Arizona State University’s Harry Potter Society Hosts Hogwarts Professor

April 29, 2011 by 4 Comments

On April 21, I had the great pleasure of visiting the Barrett Honors College at Arizona State University at the invitation of ASU’s Harry Potter Society and independent scholar Dr. Joel Hunter, who has the enviable opportunity of teaching a very popular Harry Potter course (which currently holds the record for fastest time for a course to fill during registration!).

In addition to getting to see the beautiful campus of the Barrett Honors College, I had the chance to visit with Dr. Hunter and his wonderful wife Melanie (who apparently make a smashing Snape and Tonks on Halloween), chat with an amazing group of students, and present on the ways in which Rowling’s magical menagerie indicates the influence of C.S. Lewis.

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Filed Under: C. S. Lewis, Elizabeth Baird Hardy, Hunger Games, Potter Fandom Tagged With: , ,

Post-Reaping Report on Extra Casting for Hunger Games

April 19, 2011 by Leave a Comment

My friends who made it through epic wind and rain to the extra casting in Shelby on Saturday report that the line was long but moved swiftly, and that the movie folks were all trained by the Cinna school of “treating people like human beings, not cattle.”  The report from Shelby is positive that the film is Hunger Games, though everyone was warned not to say it out loud, creating a Voldemort-ish Taboo. My friends got positive feedback, especially since some are or are the parents of teenagers, and, if they get to do some work on the movie, promise to give us all the information they can. In the meantime, I’m just thrilled to see the process was not much like the actual Reaping, but seemed fun, easy, and professional. Let’s hope this is indicative of the way the production will be run.  Thanks, Connie, for the pictures! Follow me after the jump for more.

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Filed Under: Elizabeth Baird Hardy, Hunger Games, Movie Thoughts, Uncategorized Tagged With: ,

There’s No Business like the Hunger Games: Extra Casting Begins, Maybe

April 16, 2011 by 4 Comments

Sure, sure, the Deathly Hallows Part 1 DVD is out now, and everyone is dashing home to watch hours of special features, but here in Western NC, there’s buzz of another kind. Extra casting calls begin today for a movie being called Artemis. Since Artemis, like Katniss Everdeen, is an archer and huntress (and since she’s one ancient deity not licensed by Marvel Comics and thus not getting a film of her own), this is very likely The Hunger Games. It looks like there will be several calls in the region, and I do have friends planning to attend, so I’ll give you the full after-action report on the madness as thousands of people try to be one of a thousand needed extras (who will never be seen on the screen and who will likely be replaced with CGI anyway!)

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It’s On! North Carolina Locations for Hunger Games Filming

April 6, 2011 by 7 Comments

According to the News in Asheville, North Carolina, the much-anticipated film adaptation of The Hunger Games will be filmed, at least partly, in “Cool, Green Asheville.” Other North Carolina sites purported to be targeted for filming are Charlotte and Shelby. Asheville officials have confirmed some locations around the city are being used for a movie; they won’t say what movie, however, even though the film’s producer has been sighted around town. In case you think this is speculation — the sign at one such location says “Ludus”; for those who may not be Latin-speakers, “ludus” means “game” in the language of ‘Bread and Circuses,’ so that’s probably a good indication that Asheville, or part of it, is District 12.

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Casting Announced for Peeta and Gale in Hunger Games Film

April 5, 2011 by 8 Comments

We’ve been hashing our thoughts about Jennifer Lawrence as the film makers’ choice to play Katniss in the forthcoming cinematic adaptation of The Hunger Games. Now Effie Trinket has reached into the big glass ball (after all, she always chooses the boy after the girl—ladies first!) and selected Lawrence’s co-stars: Peeta Mellark will be played by Josh Hutcherson and Gale Hawthorne by Liam Hemsworth.

Not surprisingly, they are both appealing to the eye, but, like Miss Lawrence, perhaps they will bring far more to their roles than attractively mussed hair and melting stares.

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