PLEASE DO NOT READ THIS IF:
*You have not read the books.
*You have avoided information about the movie, because you don't want anything to be "spoiled".
*You have never considered the possibility that I might be capable of getting so caught up in a series that it is pathetic, and you'd like to keep me on that pedestal.
SPOILER WARNING! STOP READING NOW!
I would never... in a million years... had thought to pick up the books if my friend and walking partner hadn't mentioned them (almost in passing) last fall. I am a self described "pop culture moron" (PCM). Had I not read the books, I would have chalked this series up as the next Harry Potter or Twilight (as it is sometimes being referred to even now, and neither of which I have read or watched), and that would have been that... End of story.
But as it turned out; I had a little bit of extra time on my hands one evening when my aforementioned walking partner was out of town and I wasn't going to have to get up before the crack of dawn to meet her. So I headed on over to amazon.com and took a look inside the first book... read the first chapter... had the whole trilogy ordered and on the way (and, yes... please take note we do have a Kindle... but it's just not the same - PCM)...
Well... 1,155 pages... and 1 week later, I think it would be mild to say that I was a fan. If we're going to compare The Hunger Games to other series', it ranked right up there for me with Star Wars and Lord of the Rings.
The problem with reading something this intricate, this fast is that you miss stuff. I turned around and picked the first book back up and re-read the series at a more leisurely pace. Still just as good. I was actually surprised when I started asking people if they had read the series and most of them said no... with many of them never having heard of it at all or assuming it was a collection of children's books. The most common questions people asked me were, "Is it a Christian series," and then, "What is it about?" When the first thing out of my mouth was consistently, "It's kind of about kids... killing other kids..." the reactions were fantastic. Apparently the general consensus is that I only read stuff that incorporates rainbows... unicorns... and butterflies. Hmmm... I guess tracker jackers don't count...
At any rate, it's been a hard sell to get anyone to read this series. But let me reiterate that these are not children's books... Seth and Grace do have friends who have read them. I am actually kind of appalled by that. Not that I won't let them read them... eventually. But my current thinking on that is age 16. Any way you look at it; I would absolutely not recommend these to any child who isn't old enough to be a tribute in Panem. If you haven't read the books, I guess you'll have to if you want to know just how old that is... It should be noted, also, that this series is not really just about kids killing kids. That description just made for some phenomenal jaw dropping...
Then came the realization that The Hunger Games would soon be a movie...
After about 3 seconds of excitement, I thought, "They are totally going to ruin it". This begins with the principle that books are almost always better than movies anyway. But there's more to it. In the entire trilogy, the author used the word, "hell," in context maybe half a dozen times and out of context once. If we want to talk about profanity in The Hunger Games... that's it. But what are the chances that they're going to throw 24 actors up on the screen to fight to the death and no one's going to curse? I'm going to call that slim to none, before the movie ever comes out... Then, there's the issue of nakedness. It's different to read a book and know that someone is naked because they're changing clothes or dressing wounds. For me, anyway, it doesn't elicit an explicit image. In a movie, this is going to be more difficult. I think it can be done, with careful positioning... and maybe underclothes... but I am certainly left wondering how much skin will surface. I guess I am less concerned about this with The Hunger Games and more concerned about how this will all play out in Catching Fire... because you can't really get around Johanna Mason... (I mean... unless you eliminate her completely... like Madge... which I'm still kind of smoldering about, and I'll tell you why in a minute...) Of course, you've got the violence factor too, but to be honest; I feel that I sort of lack the ability to offer a moral compass on that. Maybe it should bother me more than it does. I guess that remains to be seen...
I have been following news about the movie pretty closely, and I understand that certain changes have to be made to fit the whole thing into 2 hours and 22 minutes (that's the official time as I understand it, although I would have been just as happy with a 4 1/2 hour movie). I have seen some "added" scenes that I think are going to make for a fuller, more developed story on screen. If you haven't viewed the scene with president Snow and Seneca Crane yet, I think there is actually some allegory there that can become an incredible teaching moment, if we let it. And I'm excited that it has been alluded to that there will be scenes of Katniss' mother, Prim, and Gale watching the games, as well. As a sidenote, I don't think they would have been able to fully develop a following for "Team Gale" without that... Of course, for those of us who have read the books; I think that following will be rather anemic, anyway, don't you?
But the things they've deleted... Those are the most disturbing. My primary concern is the elimination of Madge, which changes the entire significance of the Mockingjay pin (at least the way I see it). In reality (well... I mean... if this was reality, right?), they may have made a change in the story line that helps to develop the characters of Prim and Katniss and the relationship between them. OK. I get that. But I hope they've thought ahead to the rest of the franchise, because I think they've damaged Haymitch's character and story with this move... and let's face it; Haymitch can't withstand a whole lot of damage. The Mockingjay pin is what connects Katniss to Haymitch's games. Without it, you've lost the history. Now, granted, none of that comes into play in the first book. Maybe the screenwriters are going to somehow weave Maysilee Donner back in during Catching Fire. I suppose it doesn't necessarily add anything to the story for Maysilee to have a niece who is friends with Katniss. Maybe Maysilee leaves the pin to Katniss' mother instead of her songbird. I could go with that. But the prevailing feel of the previews is that Katniss somehow purchases this pin... out of the blue... for Prim. If that's the case, we have a major disconnect, because how Katniss gets the pin matters...
It occurred to me that maybe the worst part of this for the filmmakers is that if they don't connect the pin to Maysilee... and to Haymitch... they have completely shot themselves in the foot for a prequel. And come on... who has read the books and doesn't want a peek at Haymitch's life and games, in full? In Hollywood, this translates into lots of money lost if they don't somehow reconcile this plot error.
The other thing is... I'm still not sold on the cast. As I re-read (again) the series for the third time; I am trying to put the actors and actresses in the scenes in my mind. Haymitch... Cinna... Rue... I think I've got them there. I must admit that I did not imagine Haymitch looking, at all, like Woody Harrelson when I was first introduced to this series, but the more I thought about it; the more it worked. I originally imagined Haymitch as a grumpy old man, but realistically, if he won his games 25 years ago at age 16; he's only 41 at the beginning of the series. This is actually 10 years younger than Harrelson, but I think they'll make it work. Of course, if you grew up in the 80s, Harrelson is probably firmly embedded in a bar, in your mind, so that works just perfectly for Haymitch. I think it's the choice of hair, though, that finally sold me on this casting decision. Which probably means anybody could have played him. But Haymitch's hair is going to be awesome.
I'm not sure why so many people have been opposed to the idea of Lenny Kravitz as Cinna. He's too old, but that's the way it's going with the entire cast (almost). Other than that, I think it works. Rue... and the other tributes, for that matter... seem to have been well cast, but so many of them have such small roles, I'm not sure it would be worth the time to go through any possible pros and cons, age notwithstanding.
I don't imagine President Snow looking anything like Donald Sutherland. I guess the real problem, though, is that I kind of imagine him looking like Ron Paul. Of course Dr. Paul and President Snow have such vastly different political views on war that I guess I wouldn't have made a decent casting decision with this one, either. (Try to imagine me collapsing in laughter as you read this, because I'm really not looking for a political debate)...
Gamemakers? I never really thought much about Seneca Crane, so I guess I doesn't matter to me all that much who plays him. In the one preview where I've seen him speak, though, I was less than impressed. I do, however, think the larger oversight is that there is apparently no Plutarch Heavensbee? The information I've gathered seems to allude to the fact that he is unnecessary until Catching Fire, so am I to assume he's not going to fall in the punch bowl?
And for all of my complaining about the cast being too old... I think they've cast Effie too young! Or maybe it's just all of the plastic surgery in the Capitol? But I don't know about Elizabeth Banks as Effie Trinket. And I don't know about the white wig, either...
Before I dive right in to the main characters, I am also slightly concerned that Katniss' father has been cast. This either signifies that we will have dream sequences or flashbacks (and all I can think of is Gilligan falling out of the hammock onto the Skipper while the screen morphs and blinks) or maybe postmortem communication (uh... was he a Jedi?) At any rate, there have been no clues to this, so I guess I'll have to wait and see like everyone else.
Now... Jennifer, Josh, and Liam... What to say? Suzanne Collins' reaction has been that they are phenomenal in their roles. I hope that means something. I haven't really seen it in the trailers and clips, but I'm trying to give them the benefit of the doubt. I am, perhaps, having the most difficult time placing Josh Hutcherson as Peeta. I imagined Peeta to be... different. But you know who I would have cast? Doug Brochu (as in the kid who plays Grady on So Random - PCM). So maybe this is why no one asked me to do the casting. I have to be honest and say that I have never seen Jennifer Lawrence or Liam Hemsworth act in anything, so maybe I just need to wait and see what I think after the movie...
If I go see it.
As of the moment, it looks like the midnight showing in my area is sold out. And I'm having trouble coming up with a suitable movie viewing partner, because I really don't want to see it with someone who hasn't read the book... and I'm not sure I want to see it with a kid (certainly not one of mine)... and I don't want to see it with anyone who will make fun of my Hunger Games Sesame Street shirt (if I buy it)... and Phil will make fun of me for being a part of "Team Pita Bread" (although he hasn't read the series, he got a real kick out of the fact that Peeta's family owns the bakery...) And I can't see it alone, because it's going to be scary... and I need someone to keep me from turning tribute-like if a bunch of teenage girls sit in front of me and scream every time Peeta or Gale makes an appearance...
And I find myself, now, almost hoping that no one has read this far, because it's sort of pathetic that I'm this wrapped up in a storyline...
Happy Hunger Games...
Lisa
