The Hunger Games is an upcoming movie adaptation of the novel of the same name by Suzanne Collins. Gary Ross is set to direct the film.

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In a not-too-distant future, North America has collapsed, weakened by drought, fire, famine, and war, to be replaced by Panem, a country divided into the Capitol and 12 districts. Each year, two young representatives from each district are selected by lottery to participate in The Hunger Games. Part entertainment, part brutal intimidation of the subjugated districts, the televised games are broadcasted throughout Panem as the 24 participants are forced to eliminate their competitors, literally, with all citizens required to watch. When 16-year-old Katniss' young sister, Prim, is selected as the mining district's female representative, Katniss volunteers to take her place. She and her male counterpart, Peeta, the son of the town baker who seems to have all the fighting skills of a lump of bread dough, will be pitted against bigger, stronger representatives who have trained for this their whole lives.



First image of Jennifer Lawrence as Katness, the main character and narrator of the story.
Also signed is Liam Hemsworth as Gale, Elizabeth Banks as Effie, Josh Hutcherson as Peeta, Woody Harrelson as Haymitch, Stanley Tucci as Caesar Flickerman and Paula Malcomson as Mrs. Everdeen.

I had never heard of this series or upcoming movie until I saw the EW picture a couple of days ago. Since then I've read all three of the books and enjoyed them quite a bit. I'm cautiously looking forward to the movie. This article says that they are shooting for a PG-13 rating which means they will have to tone down a lot of the violence from the book (and all the nudity as well, which is probably a given even at an R rating since all the characters are under 18 anyway.)

Anybody else read the books and/or just looking forward to the movie?

5/21/2011 10:33:49 PM

These were pretty good books.

I don't think they will have much trouble adapting this to PG-13. The violence wasn't really that prevalent and gory, I mean I think they could probably make these movies fairly accurately with no more that CSI level violence. The nudity could be implied (shots of bare backs, hair over boobs, etc) or it could be replaced.

Neither aspect was that important to the story.

[Edited on May 22, 2011 at 2:22 AM. Reason : I think that girl is hotter than Katniss is supposed to be]

5/22/2011 2:21:33 AM

Never read the books.

But god damn Jennifer Lawrence is hot as a brunette.

5/22/2011 7:38:34 AM

Read the series and loved it. I couldn't put them down. I really hope the movie can do the books justice!

5/22/2011 8:37:19 AM

SandSanta told me about this series about two weeks ago and once I started the first book I got the other two and finished the entire series in a weekend. It's really hard to stop reading them.

When I saw that picture of Jennifer Lawrence I had the same thought as AndyMac; that she is quite a bit more attractive than Katniss was supposed to be, but I guess it's not that big of a deal.

I'm wondering how they'll do the scenes in the Capital without making them cheesy/corny/stupid looking. Before I even knew there was going to be a movie when I read about how the Capital looked and the people in it I thought if they ever made this into a movie that part would be difficult to pull off. Or maybe most people won't care and I just have an issue with futuristic cities looking absurd.

5/22/2011 9:26:59 AM

they've been doing some filming in Asheville for the last few weeks

5/22/2011 11:44:52 AM

I read the first book and never got around to reading the others.

5/22/2011 12:02:09 PM

I'm wondering why people are saying Jennifer Lawrence is too pretty to play Katness. Granted, I saw the picture, and then read the books, so that's the image I had in my head the entire time, but I really think she fits well with the words on the page. She's pretty enough, but not supermodel hot or anything. More of a girl next door/cleans up nice kind of chick. Without spoiling too much for people that haven't read, it does seem that practically every guy that is around her seems to have a thing for her. I'm not sure why anyone reading would think she wasn't at least moderately attractive. And no disrespect at all to Jennifer Lawrence, but I don't think they'll have any trouble at all dirtying her up a bit and making her into the ugly duckling type character for the first part of the movie.

5/22/2011 12:17:26 PM

this sounds liked a watered down battle royale.

5/22/2011 1:40:24 PM

Yeah, I was just going to post that, too. I've never heard of this series, but it sounds like an American version of Battle Royale. Confirm/deny?

5/22/2011 2:22:46 PM

I've never seen Battle Royale and from reading the wiki entry on it it seems sorta similar to the first book. Almost like a really shallow version of it, only a little more than 1/3 of The Hunger Games is spent in the arena.

I said what I did about Jennifer Lawrence because in the books she's described as not ugly, but not particularly attractive, kind of plain really. It is told from her perspective though so maybe it's just that she doesn't really think much of her looks.

5/22/2011 2:55:32 PM

I haven't heard of Battle Royale before I started reading up on The Hunger Games, but I have seen a lot of people saying that. Stephen King even made the comparison in his review, but he didn't seem to let that stop him from enjoying the book.

5/22/2011 2:56:36 PM

The article you linked in the opening post lists John C. Reily as Haymitch although IMDB lists Woody Harrelson. John C. Reily almost exactly matches what I thought Haymitch would look like.

5/22/2011 3:03:41 PM

I pictured Nick Nolte



[Edited on May 22, 2011 at 3:07 PM. Reason : sorry about the massive pic lol]

5/22/2011 3:06:06 PM

haha, that would work too.

5/22/2011 3:13:01 PM

Quote :

"I said what I did about Jennifer Lawrence because in the books she's described as not ugly, but not particularly attractive, kind of plain really. It is told from her perspective though so maybe it's just that she doesn't really think much of her looks."

Yeah, that's the thing, she's not really described at all in the books except for having long dark hair and olive skin. Any other clues of what she looks like only comes from her perception of herself, which as anyone that's ever spent any time with ANY woman can tell you isn't always the best indicator of true beauty. Someone (I think Gale) even mentions how she would be the last one to know if someone was attracted to her because that's just not something she picks up on.

I know I had my mental image of her tainted beforehand, but I always pictured her as this sort of diamond in the rough/cleans up nice if she tried, but she's never had any reason to type of girl.

And I still maintain that while Jennifer Lawrence is pretty, she's not distractingly beautiful or anything. It's not like they got Olivia Wilde or Minka Kelly to play the role. That type of pretty wouldn't have fit the role at all.

5/22/2011 3:17:08 PM

I hope she doesn't have a southern accent.

5/22/2011 3:52:04 PM

She lives in like west virginia or something

[Edited on May 22, 2011 at 3:57 PM. Reason : Katniss I mean]

5/22/2011 3:57:03 PM

Quote :

"this sounds liked a watered down battle royale."

My thoughts exactly when I was reading the first book. However, if the story does evolve beyond this, I should dust off my copy and give the next one a try.

5/22/2011 4:28:16 PM

I thought the books were great. Third one was a bit of a disappointment though.

5/22/2011 4:37:21 PM

Quote :

"She lives in like west virginia or something"

Jennifer Lawrence is from Kentucky, she did a pretty funny impression of her dad on Late Night. I still don't like southern accents.

Quote :

" if the story does evolve beyond this"

Did you not finish the first book? It clearly sets up the story to go beyond the arena. More of the story takes place outside the arena than in it.

5/22/2011 5:16:25 PM

sounds like series 7

5/23/2011 12:04:24 AM

Lenny Kravitz added as Cinna.

Meh.

5/24/2011 11:49:38 AM

One of my best friends just got cast If they film in NC I will def be visiting her

5/24/2011 2:47:25 PM

Quote :

"Did you not finish the first book? It clearly sets up the story to go beyond the arena. More of the story takes place outside the arena than in it."

It's been a few years since I read it. I vaguely remember it setting something up, but school got to me before the second one came out, and I haven't revisited it since. I suppose I'll pick up the next one.

5/24/2011 3:39:20 PM

Donald Sutherland was cast as President Snow. Not a bad choice there. For some reason, I was picturing someone younger, just in poor health, but it makes sense to have him be older.

6/4/2011 3:25:59 PM

Apparently Lionsgate is going to stretch the trilogy out over 4 films.

6/4/2011 4:01:40 PM

I think Woody Harrelson is a pretty good pick for Haymitch, and I've seen him in a couple more sources now.

[Edited on June 29, 2011 at 1:07 AM. Reason : ]

6/29/2011 1:06:19 AM

I love this series. I fear for the movie.

6/29/2011 10:00:12 AM

You know they're filming it round your parts...it's already started

7/25/2011 10:34:15 PM

Came to say "Battle Royale", but there's no need, now is there.

But, BR was an awesome, awesome movie. I highly recommend it. Especially if that Steve Austin flick that shared a similar plot left a bad taste in your mouth.

Also, unrelated, but if you like Battle Royale, perhaps see Gwoemul (The Host) as well.

[Edited on July 25, 2011 at 10:43 PM. Reason : fish]

7/25/2011 10:42:47 PM

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pvyn86hObLw

8/29/2011 6:50:05 PM

Quote :

"I had never heard of this series or upcoming movie until I saw the EW picture a couple of days ago. Since then I've read all three of the books and enjoyed them quite a bit. "

You read all three books in a couple of days? That can't be a good sign.




I was sitting, eating my lunch and reading a book. Someone picked it up because they saw "HUNGER" on the front. Spoiler: it's actually Knut Hamsun's "The Hunger". They got all disappointed because I was reading brilliant modernist literature instead of some youth book series.

8/29/2011 8:53:11 PM

Most everybody I know went through them in a weekend, a week tops. They're not very long and aimed at young adults.

8/29/2011 9:17:09 PM

I went through them in about 5 days. They are pretty damn good.

8/29/2011 11:20:40 PM

a friend of mine worked on this movie and told me last night that the movies stick very strongly to the book

8/30/2011 9:04:28 AM

these people keep coming into my bar and taking it over for themselves. i called one "hollywood" the other night

8/30/2011 9:41:47 AM

i just finished the first book. it was described to me as hard to put down, but it wasn't until about halfway through that i agreed with that. pretty good book. about to start the next one. i had no idea there were movie plans until i was telling my husband that this would make a good movie, typed it in the ol' google, and low & behold a movie trailer. woohoo!

10/9/2011 8:05:20 PM

Quote :

" Lenny Kravitz added as Cinna"

Aw, I rarely think of casting but I think Jude Law would have been a perfect Cinna - short brown hair, in plain clothes with gold eyeshadow, plain yet still "pretty" enough to be a Capitol citizen/stylist.

10/9/2011 9:30:14 PM

i was just reading about the filming online. apparently it's all in NC. we're going camping in the mtns in a few weeks & plan on stopping at the abandoned mill village that they used as district 12 on the way home. i'm excited!

mytwocents, what was your friend cast as? how was filming?

[Edited on October 10, 2011 at 10:35 AM. Reason : ]

10/10/2011 10:34:31 AM

Donald Southerland is President Snow and Stanley Tucci is Caesar Flickerman. Pretty solid cast

10/10/2011 10:54:31 AM

new theatrical trailer. i can't wait. i can already pick out a few things that are different than the book though

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p-5ANq4sAL0

11/14/2011 11:55:57 AM

damn i cant wait for this.. after watching the trailer this looks to be really good.

11/14/2011 1:19:14 PM

Man, that looks good.

11/14/2011 1:53:26 PM

damn, that trailer was pretty awesome

11/14/2011 6:32:44 PM

Surprised no one has mentioned this, but Hunger Games was filmed just west of Hickory.

Quote :

"On the website for the town of Hildebran, N.C., an area about an hour outside of Charlotte, there’s a slogan that reads, “We brag a little… it’s our town.” Soon, Hildebran’s citizens might have something more to boast about: According to local officials, the small town (its population is less than 2,000) is being transformed into the country of Panem for the big-screen adaptation of Suzanne Collins’ The Hunger Games."

http://insidemovies.ew.com/2011/05/18/hunger-games-movie-hildebran/

11/14/2011 9:06:28 PM

^it was mentioned, just not by name.

Quote :

"i was just reading about the filming online. apparently it's all in NC. we're going camping in the mtns in a few weeks & plan on stopping at the abandoned mill village that they used as district 12 on the way home."

we never got to go camping, but i contacted the henry river mill village preservation society about who to get permission from to snoop around out there. i have the guy's name & phone number if anybody else is interested. the lady from the society said he's a nice guy but you need to get his permission first.

11/14/2011 10:07:45 PM

damn, i suck at reading

11/14/2011 11:24:29 PM

My girl is an extra in this.

11/15/2011 8:26:35 AM

In the middle of reading the series right now and I am absolutely hooked. I feel like I am going to be that guy who doesn't want it to be a movie because it probably won't be near as good as the book but this should make a decent movie. Really like Woody Harrelson as Haymitch.

11/15/2011 10:08:01 AM