For reasons unbeknownst to me, I have not once mentioned the upcoming film, The Hunger Games. Based on the incredible young adult trilogy of novels; The Hunger Games, Catching Fire and Mockingjay, the film version has been in the works for a little while and for as much as I was into each and every casting announcement, I never wrote anything about it well, time for that to change now that the first trailer has been released.
If you dont know what The Hunger Games is about, I could direct you to one of my earliest posts, and the first post under The Bookshelf regarding the trilogy or I could give you the mail plot points now. The story is about a future society where what we know of as the United States is no more. There are twelve districts, each responsible for a particular commodity (i.e. District 12, the home of our protagonist, mines coal District 4 is seafood etc.), all ruled by the Capitol (around present day Denver). Each year, as punishment for an uprising 74 years previous, two kids, ages 12 -18 one boy, one girl from each district, are selected via lottery to participate in the Hunger Games, a televised fight to the death for the entertainment of those living in the Capitol and to the horror of everyone else who must watch their children, friends and loved ones kill one another in a large arena.
Basically Battle Royale for an American audience with more than a few twists.
I am a huge fan of the novels and Im always a bit uneasy when it comes to making that which I love into a movie. For whatever reason, Im not too concerned with this. Maybe its because the author Suzanne Collins wrote the screenplay and has had a hand in every aspect of the film. Maybe its because Im quite thrilled with the cast Jennifer Lawrence as the protagonist Katniss Everdeen, Josh Hutcherson as Peeta Mellark, Elizabeth Banks as Effie, Woody Harrelson as Haymitch, and plenty of others including Stanley Tucci, who is always spectacular. I was initially a bit put off by the choice of Gary Ross as director his previous films were Pleasantville and Seabiscuit, fine movies, but not big on action but the more I thought about it I realized much of what makes The Hunger Games amazing is not so much the action as it is the emotion behind those actions and ultimately, the motivations behind everything. That, I believe he can pull off.
Entertainment Weekly has been doing an outstanding job of eeking out photos and getting our fan-mouths salivating first with photos of Lawrence as Katniss, then pics of the guys, Peeta and Gale. Hopefully we can get a shot of some of the set pieces I am most interested in seeing how the Cornucopia will be portrayed. An additional bit of geekery is the new website, The Capitol… I haven’t explored it fully, but it looks fun.
With all of that said, the first trailer premiered last Sunday night at the 2011 MTV VMAs (the actual reason I was watching them in the first place). It gives us very little to chew on but at least its something. If you have read the book you will immediately recognize what scene is being depicted if not, I suppose it just looks like a chick running around in a forest fire you would be partially correct partially
Without further ado, the first trailer for The Hunger Games
May the odds be ever in your favor,
Cornelius J. Blahg