Before we begin, I must warn you that this post contains more giant picture than any other blog post I have ever made. If the sight of large images of people causes fear, severe amnesia, cramps, baby lumps, or general vomitous confusion, STOP READING NOW. If you are okay with obnoxious pictures placed by a lone Hunger Games blogger just — *sobbing* — trying to make points, please continue…!
I present to you: Cinna. The super awesome *spoiler! don’t read!* secret-double-agent- *end of the long spoiler section* -also-stylist-man-o-combos! I always particularly liked his character in the books. He was the only sane part of the Capitol. He was the calm, normal looking voice of reason for Katniss. While everyone else had crazy hair and body changes, he only had golden eye-liner. And let’s be honest, that was probably just so he could blend in. He was the one who knew everything. He was the one who knew his fate, accepted it, and sacrificed himself. He was awesome. On a side note, I think Lenny Kravitz was a good choice! Weirdly enough, I also pictured Read more »
Let the discussion begin! Discussion of what? Of the Hunger Games trailer, of course! Sure, we got the posters a while back showcasing what some of the characters would look like, but now we have them in action! So let’s make like the true voyeurs we are and stare! And discuss!
Here’s Gale looking at Katniss during one of their wilderness excursions. While the trailer does indicate the film will follow the book very closely, they have to trim or change some things to fit the time. We just have to accept it. The book lists and mentions several of their excursions outside the fence which introduce important story elements. I’d bet Lionsgate combines some of the excursions into one, or else introduces plot points in other areas of the story. My worry about Gale is the fact Liam Hemsworth is playing him. He did a Miley Cyrus movie before this, for crying out loud. I hope he can actually act worth Read more »
As any good reader of the book series can tell you, the trailer didn’t show any of the games themselves. Personally, I found that to be pretty cool. The trailer ended with the countdown to the games starting and the tributes sprinting towards the cornucopia. EPIC ending. However, there was a reasoning behind this! In a statement released by Lionsgate last week, they said:
“SANTA MONICA, CA (November 14, 2011) – The full trailer for the highly anticipated upcoming film THE HUNGER GAMES…. only shows footage from the first half of the film, chronicling events leading up to but not including the Games themselves.”
This was apparently done “In an attempt to preserve the anticipation and mystery that fans are relishing”.
Veh-hy interesting! Expect a two-part dissection of the trailer coming later this week.
My thoughts are, and I quote, “HOLY-MOLY-ME-OH-MAH GIMME MOAR” end-quote. It looks fantastic. Really. What I was most surprised about was how faithful to the story it looks like the film will be. Too often do we get annoying summary films of books that leave out so much that you end up walking out of the theater making excuses to your illiterate friends like “I swear, the original is wayy better than this was! Really!” *cough* The Last Airbender *cough* *cough* Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire – no, seriously. That book was the longest of the first four, and the shortest movie. I hadn’t read the fourth book at the time I saw it. It made no sense. It was awful. I was confused. End of example. *cough* The Hunger Games, however, looks like it will really stick to the original book.
One worrisome thing is the rating. The trailer was rated PG. In Canada it was rated G. That worries me. Thankfully, the rating only applies to the trailer, not the film itself. After all, the film is still in post-production, there’s no way it has a rating yet. So why did Lionsgate try for the “G” rating? Down With the Capitol says what they think the reasoning for this is:
The ‘G’ Rating only applies to the film’s trailer– probably a move on Lionsgate’s part to ensure that it can run before as many films as possible (trailers rated above a G are limited as to which kinds of movies they can run with).
So I really don’t think we have much to worry about on this front. But this does bring me to the point of ratings. Anyone who read the book would (or should) say that the film clearly deserves an “R” rating. This isn’t Harry Potter at school. This isn’t some teenage vampire drama. This is a film about children dying of hunger and murdering each other, usually in rather gruesome ways. However, the film will get a PG-13. We can be pretty sure of that. Lionsgate is laying everything on the line with this movie. If Hunger Games does poorly, it’s questionable whether they will be around to make movies for our kids to see (to put it nicely). They need to get the young-adult audience Harry Potter and Twilight captured.
Another thought occurred to me last night: did this trailer make the least bit of sense to anyone who didn’t read the book? I don’t know a single person who saw the trailer who didn’t like it, but did it make any sense. I know for myself, if I randomly saw that trailer at a theater my first reaction would be “what the heck is going on here??” I asked my dad, who saw the trailer and didn’t read the books: he said he thought it looked great, but had to have some parts explained by my mom and sis. All-in-all, I think we can say the trailer was clearly made as fan-service.
If you HAVEN’T seen the trailer yet, what the &*@# is wrong with you??watch it here!
According to Mockingjay.net, it’s been confirmed that the Hunger Games trailer is going to run at the beginning of Breaking Dawn (you know, that mushy mess of sparkling vampires movie?). Not that you should go see that movie. I fully expect it will be bad. It would be very cool, however, to see this amazing trailer on the big screen!
In case you missed the epic reveal on GMA this morning, here’s the second official trailer for The Hunger Games movie. I need more time to take this all in, I may or may not be hypervenhilating right now….
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*Phew* Okay, my heart rate is slowing again. I’ll put up more detailed thoughts tomorrow, once I take some time to look through the whole thing in detail. In the meantime:
In case you missed the epic reveal on GMA this morning, here’s the second official trailer for The Hunger Games movie. I need more time to take this all in, I may or may not be hypervenhilating right now….
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*Phew* Okay, my heart rate is slowing again. I’ll put up more detailed thoughts tomorrow, once I take some time to look through the whole thing in detail. In the meantime:
You thought I was going to miss this, didn’t you? The sudden release of SEVEN new Hunger Games posters by Lionsgate featuring some of the main characters of the series? Yeah. Those. Lionsgate brought on some top-level marketing staff from around the industry to help promote the Hunger Games film, and this looks like their big push out the gate. The seven posters were released strategically to seven of the biggest internet outlets on the web. These include Yahoo!, MTV, Moviefone, MSN, IGN, EW, and Teen. No doubt there was probably some Read more »
You thought I was going to miss this, didn’t you? The sudden release of SEVEN new Hunger Games posters by Lionsgate featuring some of the main characters of the series? Yeah. Those. Lionsgate brought on some top-level marketing staff from around the industry to help promote the Hunger Games film, and this looks like their big push out the gate. The seven posters were released strategically to seven of the biggest internet outlets on the web. These include Yahoo!, MTV, Moviefone, MSN, IGN, EW, and Teen. No doubt there was probably some bidding or swindling behind-the-scenes to choose a few of the sites. I’ve always wondered how the marketing groups pull this sort of thing off. Did Lionsgate go to these various companies and say “hey, we want you to release this poster on this day, please.” Or did Lionsgate send out some sort of mysterious letter with a map on it to hundreds of companies, and those companies who found the buried treasure first got to keep it. Only, the buried treasure was just a poster for the Hunger Games. Or maybe Lionsgate sent out a notice about new media content coming out soon, only to let the bidding wars begin? There’s always the gladiator or minotaur-maze-method of deciding who…
MOVING AWN – you can find the posters below with links to their various sites of origin.
Yahoo! Movies - "When her younger sister is drafted in the brutal, televised death match called the Hunger Games, Katniss volunteers to take her place."
MTV - "...as any bona fide "Hunger Games" acolyte will tell you, Peeta boasts plenty of mettle without my meddling. "
Moviefone - "Gale is Katniss Everdeen's (Jennifer Lawrence) best friend, confidant and hunting partner."
Teen.com - "(This is a) SUPER EXCLUSIVE pic of Rue, AKA Katniss’s BFF during the games." -- Yeah... thanks. Worst description ever, Teen.com.
MSN Movies - "Cato hails from District 2 (the one responsible for mining and weapons), and he's been training for the Games for his entire life. One of the "Career" Tributes, he's one of the fiercest competitors of the Games."
IGN - "After winning The Second Quarter Quell and enduring the deaths of his loved ones, Haymitch isolated himself and turned to drink. But in Katniss Everdeen and Peeta Mellark, Haymitch finds a pair of tributes with a chance of winning the Hunger Games. "
EW - "(Effie is District 12's) tinny and willfully oblivious handler as they navigate the reaping and Capitol... She’s a wonderful comic turn of a role, with great layers of menace and vulnerability."
Fandango - "(Cinna is) Katniss's stylist, who designs and makes all of her very elaborate outfits for the games... His only distinct feature is a slight touch of gold eyeliner that brings out the gold flecks in his eyes."
Some thoughts about the posters:
Everyone is facing to the left except Katniss. I think this is pretty clearly a symbolic choice regarding her character in relation to the other characters/Panem in general.
Peeta looks so young. Even more-so than in the set pics released thusfar. I suppose he is supposed to be a teenager, though. Just as long as Gale doesn’t continue to look older/more mature. That guy just rubs me the wrong way… [Note: obvious shipping]
Rue is the only one looking down.
I always pictured Cato as big. Like, really big. The Hunger Games Wiki describes him as “[a] huge, hulking male tribute from District 2 [who] was not one you wanted to mess with. Nasty, mean, and unrelenting…” I pictured him basically as Thor when I read the book. A giant, obnoxious, cocky, strong muscle-head loser. Instead, here we have a young, trim-looking guy with hair so fuzzy even this random [kind-of fuzzy] cat would be jealous.
Haymitch. This is the first snippet we’ve been given regarding how Haymitch Abernathy will look. Wow. He looks even younger than I thought Peeta would. I always pictured him as an old, beat-up drunkard. Given my last post, I know most other fans thought of him like that, too. I’m glad they went with a different look, though. He just looks so young, dapper, and… well-shaven. Especially considering what Woody Harrelson usually looks like. I’m going to assume this is Haymitch’s post-Capitol-arrival look, and not his falling-off-stage-drunk look.
I was most excited to see the Rue and Haymitch posters. However, after viewing them all I have to say I am most intrigued by the Effie and Cinna poster. Effie in particular. Effie is such an interesting, annoying character in the books. As Entertainment Weekly describes her, “She is like your most high-strung, possibly dangerous, occasionally endearing relative at intense family gatherings. She needs everything to go just perfect or she could very well snap.” When I see this poster for her, I can’t help but think Helena Bonham Carter – in a good way. I can’t help but see some mish-mash of Bellatrix meets Queen Elizabeth meets the Red Queen. But that’s just me.
Cinna’s character has always been one of my favorites. His backstory and motives are so interesting, I honestly think they deserve a novel all their own. When I heard that rocker Lenny Kravitz would be portraying the stylist, my first reaction was honestly “cool!” Down inside, though, I felt a twinge of “uh-oh” welling up. That welling is quite gone by now, and I’m excited to see him as Cinna. Can’t put my finger on why, but I think he’s the perfect choice.
Have you been waiting for more “Artemis” calls on Facebook? Well TOO BAD. You can’t BE in the Hunger Games movie ANYMORE. But it’s for good reasons. So smile!
Lionsgate has wrapped up filming for The Hunger Games. Actually, they wrapped up on September 10. No word on what was the final scene shot was. They were shooting Capitol scenes at the end of July in Concord, NC. Though, I doubt they took this long there. The last shots were taken in North Carolina. Actually, most of the movie was filmed in North Carolina, not but a few hours from where I sit. But I didn’t make it into the movie. Why? Because I suck. Because I’m a dreamer, not a doer. Apparently… apparently… ;-|
All my dreams went up in fire and smoke. Kind of like this.
There was some talk (due to Russ Bowen’s Twitter) that Lionsgate would be doing some reshoots through October, especially in Charlotte, NC. Russ Bowen has since dispelled these rumors, though. I have mixed emotions about this. When I first heard about the reshoots, my heart sunk. In my mind that meant Lionsgate saw what they filmed and didn’t think it was good (or complete) enough. But once the rumors were dismissed, I started getting antsy… *what if they should do some reshoots, though?*
The Hunger Games Examiner pointed out two other tweets from Russ Bowen, including “Expect a few changes in film version. You will be surprised but will likely like them. I won’t give spoilers though” and “Jennifer Lawrence is without a doubt an archer”. I’m not concerned about the changes in the film from the books because Suzanne Collins wrote the drafts for the movie herself with the director. Further, I expect the changes will be slight ones to fit the film time. As long as there aren’t any stupid changes like Katniss making out with Gale, I’ll be good. (No, I don’t ship for Katniss + Gale. That’s rubbish.)
To celebrate the completion of filming, The Hunger Games examiner has put up a nice slideshow of all the official Hunger Games filming pics thus far. Go check it out! March 23, 2012 cannot come soon enough.
In other news: there is a new blog theme coming. And it’s gon’ be comin’ soon. So please stop commenting and emailing constantly asking me when it’s going to be up. It’s coming, already! As the wise, old sage Harold McGruder once told me long ago: “Hmmmmm… The greatest adventure of your blog is the journey to complete the most simple task. Also, make a new theme. Yours looks like crap!” Then he stormed off. Ever since that day, I’ve been working on a new Hunger Games-infused theme. The reveal will soon be at hand!
Have you been waiting for more “Artemis” calls on Facebook? Well TOO BAD. You can’t BE in the Hunger Games movie ANYMORE. But it’s for good reasons. So smile!
Lionsgate has wrapped up filming for The Hunger Games. Actually, they wrapped up on September 10. No word on what was the final scene shot was. They were shooting Capitol scenes at the end of July in Concord, NC. Though, I doubt they took this long there. The last shots were taken in North Carolina. Actually, most of the movie was filmed in North Carolina, not but a few hours from where I sit. But I didn’t make it into the movie. Why? Because I suck. Because I’m a dreamer, not a doer. Apparently… apparently… ;-|
All my dreams went up in fire and smoke. Kind of like this.
There was some talk (due to Russ Bowen’s Twitter) that Lionsgate would be doing some reshoots through October, especially in Charlotte, NC. Russ Bowen has since dispelled these rumors, though. I have mixed emotions about this. When I first heard about the reshoots, my heart sunk. In my mind that meant Lionsgate saw what they filmed and didn’t think it was good (or complete) enough. But once the rumors were dismissed, I started getting antsy… *what if they should do some reshoots, though?*
The Hunger Games Examiner pointed out two other tweets from Russ Bowen, including “Expect a few changes in film version. You will be surprised but will likely like them. I won’t give spoilers though” and “Jennifer Lawrence is without a doubt an archer”. I’m not concerned about the changes in the film from the books because Suzanne Collins wrote the drafts for the movie herself with the director. Further, I expect the changes will be slight ones to fit the film time. As long as there aren’t any stupid changes like Katniss making out with Gale, I’ll be good. (No, I don’t ship for Katniss + Gale. That’s rubbish.)
To celebrate the completion of filming, The Hunger Games examiner has put up a nice slideshow of all the official Hunger Games filming pics thus far. Go check it out! March 23, 2012 cannot come soon enough.
In other news: there is a new blog theme coming. And it’s gon’ be comin’ soon. So please stop commenting and emailing constantly asking me when it’s going to be up. It’s coming, already! As the wise, old sage Harold McGruder once told me long ago: “Hmmmmm… The greatest adventure of your blog is the journey to complete the most simple task. Also, make a new theme. Yours looks like crap!” Then he stormed off. Ever since that day, I’ve been working on a new Hunger Games-infused theme. The reveal will soon be at hand!
