In the Spring issue of Carolina Mountain Life, I have an article entitled “9 Reasons to Get Fired Up About The Hunger Games,” in which I outline some of the main reasons folks in western North Carolina, in particular, should be excited about the book and the recent film (and not for the same reasons the folks at the MTV movie awards hand out gilded popcorn, I can assure you). Due to some strange mutation in the set-up computer program, part of the article was left out in the final version of the magazine (though it was all there in proofs), and readers only got 51/2 reasons. Here, though you can read the entire article, whether or not you you live in or visit North Carolina! And if you do come our way, check out this neat magazine, in which I usually have an a literary article of some sort. Enjoy! And comment, please!
Hunger Games Article in New Issue of Carolina Mountain Life
Follow up Interview with Hunger Games Makeup Magician Conor McCullough
Last year, we did an interview with the delightful Conor McCullough, the amazing make-up artist who won SyFy Channel’s first season of Face-Off and worked on The Hunger Games film. Though Conor did tell us a great deal about his work on the movie, he also had to keep a few secrets until its release. Recently, I had the pleasure of a follow-up interview in which Conor shared more about his work, including the fact that he is the true master of “frosting” who did Peeta’s camouflage. Join me after the jump to learn more about Conor’s wonderful work and the challenges of filming!
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Hogwarts Professor on Hunger Games Victory Tour: Appalachia, Academia, and it’s All in the Pin
I have just returned from a wonderful whirlwind visit to the fabulous Barrett Honors College at Arizona State University where I was whisked to speak on The Hunger Games as Appalachian novel. I also had the opportunity to present that topic at the much closer but also wonderful Lees-McRae college, and I have been (and will be) doing other Hunger Games-type programs in the midst of the movie hoopla. As our month of Hunger Games movie madness winds down, these programs help bring readers and filmgoers into our on-going conversation about the complexity and artistry of Suzanne Collins’s Panem novels. Join me after the jump to hear more about the talks and about events with our students Mayland Community College where, for me, all this started. [Read more…]
Lionsgate Hunger Games Film A Satisfactory Movie Experience; Cinema Treatment Leaves Serious Readers Hungry for More
Two years ago, I read The Hunger Games for the first time and decided I would start using the novel as part of my Expository Writing courses at Mayland Community College. On March 23, I had the great pleasure of seeing the film adaptation of the novel on opening day in the company of my students and colleagues at a special showing at the great old Yancey Theater in Burnsville, NC, just up the road from where large portions of the movie were filmed. Though I took notes the whole time, much to the amusement of my students (who laughed at the dandelions in my braid, too), I won’t share all of my many thoughts on the movie, though there will be spoilers for non-readers (Not many of those here, anyway, I imagine!). Join me after the jump to see what aspects of the film I (and my fellow MCC readers) found most satisfactory, and what left us feeling unsatisfied. [Read more…]
Scenes from District 12 and Great Tourism Opportunities
This past week, I had the opportunity to visit the abandoned Henry River Mill Community where many of the District 12 scenes were filmed for the upcoming Hunger Games film. Here are a few of the photographs we snapped. I was prepared for surly security guards, police officers, even, but it was a lovely day, and the only person we encountered was a delightful gentleman who had been wanting to photograph the site and was aware of the film only as something that blocked up traffic back in the summer. I was hoping for dandelions, but had to settle for daffodils, which, as Katniss would tell us, are completely inedible, but I like them because they linger on long after people have left a house or town site, beautiful yellow reminders of a past that is long gone. [Read more…]
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