.
Skip Ender's Game - Dallas: Texas geeks are turning out for a screening of Luc Besson's The Fifth Element at the historic Texas Theatre, 231 W. Jefferson Boulevard, Dallas, 7:30 doors open, screening starts at 9 PM; proceeds from ticket sales go to to benefit the new GLBT Youth Program at The Resource Center Dallas.
Skip Ender's Game - Chicago: Spin Nightclub in Boystown, 800 West Belmont, hosts a night of dancing, drink specials, and big-screen gaming following a screening of Scott Pilgrim vs. the World, 7 PM–12 AM, FREE.
Skip Ender's Game - Orlando: Join the Flame ON! crew for karaoke, drinks, and games at The Geek Easy, 114 S. Samoran Boulevard in Winter Park; proceeds go to the MAP Foundation, benefitting LGBT organizations such as the Zebra Coalition, 8–11 PM.
Skip Ender's Game – New York City: The original Geeks will be at Bartini Ultra-Lounge, 642 Tenth Avenue, 7–10 PM, for a screening of Besson's The Fifth Element (what can we say, we love that movie!) and specialty cocktails; $10 suggested donation benefits the Tyler Clementi Foundation, an organization that "promotes safe, inclusive and respectful social environments in homes, schools, campuses, churches and the digital world for vulnerable youth, LGBT youth and their allies."
Skip Ender's Game – Toronto: Details TBA, so check back soon to find out what's up with our contrarian Ontarian barbarians!
We know more of you out there want Skip Ender's Game events in your city or town—so start your own! Collect your friends and just do ANYTHING ELSE that's good for humanity (and maybe especially your local LGBT community, but that's up to you) on Friday, November 1st than go see Ender's Game. High-integrity fans across the world have also reached out to us, asking what to do when Ender's Game opens in their country. Our friends Down Under at the Armageddon Expo in Melbourne, Australia are talking about Skip Ender's Game at their first-ever Queer Geeks of Oz panel, so do not miss your chance to join the worldwide effort.
Remember, geeks—IT'S JUST A MOVIE.
