Film The Hunger Games

[TitaniumGirl]

when i saw the preview to the hunger games, I got all 3 books and finished them in a week! i devaoured them like crazy and fell completely in love with the story. I am so excited.

 

[MrGrunge]

The Hunger Games is a young adult novel written by Suzanne Collins. It was originally published in hardcover on September 14, 2008, by Scholastic.[1] It is written in first person and introduces sixteen-year-old Katniss Everdeen, who lives in a post-apocalyptic world in the country of Panem where the countries of North America once existed. The Capitol, a highly advanced metropolis, holds absolute power over the rest of the nation. The Hunger Games are an annual event in which one boy and one girl aged 12 to 18 from each of the 12 districts surrounding the Capitol are selected by lottery to compete in a televised battle in which only one person can survive.

So, it's like Battle Royale meets Twilight?

 

[hydroazuanacaine]

^i was gonna mention it might not completely be coincidence that a special edition of Battle Royale on blu-ray is being released next month.

 

[Kenickie]

i'd support it if they cast a non white girl as Katniss Everdeen, but since Hollywood is full of such shit, I'll be avoiding this.

 

[TitaniumGirl]

i'd support it if they cast a non white girl as Katniss Everdeen, but since Hollywood is full of such shit, I'll be avoiding this.

why is that? i dont recall her being something other than white in the book. actually i dont think they say...?

 

[AmorRoark]

I don't know Kenick... this was released with the UK edition:

Collins may have had no control of the inclusion of that portrait though?

 

[Kenickie]

The Imminent Whitewashing of The Hunger Games Heroine

when i first heard about this book it was from another "non white vaguely ethnic" person at a local library. whitewashing for films is nothing new at all, and i shouldn't really be upset, but Jezebel was right -- they had a chance and they skipped out, and i was disappointed. a book/movie about hunger, poverty and oppression and then it's whitewashed? lame. it sucked the interest and the power right out of it for me. i hold this complaint with a lot of movies -- Drive did it this year (saying that a Latina woman in the lead as the story was originally written would "overly complicate" the story and two white people in love was "more romantic"), Akria is doing it, assuming they ever make this movie (Kristen Stewart is supposedly going to be the female lead in Neo Tokyo) etc etc. As a girl, it's always exciting to see a movie with a powerful independent lady character in the lead (i'm really excited about Brave, too), but I'm eternally heartbroken that non white girls can't ever play those roles either. People like Katniss Everdeen in real life are silenced and ignored, and disappointing to see the makers of the movie continue to do that.

eta: Jennifer Lawrence is a great actress, and will do great. When I saw her in Winter's Bone I felt like I was watching someone I knew and that movie really hit hard for me. She's got a very promising future in this game called acting.

 

[AmorRoark]

Good points Kenick.

And Winter's Bone was one of the best movies I've ever seen. Lawrence's acting was superb & they really 'got' the plight of many in this country. It especially resonated with me knowing people who come from that area in Missouri.

 

[Kenickie]

Good points Kenick.

And Winter's Bone was one of the best movies I've ever seen. Lawrence's acting was superb & they really 'got' the plight of many in this country. It especially resonated with me knowing people who come from that area in Missouri.

yes, we've both got people up in Ozark country, don't we? That movie was brilliant. I called my mom yesterday to check up on them after tornadoes ripped through there and we talked about this book/movie. I told her how disappointed I was about the casting, and lamented about how few books/movies had a strong female character who wasn't white. She said, well what about Precious? And i said well what the fuck about it mom? What power is there in watching someone who looks like you be raped by her father, and live out all the stereotypical plights of black people? It just reinforces that there is nothing good in the world out there for a black woman. She admitted that she had never really thought about it, because she 'never really had to.' Besides Katniss Everdeen, I could only think of one other mixed girl hero - Heather LeLache from The Lathe of Heaven. All the mixed girls I know -- my sisters, the other Kenickie from down the street -- they are all excited about reading the book because Katniss is 'vaguely ethnic', and are equally as not excited about watching the movie for the same reason.

Anyway I don't mean to de-rail this. They've got a great promo thing going on there for this movie, and that's all cool and shit, and i'm glad that young girls can choose between some really strong girls -- Hermione Granger, Katniss Everdeen -- and that the world isn't just full of Bella Swans.

 

[AmorRoark]

Nice post Kenick. Yes, we definitely do have people in the Ozarks. I was seriously AMAZED at the abilities of the writers/directors/actors/etc. to hone in on what it's REALLY like out there (no, it's not a fucking party cove for midwesterners save July and August). I felt a little Lacey K logic coming out of that post (who, btw, I think would make an amazing attorney). Anyway, all I could think of as a hero of mine, sadly, is Tracie Thomms

She seems to only take roles that are seriously true to her badassness.

That said, I'm still looking forward to The Hunger Games.

 

[axl blaze]

fuck the Ozarks, the book is based in the APPALACHIA - right?

as in, where I live. not where you live. I guess American Appalachia is a bit vague...

I'll be watching, cuz hey, that's what I do

 

[Kenickie]

Anyway, all I could think of as a hero of mine, sadly, is Tracie Thomms
She seems to only take roles that are seriously true to her badassness.

That said, I'm still looking forward to The Hunger Games.

well how said is it that i don't even know who that is? I guess we can add Merrick Mayfair to the list of mixed heroines, who I read to look like Rosario Dawson.

are you supporting the girl on fire for the games? not the boy with the bread?

this is more what i imagined Katniss to look like:

olive skin, grey eyes, dark hair.

eta: jim, we were talking about Winter's Bone, have you seen that? it takes place in OZARKS not Appalachia, aka where you are from, which isn't even true because we all know you are some macedonian.

i was going to add to this that J-Law looks like a girl i could get down with

lol

 

[AmorRoark]

Love that.

 

[AmorRoark]

fuck the Ozarks, the book is based in the APPALACHIA - right?

as in, where I live. not where you live. I guess American Appalachia is a bit vague...

I'll be watching, cuz hey, that's what I do

It's not vague. You have to petition to be considered included in Appalacia. That said, Columbus isn't even in Appalachia.

 

[axl blaze]

^ I knew that was coming, and I know Columbus isn't in the Appalachia, but my location says "Ohio" - and Southern Ohio is the start of the Appalachia mountains, the foothills. you all just have the personal pleasure of knowing me and knowing where I live

anyways, I've seen the previews and this movie looks visually stunning. I just hope they don't lean on the PG-13, young adult side too much...

 

[marissaaaaaa]

The Imminent Whitewashing of The Hunger Games Heroine

when i first heard about this book it was from another "non white vaguely ethnic" person at a local library. whitewashing for films is nothing new at all, and i shouldn't really be upset, but Jezebel was right -- they had a chance and they skipped out, and i was disappointed. a book/movie about hunger, poverty and oppression and then it's whitewashed? lame. it sucked the interest and the power right out of it for me. i hold this complaint with a lot of movies -- Drive did it this year (saying that a Latina woman in the lead as the story was originally written would "overly complicate" the story and two white people in love was "more romantic"), Akria is doing it, assuming they ever make this movie (Kristen Stewart is supposedly going to be the female lead in Neo Tokyo) etc etc. As a girl, it's always exciting to see a movie with a powerful independent lady character in the lead (i'm really excited about Brave, too), but I'm eternally heartbroken that non white girls can't ever play those roles either. People like Katniss Everdeen in real life are silenced and ignored, and disappointing to see the makers of the movie continue to do that.

eta: Jennifer Lawrence is a great actress, and will do great. When I saw her in Winter's Bone I felt like I was watching someone I knew and that movie really hit hard for me. She's got a very promising future in this game called acting.

you're an idiot she's white in the books so shut the fuck up. she has fair olive complexion. her mother is white blonde hair blue eyes as is her sister. so what are you talking about.
they made rue and thresh's entire district black. and they changed cinna to be black when he was given no description as being such.
soooo stop complaining.
you want some crazy epic sci-fi with primarily black people, you write it.
sorry all the celebrated science fiction writers are pretty much white.
stop bitching.

 

[marissaaaaaa]

and olive doesn't mean mixed you idiot.
it just means greenish/goldish hue instead of pink based.
i have olive skin.

that boy=pink based skin
me=olive skin.
you can see the difference where my arm is next to his head particularly.


so really, way to take a thread about an AMAZING story and a film that so many people are hyped about..and make it a bs thing about race and be a whiney annoying fucker. if you were right i wouldn't be so annoyed, but you're entirely wrong to begin with.

 

[marissaaaaaa]

anywaysssssssssssssssss.

i'm so excited for this film. when i was reading the books i was envisioning how perfect it will be for film. i had some hesitations initially about jen's casting because i pictured katniss to look more like me..and she was described as being small for her age and looking a bit younger. so i pictured her more with my body type and a smaller face and smaller features. (this is pretty much how I pictured katniss, not peeta in particular)

jen's got very big lips and pretty big tits. but from seeing her performances in the trailers and gif's that focus more on her, i'm going to be satisfied i think. she seems really great.

the boys i think look great. no hesitations there. josh hutcherson IS peeta. love that casting. we shall see how good liam is in catching fire.
and prim
this little nugget is too good.

effie is another GREAT casting. she really gets that role as josh does.

snow looks pretty good. seneca looks great too.
haymitch i'm meh about that casting. not quite how i pictured it but i think woody can get the essence of the character.


"There's 24 of us Gale, only one comes out."
"And it was decreed that each year, the 12 districts of Panem should offer up a tribute of one young man and woman between the ages of 12 and 18 to be trained in the art of survival and to be prepared to fight to the death.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=mfmrPu43DF8
trailer 1,
i am obsessed with the set design. i think district 12 looks amazing.
i love what we see of the score as well.
i also really like how they included this in:

"At first one, then another, then almost every member of the crowd touches the three middle fingers of their left hand to their lips and holds it out to me. It is an old and rarely used gesture of our district, occasionally seen at funerals. It means thanks, it means admiration, it means good-bye to someone you love. "
This was really the first collective act of rebellion. It's seen in the books initially when Katniss voulenteers in her sister's place. The entire district recognized her bravery and sacrifice, respected it, and realized this would probably be the last time they see her.
She does it again in the arena after her alliance with Rue, and her special care of Rue when the hovercraft comes, she does this to pay homage to Rue's district.
We see it then in Catching Fire when she's doing the Victory Tour and she's in Rue's district. After her impromptu speech, I believe either one man or the whole district does this. I forget who. This is when the Capitol realized for sure that she has bridged the gap between districts and that they're losing power.
it's a very VERY symbolic and important resurgent ( and i'm so glad the director picked up on that. (lol idk why i went all formal with my typing there. feeling serious)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=qoUT7q2iTbQ
in this trailer i really like the contrast between effie's and snow's excitement about the games during the reaping, and the district members obvious emotional distraught over it. i think it shows the disconnect between the capitol and the district quite well.
the bit of the interviews we see is pretty sweet as well.

and i LOVE this tv spot that aired tonight
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=qBASTjUGKt8

it is the first one that really presents it as katniss's story. the book was entirely from her perspective and first person narrative, so this does a great job at honing on her and district 12.

 

[Max Power]

This isn't The Lounge, so act like an adult. Debate all you want, just do it in a mature fashion.

 

[MrGrunge]

i had some hesitations initially about jen's casting because i pictured katniss to look more like me

I think the whole argument can be reduced to this ^ because that's what happens when you read books.